Working Knowledge

The continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is causing companies to modify their workforce plans, according to Challenger, Gray, & Christmas Inc. Return to the office – Twenty-one percent of companies said they plan to bring all workers back to the office in early 2021, 9% said mid-2021, 8% said as soon as there is…

A survey conducted by Gartner Inc. of more than 750 HR leaders found that 68% said building critical skills and competencies for their organizations was their top priority.  Other top priorities included organizational design and change management, cited by 46%; current and future leadership bench, 44%; the future of work, 32%; and employee experience, 28%. …

Conference Board research concludes that more companies are now willing to hire remote workers from anywhere.   The September survey of more than 330 HR executives found that 36%, are willing to hire workers who are fully remote living anywhere in the US or internationally. A similar survey conducted in April 2020 found that only 12%…

According to the 2020 Candidate Sentiment Study of 711 professionals by the American Staffing Association,  eight in 10 job candidates (80%), both active and passive seekers, foresee working for a new company in the next 12 months even though 57% of job candidates stated that they are satisfied with their current employment situation. Seven in 10 (70%) are…

CompTIA, a nonprofit association for the global technology industry and workforce, has published a list of the top 20 cities for tech jobs.  This list is based on the number of local tech companies, total tech positions across all industries, projected growth in IT jobs over the next 5 years, pay rates, cost of living,…

Results of a survey of 500 full-time U.S. employees conducted by Visual Objects shows that 63% of full-time U.S. employees have recycled passwords on work accounts and devices. The data shows Millennial workers are 6.5 times more likely to always reuse work passwords than Baby Boomers, who demonstrate safer password practices.  However, Baby Boomers are…

Two recent surveys indicate thatcompanies continue to invest in select HR technologies despite economic uncertainties.  However, the COVID-19 pandemic has shift investment priories away from traditional HR technology spending toward remote-working tools and infrastructure.  The recently released Sapient Insights Group 2020–2021 HR Systems Survey conducted by Harris found 15 percent of organizations plan to decrease…

In addition to the wage increase in Florida approved through ballot initiative, two states have legislated wage increases. Overtime Salary Thresholds Increasing in Washington State – Washington state’s minimum wage will rise by 19 cents per hour on Jan. 1, 2020. Employees age 16 and older must be paid at least $13.69 per hour, and…

During the national election several state ballot initiatives represent substantial changes to key workplace policies regarding the classification and treatment of independent contractors in the “Gig” economy, individual privacy rights, higher minimum wage thresholds, paid leave expansion, and cannabis legalization. Here are summaries of some of these important ballot initiatives affecting employers. California Proposition 22,…

The use of temporary staff increased slightly according to the American Staffing Association (ASA) Staffing Index. November marks a ten-month high for staffing jobs, although still 9% lower than the same period last year. New starts were up for the ninth consecutive week, increasing 8.0% on average, with nearly half (48%) of staffing companies reporting…