Most 401(k) plans permit hardship withdrawals, though plan sponsors aren't required to allow them. As it stands today, employees seeking to take money out of their 401(k) accounts are limited to the funds they contributed to the accounts themselves, and only after they've first taken a loan from the same account. Loans must be repaid, [...]
Employee morale is a measurable, controllable expense. That's the position of Carol Hacker, author of "The High Cost of Low Morale." And according to Hacker, employers and workplace leaders "can beat the negativity that saps employees' energy." Employee morale involves the attitudes of individuals and groups toward their work, their environment, their managers, and the [...]
The most obvious way for employers to measure the full impact of employee turnover is to look at the corresponding loss of productivity when positions go unfilled. You'll also need to look at the cost to find replacements. But that's just the start. The rest of it is part of what can be called the [...]
Employers naturally want to provide employees with the tools that enable them to do their jobs more quickly and efficiently. But there are growing concerns in the business community about employees who use technology in ways that can harm their employers. During the work day and after hours, your staff members undoubtedly use cell phones and other [...]
Paid time off (PTO) policies aren't new. The basic concept is to allot employees a fixed number of days into a PTO "bank" for which they can be paid while not working, without designating the time off as sick leave, vacation or personal days. A 2016 survey by WorldatWork — a global association of human resource [...]
“Traditionally, a company's human resources department has played a supportive role. It was considered a paper-pusher job, and often took a backseat to more numbers-oriented departments like marketing and business development. Today's organizations have realized that this department can do much more to enhance and develop a business, thanks to developments in fields like [...]
If your company has a lot of employees who don't have bank accounts or who work on the road or in remote locations, a payroll card system could save your business money in processing costs while making it easier for employees to access their wages. Direct deposits are less expensive, but are of little use to employees [...]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule that revises civil penalties for many violations of federal labor laws, including certain violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Inflation-Adjusted Changes The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 directed federal agencies to adjust [...]
It’s human nature to pay more attention when things go wrong than when they’re running smoothly. This is particularly true when it comes to payroll. Come payday, an employee checks her bank account, sees her paycheck has been deposited and that the amount is what she expected. Check. She moves on to pay her bills [...]
A source of irritation for employees can be the issue of pay -- or no pay -- for time spent attending meetings and training sessions. Tell employees they have to attend a meeting or training program, and the employees may raise questions like these: Is attendance mandatory, or can we skip it? If we show up, do [...]
