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A US-based startup has become the first company this year to lay off employees en masse. Proptech startup Frontdesk reportedly fired its entire 200-person workforce on Tuesday (2 January) on a virtual call.
Why did Frontdesk sack all of its employees? Let’s take a closer look. READ MORE
Between COVID-19 isolation and Great Resignation frustration, employers have learned more than ever the importance of helping marginalized segments of the workforce step into the light after years of working and living in the shadows.
While such outreach initially focused on race, gender, age, disability and sexual orientation as part of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, the underlying aim is to ease economic hardship. This means addressing social determinants of health (SDoH) that serve as barriers to health equity. READ MORE
Desired results are relatively easy to identify. CEOs, executives, and leadership teams develop goals to increase efficiency, grow revenue, or expand the company’s operations. A spirited annual meeting frequently ends with aspirational objectives and encouraging words for attendees to take with them. A list of actions is drawn up and communicated to the company workforce.
But all too often, the actual results are disappointing. The following quarters show little to no sign of adjustment or improvement. Why is that? What happens between goal setting and outcome? READ MORE
More big firms are likely to go bust next year amid the “double whammy” of high borrowing costs and pressure on consumer budgets, according to insolvency experts.
Administrators and restructuring specialists also warned the PA news agency that high-growth companies such as tech firms could be among those facing financial turbulence.
It comes after another year of tough economic conditions resulted in increased business failures during the year. READ MORE
Welcome to the first business day of 2024.
You may be wondering what this new year has in store for your career — your pay, your benefits, your schedule and your job prospects.
To find out, we consulted with a number of workplace experts and consultants to get a sense of what trends and changes they expect. READ MORE
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, is worth 71% less now than it was when Elon Musk bought it in late 2022, according to Fidelity.
The investment group made the valuation on Monday, the second time it dropped the value of X in 2023, Axios reports. Musk had purchased the social media giant for $44 billion. READ MORE
New data from SHRM found that only one in 100 HR pros completely trust their current performance review process to identify high achievers, and only one in 50 completely trust it to identify problem employees.
At the same time, a 2023 HR.com survey found that only 24% of respondents said their performance management process resulted in a high or very high impact on employee retention. Only 33% said their performance management process resulted in a high or very high impact on improving employee performance. READ MORE
Performance reviews are typically not the highlight of anyone’s to-do list. Throw in a flaky, shaky economy and a couple of rough quarters, and they’re even less appealing. You want your employees to come away motivated and enthusiastic about their work. But when business is slow, they also need a clear understanding of how they contribute to the company’s bottom line. READ MORE
Employee performance reviews are a critical aspect of talent development, providing organizations with insights into both individual and collective contributions to overall goals each year. However, the processes and technologies used for performance reviews have barely changed.
At the start of each year, employees commit to a list of objectives to accomplish. Then, at the end of the year, they’re prompted to reflect on their contributions—a process that's subjected to the limitations of human memory—give themselves a rating and then submit their assessment to managers for feedback and finalization. This model's reliance on old, often irrelevant data can suffer from issues like subjectivity, bias and limited engagement. READ MORE
Consumer confidence rose in December to the highest level in five months as sentiment on both the current and future situations improved markedly.
The data from the Conference Board released on Wednesday adds to a string of economic data in recent months that supports further sustained expansion in the economy.
The increase in confidence was broad-based in December, with the overall index rising to 110.7 from 101. READ MORE
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reportedly addressed worker complacency in a recent all-hands meeting following complaints that some employees are simply coasting along while enjoying bumper paycheques.
According to insight shared with Business Insider by people in attendance, Huang acknowledged the growing issue of some long-tenured Nvidia employees not pulling their weight, a concern raised by colleagues who appear to have noted that some middle managers have entered a “semi-retirement” stage whereby they’re not putting in the work that’s worthy of their high salary. READ MORE
As the clock ticks closer to 2024, one outspoken economist is making a dire predication about the markets in the new year.
"Since 2009, this has been 100% artificial, unprecedented money printing and deficits; $27 trillion over 15 years, to be exact. This is off the charts, 100% artificial, which means we're in a dangerous state," Harry Dent told Fox News Digital. "I think 2024 is going to be the biggest single crash year we'll see in our lifetimes." READ MORE
Several major U.S. companies have modified their internal diversity policies that aim to increase racial and ethnic representation after conservative groups threatened to file lawsuits, according to a Reuters review of corporate statements.
At least six major U.S. companies, including JPMorgan Chase, revised their diversity policies after they were among the 25 firms that received public shareholder letters since 2021 that said their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs constitute illegal discrimination and breach the directors’ duties to investors. READ MORE
Before the pandemic, most managers assumed that working from home was a productivity killer. Without the discipline of an office, they thought, employees would lounge around in their pajamas, binge Netflix, and get nothing done.
After 3 ½ years of remote and hybrid work, we now know this assumption was wrong. Some studies, in fact, have found that working from home actually allows white-collar professionals to get more done, not less. READ MORE
New data from SHRM found that only one in 100 HR pros completely trust their current performance review process to identify high achievers, and only one in 50 completely trust it to identify problem employees.
At the same time, a 2023 HR.com survey found that only 24% of respondents said their performance management process resulted in a high or very high impact on employee retention. Only 33% said their performance management process resulted in a high or very high impact on improving employee performance. READ MORE
It’s hard to attract top talent, and for some employers, it’s even harder to keep it. That may be especially true for younger workers, as new research shows that one in four Gen Zers might hit the road sooner rather than later.
According to a 2023 study from workforce resilience platform meQuilibrium, 23% of younger workers are contemplating a job switch in the next six months. (That number drops to 13.8% when taking in the full range of nearly 5,500 respondents.) READ MORE
In post-pandemic times, many employers and companies are continuing to mandate a return to the office for their workers — and some employees are responding with a particular form of pushback.
First, there was the trend "quiet quitting," in which workers did the bare minimum on the job just to get by — and now, say workplace leaders and experts, there’s "coffee badging," another form of employee protest. READ MORE
Of all the bargaining goals set out by the United Auto Workers union in the just completed talks, none was more ambitious, or gained less traction in negotiations, than the idea of a four-day, 32-hour work week.
Without a cut in pay, too. READ MORE
It’s been about four years since the Covid-19 pandemic first upended society. Cities and towns have mostly sprung back to life, one aspect of daily life is unmistakable: The once-ubiquitous reality of working in an office for eight hours a day, five days a week is dead.
As many companies embrace remote and hybrid work, demand for office space has weakened and property values have fallen. READ MORE
Elon Musk is apparently not a fan of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, arguing that such initiatives are destructive and need to be ended.
The tech billionaire took to his social media platform, X, on Friday to declare that "DEI must DIE," saying, "The point was to end discrimination, not replace it with different discrimination." READ MORE