An attorney once said during a presentation that the fallout from holiday office parties is a very lucrative business - one that provides a handsome living to many of his colleagues. This real-life example shows why:

"The things we fear most in organizations - fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances - are the primary sources of creativity." -Margaret J. Wheatley

Sally comes to you with a complaint: Joe, her coworker is harassing her! What now? Despite your efforts to proactively prevent harassment in your workplace, certain behaviors, both subtle and dramatic, may creep into your organization causing chaos and disruption.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports that when there is a downturn in the economy similar to our current situation, they receive a significant increase in the number of employee complaints of discrimination and sexual harassment.

 Implementing strategies to cut workers' compensation costs is one way business owners and managers can reduce their organization’s operating expenditures. Last month we discussed how managing your workers’ compensation policy and understanding your premium calculation can help lower workers’ compensation expenses. This month we will address the second key to lowering your costs: Promoting a “culture of safety" in the workplace.

The current economic environment requires savvy business owners and managers to look diligently for ways to cut their organization’s costs and expenses. A key way to accomplish this is to understand your workers’ compensation policy and how premiums are calculated. Next month we will address promoting a “culture of safety” as another means of lowering your workers’ compensation costs.

If you are like most businesses today, the workplace has a higher level of anxiety due to the economy and future economic uncertainty.  Last year the mantra was “more with less” now it is “more, more, more with less, less, less”.  As a result, you may have asked employees on your team to do more with less.  Congratulations on your new found efficiency if this is working out well.  Either way, be mindful of keeping those employees motivated so that you don’t end up with a team of discouraged employees.  So is employee recognition important?  Absolutely…now more than ever!

How did it happen so quickly that a vast and previously profitable company like AIG had to turn to the United States government for an injection of capital to avoid collapse? In a recent interview, Edward Liddy, the CEO of AIG, provided insight into this question when he stated: "First, we kind of lost our way..."

Many companies have been forced to become more efficient in the way they conduct their business in order to survive in this turbulent economy. They’ve cut nonessential spending, put freezes on wage increases, and decreased employee numbers while increasing productivity expectations.