FOUR HOLIDAY STRESS-BUSTERS

CHRISTMAS CAROL FOR 2003

BEYOND THE ANNUAL BONUS

CAN YOU DIG IT? PLANTS REDUCE WORKPLACE STRESS!

Employees in all types of work environments — from call centers to operating rooms — experience considerable job stress. An organization called Plants at Work says that green growing things can play an important role in creating a more relaxed environment.

According to the California-based group, "employees exposed to plants exhibit more positive emotions, such as happiness and assertiveness, and fewer negative emotions, such as sadness and fear.” It adds that interior plantscapes can dramatically improve recruitment and retention of top employees. Plants also provide a cost-effective tool for managing risks and liabilities associated with poor indoor air quality.

Plants at Work recommends a number of strategies, such as creating a "healthy and green" at-work initiative that evaluates a company's health and stress situation and the role plants can play. Learn more about this green approach at www.plantsatwork.org.

RELIGION IN THE WORKPLACE: THOU SHALT NOT DISCRIMINATE

The holiday season makes an ideal time to focus on cases regarding religion in the workplace. As a starting point, Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on religion. In 2002, the EEOC reported 2,572 religious discrimination claims. Not surprisingly, many of these claims are combined with national origin discrimination allegations (i.e. someone claims discrimination because they are from an Arab country, as well as Muslim).

The EEOC makes these points on its Web site:

"If your company's dress code conflicts with religious practices, the employer must modify the dress code unless doing so would result in undue hardship. The EEOC's guidelines on religious discrimination can be found by going to www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-relig_ethnic.html.

"In most cases, whether or not a practice or a belief is religious is not an issue. However, the EEOC defines religious practices to include moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong, which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional, religious views. The fact that no religious group espouses such beliefs, or that the religious group to which the individual professes to belong might not accept such belief, will not determine whether the belief is a religious belief of the employee or prospective employee. The phrase 'religious practices' includes both religious observances and practices.”

Here are more guidelines to consider:

• It's an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an employee or prospective employee, unless the employer demonstrates that accommodation will mean undue hardship in conducting its business.
• If a test or selection procedure is scheduled at a time when an employee or prospective employee cannot attend because of religious practices, the employer must accommodate the person unless undue hardship would result.
• An employer may not ask about an employee's background unless justified by business necessity.
• An employer may state the normal work hours for a job and ask if the employee is able to work those hours. Then after a position is offered, but before the applicant is hired, the employer can inquire into the need for religious accommodation and determine whether this is possible.

“The holiest of all holidays are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart; the secret anniversaries of the heart..”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
(1807-1882)

This issue discusses:

We’ve also provided hyperlinks to a free Form of the Month.

DON'T DESPAIR …

Every once in a while it's fun to add some humor to your day. One of the funniest Web sites that we've seen is www.despair.com, which turns the whole "success stories" motivational approach on its head. The Web site is cynical, witty, and well worth a few minutes of your surfing time.

CHECK JOB APPLICANT'S ACADEMIC CREDS

Be sure to substantiate academic credentials claimed by prospective employees. Although it's nothing new for job candidates to claim degrees and credentials which they haven't earned, recent years have witnessed an explosion of so-called "diploma mills.” According to USA Today (September 29, 2003), there are more than 400 diploma mills and 300 counterfeit diploma Web sites. Perhaps even more disturbing, these "universities" have morphed into far more than "mom and pop" operations; they earn annual revenues of more than $500 million, according to John Bear, author of Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning.

CASES OF THE MONTH

Our legal staff offers this review of three top cases that might affect your business.

(PDF) (WORD)

FORM OF THE MONTH:

How to Be an Excellent Employee
(PDF) (WORD)

It's amazing how most companies "grow" their employees. The typical employee handbook defines inappropriate employee conduct and its consequences for the employee. Only the rare and excellent company lists desired behavior. It's essential to remain positive with your employees. Remember — you get what you focus on.