Political discussions in the workplace can be divisive and distracting — perhaps now more than ever, considering today’s particularly volatile political climate.

Traditionally, most companies have offered a paid leave package to employees that differentiates between vacation, personal and sick days. However, combining all categories into a single paid time off (PTO) bank is a growing trend. A PTO model increases employee flexibility and has the potential to boost morale and productivity. And with 70 percent of employees ranking flexible work hours

It’s college graduation season. That means an influx of eager new workers will be on the job hunt. In today’s tight labor market, these graduates will be in high demand. The unemployment rate of college grads last fall dropped to just 2 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. With so many job openings now, these grads can

After years of sustained economic growth, unemployment is now reaching near rock-bottom levels. In Missouri, unemployment is approximately 4 percent. This is something we should celebrate. We want to have abundant jobs and opportunity for workers. However, we also need to recognize that today’s economic opportunities are not equally shared among all workers. One area of concern is that the

The traditional 9-to-5 job is on life support. Today, more than 80 percent of companies offer flexible work options, according to a 2015 study. Nearly 60 percent of American workers called the 9-to-5 job “a thing of the past” in a 2016 survey. The demise of the traditional workday comes as employers have embraced flexibility in setting work schedules. These

For the last seven years, employers have been working to understand and implement the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Businesses have poured an unfathomable number of hours into complying with a complex law dealing with a topic that was already overly complex. Ready to do that again? The results of the 2016 national election made it clear that big changes were

Not long ago, businesses could turn to one reliable tool to help find job applicants: the classified section of the local newspaper. If those good old days seem easy to remember it’s because they really weren’t all that long ago. To be fair, newspaper classified ads have not gone away. But in many ways, society has evolved away from that

When it comes to top workforce talent, 2017 is shaping up to be a seller’s market. National trends show that unemployment is low and continuing to fall while worker salaries are on the rise. Your savviest employees are well aware of this. They know that now is a great time to begin assessing their own value in this improving labor

How’s that for an abrupt halt? After businesses spent months preparing for the new federal overtime rule, a court decision put the brakes on everything just days before it was to take effect. When the news broke on Nov. 22, many business leaders likely felt conflicted over whether they should to cheer or cry. Over the last year, the rule