Impact Today™

Many companies seem to have strong feelings about social network website access at work. The websites, such as Facebook, My Space, and Linked In, are seen as an asset by 8 percent of the companies participating in a recent survey by Challenger, Gray, and Christmas.

These companies see the sites as a way employees can network with others to enhance their skills, market their products, and reach colleagues.

However 22 percent felt strongly the sites are a waste of time and distraction to productivity so they block the sites.

Labels: Behaviors, Survey

With 75 percent of employees believing that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago according to the Princeton Survey Research Associates, stress management programs at work are popular. Studies show such programs are more effective if coupled with organizational change. Stress at work is caused by duties that go beyond a worker’s capabilities or resources. With that in mind, employers should make sure the workload is in line with what an employee is able to do. Other ideas suggested by American Psychologist include:

1. Design jobs to provide meaning, stimulation and opportunities for workers to use their skills.


2. Clearly define roles and responsibilities.


3. Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions and actions affecting their jobs.


4. Improve communications to reduce uncertainty about career development and future employment prospects.


5. Provide opportunities for social interaction among workers.


6. Establish work schedules that are compatible with demands and responsibilities outside the job.

Labels: Stress, Survey

New research has shown that nearly half of the American workforce has resorted to “Desk Rage”. It is a substantial problem that places employers at risk of a “hostel environment”.

Anger in the workplace ranges from rudeness to abusive behavior according to professor Paul Spector of the University of South Florida.

Research also shows:

• 88 percent feel their workplace is growing less civil


• 25 percent admit they have been driven to tears by desk rage


• 17 percent say company or personal property has been damaged by desk rage


• 11 percent claim physical violence has occurred in their workplace


• 10 percent fear their workplace is not safe


• 3 percent admit pushing, slapping, or hitting a co-worker

Labels: Attitude, Behaviors, Retention, Survey

According to the Chubb Insurance Group, one in four privately held companies has been sued in the past few years by an employee or a former employee.

In the same report, executives at half the companies surveyed consider it likely they will be sued by employees, and nearly one-third believe they would be likely to lose and their companies seriously damaged by such a lawsuit. Nearly half expected an employee to file an EEOC complaint during the year.

The additional responsibility and pressure such an environment puts on HR staff is obvious, even if the actual numbers turn out to be wrong. The expectation itself provides the pressure!

Labels: Hiring, Survey

Labels: Ethics, Survey

Labels: Benefits, Survey

As gas prices reach new highs in the United States and Canada, 44% of employees are changing the way they commute, according to a new survey from Robert Half International.

The biggest changes they have made are:

• 46%: Carpool more frequently.
• 33%: Drive a more fuel-efficient car.
• 33%: Telecommute more often.
• 30%: Are looking for a job closer to home.

The survey further discovered that if gas prices break the $5 per gallon mark in the United States, the 56% not already in the process of changing will change.

Employers are also reacting:

• 18% Increased reimbursement for mileage.
• 17% Started ride sharing or van pooling programs for employees.
• 11% Expanding telecommuting.

Another popular idea is getting a lot of publicity but has not been acted upon in large scale is shortening the workweek by lengthening the workday. The major consideration is that holidays, sick time, and vacations are normally calculated in days. Changing the duration of the day typically requires converting to an “hour” mentality on time off to be fair to those that cannot make the change due to daycare or other considerations.

Labels: Benefits, Survey

Teamwork in multi-generational workplaces is suffering from a lack of understanding how to communicate inter-generationally. According to Randstad, 66% of Traditionalists and 51% of Baby Boomers have little or no interaction with Gen X or Gen Y.

The Baby Boomers categorize younger workers as having less competence and work ethic while the Gen X and Yers feel the older folks are too set in their ways and cannot think outside of the box.

Companies not responding to this lack of communication risk a brain-drain as Baby Boomers head onto the retirement roles.

Many programs are successful at bridging the gap. One such program is Managing Builders, Boomers, Xs, and Ys without losing your Zs. It helps each generation understand how their culture was formed and how other generations view them. Mentoring programs are also generally successful when the mentor presents him or herself as an equal to the protégé, not a superior.

Employers believing the brain drain will not occur need only look to the struggle to get skilled workers as an example of what happens when tomorrow’s employees are not cultivated today.

Labels: Generation, Mentor, Survey

Summer vacations are becoming a thing of the past as this year, for the first time, more people will be staying home than traveling, according to a survey prepared by Yahoo and Hot Jobs.

Fifty-one percent will not be traveling, up from 45% last year. Higher fuel prices, the economic downturn, and worries about future lay-offs and unemployment were main considerations.

Labels: Benefits, Survey

Yet another survey has been conducted to determine Generation Y’s participation in retirement plans. Mintel’s survey discovered that 69% of the generation is taking a pass on tax-deferred 401(k) retirement savings plans across the United States.

By understanding how generations develop their traits is easy to determine why Generation Y lacks the desire to participate in these plans. Simply put, they have seen their Baby Boomer grandparents lose tremendous sums of money in corporate sponsored plans. There are also concerned with continual dialogue about the solvency of Social Security.

Members of the generation seek to control their savings by handling their own investments and are willing to give up any corporate matching funds.

Consequently, 401(k) retirement savings plans do not provide an incentive in recruiting and retaining members of Generation Y.

Labels: Benefits, Generation, Survey

Stressed out? Cannot Cope? Music is your answer.

In a survey reported at the American Society of Hypertension meeting in New Orleans last week it was revealed that thirty minutes of music each day significantly lowered their blood pressure.

What kind of music? According to the research, Classical, Celtic, or Indian (raga) music produced fairly equal results.

Labels: Stress, Survey

Handling poor performance is the top issue facing today’s leaders, according to a survey released by Novations Group in Boston. Their survey polled more than 2,500 American and Canadian senior HR and training executives. Respondents were asked to identify items from a list, selecting all items that applied.

Here are the top answers:
72% Coaching a performance problem
69% Communicating performance standards
68% Coaching a development opportunity
67% Conducting a performance appraisal
66% Handling conflict situations
59% Communicating vision and strategy
58% Selecting the right employee
55% Diversity & Inclusion
49% Gaining commitment to goals
49% Managing priorities
45% Change management
44% Acting on feedback

Labels: Leadership, Survey

Right Management of Philadelphia has identified the top four reasons employees are resigning to go to another employer. Findings are consistent with earlier studies dating back to the 1940s wherein one’s connection to their employer is the overriding factor in changing jobs.

In an effort to keep from burning bridges, departing employees often cite opportunity or money as the reason for exiting. Yet surveys from third parties reveal the truth that neither money nor opportunity is important job change criteria.

Here are the top four reasons:

• No new challenges or opportunity for advancement
• Ineffective leadership
• Poor relationship with their manager
• Contributions not valued

Labels: Hiring, Leadership, Survey

Generational issues continue to distract managers from core competencies. However a survey from Robert Half International is providing some excellent connection tips when working with Xers.

According to generation members involved in the survey the key is to have frequent contact. Sixty percent want to hear from their boss daily while 35% want contact several times a day.

They believe that through constant contact they are able to better understand roles and expectations thereby miscommunication is less likely.

Labels: Communication, Generation, Survey

If you are still in the group thinking money is the most important motivator for employees consider yet another survey that contradicts the common money myth.

Pew Research asked 2,413 people to rank seven priority statements addressing topics such as free time, volunteering, religious work, and marriage. Only 13% said being wealthy was very important to them while 70% said having enough free time to do things they wanted to do was important.

It is important to note that low income respondents were more likely to place importance on wealth than those with income over $100K. Perhaps the emphasis on wealth seems attractive until we realize the impact of the sacrifice of free time in gaining the wealth.

Labels: Motivation, Survey

A recent benchmarking study found that managing a multi-generational workforce is the top concern facing businesses today. An overwhelming 80% of companies identified this as a major challenge, although only 33% offer training to bridge to equip managers and employees to understand how to work through this challenge.

There are currently four generations in the workplace and each has their own career outlook, motivational factors, communication style, view of authority, cognitive style, and requirements for giving respect to supervisors.

This is substantiated by Max Impact and MBC Global where multigenerational training is a popular training request. Managing Builders, Boomer, Xs and Ys without losing your Zs was developed by Max Impact and is also used by MBC Global to teach employees at all levels how to work together in a multigenerational environment. Managers are also taught how to turn all four generations into long-term, productive, and respectful assets to their employer.

Labels: Generation, Leadership, Survey

One of the biggest myths managers cling to is that money is the main motivator for employees. Actually it is far down the list. This has been verified by countless surveys taking many different approaches to the question. The most recent survey disputing this myth was taken by Sam Houston State University for the Texas State Teacher’s Association.

As reported by The Associated Press, more than 44% of Texas teachers are considering changing careers. Of those contemplating leaving, 42% cited poor working conditions while less than 20% said it was because of pay. Considering that 25% of Texas teachers, who earn an average of $47,545 annually, have a second job to supplement their income.

Typically when a survey is taken in one employment sector concerning money, it is applicable to other sectors as well, so all should take note of these results.

Labels: Motivation, Rewards, Survey

According to a survey conducted by InfoSecurity, 61% of office workers will voluntarily provide their date of birth to someone pretending to be from the IT Department.

Labels: Survey

If an employee is late it is probably a result of their trip to work, regardless of what they say. A survey by Careerbuilder.com, recently reported by Boston Business Journal, showed that 39% of tardiness are due to a long commute or heavy traffic.

The survey also revealed 24% of employees will lie about being late yet 27% of managers are skeptical of the excuses they receive.
It also noted that 43% of managers care more that work gets done on time rather than their employees are occasionally late.

Labels: Behaviors, Survey

Harris Interactive has released their annual vacation day give-back report. During 2007, the International Vacation Deprivation Survey found 438,000,000 vacation days were given back to employers. As staggering as this number may seem, it represents a 23.7% drop from 2006.

A give-back is vacation time not taken or reimbursed as unused vacation time. The term refers to time earned by an employee but given back to the employer.

Labels: Survey

The 2008 Retirement Confidence Survey, taken by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, has seen the largest annual drop in its 18 year history. Only 18% of workers polled were very confident about having sufficient money for retirement, down from last year’s 27%.

Confidence was lowest among the 25 to 34 year-old age group and among those earning less than $35,000 annually.

Healthcare and rising fuel prices are factors in the decline with a lack of savings also having an impact. Of those surveyed, only 22% had a savings account.

Employers that can connect employees to retirement security will find better retention, especially with Generation Y employees. However the solution must be more creative and portable than traditional pension and retirement programs.

Labels: Generation, Survey

There is no apparent end to what people will commission a survey to discover. Here is one of the strangest questions we have seen in a long time.

According to a survey conducted by InfoSecurity, 45% of women and 10% of men will tell you their password in exchange for chocolate.

The survey did not specify the brand or how big a piece of chocolate works best.

Labels: Attitude, Survey

Over half of current employees (58%) feel they will spend less money in retirement according to the 2008 Retirement Confidence Survey, taken by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

If the survey is correct, this is a myth as only 46% of retirees say they spend less now that they no longer work.

When employees take the time to calculate their financial goals for retirement, 44% modified their savings plans, with 59% of those increasing their contribution.

Labels: Survey

The Wall Street Journal reports that the average American business person loses six weeks a year searching for lost or misplaced articles from messy desks and files.

This lack of understanding time management best practices translates into a loss of $3,125 for each $25,000 employee, when an hour a day is spent unproductively.

Labels: Survey, Time_management

Telecommuting is catching on as a business strategy as more top executives see real benefits from the practice. As fuel prices continue to raise and commutes reach record lengths of time, employees consider it a tremendous advantage when they can spend one or more days working from home.

According to a recent survey by Intranet Dashboard, here are the top five telecommuting benefits:

• Greater efficiency 53%


• Reduced absenteeism 46%


• Productivity gains 44%


• Reduced office overheads 36%


• Improved recruitment and retention 32%

Labels: Employee_Retention, Survey

• Unethical behavior 28%


• Work ethic 18%


• Inappropriate use of technology 14%


• Failure to follow instructions 9%


• Lateness 8%


• Missing deadlines 7%

Labels: Assessments, Hiring, Survey

If you have purchased three or more pairs of sneakers in the last year, you are 61% more likely to demonstrate leadership qualities. So says a survey from Mindset Media. Sneaker seekers are 50% more likely to be assertive and 47% more likely to be spontaneous according to the report.

We decided to look more deeply into this matter. What we found was that sneeker manufacturer Reebok actually helps organizations with a unique motivational program.

Or do they?

When Felcher and Sons needed to improve employee productivity they turned to Reebok for help. Here is how Reebok answered:

Labels: Humor, Motivation, Survey, Video

A recent survey shows that an overwhelming 83% of employees say they go to work – even if they are sick!

The survey by ComPsych of Chicago shows a sharp increase since 2005 when only 77% of employees said the same.

Corporate culture is a contributor as employees go to work when sick because:

Labels: Corporate_culture, Survey

Time management skills seem to lacking in the workplace. At all levels, better use of time can dramatically increase productivity, corporate morale, and self-esteem. A recent survey from Salary.com sought to discover the top time bandits. According to their findings, here are the top three ways people waste time at work:

Labels: Survey, Time_management

A survey released this week by the Girl Scouts of the USA found that 75% of minority children see themselves as leaders while only 50% of white children view themselves as leaders. The The survey defined minority as African-American or Hispanic.

The survey also asked children the qualities of leadership. They said a leader:

• Values teamwork,
• Defends their principles, and
• Attempts to make the world better.

Labels: Leadership, Survey

According to a survey by H&R Block business owners should not ramp up stocks in anticipation of checks in the economic stimulus program. They found nearly 70% will use the money from these one-time checks to pay down debt or buy necessities. The same usage awaits the annual refund checks for 65% of respondents.

The only entrepreneurial winners will be those in debt consolidation and refinancing where the money can help reduce overall payments. Also, benefiting from 16% that want to blow the money on luxury are those in purely discretionary lines such as travel agents, jewelers, electronics, or other large ticket items. Financial Planners should also be aware that 18% say they will invest the money,

Of course, best intentions to pay down debt could disappear when a great sale is set before us. If you do develop a strategy to take advantage of the dollars, make sure you always have a risk management plan.

Labels: Strategy, Survey

Of the many unacceptable employee behaviors in the workplace, gossip can be one of the most disruptive. A recent survey by Steelcase found that 36 % of gossiping occurs in the break room or kitchen. The good news is that the most common place is also the place where people are on their own time.

Running a close second is an area where the gossiping does occur on the clock – the office of a co-worker. One-third of gossiping takes place in the offices meant for productivity.

In a distant third was email and instant messaging, which is also on company time and, in many companies, a potential violation of technology policy.

Labels: Behaviors, Survey

If you allowed your employees to prioritize common workplace programs, what would be at the top of their list?

• 49% said the employer should offer a flexible work schedule


• 15% felt health and wellness programs were important


• 13% cited new training and learning opportunities

Labels: Benefits, Employee_Retention, Survey

Are you putting in longer hours than ever before? If so, you are not alone.

The National Sleep Foundation has found that people are working an average of 52 hours per week. The recently published survey breaks this down to 9½ hour work days Monday through Friday with another 4½ hours of work being done at home.

An alarming aspect of the survey was that 18 percent of employees reported feeling sleepy during the day. They accept being sleepy and continue to work, hoping the tiredness will pass.

Could time management be part of the solution?

Labels: Survey, Time_management

A recent Harris Interactive poll has uncovered some cultural connections to one's feeling about their job.

• Generations: 53% of Baby Boomers love their job while only 37% of Generation X said they love their job. On the other hand, 19% of Generation X hate their job while only 7% of Baby Boomers claimed to hate their job.
• Marital: only 29% of those that have never been married love the job while 50% of those that are married love their job. When asked if they would like to immediately let, 24% of never-married employees said, “yes” as compared to only 9% of married employees.
• Regional: loyalty seems to increase as one moves to the west. In the Northeast only 39% love or like their job while 48% of those in Western states either love or like the job.
• Economic: 49% of employees paid at affluent levels ($75,000 in the survey) love their job while only 36% of those earning less than $35,000 love where they are working.

Labels: Employee_Retention, Survey

A recent survey by Taleo Research took an interesting perspective on one's dealings about their job. He asked respondents to consider their feelings toward their job if it were to take human form.

Given that scenario, one in three said they like their job seriously enough to date it. Nine percent felt so strongly about their job that they would propose marriage. Only 5% claim they would break up immediately.

Labels: Attitude, Survey

Labels: Culture, Generation, Job_satisfaction, Survey

Success is only possible when employees are connected to a common vision of the future of theorganization. Management typically develops incentive programs they feel will drive employeebehaviors to achieve their organizational goals. Typically these incentive programs are based onmanagement's perception of their employee's desires. However, research shows that managementhas historically been out-of-touch with employee desires.Managers mistakenly believe their employees have monetary motives and designed their incentive programs for attaining goals and hitting company benchmarks to raises and bonuses. However, surveys dating back to 1946 have consistently shown employees to be most motivated by shows of appreciation for their work (see chart).

Labels: Assessments, Job_satisfaction, Motivation, Rewards, Survey

Coaching continues to have a growing impact in the workplace. One recent study shows thereturn on investment averages more than $100,000. In one case, research by MetrixGlobal,coaching showed a 529% return on investment at a Fortune 500 company before taking into account significant intangibles and soft dollars.

According to The Hay Group, an International Human Resources firm, as many as 40% of allFortune 500 companies are now using professional coaches to varying degrees. Once reservedfor top-level executives, coaching programs are now hitting all levels of management. As theC-level executives quickly learned, technical and trade skills carry less importance thaninterpersonal skills and emotional excellence. Effectively coached executives at the upper levelsrealize that these interpersonal skills and self-mastery have a huge payback even with middle andentry level executives.

Today, the highest ROI is coming from organizations that take an all-inclusive approach to coaching. These firms are seeing an increase in camaraderie and teamwork as there executives experience coaching at the same time.

Researchers at MetrixGlobal found that three quarters of respondents indicated a significant are very significant impact on at least one of the business measurements coaching programs sought to improve.

Nine ways coaching programs typically provide improvement

There are nine improvement areas generally identified by those that have taken part in professional coaching programs. Read what they are by clicking here.

You may also want to learn more about programs such as Max Impact’s Catapult®. Success from the program can be staggering. Catapult® uses a unique blend of assessments and individualized goals to achieve results in excess of expectations. For example, a Sales Vice President was able to Catapult® his company’s sales from a double digit decrease to double digit increase by using the interpersonal skills he learned to extract untapped potential from his salespeople.

Labels: Coaching, Survey