January 2024 | 43rd EDITION NEWSLETTER | |
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HR 101: The History of Happy Hour
HR Brew | Amanda Schiavo | December 20, 2023
The tradition of meeting up for drinks and entertainment after work dates back to WWI. The first happy hour was in 1914, when the US Navy, in an attempt to entertain on-duty sailors, hosted an evening of food, music, and dancing. An April 1914 newspaper article described the sailors at one such happy hour as enjoying themselves “with as much abandon as though no war were in the air.”
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5 Ways Leaders Can Set Themselves Up for Success In 2024
Fast Company | Michelle Gibbings | December 27, 2023
As you prepare to navigate the unpredictable landscape of 2024, your strategy requires a multifaceted approach that considers the needs of all your stakeholders in the system. As we bid farewell to 2023’s roller-coaster ride, leaders stand at the precipice of a new year filled with uncertainties and opportunities.
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I just wanted to thank you both so much for including me in the IEC and MEC this year. The incredible amount of time and energy you put into the conferences in unbelievable, but the love you have shines through and I think brings a collaborative spirit for everyone to learn and share. So THANK YOU for all you do!
MEC Speaker Lindsey K. Niemeier | Head of Strategy TCare
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3 Strategies to Fix Your Employee Engagement Problem
HR Executive | Gloria St. Martin-Lowry
December 20, 2023
Employee engagement gets plenty of talk in executive circles. Certainly, it’s an important topic. We want our people to feel passionate about their work. Yet, it’s become more of a check-the-box activity than anything else. Accordingly, only about one-third of team members report being highly engaged—at most organizations, anyway.
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HR Will Need to Strike a Fine Balance in 2024 To Keep Employees Happy
HR Brew | Mikaela Cohen | December 18, 2023
The new year will bring new challenges for HR leaders. Remember earlier this year when everyone was preparing for a recession? Well, feel free to exhale: We may have avoided one (for now), and a report from investment group IG Wealth Management concluded that the likelihood of a recession in 2024 is less than it was in 2023.
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The conference was great and you and your team were awesome hosts. I imagine that you’ll see members of my team every year!!
Garon Holman – Law Enforcement Corrections Officer
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Are You a “Bottleneck Boss”?
Harvard Business Review | Greg Alexander
December 22, 2023
For businesses to survive, their leaders need to put succession plans in place. There’s only one problem: A succession plan only works if high-performing employees can advance through the ranks. That’s impossible if their boss is a perennial bottleneck to high-potential workers’ progress. Leaders who don’t see much movement in their firms don’t think they’re bottlenecks, of course.
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Feel Pressure to Work After Hours? You May Be Less Productive, Not More.
Forbes | Jena McGregor | December 5, 2023
Long hours may have a productivity downside. How’s this for irony? Slack, whose workplace messaging app has at some point prompted many employees to feel the tug of responding after hours, has a warning: People who feel obligated to work after hours also tend to be less productive.
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3 Workplace Compliance Trends to Watch In 2024
HR Executive | Dawn Kawamoto | December 22, 2023
With the New Year comes new laws—and the need for employers to evaluate current policies with a sharp eye for compliance updates. There are a number of new local and state-level measures that could have reverberations for employers across the nation, says Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio, chair of the executive leadership research initiative for women and minority attorneys at Harvard Law School.
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The Hard Questions to Ask When Planning Your Strategy
Harvard Business Review | Eddie Yoon, Christopher Lochhead, Katrina Kirsch | December 22, 2023
‘Tis the season for annual strategic planning. For most companies, the process is a spectacle — a ritualistic game of jump ball for budget where emotions run high and departments defend their turf. Marketers cringe as non-marketers dish out “expert” wisdom. Salespeople shake their heads at the mention of “stretch goals.” And every business unit believes it is the chosen one.
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Training Requirements and Resources
OSHA provides information on employers' training requirements and offers resources such as free publications, videos, and other assistance to help employers protect workers against injuries and illnesses.
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Workplace Stress
Make Work Better - Mental Health Matters
Stress can be harmful to our health and increase mental health challenges. Mental health challenges can include clinical mental illness and substance use disorders as well as other emotions like stress, grief, feeling sad and anxious, where these feelings are temporary and not part of a diagnosable condition. While there are many things in life that induce stress, work can be one of those factors. However, workplaces can also be a key place for resources, solutions, and activities designed to improve our mental health and well-being.
Workplace stress and poor mental health can negatively affect workers through:
· Job performance
· Productivity
· Work engagement and communication
· Physical capability and daily functioning
READ MORE
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4 Types of Employment Laws That Can Help Domestic Violence Survivors at Work
Kate Miceli | October 5, 2023
Domestic violence, which touches 17 million people in the U.S. each year, doesn't only affect survivors' physical and mental health and safety, it also impacts their ability to work and their economic security. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that nationally, 15.9 million women (12.7%) and 6.7 million men (5.7%) have missed at least one day of work due to intimate partner violence in their lifetime. In another study of women in transitional housing programs, shelters and other domestic violence programs, more than half of the survivors surveyed said they had lost a job because of the abuse they'd experienced. Some survivors may be prevented from working by an abuser; others may be discriminated against by an employer because of the abuse they are experiencing – for example, denied a promotion or terminated. Some workers may also face retaliation at work for reporting abuse or harassment within the workplace from a customer, coworker or supervisor. All of this can have devastating economic impacts on a survivor and their family.
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The new version of Form I‑9, Employment Eligibility Verification is now available for use. This version contains changes to the form and instructions, including shortening the Form I‑9 to one page and reducing the instructions to eight pages.
What Form I‑9 versions may be used
· Beginning Nov. 1, 2023, only the new Form I‑9 dated "08/01/23” may be used.
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Employers
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces Federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. These laws protect employees and job applicants against employment discrimination when it involves:
- Unfair treatment because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
- Harassment by managers, co-workers, or others in the workplace, because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
- Denial of a reasonable workplace accommodation that the employee needs because of religious beliefs, disability, or pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
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Retaliation because the employee complained about job discrimination or assisted with a job discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
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THANK YOU to all 2023 Conference Sponsors!
Sponsor support is integral in continuing the growth, quality & integrity of the continuing education unique to this conference year after year. You are appreciated!
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PRESENTING SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT | |
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Amid projections of a 7 to 8.5% increase in health costs, employers are searching for ways to curb costs without compromising the quality of the benefits they offer. Look no further as we identify how to combat some of the largest cost drivers of 2024.
READ MORE
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It's a new conference year!! New topics, new speakers! | | |
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Nan Boland & Sue Kmet - the forces behind the best conference of its kind in Missouri!
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Had a phenomenal time at the Missouri Employment Conference! I appreciate all the love!
MEC Speaker Reggie Harris
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MEC Team - Nan Boland, Lisa Bunkers, Sarah Towns & Sue Kmet | |
Everyone was super easy to work with. It was a well put together event and you guys knocked it out of the park!
MEC Vendor William Holtz | Multimedia Broadcast Journalist at Lake TV
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The MEC article library is growing monthly with valuable information relevant to the ever-changing work environment. Check the website frequently for updates. If you have something important for our readers to benefit from, reach out to us to be included in the next newsletter or article library! | |
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STRONG MINDS | STRONG HEARTS | |
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SERVANT LEADERSHIP
By definition, Servant Leadership is a leadership philosophy in which the goal of the leader is to serve. If you are in a place where your talent and skills will help others, by all means, use them. We are proud of the work our leaders have done and hope that if you are in a place to serve, you choose to step up.
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JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
Together, we can raise awareness, educate and work towards bringing an end to human trafficking.
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50 Best Family Vacation Ideas on a Budget for 2024
Good Housekeeping | Karen Cicero and Olivia Lipski | November 20, 2023
From all-inclusives in the Caribbean to quick getaways in the U.S., there's something for every traveler in your group.
For the four in five parents who plan to take a trip with the kids in 2024, behold our heavily researched, expert-vetted list of the best family vacation destinations to visit now, many of which are winners of Good Housekeeping's 2024 Family Travel Awards. Many of these kid-friendly locations used downtime at the beginning of the pandemic to rethink, renovate or both. Some upgraded their pools, others refreshed guest rooms and many revamped their activities and amenities or rolled out convenient tech features. A few were even built from scratch in an eco-conscious way.
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We're Calling It: The 'Electric Amber' Old Fashioned Will Be 2024's Coolest Cocktail
Veranda | Ian Palmer | September 2023
To honor our Color of the Year for 2024, Electric Amber, we put a fresh spin on the classic Old Fashioned cocktail. The result? A rich, complex and slightly herbal drink with major staying power. Electric Amber, our Color of the Year for 2024, is a color that conjures up ideas of warmth, depth, earth, and light. Those elements are distilled into our Electric Amber cocktail, a drink that glows with amber energy! Amber is found in the natural world as a resin that can be extracted from trees, so our cocktail takes direct inspiration from this organic element by using another tree-extracted ingredient—maple syrup—to infuse the drink with a sweet woodsy richness.
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HELP AN HR HERO WIN A $50 VISA GIFT CARD!
Do you know someone in your HR department (or company-wide) who deserves to be recognized for making a positive impact in your company from day to day??
Whether personal or professional, in a big or a small way, we all know those people who go above & beyond for the greater good.
We want to help these everyday (H)eroes be (R)ecognized! Send your nominations to us & one deserving person each month leading up to the current conference will be selected to receive a $50 VISA gift card! We will announce the winner in the following month's newsletters.
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Happy New Year to all of our amazing readers! As we enter into 2024, we are excited to reveal the dazzling details about the upcoming employment conference! We are truly blessed to have the opportunity to bring together some of the brightest minds in the industry to share their insights and expertise on the latest trends and developments. This year’s conference will provide a platform for networking, learning, and growth, with new opportunities for all attendees. We are grateful for your continued support and can't wait to share more with you as we continue with the planning process. Stay tuned for updates and get ready to join us for the ultimate employment conference of 2024!
So grateful for the blessings that 2023 brought to each of us and we’re looking forward to the new year and new opportunities!
Nan, Sue and the Conference Team
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