According to a CNN report, Americans working in a claustrophobia-inducing cubicle have one more thing to complain about: shrinking cubicle size.

The average worker’s office space has dwindled 15 square feet since 1994, down to a cozy 75 square feet in 2010.  And it’s not just the everyday workers who are feeling the squeeze—senior workers’ office space shrunk 19 feet over the same period.  Everyone but executive management, who enjoyed an increase in office space, has to do more work with less space.

Or are they?

What popularized the cubicle in the 1960s was its functional, modular office space without the construction required to build walled offices.  In the past, cubicle size has had to accommodate the latest office technology, such as bulky telephones, typewriters, and desktop computers.  Today, that technology is slender and sleek, such as flat-screen monitors, laptops, iPads, and Blackberries—and more important, that technology is mobile.

Mobile technology replaces the need for workers to be chained to their desks.  Instead, workers can telecommute or work from different places in the office, as in the open-space seating model found at companies such as Facebook and Intel.  This open-space model is becoming more popular thanks to its team-oriented setup and efficient use of work space.  Due to meetings, travel, shifts, or personal leave, not all work space is required at all times, so it makes sense to have fewer and unassigned work stations.

While some employees appreciate this modern, flexible approach to office space, other employees reject the approach’s irregularity, close quarters, and lack of privacy.  Since employees spend half their days at work, it’s important their office environment works for them to foster comfort and productivity.  But just as office spaces come in all shapes and sizes, so do employees, so not every model will suit every employee’s personality or work style.

Does that mean private offices are on the verge of extinction?  Not if SAS, a North Carolina business intelligence software company, is any indication.  For the last two years, the company was named Fortune magazine’s best place to work.  The kicker?  SAS gives almost all its employees private offices.

The recent settlement in the National Labor Relations Board’s wrongful termination complaint against American Medical Response of Connecticut heralds positive news for employee free speech on Facebook. The news is decidedly less positive for employers trying to enforce social-networking and computer-use policies.

It’s Valentine’s Day and love is in the air.  If you’re in the office today, you’re likely to see coworkers receiving heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and lavish bouquets of lilies from their loved ones.  But what if such a display of affection occurs between coworkers?

Workplace relationships can pose a wealth of potential problems, from discrimination to sexual harassment.  These issues can be especially complicated for businesses that don’t clearly address workplace relationships in their employee handbooks.  If it’s too late to set policy amidst burgeoning love, supervisors and HR representatives will have to rely on their common sense to handle workplace relationships.  To make that process easier, remember to PREP by being:

Professional: When talking to employees, keep comments business related by addressing productivity, performance, and professional conduct.  Don’t discuss anything personal, and remember that any personal information confided in you should be kept strictly confidential.

Reasonable: Be reasonable about the demands placed on your employees.  They spend a lot of time together, which can naturally foster closeness.  Without a written policy to address workplace relationships, your response can only extend so far.  You can’t ask employees not to date, and even if you could, more problems could be created by enforcing unrealistic rules.

Equitable: As a matter of good HR practice, it’s important to treat all employees (and all workplace relationships) the same.  This applies even if the relationship involves an extramarital affair.

Proactive: After a relationship problem arises, it’s too late to implement a formal company policy, so don’t attempt enforcement beyond what federal, state, or local laws require.  Instead, talk with management about establishing a written policy to address workplace relationships.  A clear policy will be the best way to manage future workplace relationship issues.

With or without a formal policy, when a workplace relationship ends, things could get messy for both the former couple and the HR Department.  What was once welcome personal attention could now be considered unwelcome sexual harassment.  During the relationship, it may have been common for one partner to frequent the other’s desk to chat, but that chat may now make the other partner uncomfortable.  If left unaddressed, this unwanted conduct could easily snowball into a sexual harassment issue.

That’s why it’s best to catch these issues early.  As an HR representative, start by sitting down separately with each employee to clarify what professional behavior means to them and to your business.  Outlining professional standards may be enough to stop the unwanted conduct, but if the behavior continues, these conversations are a good starting point for potential disciplinary action.  Remember, everything should be documented, from the complaint to the sit-down conversations, to create a solid base for future action.  It’s important to take these issues seriously as professional matters and not just private conflicts.

Higher health insurance costs, new 1099 regulations, and now increased payroll taxes?

That’s the latest expectation from President Obama’s proposed budget, set for unveiling next week.  The big news for small businesses: the budget is expected to replenish states’ dwindling unemployment funds by increasing payroll taxes.  This will happen by raising the amount of unemployment-taxable wages to $15,000—more than double the $7,000 which has held steady since 1983.  This plan, which would take effect with other new tax laws in 2014, stands to increase payroll taxes by over $100 billion over the next decade.

But is this plan merely borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, at a time when the Obama administration is trying to improve relations with business groups?  Keep in mind, unemployment insurance is a joint federal-state program.  State governments must pay the first 26 weeks of unemployment benefits and have had to borrow heavily from the feds to meet this requirement.  To bridge last year’s gap, more than 40 states had to increase their unemployment-insurance payroll taxes.  What will happen to the tax rates under the new plan is up to the individual states and is anyone’s guess.  One thing is for certain—it appears rebuilding the unemployment fund will fall squarely on the backs of businesses.

Times are looking up for the once-struggling American auto industry, which means good news—and shared profits—for industry employees.

Last month, Ford Motor Co. paid $5,000 in profit sharing to each of its hourly workers, which was more than its contract with the labor union required.  And though Chrysler Group LLC did not make any money last year, the company still paid $750 to each of its hourly workers to thank them for standing by during recovery efforts.  Following suit, General Motors Co. is poised to pay each of its 45,000 hourly workers at least $3,000 in profit sharing.  This will mark GM’s largest ever payout, crushing 1999’s previous record of $1,775.

GM’s move comes as 2010 saw the company solidly back in the black for the first time since 2004, and just one year after a highly publicized $50 billion government bailout.  In those darker days, GM was forced to restructure by closing domestic factories and slicing more than 20,000 jobs, including much of its white-collar workforce.  Moving into the future, GM executives have expressed interest in compensating hourly workers according to their performance, much like the way salaried workers are compensated.  It should also be noted that salaried workers will not be receiving across-the-board raises.

As businesses gradually return to hiring new employees, they may feel out of practice when developing recruitment strategies.  This is a good time to revisit how to attract the best and brightest with effectively written job descriptions.  It goes without saying; the best job description will clearly lay out the duties and expectations of the position.  The information that should not be included in a job description may be less obvious.  Job descriptions should be free of errors and potentially misleading statements that could upset employees and pose potential legal troubles.

To make sure your latest round of job descriptions isn’t saying more than you mean, be careful to avoid these common wording mistakes.

1. Elaborate Job Titles – To prevent misunderstandings, it’s important to use plain English in job descriptions, particularly in job titles.  It may be tempting to reword job titles to sound more attractive to candidates.  That’s how a secretary can become an office administrator or a janitor can become the director of waste management.  This seemingly innocent reinvention could mislead candidates, or worse, affect the position’s overtime eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
2. Excessive Physical Requirements – Every job has some sort of physical requirement.  An office worker may be required to move boxes of office supplies or copy paper, while a warehouse worker may be required to regularly lift and carry heavy loads of inventory.  The typical problem is, nobody really knows the realistic lifting limit for those jobs.  An arbitrary figure, such as 50 pounds, is often used in the job description.  This may seem like a good idea to cover the bases, but a candidate who can’t fulfill that requirement won’t see it that way.  Any arbitrary physical requirement opens the door for discrimination lawsuits, so be certain any physical requirements in a job description are accurate.
3. Promises of Advancement – Job descriptions should describe the available position, not tout future advancement opportunities.  This includes avoiding language such as, “This position is the first step toward [a higher position],” as this may imply a future promise of advancement or an employment contract.  To avoid this potential pitfall, keep the job description simple and focused on the position at hand.

Your business’ productivity could suffer because employees are chaining themselves to their desks.  But why are employees spending so many days at work and shunning the personal leave they once relished?  New studies show employees are afraid to—or genuinely unable to—step away from their desks.  Even a nasty head cold or the beckoning of a Caribbean vacation won’t unlock those chains.

As for the head cold, a recent CareerBuilder survey found 72 percent of workers report for work when they’re legitimately sick.  Most respondents (55 percent) do this because they feel guilty about missing work.  While this seemingly demonstrates amazing loyalty, how loyal is it to show up to spread germs to healthy coworkers?  Furthermore, does an office full of runny-nosed people slumped at their desks promote productivity?

And then there’s that Caribbean vacation.  A Right Management poll found 46 percent of workers didn’t use all their vacation time in 2010.  Workers either couldn’t get away from their desks or felt like they couldn’t get away to enjoy their annual vacations.

Whatever the case, employees are spending more days at their desks.  With so many businesses short staffed, with more duties falling to fewer employees, taking personal time is a legitimate concern for many workers.  Employees also worry that if they miss work, even for a day or two, their employers will realize either the worker or the position isn’t vital.  Employees are afraid to step away because their jobs may not be there when they come back.

If your employees aren’t taking the personal time they need, they’re at risk for employee burnout.  Workers who don’t feel like they can get a break from work, either to get healthy or to have fun, are more likely to suffer persistently high stress levels.  In turn, high stress levels can lead to employee turnover, which can quickly have your business flipping through job applications.  So what to do with employees who won’t unlock that desk chain?

Hand them the keys.  Now, more than ever, it’s important to tell employees it’s OK to miss work—and it needs to genuinely be OK.  Remind employees that their jobs will be waiting when they come back, and then train coworkers to fill in for sick or vacationing employees.  At the end of the day, employees able to take time off work will be healthier and happier, and will respond with increased loyalty and productivity.

Is your business ready for January 31, 2011?  No, we’re not talking about W-2 distribution—we’re talking about the deadline for employers to apply new Social Security withholding tables and the new 4.2-percent tax rate.

These new numbers are effective under the Tax Relief Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010’s “Social Security tax holiday.”  Under this “holiday,” employees earning up to a low six-figure salary will pay 4.2 percent in Social Security taxes, while employers will continue to pay the full 6.2 percent.

As if those changes aren’t enough to remember, employers who didn’t implement the new tax tables by the first pay period of 2011 will find they have withheld too much tax from their employees’ paychecks.  This may be a common inaccuracy due to the tax tables’ late-December release; however, withholdings should be corrected as soon as possible and no later than March 31.

If the influx of tax and payroll changes has you scratching your head, let GHRO look out for you.  We monitor the latest legislation and regulations to keep your business running at its best, so you can focus on core business matters.  Let us do the work for you.  Call us today for a free quote!

I’m assuming that many of you are active Human Resources professionals, and as such you’re responsible for everything from evaluating candidates, posting job descriptions, to handling employee’s questions regarding their retirement, and making sure their benefits are in order. However, for the focus of this post, I’d like to offer some insights regarding the hiring process from the perspective of a candidate who has been searching for a job for quite a while. Anyhow, take from my thoughts what you will! I hope I can be of some help.

The first area I’d like to offer my advice in is to say this: avoid confusing job descriptions. Now, I’m sure you do your best to write good job descriptions, but I still want to counsel you to try to look at what you’re writing from the perspective of a desperate job hunter. The vague job descriptions bring in all sorts of desperate people, many of whom are unqualified, who justify their applying for a job they’re clearly not capable of doing because the job description is unclear.

Secondly, you should try to make the interview process as easy as possible for the candidate to navigate. This means telling the candidate the basic information up front. You’d be surprised at how many interviews I’ve been invited to attend, only to have to call back later and ask for directions, for the names and positions of the people who will be interviewing me, and how long I can expect the interview to last and any other special considerations. Job candidates who are asked to interview are already stressed as it is; try to make the process easy on them.

Finally, once the interview is over, be in touch with the candidate, regardless of the outcome. I’ve sat through interviews that I thought were going well, only to leave without knowing what the process going forward is. I’ve had several places not call me to inform me of their decision. If you invite someone in for an interview, it’s only right that you follow up, even if that person did not make the cut.

I realize that many of you are already doing your jobs well, and probably do these things above all the time. So this isn’t a criticism at all. Instead, it’s just a gentle hello from the other side of the job application website, saying “Don’t forget about me!”

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Alisa Gilbert, who writes on the topics of bachelors degree.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alisagilbert599@gmail.com.

So far, you’ve learned when to update your business’ employee handbook and how to avoid potential handbook horrors.  In our third and final entry into our employee handbook series, you’ll find out key points to include in any effective handbook.

When properly prepared, the employee handbook should be a critical communication tool between your business and its employees.  Your handbook should explain your business’ expectations from its employees and establish what your employees can expect from the business.  This information should be presented in a clear and easy-to-understand fashion.

Here are ten essential items that should be included in every employee handbook:

1. A form acknowledging the employee’s receipt of the handbook
2. A disclaimer reserving the employer’s right to change the handbook’s content in the future
3. The organization’s mission statement
4. Recruitment practices, including how open positions are posted and filled
5. Salary administration practices, including merit increases and performance reviews
6. Computer and Internet use policy
7. Employee code of conduct
8. Absence policy, including maternity leave, bereavement leave, and jury duty
9. Complaint and grievance procedures
10. Guidelines for employment termination