Debra Schwartz is director of human resources for Honest Tea, a beverage company based in Bethesda, Md. Miri McDonald, an expert on organizational development, recently spoke with Debra about her role in cultivating the company’s progressive culture. An edited transcript of their conversation follows.
In 2009, Honest Tea was named a “Best Place to Work” by [...]

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This post is by SmartBrief editor Rebecca Pollack, who recently attended the American Veterinary Medical Association’s annual convention in Atlanta.

I’m surrounded by women, some who are expecting and a few on their cell phones with their kids, before the next education session starts at the American Veterinary Medical Association annual convention.
Dr. Micaela Z. Shaughnessy, a [...]

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As part of my coverage of SHRM’s annual conference out in San Diego last week, I sat down with Fran Durekas, founder of employer-sponsored early childhood education provider CCLC, to learn about the trends and demographic changes that are taking place in the workplace and what companies can do to adapt to them.
One of the [...]

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In his blog post today, incentive consultant Paul Hebert writes that you can’t replace non-monetary incentives with pay-for-performance. He argues that non-monetary rewards provide a different sort of incentive than more money does and are necessary for keeping employees motivated.
I’m not so sure. I definitely love the idea of getting a gift card to a [...]

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“Control at work is good for health,” said Clare Bambra of Durham University in the U.K., commenting on a study that found workers’ physical and mental health improved when they were given more control over their work schedules.
The study’s findings don’t surprise me in the least. Looking back at the jobs I’ve held since I [...]

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The latest study on antidepressants and absenteeism is enough to make anyone depressed.
The study, conducted by Thompson Reuters and published in this month’s Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found that even when employees suffering from depression are treated with antidepressants, they tend to have longer absences from work and higher short-term disability costs.
I have [...]

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President Obama’s pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg,  has become the unofficial spokesman for the widespread outrage surrounding the super-sized bonuses paid to Wall Street executives. As he works to cut Wall Street bonuses down to size, Americans of more modest means are left wondering why anyone, much less many of the people who helped bring about [...]

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Target-date funds and automatic enrollments for 401(k)s seemed like an easy way to help boost retirement savings, but the reality hasn’t been so simple. Some critics are complaining that the spread of such services has led to higher fees and risks for workers ad lower matches from employers, Christine Dugas reports. In response, Sen. Herb [...]

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Steve Boese, a member of the SmartBrief on Workforce Advisory Board, is one of the HR profession’s foremost experts in enterprise technology solutions. An instructor at Rochester Institute of Technology, Steve also hosts HR Happy Hour, a biweekly Internet radio show discussing the latest issues and trends affecting human resources.
MARY ELLEN: How are emerging technologies, [...]

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Federal and state employees may not be able to collect their full retirement benefits, as public pensions face a reported $2 trillion deficit, according to Orin Kramer, chairman of New Jersey’s pension fund. Because of federal and state deficits, it’s unlikely that the funds will be shored up by public dollars, Douglas McIntyre writes on [...]

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