No one needs me to tell them that the past few days, weeks, months, and years have been challenging. On a personal, professional, local, national, and global level, it seems as though each day welcomes us with more devastating news and tumultuous situations. It’s critical for employers to realize that employees are overly affected by what’s happening in the world and need support from their employers.

COVID-19 Recession

The coronavirus pandemic has caused significant hardship to the U.S. economy. From the very beginning of the crisis, the labor market was severely disrupted, sending the unemployment rate to record highs and causing millions of Americans to leave the labor force. Congressional Research Service data shows, that in April 2020, the unemployment rate reached 14.8%—the highest rate observed since data collection began in 1948, and nonfarm payrolls shed 22.1 million jobs between January 2020 and April 2020. Many individuals left the workforce over this period, and by April 2020 the labor force participation rate declined to 60.2%, a level not seen since the early 1970s.

As emails have become and will continue to be a priority of choice when it comes to communicating with client organizations, having a clear and succinct out-of-office (OOO) message is imperative in keeping activity and interactions fluid throughout a business engagement. An out-of-office message is an automated response notifying the sender that you will be away from your desk and will not be reading or responding to emails in a normal timely fashion. 

Happy Pride Month! June is the dedicated month to celebrate LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual) culture and victories, uplift LGBTQIA+ voices, and support LGBTQIA+ rights and the ongoing pursuit of equal justice.

Whether your job is Temporary/ Contract, Temp-to-Hire, Direct-Hire, remote or on-site, calling out of work from time to time is inevitable. Taking time off is sometimes necessary for various reasons such as family emergencies, medical appointments, and unexpected events. Fortunately, managers understand that their employees are human and life happens, expectedly and unexpectedly. The best thing to do is confidently and briefly inform your supervisor of why you need time off without going into too much detail. Employers have federal limitations on what they can ask when you call out sick, unless you're covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, so you can feel assured in your decision to take time off for personal reasons.

Millions of employees are joining the Great Resignation and this movement is undoubtedly impacting the new world of work. High turnover is expected to continue to remain elevated this year. Not only are employees quitting at a staggering rate, but employees are quitting within the first few months/ first year of the job. Recent studies have shown that as high as 40% of newly hired employees alarmingly leave almost right after they start, and an additional 10% to 20% leave within the first year. Many different factors are driving this but one of the main influences for making a move so early within the job is poor workplace culture.

Over the past 18 months, we’ve all read or at least seen the news about the 'Great Resignation'. Although job-hopping began many years in advance of the pandemic – the trend was predominantly found in younger employees. Recently, what has been particularly disruptive for organizations, is the rising resignation rate (over 20 percent since the pandemic began) of mid-level employees (ages 30-45). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a whopping 4.4 million people voluntarily quit their jobs this past September and they are predicting the numbers will continue to increase. In fact, a recent PWC study found that 65 percent of employees were looking for a new job in 2021.

Hosting a company holiday party is a great way to bond with your team. At JOHNLEONARD, each year we look forward to our holiday party. It is a highly anticipated day where the whole office can get together and celebrate our accomplishments at the end of the year, create new memories, and have fun with our colleagues.

Whether you are the interviewer or the interviewee, it is important to be prepared for the conversation by having solid questions to ask the other person. If you are the hiring manager, aside from asking a candidate questions about their background/resume, the job itself, and how they will succeed in the position, it is just as important to get a good idea of how one will perform in the workplace and how they will handle certain situations. Asking these types of questions can give you an idea of how one responds/reacts to successes or failures within the workplace.

When you are looking for a new job, it can be difficult to gauge how an organization’s culture and values align with your own. In today’s employment landscape, companies that are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are increasingly making their initiatives known and easy to find. According to a Glassdoor survey, “67% of job seekers consider workplace diversity an important factor when considering employment opportunities, and more than 50% of current employees want their workplace to do more to increase diversity.”