• Google employees are most optimistic, as 86% of employees believe the company’s business will perform better in the next six months. As a Google Software Engineer (Stockholm, Sweden) recently wrote, “The projects we’re working on are all very inspiring. The company has a long-term vision I can actually subscribe to, personally. The company exists to do good.”

• Two other large tech companies round out the top three: QUALCOMM (76% of employees believe the business outlook will get better), and Yahoo (75% of employees believe the business outlook will get better).

• On average, across all 250,000 companies on Glassdoor, only 38% of employees believe their business outlook will get better in the next six months.

What would your employees say about your company? How can you communicate to employees about the future of the organization?

Top 10 Snippets:

“Where I am at, we are working on the latest and greatest. I work around highly motivated, intelligent people who keep me young and challenged.” – QUALCOMM Senior Staff Software Engineer (San Diego, CA)

“Marissa has brought huge, positive changes to the company. The company is operating with a sense of vision and urgency that hasn’t been seen since it’s very early days. The culture of transparency exhibited at each Friday’s all-hands meetings led by Marissa has been a breath of fresh air.” – Yahoo Manager (Sunnyvale, CA)

“Great company vision and mission: To create a best-run world, by helping our customers become bestrun businesses and to improve the lives of others. Transforming the way people think about enterprise software companies.” – SAP Director (Palo Alto, CA)

“Company is growing like wildfire. And the really care about their employees.” – Amazon Trainer (Jeff, IN)

“Work life balance, opportunity to grow quickly, helpful senior management, collegial environment, diverse projects, big company relatively resilient to economic turbulence.” – Tata Consultancy Services Employee (location, n/a)

“The company is always trying to improve itself. A very upbeat, friendly atmosphere. If you show a willingness to learn, they are very happy to help you succeed. They have a very thorough system in place to keep excelling in the grocery industry.” – Publix Deli Associate (Key West, FL)

“In my time there I have not observed anything “evil” about the company – they are in it for the long haul, they want to do the right thing and not cut corners just because customers might not notice. GM seems to have a strong corporate conscience, even if it means we have to sacrifice profits in the short term.” – General Motors Product Development Engineer (Detroit, MI)

“Strong support of local products – always looking for ways to increase our local assortment and highlight the people behind them. High quality standards that set us apart from the competition.” –Whole Foods Employee (location, n/a)

“Has very good executive leadership under Frank Blake. Has good core values and is involved in the community.” – Home Depot Senior Manager (Atlanta, GA)

Glassdoor, a jobs and career community, is sharing its latest survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive, revealing that 6 in 10 (61%) employees say they’ve found aspects of a new job different than expectations set during the interview.

Of employees who say they’ve found aspects of a new job different than expected, top areas where they feel expectations differ most include:

· Employee morale (40%)

· Job responsibilities (39%)

· Hours expected to work (37%)

· Boss’ personality (36%)

· Career advancement opportunities (27%)

· Senior leadership competence (23%)

· Salary (22%)

· Company Culture (22%)

If you’re not talking about the items on the list, why not? If you are talking about them, are you painting a picture that accurately describes your true work environment and organization? It might be time to re-evaluate.

• Encourage direct managers to have regular 1:1 meetings with each team member. During these meetings, it’s a time to step away from specific work tasks and look at the bigger picture. These meetings should be two-way conversations – they should help managers get insight on what each individual is looking for in their career, and in turn provide the employee with a clearer picture of how their career path fits into the business trajectory.

• Set clear expectations on company perks and benefits: This is something that must happen as soon as a person interviews with a company and must also be demonstrated from senior leaders on down. Should changes need to happen to a company’s perks, they should be communicated out with details including the reason behind the change.

• Have a ‘no surprises’ approach to your company’s work environment: Remind managers that anyone who interviews should have a clear picture of what the work environment is like before they accept the job. If you have someone who thrives in a highly collaborative work environment, but your company takes a different approach, it should be made clear what the work environment is like early on. However, change is inevitable. If direct managers are looking to mix things up in an effort to promote a better work environment, it’s always best for them to communicate early about the change that is coming and why it is happening. 

• Learn more about what motivates employees: A good manager will not be afraid to ask for constructive feedback. Be hungry to learn what some of the best reasons are to work at your company from the eyes of the employees and stay in sync with any downsides employees may be feeling. Direct managers are on the front lines; they should be asking questions often and be reading up on their employees’ company reviews on sites like Glassdoor to get a better handle on what’s working and what’s not. Plus, when candidates research jobs and companies on sites like Glassdoor before accepting a job offer, Glassdoor research shows that turnover can be reduced by as much as 22%.

• Stay on top of how your employment brand is impacting your recruiting regularly: While it’s not always easy to catch impacts of a direct manager when they happen, HR professionals and others responsible for managing your company’s brand can use Glassdoor’s Employer Center, accessible via a free employer account, to track employee satisfaction month over month, see how your brand is influencing target job candidates,  find out what jobs are most sought after, and see demographics on who is looking at your company profile.

Of employees who say their boss has a POSITIVE impact on their career, top positive impacts include:

• Supporting collaborative team work (49%)
• Securing my next pay raise (46%)
• Providing work-life balance support (33%)
• Increasing my exposure to senior leadership (27%)
• Securing my next promotion (24%)

Of employees who say their boss has a NEGATIVE impact on their career, top negative impacts include:

• Stopping or slowing my next pay raise/salary increase (39%)
• Reducing or eliminating work-life balance support (27%)
• Stopping or slowing my next promotion (25%)
• Hindering my exposure to senior leadership (24%)
• Pushing for job cuts, specifically my job (23%)

Are front line/direct managers having a bigger impact on more aspects of a company’s culture and employment brand than we thought?

How Will You Explain This to Your Future Bosses?

In the past, a resume with only one job on it showed loyalty. Now, employers look for adaptability and growth. A work history of several jobs with different companies shows you are just that — flexible and well-rounded. But keep in mind employers don’t want a job hopper who has a history of switching jobs every two years. Whether you left due to boredom, a better opportunity or unruly behavior, they’ll wonder if you’ll do the same to them. Future employers look at how long you were with each company you’ve worked for and why you left. If you quit today, how will you explain your reasoning to your future boss? If you can confidently say it was for a good reason, then go for it.

What are You Giving Up, Besides the Paycheck?

Besides money, what else does this particular job provide? Will your commute change and perhaps worsen? Is daily work life mundane, but your current company offers significant benefits? These are all things you might regret saying goodbye to, even if you got your dream job. Weigh the risks and benefits. If you’re ready for a challenge and willing to part with all the perks, go ahead. Update your LinkedIn profile. Go online and print business cards for less. Join a networking group and tell the world you’re ready for a change.

Do You Want to Quit or Do You Really Want a Promotion?

Lastly, you may want to analyze your reasons for wanting to quit. Is there an unresolved issue between you and a co-worker that you’d rather avoid than address? Do you feel underpaid? Like you’re in the wrong position? Unheard? While these are legitimate concerns, quitting isn’t the only way to resolve them. First, talk to your supervisor about your concerns. Don’t think you have to be a team player in one department if you know your strengths are in another. Help your boss help you by making sure he or she is aware of your needs. Instead of looking elsewhere, address the problem at hand. What you truly want is a promotion in the field you are already in? Make it known. If there is no room for growth in your current company, then you have a legitimate reason to start looking elsewhere. Good luck!

The Family and Medical Leave Act recently marked its 20th anniversary, having been signed at the very start of President Clinton’s first term. The law was intended to assure workers they wouldn’t lose their jobs if, for serious medical or family reasons, they had to take time off work. As often happens with government regulations, from that fairly simple premise, some fairly complex regulations were written by the U.S. Department of Labor, whose Wage and Hour Division enforces the FMLA.

So what is family and medical leave?

Basically, family and medical leave provides up to 12 weeks in a 12-month period of unpaid leave (some in Washington want to make that paid leave) for a worker to take care of his or her own serious health condition preventing performance of essential job functions, or to care for a serious health condition of a close relative (parent, spouse or child), or to deal with the birth of a child, or the adoption or foster-care placement of a child during the first year.

Note FMLA’s provisions on parental leave — taking time off after childbirth, adoption and foster-care placements — are unisex; not just new mothers, but new fathers, can take parental leave. Workers on FMLA leave get their employer-provided health insurance continued, as long as they make any required contributions, and generally must be reinstated to their former, or a comparable, job on returning (a limited exception applies to designated higher-paid “key employees” if a protracted vacancy would seriously harm the employer).

Congress a few years ago expanded the FMLA to provide new, longer “exigency” and “caretaker” forms of leave (up to 26 weeks in a 12-month period) to deal with emergencies or serious health conditions resulting when a parent, spouse or child is called to active military service. It also put in special rules for qualifying time for members of airline flight crews, and made some other changes. Those rules were just took effect in March, and are reflected in the revised FMLA posters employers should now be displaying.

And who can take FMLA leave?

To be eligible, you have to work for an employer covered by the FMLA law; for private employers, that means at least 50 employees working within 75 miles for at least 20 workweeks during the current or previous year. Most public-sector employers — all levels of government, and elementary and secondary schools — are covered by FMLA, regardless of how few workers they have.

A worker seeking FMLA leave must have worked at least 12 months for the covered employer – not necessarily 12 consecutive months — and must also have put in at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months before taking leave, or about 24 hours per week.

What should an employer do when it gets a FMLA leave request?

Even before getting a leave request, a covered employer must display rules on FMLA in labor law posters at its workplaces, and provide new employees with a notice of their FMLA rights. When an employee requests leave, an employer must inform the requesting worker within five days whether it has enough information for a decision on whether the worker qualifies for FMLA leave. The Labor Department has a form (WH-381) that employers can opt to use for that purpose.

Employers should note they are responsible for making that determination, whether or not the worker mentions FMLA. While FMLA rules say employees should give at least 30 days’ notice in requesting FMLA leave, that will not always be possible.

If the worker has not provided enough information for the employer to be able to determine whether the worker is eligible for FMLA leave, the employer can require the employer to produce the needed information within 15 days (DOL has certification forms), and can deny the request if the information is not produced or is inadequate.

Even if the worker does not qualify for FMLA leave — for example, by not having worked long enough to become eligible — the employer may have other types of leave — such as vacation, paid leave or disability leave — and the employer can indicate WH-381 form which of these are available. In fact, figuring the interaction of various types of leave, and sometimes the impact of additional state leave laws, is one of the most intricate issues raised by the FMLA.

When the employer has the information needed to determine whether the worker is or is not eligible for FMLA leave, there is (you guessed it!) — a DOL form, WH-382, for that, too. Either way, employees must get an explanation of their rights and responsibilities (such as keeping the employer informed of situation changes and plans to return to work, if they get the leave, or the rights to appeal or sue, if they are denied leave).

About the author:

My name is Lily and I work at Easy Business Posters to help employers stay in compliance with the state and federal labor law poster requirements. I also want to help employees better understand their employment rights by writing and publishing poster related articles online. Anyone interested in labor law posters and employment law can contact me through Twitter.

How many times have you said this to yourself? I know I have many times, and really there is no reason why it has to be that way. The Graduate Recruitment Bureau suggest by making  these simple changes to your routine you’ll find you have more time to spend on what you want to do rather than what you have to do.

Get enough sleep. Don’t underestimate the power of sleep. We need it to function, be happy and productive- but in the right amounts. It’s important to not get too much sleep as this can have the same effect as not getting enough. When you are 5 you need 13 hours sleep. When you’re a teenager you need over 9. Now you are all grown up you can hack it with 7-8. Even so, it’s not the quantity of sleep we get, rather the quality that is important. So, make sure you are getting a good stretch of high quality sleep at a sensible time so you can leap out of bed an hour earlier, creating an extra hour in your day.

Log out of Facebook. You’ve made the brave decision to get up, well done. Now is not the time to retire to the sofa and put on Jeremy Kyle, even if it is the weekend. You need to get moving and the major cause of procrastination in the 21^st century is…Facebook. Log out of it! You do not need to be constantly refreshing your newsfeed. Nothing of vital importance will have happened in the last hour. You do not need to write a status informing your ‘friends’ that you are awake, or that you are now ‘about to have a shower’ or ‘heading off to work’. You could be at work by now if you hadn’t tagged all those photos. You will be amazed how productive you can be when you aren’t living in cyberspace, so come and join us in the real world and save Facebook for your free time.

Make a to-do list. Getting organised and focused is the most efficient way to get things done. Once you’ve got things done, you’ve got all the time in the world! Have a plan of action- make a list of what you need to do that day- everything from having a shower to going to work. Include everything then -here’s the radical, life changing bit- just start doing it. The work isn’t done once you’ve written the list, you need to work your way through it until it’s complete. Tick off everything after you’ve done it- it gives you a sense of accomplishment that makes you more motivated to get everything done. Before you know it you’ll have a nice shiny completed list- and a few hours left of the day to play with.

Learn to multitask. This is a piece of advice about as useful as when a teacher says ‘it’s just missing… something’ when they mark your essay but nevertheless, it applies. It would be great if you could go to the gym whilst socialising with friends, or catch up on emails while cooking. Oh wait, you can. Kill two birds with one stone.  Simple things in your day can be combined, for example ringing your mother and making dinner. If your Mum goes on and on like mine does then calling her is an hour long task in itself. Put her on loud speaker or get an earpiece so she can witter on while you peel the carrots or put the washing out.

About the author:

Anna Pitts is a Marketing Assistant and Online Researcher at the Graduate Recruitment Bureau. Her work involves PR and advice and information article writing. For more tips, follow them on Twitter @thegrbteam

Advantages of Online Learning

Although many people still consider traditional universities as the best way to achieve knowledge and get a diploma, online learning proves to be a great alternative. Students have the chance to study in their own time and especially for free. It represents a great way to study many fields and to boost the level of self-motivation. According to college writing experts from SolidEssay.com, online learning is so effective because students can finish their homework quickly, and there is more time left for hobbies or for finding a job.

An access to all resources of a traditional course helps participants learn wherever they are, leaving them the freedom to choose the time for study. With basically an Internet connection, a person can attend different courses. Among the advantages of online learning there are the responsibility and self-discipline of students.

Disadvantages of Online Learning

Only in a small group a person can develop properly. At school, students learn how to make friends, be patient, get rid of disappointment, and especially to compete. Competition between colleagues can be very stimulating and students will only benefit from it. Online learning cannot offer human interaction.

Another disadvantage refers to the fact that online courses cannot cope with thousands of students that try to join discussions. Also, online learning can be difficult, if it is meant for disciplines that involve practice.

In conclusion, online learning should be seen as a complement and extension of classical forms of learning. Not even the best online course can fully replace the personal contact with a teacher, or the human relationships that develop in a group. So, traditional classes shouldn’t be replaced with online learning.

Author bio

Ryan Wright is a professional researcher and writer contributing to various educational websites, including SolidEssay.com, which is a college paper writing service helping students become better writers.

It’s not an easy paradigm shift to make — when Marissa Mayer started as the new CEO of Yahoo last fall she personally reviewed and approved every hire. BusinessInsider reported that a source inside the company said one of Yahoo’s biggest problems in recent years was “‘B-players’ hiring ‘C-players’ who were not ‘fired up to come to work’ and were ‘tolerated too long.’” Once sub-standard employees are added to the work force, they’re rarely jettisoned in a timely manner. They become a drain on your company’s bottom line and can affect the morale of other employees.

So, how do you weed out bad employees before you hire them? Just ask Bob Parsons, co-founder of GoDaddy.com. Parsons shares his tips for hiring great employees in a video blog. It’s eight minutes long so we’ll hit the highlights and provide the full video for you to watch if you so choose. Around the two-minute mark, Parsons talks about checking references. Sounds obvious, right? Well sure, calling references is a must but since they’re provided by the applicant they’re likely biased. Parsons recommends asking the provided references for another resource. Ask the secondary resource what they think of the applicant and also if they can recommend an additional reference. The tertiary reference, in Parson’s experience, will usually give you the real story on the applicant.

Parsons also recommends focusing on what’s important for a hire, rather than getting bogged down in miscellaneous details. While education is important, it isn’t always the primary indicator of a good applicant. Hiring managers shouldn’t lose sight of the forest for the trees, so to speak.

Use the interview to find out if the employee is a good problem solver, can think on his or her feet and if he or she really wants to be at your company. Do they know what you do, how you do it and what your company culture is like? The most qualified employee might not be the right employee for your company. Hiring someone who will not be comfortable or productive working at your company is a waste of time for both parties. ”Employment only works,” says GoDaddy’s Bob Parsons in the video, “if it is good for the employee and employer.”

Parsons has plenty more tips to share in the video, but he wraps up with a very important one. If the employment isn’t working for either party (which generally means it’s not working for both parties) you have to end the employment. If you’re having a hard time with it think of it in different terms. If an employee was only paid half the wages he or she was promised for doing the full amount of work expected, they wouldn’t continue working for you. So, logically, why would a company continue to employ someone who is significantly and consistently under-producing?

About the author:

Amanda Hughes writes for several online sites and shares her views on world news, the environment and technology and how all of these subjects affect financial news in the U.S.

HR historically has been concerned with employees — the human resources of the organization. If we’re tasked with getting them in the door through recruiting, we should also be tasked with caring for them while they are employed. Part of that care certainly includes providing a safe workplace. The larger umbrella for safety is compliance. In HR, we have to answer to the “higher powers” of OSHA, the Department of Labor and many other state and federal governmental bodies.

Staying in compliance can be a challenge. Some of the laws that govern businesses are reams and reams of paper when printed out. The good news is that you, the HR professional, don’t have to be an expert on every single area of safety and compliance. Instead, you can use outside companies to help you stay in line with current requirements. For example, Seton offers a number of OSHA-compliant signs for posting within your business. There are also companies that specialize in labor law posters. You may even find that your state has people who will come out free of charge and do an audit of your business without the fear of penalties and fines.

It’s sometimes tough being an HR practitioner, but there are resources out there to help you.