Lost work hours from one snow day costs NE employers $1.3B. Yet another reminder of the need for remote work practices.

"Research just released by Global Workplace Analytics estimates a single snow day can cost Northeast region employers over $1.3 billion in lost productivity. That estimate is based on Global Workplace Analytics’ research about who can, who wants to, and who already does work remotely in the District of Columbia, Philadelphia, New York and Boston metro areas."

Source: njbmagazine.com

Winter storms are always a wake-up call for companies that haven’t adopted flexible workplace strategies. If people are already familiar with working remotely or telecommuting, when the weather stops traffic cold, they can keep right on working.

Battles over what is legal for employers to require of their insureds are heating up

Workers at many companies now face stiff financial penalties for refusing to undergo health screenings.

Source: www.nytimes.com

EEOC strongly opposes fines for non-participation in wellness programs or requiring health screening/enrollment in health improvement programs as a condition of employee health coverage. But companies are pushing back and in some cases, winning in court.

New report shows 39% of managers want to restrict after-hours email

According to the 1,574 managers we surveyed for our latest Quality of Working Life report, they’re working, on average, an extra 60 minutes every day on top of their contracted hours. In total this equals 29 days a year, which effectively cancels out the typical holiday entitlement of 28 days.

Source: www.managers.org.uk

Be sure to read the full @CIPD report. I shows while job satisfaction among UK managers is up 67% since 2012, stress from overworking and 24/7 availability is taking its toll.

Monica Parker on the what workplaces can learn from NASA about nature.

With all the listicles of "World's Coolest Office Spaces", it's easy to forget that many of us work in places that I would describe as precisely that. Perhaps not quite as hostile as space (although take the last biscuit and office politics can get brutal). The office can be grey, solitary and most certainly deprived of any sign of flora, unless the salad languishing in the company fridge counts.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

This (beautifully written) article cites research by Dr Craig Knight (University of Exeter) who found the presence of plants can boost productivity by up to 30 percent, increase employee happiness and improve their health. happier and healthier too. In controlled experiments, it even reduced attrition and lowered blood pressure.