Summer hours are perk small businesses can offer workers to boost morale
Reduced hours in the summer months can also enable smaller businesses to stand out to prospective employees in a competitive talent marketplace.
Workplace Issues
Mark Nance: More diversity in golf means more diversity in business
It’s no secret that golf builds business connections unlike anything else.
Tired of late messages from your boss? A new bill aims to make it illegal.
Technologies that were adopted to help employees connect to their managers and colleagues remain in place regardless of whether people are working remotely or from the office. As a result, workers are more connected than ever and often feel pressured to respond at all hours.
Workers are seeking pay bumps; employers try to respond
About 70% of employers responding to a Franklin Templeton survey said they had recently increased the number of or quality of their benefits, and 65% described their benefits as “quite competitive.”
Energizer to close Franklin facility, cut 64 employees
The Franklin facility also saw major job reductions in October, when Energizer ceased its packaging operations at the site.
Office holiday parties shun booze and tinsel, push guac and pickleball
In the name of inclusivity, business leaders are opting for year-end celebrations cut totally free from seasonal connotations. And dropping liquor reduces the potential for unprofessional behavior.
‘Zoom fatigue’ may take toll on the brain and the heart, researchers say
A recent brain-monitoring study supports the phenomenon, finding a connection between videoconferencing in educational settings and physical symptoms linked to fatigue.
Labor challenges, inflation stoke pessimism for small business
The National Federation of Independent Business’ “optimism index” in September was listed at 90.8, which is lower than the group’s 49-year average—98—for the 21st consecutive month.
UAW strike underscores future of EV manufacturing in Indiana
Union leaders want promises from the Big Three automakers that their wave of new electric vehicle battery plants will fall under the UAW’s contract and that workers at those plants will make UAW assembly wages of $32 an hour.
How will AI impact Indiana’s workforce? It’s complicated.
Advances in technology traditionally have had the biggest impact on more physical jobs, but generative AI tools will likely be most disruptive for jobs that require brains, not brawn.
IBJ Podcast: Brothers behind tech firm Qualifi on being Black founders, raising capital, ‘unwillingness to die’
Darrian and Devyn Mikell discuss the inspiration they’ve received from their family (including an older brother with a Pro Bowl career in the NFL); how they handle the rollercoaster of startup life; obstacles that Black entrepreneurs face; and the importance of a diverse staff.
Bosses mean it this time: Return to the office or get a new job!
Employers have new leverage as the labor market has cooled, leaving workers less room to be choosy.
Is the tech recession over? Maybe.
After peaking early this year, the number of tech industry layoffs—and the number of companies cutting those jobs—appears to have slowed in recent months.
Worker shortage leads firms to hire more ex-offenders
More than ever, Indianapolis-area companies are becoming so-called “second-chance employers” willing to hire people with arrest records and providing additional services to ex-offenders needing first jobs.
Former top IU med school researcher says why he left
The IU School of Medicine scored a major coup five years ago when it recruited one of the nation’s top experts in the fast-growing field of regenerative medicine. But the University of Pittsburgh recruited him away this spring.
Most employers aware of staff mental health struggles, survey says
An overwhelming 93% of respondents at least somewhat agreed that it “makes good business sense” to recognize and respond to mental health dilemmas, but far fewer said they were prepared.
Pregnant workers get federal protections after Indiana lawmakers pull up short on similar steps
Pregnant workers employed in Indiana now have access to guaranteed accommodations after the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, a federal law that went into effect Tuesday.
Re-examining the annual performance review
Large companies from Adobe to IBM to Deloitte have dropped the yearly evaluations in favor of more frequent, informal check-ins.
Four-day workweek becoming common at small businesses
As larger companies continue to harden their return-to-office mandates, the flexibility uniquely offered by small businesses might become increasingly attractive to job seekers.
Wave of retirements leaving some U.S. industries desperate to hire
Since 2019, the proportion of retirees in the U.S. population has risen from 18% to nearly 20%—equivalent to about 3.5 million fewer workers. And the trend seems sure to accelerate.