BY MARIANNE WILSON

August 8, 2019

Nordstrom has achieved 100% pay equity.

The department store retailer announced it has achieved 100% pay equity for employees of all genders and races,  providing equal pay for comparable work. Nordstrom said it evaluated pay equity by analyzing base pay to assess whether employees with similar roles, experience and performance earn equal pay for comparable work.

“At Nordstrom, we are constantly working to create an environment where employees can build long-term and rewarding careers,” said Christine Deputy, chief human resources officer at Nordstrom. “As a part of this, we believe in paying employees fairly for the work they do, and we are committed to delivering on equal pay for comparable work.”

Nordstrom is also committed to pay parity, which it described as a way to measure and report on gender representation at all levels of the company.

“We’re at nearly 100% pay parity for men and women, which reflects our strong female representation across the company,” the retailer stated. “We will continue our efforts in this space to build our representation of women at all levels across the organization.”

Nordstrom said it has always been focused on having strong gender representation, paying employees fairly for the work they do and making pay decisions that are free from bias. In the last few years, it has increased its  focus in this space, making significant investments to understand how it is doing at a more granular level.

“Paying our people fairly, regardless of gender or race, enables us to deliver on our commitment to an inclusive environment where we can all be ourselves, contribute ideas and do our best work,” said Deputy. “This is an area that we will continue to invest in and be vigilant on because equality and diversity makes us all stronger.”

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Source: Chain Store Age

https://www.chainstoreage.com/finance-0/nordstrom-in-big-pay-milestone-and-is-near-another-one-as-well/

by Tim McElgunn

August 6, 2019

Performance management processes and procedures have evolved at a blistering pace, perhaps faster than any other part of the Human Resources discipline.

PM has transitioned from an industrial-age framework focused on maintaining consistent production schedules and quality to a flexible – and interconnected – tracking, coaching and talent development tool.

Technology capabilities and limitations often drove process design in early PMS implementations.

Organizations now require technology solutions that reflect their specific performance management framework and focus on the competencies that enable their unique strategy.

Aligning performance management with organizational strategy

To design an effective performance managemtn system, organizations need to understand how each job – and the career ladders or development paths for those jobs – feed into the organization’s strategic goals.

That understanding provides the framework for how and how often performance assessment and guidance is conducted.

It provides a way to assess performance not just in terms of “what have you done for me so far?” but also, “Where can we best use your talents and optimize your skills going forward?”

Why is that so important?

Effective and engaged employees share a couple of common characteristics, regardless of industry, job function, or seniority.

They understand how their daily efforts make a difference in whether and how their organization achieves its strategic goals.

Without that understanding, how can they to rate their own efforts and see where they should develop strengths and overcome limitations?

An effective performance management solution provides the tools to answer that deceptively straightforward question for individual contributors, teams and organizations.

And, like individual performance goals, a PM system design should flow from a clearly-defined strategy. Otherwise, those systems can limit, instead of advancing, that strategy.

Asking the right questions

Often, discussions about the need for performance management approach the topic at a tactical level.

Indeed, many vendors’ websites suggest that customers look at tactical drivers when they are researching performance management tools.

They suggest organizations ask themselves,” Why are we looking at investing in a new PMS?”

• Compensation decision making?
• Administrative support?
• Developmental planning and guidance?
• General performance measurement and reporting?

For nearly every organization, the answer is, “Yes, all of that.”

The good news is that there’s a growing ecosystem of performance management technology providers that support those core capabilities. And that’s fine as far as it goes.

But that is also a problem. In the end, those are questions about the tool’s capabilities, not about the competencies required to implement your strategy.

Strategy drives competencies, competencies drive PM

Strategy is the expression of an organization’s mission, goals, objectives and interrelated action plans for achieving each of those targets.

Those are the factors that determine what competencies you need to build, maintain and nurture.

Mapping strategy components onto various functions — product development, production, marketing, sales, management and administration and partnerships — helps define and prioritize the tasks that you ask each of your people to perform.

Answering strategic performance management questions requires the customer, and solution provider, to understand how each job – and any associated development plans and career ladders – feed into the organization’s strategic goals.

An understanding of the competencies needed to support your strategic aims provides a framework for defining jobs, assessing performance and guiding employee development.

Shared understanding of why, what and how

If each of your processes flow directly from strategy, you can trace everyone’s work (actions and behaviors) from task to outcome.

That allows everyone to see how their work combines with everyone else’s to enable the organization’s strategic ambitions.

When everyone shares a strategy-based understanding of job responsibilities and interdependencies, they are empowered to hold themselves, and each other, accountable for outcomes.

They can see where changes and improvements in their jobs might better support strategy. And they can anticipate and participate in realizing those changes.

Feedback and adjustment

So, if everything flows from strategy, is this a one-way, top down process?

No. Like any successful living organism, companies, government agencies, charitable foundations or any other group enterprise operate in an infinite series of feedback loops and adjustment mechanisms.

Designing a performance management structure and selecting the tools that can best support that structure needs to be a similarly interactive process.

PMS design needs to include ways to capture and consider input from all stakeholders ranging from senior executive management through to line managers, employees and unions and, in many cases, indirect input from end customers.

Are you optimizing people or processes?

When companies were measuring how many acceptable widgets came off production Line B, and knew they’d be making those widgets for the foreseeable future, performance was easier to assess and to manage.

Employees weren’t expected to change tasks on the fly, if at all. Training requirements were well-defined and could focus on a few specific skills.

Today, however, you need every employee ready to quickly learn new skills and perform new tasks to support an evolving strategy.

Managers need visibility into how workers’ capabilities fit with their current jobs and insight into any talents and interests that would be valuable elsewhere.

Workers need to see how their skills fit with current tasks and what new skills they can and should develop to climb their chosen career ladder.

That means both managers and workers need a holistic view of current and future competency requirements.

And there is a real payoff: the more of a role your employees play in recommending and selecting skills they want to develop, the more excited they will be to use those skills.

Performance management is everyone’s responsibility

Of course, these highly complex and interdependent performance management tools and processes are only valuable if used consistently across your organization.

Here again, tying the performance management process back to strategy makes it clear to all stakeholders just how critical it is.

Leadership support for and continued attention to employee development sets the tone, but ease of use plays a huge part in how effective PM processes and technology solutions are for the organization.

Employees and managers need to be able to learn and use PM systems without a massive time investment that takes away from productivity.

That means organizations need to make learning and using performance management processes and tools part of every job description.

And organizations should push PMS providers to continually improve both user interfaces and user training so those meet your specific needs.

Measuring performance management ROI

Performance management systems provide powerful tools for developing and nurturing competencies, making them among the most important investments an organization must make.

Ultimately, performance management that maximizes workforce development and flexibility in line with a strategic framework is what differentiates successful and less successful organizations – even in the most highly-automated industries.

The return on your performance management investment can be measured in financial terms reflecting increased efficiency, reduced turnover and other metrics.

But the true measure of a successful PMS implementation is a flexible, teachable workforce that understands and supports your strategy and that has the resources they need to succeed and grow with your business.

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Source: HRMorning

https://www.hrmorning.com/articles/linking-performance-management-strategy/

AUTHOR

Riia O'Donnell@RiiaOD

PUBLISHED

Aug. 5, 2019

Dive Brief:

• Sixty-seven percent of more than 2,000 participants in a recent Monster survey said they were unable to negotiate for their current salary. Data emailed to HR Dive by Monster, which was compiled in July, revealed how candidates negotiate salary in addition to vacation time. 
• For pay negotiations, 41.5% of 1,982 respondents said that their company told them what they would make. Only 4.4% of those polled reported they were offered a pay rate higher than what they'd asked for, and 14.6% of candidates provided a salary range and the employer offered them a salary within that range, Monster said. For 15.3%, the final salary offer was less than what they requested.
• When negotiating for vacation time, 22% of 1,667 respondents were able to negotiate their vacation time and agreed with the statement: "The vacation policy is why I work here." Some respondents (32%) tried to negotiate for more time, but were unsuccessful, while 21.3% said they were "just happy to get hired," Monster said. 

Dive Insight:

Although some reports have suggested salary negotiations are the new norm for most job seekers, those who don't partake cost themselves money in the short-term as well as into the future. The subject of salary is coming up earlier in the hiring process, as workers may be becoming more aware of their value in a tight talent market. Many believe that for some job seekers, like black candidates, not negotiating could contribute to wage gaps.

On the whole, pay equity across genders and other demographic groups is top of mind for many employers, as they struggle to adjust policies and audit past practices in an effort to achieve parity. A move toward salary transparencycan be helpful, but there are limits to what businesses should make public, experts have said. 

"You can be transparent about the company's overall compensation philosophy, how it sets compensation, and how it evaluates performance, salary increases, and bonuses without actually handing out a spreadsheet indicating how much each person earns," Felicia Davis, a partner at Paul Hastings, previously told HR Dive. 

Many suggest competitive salaries now include more benefits, too. Unlimited paid time off is one perk employers have used to sweeten the pot, but one survey showed that around a third of employees don't even utilize the time they earn with traditional PTO policies. 

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Source:  HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/monster-67-of-candidates-did-not-negotiate-their-salaries/559671/

Despite a growing demand for the practice, sharing pay information can invite drama for employers ⁠— from workplace culture issues to legal actions.

AUTHOR

Jennifer Carsen

PUBLISHED

July 24, 2019

Pay transparency has been dominating the headlines lately — but the concept tends to raise more questions than answers.

Should you start distributing spreadsheets that include employee names and salaries? Are there any legal requirements to consider? What should you do if you discover inequities in your compensation practices? And how do you appease chatty or web-savvy employees who complain they're being paid less than they deserve?

Two types of pay transparency

Pay transparency can have two different meanings, according to attorney Liz Washko, a shareholder at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, who spoke to HR Dive via email.

"First, pay transparency can refer to permitting employees to discuss their pay with other employees without repercussions," Washko said. "From a legal standpoint, employers cannot prohibit this for any employees covered by the [National Labor Relations Act]." Some recent state laws forbid employers from enforcing such rules as well, Washko said.

Attorney Marissa Mastroianni, an associate at Cole Schotz, similarly cautioned employers about Section 7 of the NLRA: "Employers can't have a policy (written or unspoken) saying that employees can't speak about compensation with each other."

Second, pay transparency can refer to "one or more systems whereby the employer provides or publishes information regarding its applicable pay ranges for a position or even the specific pay for an employee or position," Washko said. While a limited number of states, including California, require employers to provide the pay range for a position upon the reasonable request of an applicant, in most places this is not legally required, she said.

How much should you share?

"Many external factors are putting pressure on employers to be more transparent about compensation," said Felicia Davis, a partner at Paul Hastings. "Employees are asking more questions, shareholder groups are asking employers to be more transparent, and foreign countries are asking for more information to be reported. There is also an EEO-1 component."

That said, added Davis, there are different ways to be transparent. "You can be transparent about the company's overall compensation philosophy, how it sets compensation, and how it evaluates performance, salary increases, and bonuses without actually handing out a spreadsheet indicating how much each person earns," she said.

Very few companies, Davis said, are completely transparent with respect to individual compensation decisions. "So many factors go into what an individual is compensated, and I have never met an employee who doesn't think they're a top performer," she said. "Disclosing this data can lead to hurt feelings and is not productive."

Mastroianni said that total openness about pay can foster a competitive workplace environment, one in which many workers "don't thrive," she said. She added that a company paying at or below market rates may find it difficult to hire and retain talent.

Complete transparency about pay can also expose a company to legal risks. Even in the absence of a pay equity law, said Mastroianni, it's still a discriminatory practice to pay employees differently on the basis of protected characteristics. And employees are likely to interpret the data subjectively. The lowest earner in a job description may wonder, for example, if he or she is illegally being paid less because of a protected characteristic, like a disability, Mastroianni said.

Davis pointed out that many compensation audits are conducted at the direction of counsel. In this situation, the more information about pay that is widely shared, "the more you might risk waiving privilege," she said.

Pros to pay transparency

Employees appreciate when employers are transparent about compensation philosophies and practices, said Davis; "It helps people feel they are being compensated fairly and helps engender goodwill." It can also motivate employees to work harder, said Mastroianni, if they know they are in the middle of the pay scale and want to move up.

Washko said providing applicants with information about pay ranges can keep both employers and applicants "from wasting time on a hiring process that was not likely to be successful." On the other hand, if a business pays at or above market rates, said Mastroianni, this can be a plus — applicants may be able to envision their possible earnings trajectory at your company over the long term.

Pay transparency may have broader societal implications as well. "Transparency is the only path that leads to income equality," said Steven Power, global president at Deputy, who spoke to HR Dive via email. "It should be a company's obligation to demonstrate their approach to the remuneration and benefits process in a consistent manner for the same positions across the organization. This will lead to equal opportunities — approached congruently by businesses — as well as an amazing morale boost."

Management can be "blissfully ignorant" about pay disparities sometimes, said Mastroianni. Publishing and analyzing compensation information "can bring pay equity issues to the forefront" and help remedy gaps.

What to do about disparities?

"The first thing an employer should do when it discovers a pay disparity is to determine whether the individuals subject to the pay disparity are performing equal or substantially similar work," said Washko. "The reference to 'equal' work is applicable under the federal Equal Pay Act; the reference to 'substantially similar' work is applicable under some state pay equity laws that have recently been passed." 

If the work is equal or substantially similar, she said, the employer should determine if there is a legitimate justification for the pay disparity — such as meaningful differences in education, experience, training, or performance.

If there is no such justification, a remedy could "include an adjustment in pay to the person or persons determined to be underpaid," said Washko. "But it should also include an assessment of how the disparity came about and whether there are opportunities to improve one or more policies or procedures to prevent these issues from arising in the future." This process could involve a legally privileged pay equity analysis, she added. 

How to handle individual employee complaints?

There is potential for drama when it comes to pay transparency, said Mastroianni, which might require "company leadership to sit down with management and say, 'people will have questions.' The company should be able to explain those numbers — not only what they are, but how they were obtained."

Additionally, Mastroianni said, employers must be prepared to "have a discussion with a disgruntled employee; you must give this employee a solution." Employers could explain, for example, why employees are paid the amount they're paid and lay out a roadmap for improved performance and pay going forward, she said.

Individual concerns may be handled on an individual level, said Washko. Employers may need to adopt a broader strategy if the complaints spread: "If a larger group of employees raises concerns, the employer may need to consider a broader message to help employees understand the types of information the employer considers in making pay decisions — to illustrate that the employer takes the matter of compensation seriously and makes decisions based on fair and appropriate reasons." 

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/pay-transparency-how-much-should-you-share-with-employees/555923/

Andrew Filev - Contributor

For those of us with jobs in competitive fields or high-growth companies, the thought of taking a vacation can be stressful. Between keeping teams engaged, investors happy, and hitting key project milestones, it feels like there’s never a good time to take a break from work. It’s such a big problem that this year, the WHO announced that “Burnout” will be listed as an occupational phenomenon in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases.

That’s why the role technology plays in vacations has been fiercely debated since the days of email, and even more so since the rise of the cloud and mobile. Some say that technology like mobile devices have tethered us permanently to our jobs, making it impossible to get away from the stressors of work. Others say they’ve liberated us to enjoy more flexible work schedules and blend work and life so that we can maintain careers while exploring the world.

A survey from 2018 sheds some light on the debate, and some of the data seems to support the argument that technology forces us to stay connected when we don’t want to be. When asked about work habits on vacation, 22% of respondents said they spend a few minutes each day working, usually sending short responses to questions or forwarding time-sensitive emails to someone at the office. Another 24% said they don’t intend to work, but will reply to emails or phone calls from their boss. These actions seem small, but they all detract from the benefits of a truly disconnected vacation.

Findings from a more recent survey might provide support for the opposing view. This year, 62% of respondents said that the digital tools they use in the workplace helped very or extremely well in preparing their teams for time away from the office, which may mean the majority of workers feel that digital work has actually improved their ability to disconnect. 

If you’re trying to build a culture that embraces vacation and allows your workforce to relax without interruption, here are some tips that can transform the way your business operates with team members on vacation.

Preparation is the key to a disconnected vacation

In the age of digital work vacation requires preparation, usually in the form of aggregating information about projects from many digital locations into a centralized place so colleagues can find it in your absence. While it sounds easy, the majority (54%) of employees described their stress level as very high or extremely high compared to normal in the days leading up to vacation, showing that this kind of information if frequently difficult to find.

Since preparation is the difference between a disconnected vacation and one with constant work interruptions, companies that value employee time off should think about ways they can support the preparation process. The most simple way is to keep project data centralized at all times with a work management system that keeps this information organized from the start of a project.

Management must lead by example and disconnect on vacation

Employees are more likely to work on vacation if their managers work on vacation, with millennials 36% more likely than older generations to say their managers influence them on vacation. Since millennials are the largest generation in the workforce and also 37% more likely to feel guilty about taking a vacation, it’s important that you give them permission to take time off and disconnect. Management must align from the top down to lead by example, and especially respect boundaries of those who are on vacation by not pinging them daily through digital channels. 

An important strategy that both managers and employees can use to help disconnect is to set clear expectations about whether or not they’ll work on vacation. If you are in the midst of a critical project, set defined times in advance when you’ll be reachable, and establish rules for what people should ping you about. These boundaries help keep everyone on the same page about what constitutes an “emergency” and help vacationing workers segment their days into “work time” and “relax time.”

Better planning can prevent vacation fire drills

One of the most preventable causes for vacation work is poor planning—and not by vacationers themselves. When management and team members don’t see their needs coming far enough in advance to prepare for the absence of a mission-critical colleague, it’s the vacation that suffers. That’s why an overall improvement of process and project management and investment in visibility can pay dividends on keeping projects moving forward in the summer, when employees frequently take turns with time spent out of the office.

Employees can help themselves by giving early, frequent reminders about their vacation plans, so they don’t surprise anyone by being unavailable. If you have visibility into upcoming projects, you can try to tackle work early, or work with stakeholders to schedule tasks around your time off. 

Channel Communications into a single place

Leaving for vacation isn’t the only stressful part. 45% of survey respondents said that returning to work after vacation also brings about significantly higher stress levels than usual. This may also be the result of the need to spend time reviewing messages to make sure nothing critical has fallen through the cracks. Reduce this kind of stress by sending your communications to a single feed, so there’s only one place to check when you return. You can do this using tools like Zapier to automate message replication between apps, or encouraging your team to push critical messages through the channel that you use the most. 

Vacations are an important part of wellness for employees. It’s also necessary to attract and retain talent, who say that PTO is the most important perk a workplace can offer. Companies and leadership must share this value to help workers truly disconnect for restful vacations in the digital age. 

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Source: Forbes

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewfilev/2019/07/16/employees-need-vacation-but-are-employers-enabling-time-out-of-the-office/#2871e13dc928

By Scott Wooldridge | July 05, 2019 at 10:19 AM

The unprecedented number of older Americans with complex health care needs is taking an increasing toll on working family members.

A new study by Health Affairs outlines the high financial burden being shouldered by working-class families who provide care for aging parents and other relatives. These caregiving costs for families is likely to double over the next 30 years, the study found.

The study said that the aging population is creating unprecedented numbers of older Americans with complex and costly health care needs. Many of them rely on family members for caregiving, and the strain this puts on working Americans is increasing over time.

“The older population is growing in size much faster than the younger population is, and the ratio of adults ages 20–64 relative to those ages 65 and older is projected to decline,” the study said. “This is why a much larger share of the working-age population in the future would need to be caregivers just to keep up with the current prevalence of unpaid caregiving, based on age. By mid-century more than 10 percent of all adults ages 20–64 would be caregivers, and their number would increase by more than ten million compared to 2013.”

An aging population relies on family caregivers

The study notes that as of 2011, about ten million Americans ages sixty-five and older were living in setting other than nursing homes and receiving help from caregivers, frequently family members. That assistance included help with bathing, walking, and eating. In addition, there is a growing number of older adults with cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer disease and other dementias. “These people overwhelmingly rely on unpaid help and care provided by family and friends, most commonly by their working-age children,” the study noted.

Providing this help has costs—including lost wages as workers give up hours or take leaves to help with caregiving. The Health Affairs study found that the current costs of caregiving provided by family members is $67 billion. The study projected that those costs will double to $132—$147 billon by 2050, due in part to the growing number of older Americans in need of care.

Higher-income Americans will shoulder more of the burden

The report’s author notes that there are limitations to the study, in part because assumptions made about costs and what the system of care will look like in the future.

However, one interesting projection is that caregivers will include a higher proportion of people with higher earning capacities, who will begin facing substantially higher work-related opportunity costs due to caregiving. For example, in 2013, over 50 percent of the opportunity cost was borne by workers who did not have a bachelor’s degree; the report projects that by 2050, demographic changes will mean that those with a bachelor’s degree will account for 60 percent or more of the opportunity cost burden.

The study concluded by noting the economic and policy implications for these growing caregiving costs. “Alongside negative health consequences and other burdens of providing unpaid care, [these costs] could translate to a growing negative fiscal impact through forgone taxes and potentially larger outlays for social programs,” the study said. “Therefore, future discussions of the role of family caregiving should recognize that this is a finite and increasingly expensive resource. Future policy action could benefit from accounting fully for the costs in addition to the benefits of caregiving, which would help better define the scope and size of programs needed to support caregivers—many of whom struggle to balance their work and caregiving activities.”

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Source: BenefitsPRO

https://www.benefitspro.com/2019/07/05/caregiving-costs-to-working-families-to-double-by-2050/?slreturn=20190622114407

Anjalee Khemlani - 

Reporter

July 17, 2019

The Treasury Department and IRS issued a notice Wednesday that will help health care plan enrollees with high deductibles qualify for more preventative care benefits.

The move, which expands the uses for Health Savings Accounts, was issued in response to President Donald Trump’s June 24 executive order. That document ordered the Treasury “to issue guidance to expand the ability of patients to select high deductible health plans that can be used alongside HSAs and cover low-cost preventive care, before the deductible, that helps maintain health status for individuals with chronic conditions.”

The new list adds services and treatments for certain chronic care that the IRS, Treasury and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services determined were low-cost. It is unclear what data set was used to determine this information.

The insurance industry, which would be required to approve claims that fit the new standards as well as design plans around the new guidance, had no immediate reaction to the new guidance.

The news came as most insurance officials were focused on Capitol Hill, where the Senate was debating a series of health care bills.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association vice president Kris Haltmeyer told Yahoo Finance it was a move the industry welcomes.

“We strongly support providing consumers with better access to care to keep them healthy and addresses chronic conditions,” he said.

“We’re pleased the administration also advanced this goal by giving health insurers more flexibility to cover high-value services on a pre-deductible basis for consumers enrolled in high deductible health plans,” Haltmeyer added.

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Source: Yahoo Finance

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/irs-rule-gives-high-deductible-plans-more-benefits-220148710.html

CA bringing back a key part of Obamacare

By Katy Grimes, June 25, 2019 6:40 am

Despite that 93 percent of Californians have health insurance, the California Legislature voted Monday to tax California citizens who do not buy health insurance. This penalty revenue will be used to fund health insurance subsidies to encourage more people to purchase health insurance, and to provide health care to illegal immigrants.

Passage of SB78 creates the “Individual Mandate” to require Californians to purchase health insurance, and imposes a fine for failure to do so.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office warned this could indirectly result in increased state costs in Medi‑Cal, and/or if the individual mandate actually succeeds in more Californians signed up for state health insurance, fewer Californians will pay the penalty tax resulting in less money.

Data from the Affordable Care Act shows that the people most likely to owe the penalty are young, healthy people with jobs that pay $30,000 to $50,000 per year. “It makes no sense that young people making $30-50k per year are paying so that other people making $75k-130k per year can get a subsidy,” Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) Tweeted. “The fine, or tax because that’s what it is, is $695 per adult, $347.50 per child, or 2 1/2 percent of a household’s gross income, whichever amount is greater.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to reinstate the individual mandate is to force healthy people to buy the state health insurance. In essence, the people who will be punished are the ones who can’t afford insurance because they don’t receive subsidies for not buying the some of the most expensive insurance in the country, and will likely cost them $14,000 per year, and will not be actual insurance until the $5,000 deductible is paid. This penalty/tax will be used to pay for the health coverage for illegal immigrants.

Lawmakers also approved a bill that to provide Medi-Cal government-funded health insurance to illegal immigrants, in the country illegally. Since both of these were covered in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s original budget, it is anticipated he will approve both within the budget trailer bill.

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Source: California Globe

https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/california-legislature-passes-health-insurance-individual-mandate-penalty/

AUTHOR

Valerie Bolden-Barrett

PUBLISHED

July 11, 2019

Dive Brief:

• Half of Generation Z workers in a survey by Randstad US and Apartment Guide said they're supplementing their income with a second job due to living expenses rising faster than wages, compared to 28% of workers overall.
• The study of 1,211 working homeowners and renters ages 18 to 45 and above also found that 44% said their mortgage, rent, household utilities and other living expenses were rising faster than their annual salaries each year. Forty-two percent said they'd need to earn at least $60,000 a year to stay in their desired neighborhood, and renting is a reality for many: 39% of house renters, 38% of room renters and 33% of apartment renters had at least one roommate to help make ends meet.
• Though long commutes had a negative impact on the moods of respondents — including 42% of Gen Z respondents — workers also had a mixed reaction to some aspects of flexible work. Forty-four percent of respondents said they preferred working in an office because this option made it easier to disconnect from work, Randstad US said.

Dive Insight:

Other studies affirm the toll that rising living costs are having on workers: 75% of workers in a Citrix Systems report said they would move out of the cities they currently live in for a less costly location, and 78% of tech workers in a recent CompTIA study said they would move elsewhere if they could, citing affordability and the economy as major reasons for relocating. A majority of respondents in the Citrix Systems study even called the cost of living in major cities "crippling."

Housing in Silicon Valley — where the median monthly rent for a one-room apartment can be as high $2,500 in San Jose and $3,000 in San Francisco — has surpassed the wages of many tech workers, and 38% of them to conducted job searches in outside areas, according to a 2017 report by Indeed. San Francisco-based Zapier responded to the crisis by offering workers $10,000 to put towards relocating outside the Bay Area.

"Tight budgets are nothing new for young people just starting out in their careers, but today's increasingly high cost of living coupled with slow wage growth means that, despite low unemployment, millennials and Gen Zs are faced with at least two variables negatively impacting their financial well-being," Jim Link, CHRO at Randstad North America, said in a statement. Link added that while allowing employees to work at home could help reduce some costs, such as commuting expenses, managers with remote staffers might also need to promote as much collaboration and face-to-face time as possible with colleagues to prevent working in isolation.

While there may be some drawbacks to remote work, research has also demonstrated flexbile work options can provide benefits, including improving relationships at home. There's also evidence that workers increasingly view such options as the norm in today's workplaces, and that a lack of flexiblity may have some undesirable impacts on workers on both engagement and retention.

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/young-workers-more-likely-to-moonlight-as-living-expenses-outpace-wages/558476/

AUTHOR

Jennifer Carsen

PUBLISHED

July 10, 2019

Dive Brief:

• California officially launched the CalSavers retirement program on July 1; the program provides employees access to retirement savings accounts without the administrative complexity, fees, or fiduciary liability of existing employer options, according to the California State Treasurer website. 
• Any employer with at least five employees that doesn’t already offer a workplace retirement savings vehicle will be required to either begin offering one via the private market, or to provide its employees access to CalSavers. 
• CalSavers will be operated solely through administrative fees. Eligible employers can register for CalSavers at any time and are required to comply by the following dates: June 30, 2020 for employers with over 100 employees; June 30, 2021 for employers with over 50 employees; and June 30, 2022 for employers with five or more employees.

Dive Insight:

Employees' financial well-being in retirement is a concern for employers; the average U.S. worker has $0 saved for retirement, according to a report from the National Institute on Retirement Security. Among those who do have retirement savings, the average amount saved is just $40,000 — and 70% of workers between the ages of 55-64 have a retirement account no greater than their annual income. 

Many workers, in fact, are addressing retirement-related challenges by pushing back retirement. One-fifth of seniors are still working in 25 cities identified by Provision Living, a company that operates senior living centers.

Long-term financial planning is a problem that's on employees' minds, and they are looking to their employers to help them solve it. A third of workers report being worried about finances at work, according to a recent study, with debt leading the list of concerns. Many employees (75%) wanted their employers to help them calculate the amount needed for a secure retirement and help them plan for monthly spending (72%) and health care expenses (72%) in retirement. Comprehensive financial planning was on the wishlist for 68% of employees surveyed.

Because so many workers are worried about financial struggles in retirement, and also routinely underestimate how much money they will need after they stop working, talent professionals are starting to tackle the issue head-on. Workers who are not distracted by looming financial concerns are more productive and focused, and employers that offer the perk of financial resources and education could have a leg up on attracting and retaining talent in a tight job market.

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/california-rolls-out-state-retirement-savings-program/558206/