NewsLink

Links to Internet news items and other information related to diversity and inclusion, provided every week by the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Employment Opportunity (06), a program office within VA's Office of Human Resources and Administration.

Volume 6, Issue 29                          April 18, 2007

This Week's Web Highlight
Great Place to Work Conference

Employers Must Engage Workers.  It used to be that human resources managers spoke about "employee retention." Now, their focus is on "employee engagement." Their new mantra: Satisfied employees still leave; engaged employees don't.

Increasing Employee Engagement Can Reduce Turnover 87 Percent.  The Corporate Executive Board's Corporate Leadership Council announced five key imperatives to help senior executives design and implement the most effective employee engagement strategy.

DHS Urged to Shift Bonus Money from Execs to Employees.  The Department of Homeland Security must find a way to give employees better recognition for their contributions and achievements, according to Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Change@Work: Personalities & Performance.  When we're in roles and cultures that allow us to play to our natural strengths and inclinations, we experience more satisfaction and less stress and burnout.

The Workplace Bill of Rights.  For hundreds of years, people from all over the world have been coming to America to make better lives for themselves and their families. Yet today we find more and more Americans are worse off than their parents, or worried their children will be worse off than themselves.

Work/Life Balance Boosts Workplace Ethics.  Sixty percent of those surveyed said job dissatisfaction was a leading reason people make unethical decisions at work, second only to lack of personal integrity.

Change Management Needs HR from the Start.  Human resources professionals need to be involved from the beginning when major organizational changes are involved, according to findings from a Society for Human Resource Management survey.

Talent Management Becoming Strategic Priority.  In a recent survey, nearly three-quarters of business executives and human resources professionals "strongly" or "very strongly" agreed that talent management is a strategic priority for their company.

Tame Your Boss. Need help managing your manager?  Try these techniques to master the proper care and feeding of your most important professional relationship.

The 10 Best Corporate Practices.  Employee-referral bonuses, town hall meetings, and matching contributions are some of the tactics that make people feel good about their employers.

Flexible Schedules Bring Balance.  Many workers balk at spending the majority of their time at the office to the neglect of their family life, leading employers to readjust rigid schedules.

Finding Grace When Your Job is a Drag.  Have you ever seen the look on someone's face who truly loves what they do? And who loves the people they are doing it with? They shine. They shine because their work reflects who they are as a human being and because they know they're making a contribution that matters.

Employee Performance Blog Launched by MindLeaders.  The Weblog of a leading training provider covers organizational and employee development topics, learning news, and training events. The blog also encourages readers to share their own thoughts and experiences.

Leadership and Generation X.  Effective leaders equate personal success with organizational success, are willing to risk taking a stand for what is important to the future success of the organization as a whole, commit to building the relationships and networks needed to gain trust and cooperation, and instill hope in others for a better way.

Paying Dues is So Old School.  One of the most important career moves of the new millennium is getting out of paying one's dues, an antiquated idea in a workplace where few people aspire to climb the same corporate ladder for 45 years.

Survey: Generation Y Workers Want to Volunteer.  A survey conducted by Deloitte & Touche shows that Generation Y workers prefer working for employers that enable them to contribute their work-place talents to non-profit organizations.

Study Finds Corporate Social Responsibility is Spreading.  An international study shows more than four out of five organizations in seven countries are participating in corporate social responsibility practices, ranging from donating to local charities to monitoring global fair labor standards.

Will Women Ever Get Paid What They Deserve?  Opponents of fair pay predict that capitalism will collapse if women's earnings ever reach those of their male counterparts. It's a Big Lie.

Women Who Ditch Their Career for Home Life Could Be Making a Huge Mistake.  Women who abandon their careers and become financially dependent on their husbands often look back on that decision as the biggest mistake of their lives—even women in stable, enduring marriages.

In Terms of Job Satisfaction, a Lot Depends on Your Age.  Is your job central to your identity? Hello, baby boomer!  Or do you see work as a means to an end?  Hey there, Generation X.  Have you ever considered bringing mom to a job interview?  Welcome, Generation Y!

Desegregation Debunked.  Today, the U.S. is more racially, religiously, and socioeconomically diverse that at any point in its 200-plus-year history. Nowhere is this multicultural trend more prevalent than in the American public school system.

How I Learned to Treat My Bias.  A physician is surprised by his own discovery that he views patients in part by the stereotypes usually associated with their race, gender, and ethnicity.

New "Cultural Diversity" Treaty on the Horizon.  The purpose of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions is to further integrate the world into a global village by applying a few more strokes of the international eraser to national borders and national sovereignty.

Interracial Marriages Surge Across U.S.  Coupled with a steady flow of immigrants from all parts of the world, the surge of interracial marriages and multiracial children is producing a 21st century America more diverse than ever, with the potential to become less stratified by race.

The Imus Fallout: Who Can Say What?  In a way, the question is an outgrowth of something healthy in our society: the assumption that there is a diverse audience that is willing to talk about previously taboo social distinctions more openly, frankly, and daringly than before.

The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Latinos.  DiversityInc describes the efforts of 10 companies to recruit, retain, and develop members of the largest minority group in the United States.

Online Tool Helps Returning Troops Get Jobs.  As it copes with the ballooning tasks of supporting waves of National Guard members and Reservists returning from combat, the Pentagon has deployed an online tool to help returning troops resolve problems arising from their attempts to obtain jobs.

Gay Men Seen Prone to Have Eating Disorders.  Gay and bisexual men may be at far higher risk for eating disorders than heterosexual men, while women seem to be equally affected regardless of their sexual orientation.

Chaplains' Complaints of Bias Increase at National Institute of Health.  The spiritual ministry department of the National Institutes of Health is in disarray and battling a lawsuit and discrimination complaints that allege bias against Jewish and Catholic chaplains.

Fedex to Pay $53.5 Million to Settle Racial Bias Suit.  FedEx Express discriminated against its African-American and Hispanic workers by passing them over for promotion, paying them less than White workers, and treating them unfairly in evaluation and disciplinary proceedings.

Lucent Settles Age Bias Case.  Lucent Technologies will pay $195,000 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of a 55-year-old worker who lost his job after more than three decades with the telecommunications equipment maker.

Make Me Laugh.  Some observers have suggested that political correctness killed humor in the workplace. But in truth, it killed only a certain kind of humor: the kind that mocks others for inherent traits. 

NewsLink is part of VA's ongoing effort to increase awareness and acceptance of diversity and to promote a flexible and inclusive work environment. For more information, visit the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Employment Opportunity Web site at www.va.gov/dmeeo.

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