Tess Taylor 
As is the tradition of the HR Writer each month, we like to highlight the most influencial HR articles for the previous month. July featured many hot topics in human resources, including the recent Healthcare Reform ruling and FMLA guideline changes. It’s clear that many employment and benefit topics were on the minds of businesses worldwide.
Here’s what makes our list for the Top HR Articles of July 2012!
Slam the brakes on intermittent FMLA abuse: 7 tactics by Christian Schappel over at HRMorning.com started the month of July off on the right foot, with sound advice for HR pros to follow when curtailing FMLA abuses. Since summer is the worst time of year for staffing and frequent absences, this article gives some great tips for managing requests for FMLA leaves by employees, legally.
Problems with obesity in the workplace authored by Kristine E. Kwong on HR.BLR revealed several studies about the impact of obesity on wellness programs and health care costs. With over 30 percent of the adult working population currently overweight, it’s time for more employers to offer on-site wellness programs and support for healthy weight loss.
Study Over 60% of Workers are not Engaged in their Work by Joshua Bjerke at Recruiter.com was an in-depth look at a recent workforce study on the level of engagement that the average person has in their job. It was surprising to find that over 60 percent of all employees are not actively engaged in their jobs, with almost one-quarter not receiving the support they need to be successful.
Healthcare Law Mandates Major Changes to College Student Plans by Kelsey Sheehy, contributor for US News was a revealing look at what the nation’s college students may expect as a result of the Affordable Care Act going into motion for August 2012. While we tend to think of Healthcare Reform only affecting the middle class and small businesses, it will also play a major role in the cost for health care services for our growing population of young people just entering the job market and obtaining their educations.
Communications to the Rescue was a rousing article by contributor Ken Makovsky at Forbes talked about a recent study conducted by Beyond.com, poorly written job descriptions may be partially to blame for the 8.2 percent unemployment rate. It urges all recruiters and HR professionals to take the time to write clear job descriptions and make the application process more streamlined in order to facilitate things for job seekers.
Coming out at Work Not an Easy Decision by “At Work” contributor Andrea Kay shed light on an issue that a growing number of working people worry about – revealing their sexual preference to their employer. While it is illegal to discriminate or harass employees who have same-sex lifestyles, as HR professionals there are challenges at enforcing this in the workplace.
Employees Who Witness Bullying Often Quit by Chad Brooks, contributor at Fox Small Business Center, shed light on a growing problem in many workplaces – bullying of employees by others. While bullying has gone on for many years, it is no longer tolerated by a society that embraces diversity in the work environment.
Hope you can take a moment out of your busy week to read the above articles, and feel free to post below your thoughts and comments!
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