Rick Kronberg on June 14th, 2010

Throughout history people have invented new ways to get high – as an escape from the stress of daily life and real problems that need to be faced. 
Today is no exception.
Perspectives Ltd’s Employee Assistance program (EAP) Counselors regularly speak with employees from every walk of life, facing every kind of challenge.  Those conversations are confidential, [...]

Continue reading about ALERT: A New Substance May Be Plaguing Your Workplace

Bernie Dyme on June 10th, 2010

Recently, I opened up my “Google Alerts” and saw a story about Federal benefits being extended to same-sex domestic partners.  I was immediately excited to see the President of the United States opening up benefits beyond traditional family members – and that an employee assistance program (EAP) was included.
Although I’m delighted by this decision, it [...]

Continue reading about Obama, EAP and the Definition of “Family”

Terry Cahill on June 2nd, 2010

Fun Fact: The Chicagoland Chamber’s EAP costs less than a typical Type A manager spends on daily lattes in a year. 
That’s according to Monday’s OpEd in Crain’s Chicago Business by Jerry Roper, the Chamber’s president & CEO.
His piece titled, “Wellstone-Domenici parity act offers opportunities for employers to retain talent,” talks about the pending talent shortage [...]

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Rick Kronberg on May 14th, 2010

Earlier this month, many countries celebrated “May Day” holidays.  But a “Mayday!” cry may have been an equally common event.
Sadly, April and May are typically the highest months for suicides each year.
Wikipedia defines Mayday as “an emergency code word used internationally as a distress signal… used to signal a life-threatening emergency by many groups, such [...]

Continue reading about Workplace “Mayday” – Suicides Highest In Spring

Bernie Dyme on April 27th, 2010

This month, two major workplace tragedies have captured media attention:  the mine collapse in West Virginia and the sinking of an exploded oil rig off the coast of Louisiana.  
Neither is a typical “office job,” but they both impacted hardworking Americans while at work.
Respectably, news coverage focused on the lives lost and legal steps to prevent [...]

Continue reading about When Worksite Tragedies Strike, Survivors Need Support

Bernie Dyme on March 23rd, 2010

Drugs and baseball. Together again.  What a surprise.  (As my kids say, “Not.”) 
But this time the surprise is the big fuss that was made about not firing the manager of the Texas Rangers for having tested positive even though he came forward first.  Interestingly enough, where I think baseball really blew it with steroids, the [...]

Continue reading about Things Go Better With “Coke” or Do They?

Bernie Dyme on February 18th, 2010

In my last post about follow-up questions to January’s Interactive Roundtable on Violence in the Workplace, I addressed a handful of the questions participants emailed in following the discussion.   
Here are some of the additional questions that I think more and more businesses are asking about workplace violence prevention, and my recommendations for addressing this issue:
Q: [...]

Continue reading about Good Questions About Preventing Workplace Violence: Part 2

Bernie Dyme on January 13th, 2010

If you live in Illinois, or a dozen other states around the country, you’re probably aware of state laws that make cell phone use while driving illegal.  In Illinois, a law that went into effect Jan. 1st specifically makes texting while driving, and talking without the use of a hands-free device in a school or [...]

Continue reading about Cell Phone Use While Driving: A New Workplace Hang-Up

Sarah Needleman wrote a great blog post for the Wall Street Journal recently called, “Better Paydays Ahead.”  It’s a frank, investigative look at how employee compensation has been changed – probably for a long time – by the economic crisis.
The majority of the experts and research she cites point to modest pay raises in 2010, [...]

Continue reading about Raises Expected in 2010; Are There Other Ways to Reward Employees?

Bernie Dyme on November 30th, 2009

The other day, a customer service snafu reminded me that bigger organizations do not always deliver better experiences – and that technology alone can’t deliver superior service. 
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon these days to see claims of “bigger and better” and “high tech” replace what we at Perspectives call “high touch” service; a term that, [...]

Continue reading about Bigger or Better? High Tech vs. High Touch in the EAP World