Colleen OBrien on October 27th, 2010

How does the ability to connect with virtually anyone at anytime affect our friendships and relationships?  Chances are, this issue may be affecting you and your employees.
There are clear positive and negative aspects of being able to touch base with anyone who has ever been in your life, at any given moment:

Reconnecting with the friend [...]

Continue reading about Is Facebook Impacting Real-Life Relationships?

Bernie Dyme on September 29th, 2010

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks for me with business travel and industry events.  But it’s also been great opportunity to evaluate how we can better serve our customers and their employees and family members. 
My first travel adventure last week was to a conference in Los Angeles called the Employer Healthcare Congress.  It’s actually [...]

Continue reading about Corporate Wellness Ah-ha’s

Rick Kronberg on September 16th, 2010

Every year, 12-16% of the businesses and organizations we serve are affected by an employee suicide.  An even greater number have an employee that’s affected by a family member’s suicide or suicide attempt.
It may sound above average, but it isn’t.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), a person dies by suicide every 16 [...]

Continue reading about You Can Help Prevent Suicide; Support Research & Education

Bernie Dyme on August 25th, 2010

I must admit that the last few months have been very exciting for me and Perspectives Ltd.  As I have mentioned on other occasions, Perspectives and I have been providing services to the workplace for almost 30 years, primarily via EAPs. And during that time, we have seen the workplace and the EAP field change [...]

Continue reading about We’ve Acquired Another High-Touch EAP Company

Bernie Dyme on August 11th, 2010

This morning, I read something that really disturbed me.  It was a blog about Roy Hobbs, a Chicago native, veteran journalist and weekend television anchor in Birmingham, Alabama who was arrested in April on drug charges.  He was a prominent personality who was afflicted with drug addiction and needed help. 
To make matters worse, he claims [...]

Continue reading about Auditing Your EAP For Effectiveness May Save Lives

Rick Kronberg on July 28th, 2010

As floods plague communities around the Chicago area, many businesses and their employees are being affected. Basic survival instincts have kicked-in as families, whose homes have been damaged or destroyed, fight to find warm beds, food and clothing.
Organizations like the Red Cross often provide some initial stress or grief counseling as part of their [...]

Continue reading about Under The Weather? EAP Can Help Flood Victims Cope

Bernie Dyme on July 12th, 2010

Healthcare costs aside, Illinois businesses may be paying dearly for bad employee habits.
Illinois ranks among the worst states in the nation for binge drinking (47th) and smoking (38th), according to the July 5th issue of Crain’s Chicago Business. 
When you take a closer look at the data, which comes from the United Health Foundation’s “America’s Health [...]

Continue reading about Illinois Likes to Binge Drink & Smoke

Jon Vegosen on June 28th, 2010

Jon Vegosen briefs us on important developments regarding employee texting.
The United States Supreme Court addressed employer monitoring of employees’ text messages for the first time on June 17, 2010 in the case City of Ontario v. Quon.  The opinion underscores the need for employers to address text messaging and other newer forms of electronic communication [...]

Continue reading about Employment Law Updates: June 2010

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”

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