Demand for these benefits remains high.  One study found that 87% of job applicants are familiar with the idea behind telecommuting and flex-time, and the majority express a desire to have at least periodic access to such programs.

Environmental interest groups have pushed the feds for years to create incentives for employers to encourage telecommuting. The pressure has risen as gas prices have continued to soar.

Nevertheless, flex-time programs have leveled off in some sectors, and there’s been a decrease in telecommuting.

Today, about half of all organizations where telecommuting is feasible permit employees to work from home on a case-by-case basis. But the percentage of employers offering full-time telecommuting has dropped in recent years.  Nowadays, only about 20% to 25% of employers offer the benefit year-round.

Even some national employers that are well-known for their telecommuting programs have scaled back. AT&T, for example, recently asked a few thousand home-based workers to come back into the office. Hewlett-Packard and Intel have done the same thing.  And the federal government recently noted a 7.3% drop in telecommuting employees. Why the cutbacks?

Pros and cons

Offering employees telecommuting or flex-time can be a good recruiting and morale-boosting tool, as well as a way to retain employees who need to relocate, would otherwise have a need to quit or take leave or commute long distances to work.

But the programs are not without their drawbacks. Some of the main reasons employers give for scaling back or eliminating them:

• Company culture - It’s easier to build a sense of organizational stability and a personal connection between employees, co-workers and supervisors when people interact face-to-face on a daily basis.
• Security - One of the hidden costs of allowing employees to telecommute (or else come in early or stay late) is keeping sensistive information safe. Some the cutbacks are being driven by companies’ IT departments. Specifically, managers have raised concerns about stolen laptops, identity theft or other crimes driven by hackers gaining access to information via workers’ home Internet connections.
• Productivity - Many supervisors find it easier to ensure high productivity when everyone is working under one roof at the same time.  There’s also a widespread view that most employees get things done faster and more accurately when they’re not distracted by things at home. 

The bottom line on the bottom line

Work-life programs such as flex-time and telecommuting remain a useful benefit to offer employees, and a lot of companies still provide these benefits for economic reasons. But once the potential hidden costs are weighed, it’s often better for the bottom line to limit the scope of these programs.

Organizations that are thinking about starting a telecommuting program should look closely at job descriptions and telecommuting candidates. Some positions are poorly suited for remote work, and some employees are more up to the challenge than others. 

But unless the organization creates objective criteria for allowing or denying flex/telecommuting requests, such programs can actually damage morale. The last thing any employer wants is to open supervisors(and the company) up to accustations of favoritism or discrimination because of seemingly random decisions on which workers in their department can and can’t flex their schedules or work from home.

Here’s a strategy that many employers overlook: Many TPAs offer direct deposit as an FSA reimbursement option, rather than sending checks to participating employees. The choice is up to the participant. 

One of our readers from New Berlin, NY reports that simply adding this option for employees increased workers’ satisfaction with the turn-around of reimbursements, and offset a common reason some employees gave for not participating in the benefit. 

Several employees who hadn’t enrolled in past years because FSA contributions are deducted from their regular  paychecks were convinced to enroll because reimbursements went straight to their bank accounts, regardless of the amount deducted to date during the plan year.

Typically, TPAs require employees to submit a voided check if the employee wants the money direct deposited to a checking account. If the employee prefers the money go into a savings account, the employee typically has to submit a direct depost form from his or her financial institution.

Two common errors to watch out for:  Some employees make the mistake of submitting a deposit slip rather than a voided check. Administrators typically reject this form of enrollment, thereby delaying enrollment).  In addition, it’s up to the employee to notify the administrator promptly of any account changes or closings.

But evidence suggests that eating at work stations is only a short-term productivity booster and can do more harm than good if it’s a regular habit.

One report found that people who routinely eat meals at their desks at work are twice as likely to be exposed to germs that can cause serious illnesses. Long-term result: Higher absenteeism costs.

Roughly 70% of Americans with desk jobs say they take working lunches at least three days a week. Most employees – and their supervisors – mistakenly believe that eating at their desks makes people more productive during the work day. In the short term, it may. But it the long run, the behavior often leads to higher absenteeism and lower productivity via preventable illnesses.

Unappetizing facts

A study conducted in 2006 found that the typical office workspace contains 400 times more germs than a toilet seat. The biggest bacteria colonies are usually found on telephones, computer keyboards and desktop surfaces.

In the real-life workplace, it’s a losing battle to try to convince most supervisors and employees not to eat at their desks. But the study says employers have seen lower absenteeism/presenteeism by taking three simple steps:

1. Give employees mini-bottles of instant hand sanitizer to keep at their desks.
2. Provide people sanitizing wipes for their work spaces (damp napkins and cloths just spread the germs around the surface).
3. Educate employees about the need for frequent hand washing with warm water – not hot or cold. Even in healthcare settings, this message often takes awhile to set in anding and requires frequent repetition. But the end results are worth it.

Increased obesity risk

There’s a second hidden danger that can affect your company’s costs: higher risks of overweight and obese employees.

People who frequently eat at their desks are less likely to be careful about the portions they consume, less likely to choose healthy foods and somewhat less likely to exercise during the day.

Wellness programs can help employers cut these risks, but it all starts with workplace culture and employee education.

From Girl Scout cookie drives to workplace birthday clubs, non-work fundraisers have become a part of many company cultures. Should management be concerned?

There are no simple answers to this question. Most employers want to encourage a family-friendly company culture, but employee (and supervisor) solicitations often have a way of spinning out of control. 

Left unchecked, onsite “selling” can go from a harmless activity to an unwelcomed one that causes tension and can actually hurt morale.

No-soliciting policy?

In one recent survey, 22% percent of employers said they have a policy against soliciting. In most cases, the policy limits the times and places (e.g., break rooms only) where employees can engage in the activity.

Some employers have created bulletin boards where workers can post their fundraisers for interested co-workers.  According to the survey, about one employer in 10 has banned unapproved fundraisers entirely.

Another thorny issue: In some cases, the one doing the selling is a supervisor or an executive, even if the company bans rank-and-file employees from doing it. 

Unfortunately, this leaves HR/benefits in a real tough position. How can you be expected to enforce a policy that managers themselves ignore? It sets you up to be the bad guy, and also shows employees that the powers-that-be either don’t take the policy seriously or don’t think they need to follow the same rules.

Office sports pools: Harmless or harmful?

Odds are pretty high (pun intended) that your employees and/or supervisors have an office football pool going right about now and/or a March Madness pool during the college basketball tournament. If not, they’ve probably worked somewhere in the past where such activities have had the tacit — or open — approval of the top brass.

Is that a good or bad thing for your company culture?

Never mind the fact that the pools are rarely used for “entertainment purposes only.” Although wagering in office pools (and fantasy sports leagues) is technically an illegal activity in some states, the laws are rarely — if ever — enforced. In most states, the typical $5 to $20 office pool is legal.

A bigger, more practical concern: presenteeism.

Easy to spot, hard to stop

If you were to take a random walk around your office and glance at people’s computer screens, chances are you’d find more than a few folks who have game reports open in one Window and their work in another. Want to guess which screen the employee pays more attention to? Yup.

One estimate says March Madness costs employers nationwide $1.7 billion each year in lost productivity. During that time of year, many employees (and supervisors) are paid to do little more than check on how the teams in their office pool are doing in the NCAA basketball tournament.

Truth be told, even if your organization bans office pools, many employees will sneak glances at the scores, anyway. But people are more open about goofing off — and spend longer doing it — when they participate in a pool at work. Many supervisors simply look the other way.

Morale builder?

The typical reason given for allowing office fund-raising solicitation or sports pools is that the activity boosts morale and employee bonding. In reality, the morale-building advantages depend on your company culture and the demographics of your workforce.

One survey found that 30% of professional and business service employees eagerly look forward to participating in an annual March Madness pool at work. On the flip side, only 13% of employees in the hospitality industry expressed interest in the activity.

Gender also comes into play. Roughly 24% of male employees said they’re likely to participate in an office pool, while 11% of women do.

Bottom line: Some workplaces wouldn’t miss such activities if they disappeared. In others, the long-term morale boost cancels out the short-term productivity hit.

That’s especially true for managing the health of employees’ adolescent children. Most of the attention goes to pre-natal and early childhood care. But a host of serious medical issues typically emerge during teenage years.

Physical issues

It’s every bit as important for employees’ adolescent dependents to undergo complete health assessments as it is for employees’ themselves. This is especially true for weight management issues.

There has been an epidemic rise in overweight and obese adolescents, which can contribute to (or worsen) a variety of physical and/or behavioral health problems.

Remember: These issues can create large-scale direct costs (treatments for the teenager) and indirect costs (absenteeism and/or presenteeism by the parent(s) who work for you). Other crucial factors:

• immunizations (shots or vaccines) to reduce the risk of getting diseases such as hepatitis, meningitis, tetanus and mumps
• preventive health counseling and age-appropriate health information (e.g., drug and alcohol abuse, sexually transmitted diseases)
• vision and hearing tests, and
• blood-pressure screening (especially if there’s a family history of high blood pressure).

Psychological issues

Regular physician visits provide an opportunity to discuss emotional changes and other challenges that most adolescents experience. In some cases, it’s also a front-line means of referring teenagers-in-need to behavioral counseling.

Remember: Proactive care greatly reduces the risk of a host of chronic and debilitating conditions. It can even be a life-safer in extreme cases.

A recent New York Daily News reader poll suggests that most current participants in a 401(k) plan intend to stay the course.  Nearly half (49%) said they’d leave their investments alone and try to ride out the storm.

Surprisingly, 21% said they intended to increase their investments in the hopes of getting in on some bargains that will grow dramatically as the economy stabilizes. Another 10% intend to downshift a portion of their investments to more conservative options (such as bonds).

There is still a significant percentage (19%) that intends to get out entirely. It also should be noted that there’s only so much one can read into polls such as these. Responses are limited to people who not only participate in a plan but also take an active interest in them.

Nevertheless, there is at least hope that the dire predictions of massive long-term drops in 401(k) participation will prove to be unfounded.

You’re not imagining things if it seems like you read about more pay-related employee lawsuits and court awards than ever before.  

When the feds changed FLSA’s overtime rules, some experts said fears of a lawsuit explosion were unfounded. But there’s been a 77% rise in FLSA lawsuits tied to wage-and-hour disputes, according to the National Employment Lawyers’ Association.

Also, over the same period, there’s been an 11% increase in wage- and-hour enforcement actions by the DOL.  Here are the biggest problem areas to watch for:

• unpaid or underpaid overtime due to alleged job misclassification
• requiring employees to use their own money for company purposes (e.g., employees must buy their own uniform or equipment), and
• supervisors who fudge time reports.

Another factor: High-profile lawsuits against big companies – including Wal-Mart, Pep Boys and Dollar General – have brought attention to FLSA regs and have spurred copycat suits against smaller employers who’ve employed similar practices.

Wal-Mart on a losing streak

Wal-Mart is batting 0-for-3 in wage-and-hour class action lawsuits in which the retail giant is accused of violating overtime pay rules and illegally requiring employees to work through rest and meal breaks.

In one case, Wal-Mart had to pay 56,000 current and former Minnesota employees $6.5 million in back wages and overtime. The workers claimed they were denied rest breaks, were illegally denied pay for their meal breaks and forced to clock out and then resume work (particularly while in training). The company is considering an appeal.

Apart from the federal FLSA violations, the firm could face stiff penalties from the state Minnesota for the violations of state wage-and-hour laws. The law specifies a $1,000 fine per violation. Based upon the recent case, the retail giant could be cited for up to 2,000,000 wage-and-hour violations!

Wal-Mart previously lost cases in California ($172 million) and Pennsylvania ($78 million) for assorted FLSA violations, with a host of cases pending in states around the country.

Meanwhile, the company also recently lost a case in which a former employee alleged the company was guilty of willful violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

What happened: An employee had difficulty walking as a result of a non-work injury. She requested accommodations to perform her job as a Wal-Mart pharmacy tech. Her supervisor refused and recommended she be transferred to another department. The employee resisted the transfer and was fired. The case recently settled for $250,000.

Lessons to be learned

Regardless of the business you’re in or your personal opinion of Wal-Mart’s pay and benefits policies, the company’s legal problems offer you an opportunity to grab the attention of supervisors and senior management to get serious about FLSA compliance.

Here are two key take-aways to hammer home in management training:

1. FLSA compliance starts upstairs

Unless senior management and supervisors in your organization realize that no firm is immune from OT lawsuits, there’s little you can do to safeguard the company from costly errors.

That’s because many OT payment errors stem from firms using outdated record-keeping systems that’ll take time and money to correct. It’s unfair for anyone to expect you – or Payroll – to singlehandedly find and fix every possible calculation glitch.

In the end, taking the time to review and upgrade your record-keeping system more than pays for itself compared to the risk of FLSA violations.

Roughly 85% of the U.S. workforce is OT-eligible. And since 2004, employers have had to pay out $1.5 billion in OT lawsuits. It hasn’t just been the Wal-Marts and Smith-Barneys that’ve been targeted, either. Small firms also get nabbed.

2. Start with record-keeping systems

By far, the biggest mistake employers of all sizes make is to over-rely on time cards or time sheets to record the hours worked by their non-exempt employees.

FLSA also requires employers to record (and pay any related OT for) certain off-the-clock work activities. These errors can occur either on the front or back end of your firm’s compensation system.

The biggest front-end danger area: FLSA requires employers to track and pay for time non-exempt employees spend logging onto computers or donning safety equipment. Another common slip-up: lack of a tracking system for work-related travel time by non-exempts.

On the back end of record keeping, FLSA requires your company to track total compensation (not just base pay) when calculating overtime rates. This includes bonuses, money from PTO buy-backs, wellness incentives with monetary value and other forms of compensation.

The statements can easily backfire – or contain inaccuracies. Here’s how to find and fix two common trouble spots:

1. Avoiding incorrect info

Accidental math errors are the most common – and damaging – problem with total comp statements.
They’re also the toughest for you to spot and correct before the firm sends out the statements, since you aren’t the one who crunches the numbers.

But there are two ways to minimize the risk:

• Make a list of the data sources you use, such as Payroll, your 401(k) provider and health plan carrier, and
• Ask each source to pull and review a few random samples. If they’re OK, chances are the rest will also be fine. But if they contain errors, you can be pretty sure others will have mistakes.

A related problem: Some statements are arranged as a single list of costs, one line after another. To cut the risk of putting something on the wrong line, break the statement down into small sections (e.g., salary, healthcare and retirement). Bonus: This helps make statements easier for employees to follow.

2. ‘Just increase my salary’ syndrome

Sometimes, total compensation statements can actually decrease salary satisfaction, rather than boost morale. A handful of employees may gripe, “Why can’t you just increase my salary instead?” That’s especially true for legally required benefits (like workers’ compensation) and low-profile benefits such as term life insurance. Two fixes that work:

• List “government-required benefits” as a section of the statement. Avoid the term “mandated,” since many employees are unfamiliar with it, and
• Consider adding a section that shows employees how much it’d cost them to line up their own coverage instead.

Even if it’s not in the budget, you can adopt some of the newer employee education techniques used in successful plans.

What’s out: Harping on the message that smoking causes lung cancer, emphysema, etc.  Virtually every smoker knows the risks by now. That doesn’t mean you should ignore the issues of smoking and serious health conditions, but it shouldn’t be the only focus.  

What’s in: The employee education trend has moved toward teaching people strategies to overcome the barriers that keep them from quitting.

Common barriers

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recommends that before smokers try another cessation attempt, they look at past quit attempts – what helped and what led to relapse. Three common relapse triggers:

• social drinking. Many smokers get their strongest cigarette cravings when they’re in social situations that involve drinking alcohol.
• smokers at home. Having other people in the household who smoke in the employee’s presence greatly reduces the chance of a successful quit attempt, and
•  the weaning approach. While some people can quit gradually, those who go cold turkey are usually better off once they get through the first few weeks of discomfort.

Identify non-health benefits

Your employees’ doctors likely already review the health benefits of quitting with their patients.
While it’s good to provide info that supports this message, you may want to make your focus the non-health rewards of quitting.

Example: Show smokers how much money they can save by quitting. Multiply the cost of a pack of cigarettes by the days or weeks of the year. Then add the cost difference between your health plan’s premiums for smokers and non-smokers.

One final step: Encourage people to set a personal “quit date,” preferably within two weeks. Many people respond best to deadlines – even when the deadlines are self-imposed.

Spot awards are the most popular recognition incentives among employees, according to one recent Internet survey.

The best part: The incentives usually amount to less than 1% of base pay. That makes the incentives attractive to Finance types. And the awards don’t even have to be given in cash.

Traditional end-of-year or quarterly bonuses cost employers an average of 10% of base pay yet often have a lower payoff in morale and retention.

Reason: Employees appreciate them less because they expect to receive them for reaching certain goals.

Spot awards are spontaneous and paid out immediately. Honorees are pleasantly surprised and see the organization values their work.
Here are four keys to successful spot bonus programs, according to benefits consultant Ken Stahlmann:

1. Creativity is crucial

The most effective programs typically give out awards weekly or monthly. To avoid over-stretching the budget – and avoid a ho-hum attitude setting in – creativity is a must.

One way that never gets old: combining time off with a second, non-cash award. Example: One firm gives a half-day off in combo with movie passes once a month. Another, at weekly staff meetings, holds a random drawing for a dinner gift certificate, plus permission to leave work early once.

2. Make it personal

Rewards have more lasting impact when they’re geared to people’s personal needs or interests. Two examples:

• one firm with many foreign-born, low-wage employees awards a $20 pre-paid phone card after 90 days of service, and a $100 card for outstanding work, and
• a company that employs a lot of sports fans took a few top-performers to a ball game. Managers said it was the best $200 they’ve ever spent in terms of creating ongoing enthusiasm.

3. Add structure

Spot awards may seem spur of the moment, but top programs have a fixed budget and structure set before anything is handed out.

Example: One retail firm awards “points” for good work. Folks can then trade in their points for store merchandise. By letting people bank points for more valuable rewards, the employer saw a solid jump in retention.

Other organizations prefer to let employees reward each other. For instance, a small healthcare provider keeps a “goodies box”  onsite – paid for in petty cash and stocked by employees themselves.

When someone spots a co-worker going the extra mile, he or she pulls
out a prize and awards it. The program is a huge hit: It’s immediate and personal, yet structured.

4. Don’t let good intentions backfire

Most spot awards go over well. But it’s easy for well-meaning managers to miss the mark. Keep these four issues in mind:

• For most cash or cash-value awards, there are tax implications (just as with traditional bonuses)
• Awards need to be spread around or else resentment can creep in
• Make sure honorees don’t mind being the center of attention (some firms have accidentally alienated people they tried to reward), and
• Be certain the reward is something people actually want. One firm that awarded a VIP parking space next to the CEO found no one used it. No one wanted the CEO knowing what time he or she came and left.