It’s kind of obvious (to me anyway), that as soon as any engagement survey is completed, its results need sharing immediately with the rest of the workforce, with staff having no doubts about what the current engagements strategy is going forward.

As an employment lawyer and frequent speaker on employment law and human resources issues (approximately 200 engagements annually), the topic I’m increasingly asked to talk about is implicit bias.

Ask 100 people to summarize the current state of the workplace in one word, and it’s a fair guess that the word ‘disruption’ will appear many times.

First unionized Apple store wants customers to tip staff when buying tech

Staff at Apple’s first unionized store in the US are reportedly in talks to ask customers ‘tip’ staff when paying for goods at the checkout. Staff at Apple’s Maryland branch – which become unionized last year – are said to want a 3-5% gratuity added – or another $59.95 on top of the price of its latest MacBook Air, which retails at $1,199. The Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE), which represents Apple staff, said: “Though we do not see tips as a major way of generating income, we wanted to create an acceptable system that allows the occasional customer the ability to reward our team for their hard work.” It added: “We understand there are a lot of concerns about the culture of tipping as a whole in the US, but there is currently no other mechanism that would work otherwise.” But customers have already taken to social media to vent their ire at the plans. “Tips for what?” said one Twitter user. “Assisting a customer for picking out the latest Apple device? Give me a break.” The Maryland store hit headlines in 2022 when it became the first Apple branch to unionize. The row comes amidst a nationwide backlash over ‘tipflation’ and rising discontent from customers who feel it is they who are having to boost employees’ wages, not the employer itself.

In most workplaces today, it has (quite rightly) become the accepted norm that there can be no room for certain types of conflict – that is anything which constitutes bullying, or any conflict which borders on being discriminatory or that resembles harassment.

With waves of layoffs continuing to occur on an almost weekly basis, the labor market is definitely changing.

It’s common sense that no one should ever be expected to arrive at work in the morning and leave in the evening feeling like they’ve been the subject of at-work bullying.

We all know that ‘quiet quitting’ has become something of a workplace buzzword.

McDonald’s franchisee fined for using ten-year olds as unpaid workers

A Kentucky-based McDonald’s franchisee has been found to have violated federal labor laws, by using children – some as young as 10 – as unpaid workers. The children, who prepared and distributed food orders; worked at a Drive-Thru window, and operated the register, would sometimes be working till as late as 2am in the morning, found the Department of Labor. All-told, DOL investigators found the store employed 24 minors under the age of 16 to work more than legally-permitted hours. “These reports are unacceptable, deeply troubling and run afoul of the high expectations we have for the entire McDonald’s brand,” commented Tiffanie Boyd, senior vice president and chief people officer at McDonald’s USA. She added: “It is not lost on us the significant responsibility we carry to ensure a positive and safe experience for everyone under the Arches.” The DOL issued fines of nearly $40,000.

In HR there’s no shortage of human capital metrics that companies can attempt to track and discuss.