Conversations about artificial intelligence (AI) have been everywhere recently. Congress held hearings about it. News outlets have written articles about it, including that content providers have [...]

Please note: In this article, we follow NAMI’s example by using the terms “mental health illness” and “mental health condition” interchangeably. Since 1949, May has been recognized as “Mental [...]

Employees stay at companies where they feel valued and safe. Employees leave companies where they feel discounted, taken advantage of, or disconnected from managers and co-workers. Increasing the [...]

Most employers have felt the impacts of the tight labor market. Employees have been resigning at a rate of over 4 million per month for over a year. Low unemployment rates continue across the [...]

From return-to-office, which was Glassdoor’s Word of the Year, to quiet quitting, 2022 introduced us to several new labor market concepts. It’s still too early to predict what terms will define [...]

As strong demand for qualified workers continues to be a challenge for employers in 2023, compensation remains at the forefront for businesses trying to retain and recruit talent. Having a better [...]

Understanding compensation is critical to staying competitive in today’s volatile labor market.  Real wage growth is a concept that is particularly important. Real wages/income is calculated by [...]

The workplace has its fair share of scary stories. By bringing them to light, we hope they can become important lessons on what to do and not do.  Unwelcomed birthday party cost employer [...]

“Quiet quitting” started as a TikTok video describing how one employee was finding work-life balance by changing how they approached their job without actually quitting. The now-viral video has [...]

The following labor market summary was prepared by Susan Pale, Vice President of Compensation. Where has 2023 gone? It’s a question I keep asking myself, and I’m guessing many of you are asking [...]

Welcome to Compensation 101 where we define and give examples for those boring compensation terms we throw around all the time.  You’ve heard a lot of them recently and probably experienced some [...]

A recent story reported that Delta Airlines will begin paying flight attendants half-time for boarding duties, a change from the industry-standard of only paying once the doors close. Delta is [...]

By now your sales force is through the first quarter of 2022.  For a lot of organizations, 2020 was a terrible sales year and 2021 brought record sales.  So what will happen in 2022?  Affinity HR [...]

The current trend known as “the Big Quit” or “the Great Resignation” is expected to continue into 2022. In 2021, a monthly average of 3.95 million workers quit their jobs for various reasons as [...]

Trends and legislative agendas indicate that employers are facing some new challenges in 2022 while battling old ones. When possible, it is critical that businesses prepare for these changes in [...]

I was recently sharing a cab with the business owner of a print manufacturer heading to an industry conference where I was slated to be a presenter on workforce trends and solutions. He turned to [...]

Notice On November 6, 2021, the 5th US Court of Appeals issued an injunction based on a legal challenge filed in its courts. On November 12, 2021, the 5th Circuit ruled that this injunction [...]

I was recently sharing a cab with the business owner of a print manufacturer heading to an industry conference where I was slated to be a presenter on workforce trends and solutions. He turned to [...]

We know there is a lot of confusion around vaccine mandates and applicable accommodations. In order to provide more in-depth information for you to consider when planning the best course for your [...]

In addition to a tight labor market and increasing wages, employers are dealing with employee “bored out” (chronic boredom leading to feeling totally meaningless) and “the big quit” (with 4 [...]

I’m writing this the morning of August 6, and the monthly jobs report from the USDOL has just been issued.  Last month’s report was somewhat underwhelming, so this one has been eagerly awaited.  [...]

Operating your business in the current COVID world with the relaxing of COVID restrictions across the country requires considering what your future workplace will look like. According to a survey [...]

Marijuana is now legal in some form in 35 states and Washington, D.C. with 7 additional states having decriminalized marijuana possession and 2 states legalizing CBD oil use. (You can find the [...]

Federal and in some instances state and local law protects several groups of people in the workplace based on their sexual or gender identity.  Given the newness of these protections, as well as [...]

COVID-19 has made many aspects of employee management difficult. Now, one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are having to adapt to the extended repercussions of the COVID-19 workplace. [...]

Among the many changes to “business as usual” forced upon businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic is the reality of more employees working from home. Whether due to regulatory shutdowns or the [...]

The American Rescue Pan Act (ARPA), the 1.9 trillion relief act passed by Congress and signed into law on March 11, 2021 contains many COVID-19 relief and stimulus measures.  The following are [...]

To view or print the PDF Labor Market Summary click here!

To view or print the PDF checklist version click here! As state, local, and municipal governments take steps to re-open businesses across the country, employers must take a fresh look at their [...]

We have all read stories of someone’s unacceptable or illegal actions going viral and the public using social media to identify that person and where they work and live. While we normally think [...]

As 2020 drew to a close, we started fielding questions from clients about whether they could require employees to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment.  These questions were [...]

Along with a new year, January 1, 2021, brought many employers new regulations to follow. Affinity HR Group is tracking legislative updates in your state so we are ready to advise you on what it [...]

2020 has sure been a challenge.  Employers have struggled to keep businesses open and have been challenged to develop new markets, products, and services in record time. If your business is food [...]

One day this past week, Lisa Ritchie, our VP of Recruiting and Talent Selection, and I were on a video call.  She was having a rough day and needed to vent about something non-work related: [...]

The year 2020 marks Affinity HR Group’s 10-year anniversary. As we prepare to celebrate the occasion, my team asked me to compile the top 10 things I’ve learned over that time. Surprisingly, this [...]

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we wanted to remind you of some important compliance regulations that made headlines a few months ago but may have fallen off your radar as well as some recent [...]

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and businesses reopen under restrictions which vary by city, county, and state, Affinity HR Group continues to monitor several topics and issues to help our [...]

Employers who received an original Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan were given eight weeks from the loan origination to restore their workforces to pre-coronavirus employment levels and pay [...]

As states start to open up from their COVID-19 shutdown orders, it’s a great time to start thinking about where your business is heading and what people you will need to get you there. With [...]

Many of our clients may be considering how to respond to the current uprising over the death of George Floyd.  Here are some suggestions. First, it is important not to remain silent.  Your [...]