Insightlink's Annual Survey of the American Workplace

The proportion of U.S. employees with more work than they can handle has increased steadily since Insightlink began conducting employee surveys over 15 years ago. This finding aligns with public health concerns that stress is becoming a workplace epidemic. Anxiety, exhaustion, burnout and fear of losing their jobs are reported with increasing frequency in Insightlink’s employee research. And not to forget that there is a clear correlation between high stress levels in employees and increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, higher levels of disengagement and excessive turnover. Read more on PRweb

1.2 million Walmart workers to get pay raise

Most Walmart employees in the U.S. will get a raise next month as part of the second phase of the company's commitment to higher wages.

More than 1.2 million workers at Walmart and Sam's Club will see a pay bump on Feb. 20, in line with Walmart's promise to bring its minimum hourly wage up to $10 this year. Entry-level workers, however, will still receive $9 an hour until completing an in-house training program. The average full-time hourly wage will become $13.38.

Walmart also announced a new paid time-off policy, making vacation days available immediately as they're earned and eliminating a previous requirement that employees wait one day before taking sick time. A new short-term disability plan will also take effect this year at no cost to full-time hourly employees. Read more on USA Today

Stay Connected: How Everyday Leaders Engage People

Right now -- as you are reading this sentence -- almost 70 percent of your staff is alienating your customers, keeping you from achieving your goals, or costing your operation money that could be used for more productive purposes.

Scary, huh?

What This Means For You

Creating a fully engaged team has a real impact on your results. Organizations in the upper echelons of employee engagement beat their counterparts in productivity, profitability, and customer ratings -- in some cases by more than 20 percent. They have lower absenteeism, less shrinkage, fewer accidents, and better quality.

The most actively disengaged are easily recognized. They undermine others' performance. Their discontent is readily visible, and they suck the life out of your organization.

Many of the unengaged are more difficult to see, however. They aren't necessarily unhappy, and they may even be meeting minimum job expectations. They just aren't providing the discretionary effort or sharing ideas that could make your operation stand out in the marketplace.

What You Can Do

Read more on HuffingtonPost

Workplace Stress: The Health Epidemic of the 21st Century

It's no surprise that workplace stress is a bigger problem today than even 10-years ago. In the 1990's the term work-life balance was coined to describe the solution for being able to "have it all" and manage it with ease. Time management courses popped up all over Corporate America in effort to help people balance their family, career, health and social life; promising a golden solution via setting priorities, maintaining a schedule and creating time boundaries. People everywhere jumped at the chance to bring solace to their life by way of this new buzzword, but rather than balance many found themselves taking on more and feeling greater pressure to perform better in all areas of life. The result...more stress. Read more on Huffpost

The American Workplace Is Broken. Here's How We Can Start Fixing It.

The way we work doesn’t really seem to be working.

 Americans are working longer and harder hours than ever before. Eighty-three percent of workers say they’re stressed about their jobs, nearly 50 percent say work-related stress is interfering with their sleep, and 60 percent use their smartphones to check in with work outside of normal working hours. It’s no wonder that only 13 percent of employees worldwide feel engaged in their occupation.

Glimmers of hope, however, are beginning to emerge in this bruising environment: Americans are becoming aware of the toll their jobs take on them, and employers are exploring ways to mitigate the harmful effects of stress and overwork. Yet much more work remains to be done.

Read full story on Huffington Post