Imagine that you’re seated at a table with several other people, all dressed in their very best. Suits and ties are just the beginning as bow ties, top hats, dresses and high heels are among the fashions, too. It’s a very upscale place. However, you’re not at a fancy restaurant or a gala event. You’re at work, having lunch in the cafeteria. Welcome to Formal Fridays.

Remember when everyday business attire was serious and formal? Almost like an official uniform for men, suits and ties were expected, and women wore the requisite dresses or suits. We’re not talking about ancient times here; this was the 90s, when being dressed up was simply part of daily life.

Casual Fridays arrive but over time, things go astray...

Then everything changed. Along came Casual Fridays, giving virtually everyone the opportunity to wear a more relaxed, dressed-down style on Fridays — nothing as casual as ripped jeans or flip-flops initially, just khakis and button-downed shirts. You could practically hear people cheering.

Yet, somehow, over time, Casual Friday evolved from “business casual” into a completely new style, not so much emphasizing the business as the casual part of the equation, replete with sweatshirts, hoodies, and, yes, jeans and flip-flops. Who knows how it happened, but, morphing into something more akin to Sloppy Friday, Casual Friday eventually became everyday attire.

All of those Monday-through-Thursday suits disappeared in favor of complete comfort. For tech firms and other creative companies, dressing down, all the way down, became standard operating procedure. Almost a badge of honor, these styles were a means of communicating to the world that you didn’t follow the crowd; you were too busy being a creative genius to conform to any formal dictates on fashion. Looking unkempt was cool.

The funny thing is that, with so many people dressed alike in their ultra-casual coolness, just how different was anyone really being? After all, when nonconformity becomes the norm, it’s not quite so cool any more. In fact, it may be time to rethink the whole paradigm. Besides, even sloppy can become boring when you do it day after day. So, when office attire began to look no different from anything you might wear to do yard work, change was inevitable. Could a backlash be far behind?

The Backlash - Formal Fridays are born...

That’s where Formal Friday comes in. Tired of the daily dressed-down styles, people began polishing their look once a week. While it may sound odd at first, definitely running counter to this whole idea of comfortable work wear, Formal Friday has been growing for several years now. It’s reminiscent of that old adage about everything old being new again, making dressing up suddenly feel fresh, new and very desirable. Wearing your wardrobe’s best on Friday now seems truly cool.

Starting at a few tech firms, the concept of Formal Friday has gained momentum, refining the clothing selections of baristas in coffee shops and workers in non-technological offices as well. Sporting dresses fit for a night of dancing, for example, and tailored suits with French-cuffed shirts, people are discovering a couple of new facts about themselves.

First, they enjoy the experience of fine dressing, even if only once a week. Or maybe it’s because it’s only once a week. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly,their productivity increases . There’s just something about being well dressed that makes people rise to the occasion.

Of course, the fact that it’s optional adds to the whole idea. When you mandate clothing, it’s not as much fun to wear it any more. That doesn’t boost morale; it lowers it, and there goes your extra productivity.

Plus, the real fun is in individualizing your look. Adding quirky pieces, unusual combinations and bold accessories is all about showing your personality in a dressed up, British kind of way. Why not? The United States may have initiated Formal Friday, but the Brits really know how to do it.

The leaders - British Formal Friday style

With fine tailoring being one of Britain’s many claims to fame, young Brits are putting their own spin on it. It’s the way they do it that will put a smile on an observer’s face. Weaving together an eclectic mixture of patterns, styles and, always, that one item that is just a bit odd, Brits keep a little eccentricity in Formal Friday.

Even those not directly involved in this trend seem to like it. Observing the change, the Wall Street Journal noted that Lydia Ramsey, a business-etiquette expert, was excited to see more companies stepping up their work attire. As she put it, "These people are not in college anymore. They need to look like adults."

Interestingly, that may well be part of the draw for young people who, having worn informal clothing for the entirety of their professional lives, haven’t had the adult experience of dressing up for work before. Sometimes it’s nice to feel like a grown-up — or, at least, to look like one.

Now, if the whole idea of playing dress-up once a week is beginning to appeal to you, try it in your own office. Your staff is likely to enjoy the camaraderie it creates along with the chance to strut their finery.

For inspiration, here are a few styles that we like for Friday Formal:

Putting a twist on the blue blazer, this bright shade, available at Express, has great style paired with the business casual look of khakis. Coupling the currently trendy plaid tie with the dotted pocket square adds a bit of British flair to Formal Friday.



Taking masculinity to a confident level, this H&M suit partnered with a floral print shirt is for a secure man. Add the white plimsolls, or as Americans call them, sneakers, and you have a uniquely British take on Formal Friday.



Always a winner, a little black dress is perfect for Formal Friday. This one, from The Limited, has the fitted waist and flared A-line style that are both flattering and professional. Your own accessories give it British panache.


Sources: Image 1

If you look at the numbers, every ten to twenty years (we’ll split the difference and
call it fifteen), a major corporation decides to “restructure” its operation which, in
laymen’s terms, means terminating the services of a ginormous number of workers.

Rumors abound lately that IBM is set to fire over 100,000 employees (that’s dismiss,
discharge, lay off, let go, give notice to, get rid of, ax, or sack depending on where
you are at the moment) in what could turn out to be the largest layoff in history.

While IBM may be the first to tread into the six-figure domain, the business world is
certainly no stranger to mass layoffs in the five-figure range. Let’s take a look at the
top sixteen mass layoffs.

16) Microsoft – 18,000

In July of last year (that’s 2014 for you number challenged), Microsoft announced that it
will lay off up to 18,000 employees. The bulk of those employees (12,500 to be exact)
will be cut from Microsoft’s mobile phone unit Nokia Devices and Services. To paraphrase
a familiar adage, let’s hope that when a Window closes for these employees, somewhere, a
door opens.

15) Hon Hai – 20,000

While the western world boasts the bulk of the largest layoffs, the east should not be
forgotten. With over 400,000 employees worldwide, Hon Hai (a.k.a. Foxconn)
was amongst the largest of the large in 2008. Then the global recession hit and the behemoth slashed 5% of its workforce in order to control costs.

14) Hewlett-Packard – 24,600

Expansion in one area often means contraction in another. That was certainly the case
back in 2008 when HP set about diversifying its operation. Once the dust settled, then
CEO Mark Hurd trimmed the fat and 24,600 people found themselves without a job. Based on
stock price alone (see above), it seems to have worked.

13) Daimler Chrysler – 26,000

During the recession of 2001 (there was a recession back then too?!), Chrysler went
through a major restructuring to resulted in 26,000 new first-time unemployment claims.
The company barely recovered when the Great Recession of 2008 hit (that one I remember)
and Chrysler – being too big to fail – was bailed out of Chapter 11.

12) Hewlett-Packard (Again!) – 27,000

We can only speculate what’s going on over at HP but with another massive layoff coming
(this time the CEO was Meg Whitman) just four short years after 2008’s five-digit fiasco,
it would be easy to conclude that something ain’t right.

11) Bank of America – 27,000

Yep, just like Hewlett-Packard, Bank of America cut 27,000 jobs between 2012 and 2014
after changing CEOs three or four times in as many years. Hmm…maybe it’s not the jobs;
maybe it’s the CEOs.

10) Bank of America – 30,000

The financial world is such a minefield, I don’t know how the major institutions do it.
I guess it’s a good thing they do. Sure there’s a chance that millions, if not billions,
can be made, but there’s more of a chance that you’ll fail miserably and take the global
economy with you.

Just after the turn of the millennium, banking giant Bank of America, which had just come
through extensive mergers and acquisitions activity, eliminated 30,000 jobs it said were
now redundant. Welcome to the 21st century!

9) United States Postal Service – 30,000 (a number of times)

If you wanted to combine all the numbers, the United States Postal Service layoffs would
top this list. The first decade of the 21st century saw the USPS slash 30,000 jobs three
times for a total of 90,000 postal workers sans employment. I wonder if they cut more
jobs than they moved packages and envelopes?

8) Boeing – 31,000

Who wanted to fly after September 11, 2001? I didn’t. If Boeing’s behavior was any
indication, millions of others shared my view. In response to the economic chaos that
ensued, Boeing cut 31,000 jobs from its commercial aircraft division. No wonder Ebay has plenty of Boeing employee pins for sale!

7) Ford – 35,000

The first few years of this century were a difficult time for many of the United States’
largest companies. Perennial powerhouse Ford was no exception. U.S. and world
populations were holding everything close to the vest and this had a major impact on car
sales. Ford laid off 35,000 as a result of this contraction.

6) AT&T – 40,000

Back in the day (the late 1990s), AT&T was THE phone company. Then things began to
change. Cellular phones began their rise and AT&T had to react. 40,000 workers were
given pink slips and the company lumbered on.

5) General Motors – 47,000

2008 just sucked! Everything went south and many mainstays in the business world were
forced to make do. General Motors slashed 47,000 jobs in response to the sluggish sales
that came as part of the fallout from the sub-prime mortgage disaster. Things have since
recovered for the largest auto makers but the early 2000s was just a bad time to be a
member of the workforce.

4) Citigroup – 50,000

Another 2008 casualty was the financial firm Citigroup. $20 billion in taxpayer money
(TARP) wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding and Citigroup chose to fire 50,000 workers in
an attempt to gain some control.

3) Sears/K-Mart – 50,000

Though these massive layoffs seem to congregate in the tech, automotive, and financial
sector, retail is by no means immune. In 1993, Sears and K-Mart were in the process of
merging and the resultant blowback caused the elimination of 50,000 jobs.

2) IBM – 60,000

The early 1990s saw the rise of the internet and computer manufacturer IBM was struggling
to find its place in the new paradigm. Executives concluded that the company needed to
cut costs and the most efficient way to do that was by eliminating 60,000 jobs.

1) U.S. Army – 70,000

Early in 2014, the Pentagon announced that it would begin the process of shrinking the
armed forces to pre-World War Two levels. This would mean reducing the number of troops
to at least 450,000 and eliminating 70,000 active positions.

Conclusion – record breaker on the way?

So, as you can see, if IBM does indeed cut 110,000 jobs this year, it will crush the old
record and slide easily into the top spot. What conclusion can we draw from all of this?
Perhaps these mega companies ought to try keeping it “small” (as small as you can be
when you employ hundreds of thousands of people).

Or maybe this is just the cycle of growth that we (the menial workers of the world)
should come to expect from the business sector. Whatever it may be, as the world’s
population continues to increase and more and more people are employed, these mass
layoffs will continue to increase in size as well. Wake me when someone lays off
250,000.

Sources: Image 1; Image 2; Image 3; Image 4; Image 5; Image 6

Every company seeks the best employees, those who are reliable, innovative, team-oriented yet able to work well independently. The difficulty can be in locating them. That’s why, once such stellar employees are recruited, retaining them becomes paramount.

Fortunately, this is an arena in which a sharp Human Resources Department (HR) can be invaluable. Assisting in supporting and retaining your best employees, HR helps to ensure that employees are content within your company, bolstering morale and guarding against early departures. Here are seven key ways HR can help to retain your best employees:

1. Get to Know Employees Individually

As studies indicate, significant benefits accrue as upper management endeavors to know their employees as individuals. Among those benefits is employee retention. As a matter in which small acts yield large returns, this needn’t require a great expenditure of time or effort. On the contrary, small talk is actually a big factor here. Not wanting to be perceived as merely a faceless member of the crowd, employees appreciate it when those in supervisory positions address them by name, inquire about their lives and then remember the details later. These small gestures convey interest in each employee as a multifaceted person. Therefore, a means by which HR can foster these interactions in meaningful ways is through management training that is motivational, promoting a climate of camaraderie. The result is often increased morale and productivity among employees as well as retention.

2. Provide Constructive Feedback

Perhaps the most critical aspect of employee retention, feedback offers employees important insight into the details of their own progress or lack thereof. Rather than await a formal review that may occur solely on an annual basis, intermittent feedback supplies such intangible information as the employees’ ability to work as part of a team, their initiative, the quality of their interactions with clients as well as their communication with supervisory personnel. When HR provides avenues for ongoing feedback, employees have opportunities to enhance otherwise nebulous skills that have a direct impact on their advancement. It’s this type of feedback that boosts employee retention.

3. Offer Growth Opportunities

From courses they may attend to workshops they can conduct, the opportunities for employees to hone their skills and talents is among the key factors in their contentment, which naturally leads to retention. HR’s willingness to offer these growth chances is an indicator of its commitment to its employees and to their advancement. This is an investment not only in the company itself, but also in the company’s greatest asset: its employees.

4. Give Employees a Voice in Decision-Making

Seeking recommendations from employees on decisions that affect them is foundational to good business practice. It’s also an excellent way to keep employees. In much the same way as maintaining an open-door policy, permitting employees to voice opinions on decisions accords them professional respect and underscores the significance that HR places on employee counsel. Whether HR hosts an open forum in which planned decisions are discussed, undertakes a survey of employees’ views and suggestions or simply makes available a suggestion box on the topic, the inclusion of employees in that decision-making process transmits a clear message. Rather than having decisions imposed upon them, employees respond favorably when given the option to collaborate on impending changes and are far more likely to remain with the company.

5. Ensure Equitable Treatment

While it may be true that “life is not fair,” HR certainly can be. In fact, employee retention can depend on it. It is essential that policies, salaries and any other measure that directly impacts individual employees be implemented equitably. Indeed the mere perception of an imbalance can be sufficient to create unrest, to lower morale and to incite employees to begin seeking employment elsewhere. Therefore, it is advantageous for everyone concerned when HR ensures that new employees are not paid more highly than existing employees in the same position, for example, or when hardworking employees are not overlooked for advancement in favor of an outside hire. Such sensitive information has a way of becoming known, making the perception of fairness unequivocal in retaining employees.

6. Maintain an Open-Door Policy

When HR creates an atmosphere in which employees are encouraged to speak up, to present suggestions, to voice new methodologies, a sense of empowerment ensues for employees. A policy that deems employees to be integral to the success of the company, as important contributors to something bigger than themselves, promotes employee retention as the employees view their contributions as significant to overall outcomes. Employees who feel vested in a company are far more likely to remain there.

7. Acknowledge and Reward Outstanding Work

Expressions of appreciation go a long way toward retaining employees. From a simple “thank you” for a job well done to letters of recognition for achievement, HR’s acknowledgment of employee excellence cannot be overestimated. What’s more, monetary bonuses for exemplary work offer employees an incentive for even greater effort. Employee retention is never a problem when employees are lauded in these ways.

Conclusion

Retaining employees is crucial to the health and stability of a company. Each loss of an employee at mid-level or higher represents a loss of the money invested in their training as well as an end to all access to their expertise, skills and input. The seven tips listed here, while not an exhaustive list, can undergird HR’s efforts to retain its best employees.

Source: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4

Periodically playing games with your employees (no, we’re not talking mind games) is a great way to build camaraderie and provide a much-needed break from the stresses of a workday (or workweek). For some easy and fun employee engagement ideas, see our post here or make up your own team-building game.

As good as these (and your) ideas are, sometimes you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to team-building and stress release. Never fear! Save the longer games for once a week (or every other week), and try these one-minute game ideas for a quick bit of fun that everyone is sure to enjoy.

Game #1: Pick up M&Ms with chopsticks
This is a great game to play as teams or individually. You’ll need a lot of M&Ms, bowls, chopsticks if you play it as individuals but it’ well worth the outlay in materials (plus everyone gets to eat the M&Ms when the game is finished). Instruct participants to pick up and move as many M&Ms as possible from one bowl to another (the second bowl should be empty) in one minute using nothing but the provided chopsticks. The person with the most wins.

Game #2: One-minute typing test
This is a quick and easy way to play a game with your employees. Google “typing test” or “one minute typing test” and you’ll find numerous websites that calculate typing speed. Pick one and use it for this exercise. You can set up the website on one computer and have employees take turns or you can give everyone the website (if they have access to the internet) and all employees do it at the same time. If possible, find a website that factors in mistakes and backspaces for a more of a challenge – here is one http://www.typingtest.com/ .

Game #3: Blow up balloons
Just like it sounds: Teams attempt to blow up (and tie) as many balloons as possible. Make sure to have PLENTY of balloons on hand and get two different colors to make counting easier. Use this before a larger party to make decorating easier. Alternatively, you could then play the following game.

Game #4: One-minute treasure hunt
Label two sets of items with team names (team 1/team 2, red team/blue team, etc.). Hide each item throughout the office (you can hide one item for each team in the same place) – this is easier to do if you hide the items in a seldom-used location while your employees are working. Divide into two teams (names should reflect how you labeled the items). Give each team one minute to find as many items as possible that contain their team name.

The team that gets the most items wins. If both teams get all items, the team to get all items and return to start fastest wins. While technically this treasure hunt game takes more than one minute, the entire game start to finish will probably take five minutes or less.

Game #5: One-minute trivia game
Write ten to twenty trivia questions on a sheet of paper (use both sides) and make enough copies for each employee. Gather everyone together and give everyone one minute to answer as many questions as possible. The person to answer the most questions wins. Offer prizes for second and third as well.

Game #6: Keep 3 balloons aloft for one minute
Again, while not technically a game that can be played from start to finish in one minute, this game is a great way to get staff out of their seats and provide a short diversion during the workday. The game is exactly as it sounds: each person attempts to keep three balloons aloft for one minute. You could divide into two teams and, provided enough room, have one person from each team attempt this feat at the same time (you’d need six balloons in that case – perhaps 3 red and 3 blue). It’s harder than it sounds and you may want to see – while shooting for a minute – who can go the longest. Time each member of the team, add up the individual times, and the team that has the longest time wins. Permutations abound for this game so use your imagination.

Game #7: Buzzword
This party game is a quick and fun way to organize a one or two-minute break in the workday. Of course, you’ll need the game Buzzword to make this work but that shouldn’t be too hard to find. Divide employees into two teams. Explain the rules which aren’t terribly difficult to understand and then give each team one minute to get guess as many phrases as possible. You may have to run more than one round to get a score where someone wins but this is still an exercise that is short and sweet…not to mention fun.

Game #8: Pop the balloons
Also just like it sounds (with a twist): Divide into two teams – or get each team to nominate one member – and instruct participants to pop as many balloons as possible in one minute WHILE WEARING OVEN MITTS OR BOXING GLOVES. Contestants cannot step on, sit on, bite, poke, or use any other implement but their hands to pop the balloons.

Game #9: Separate the beans
You will need plenty of desk space and a fair amount of beans for this game but it’s a quick and fun diversion. Purchase two bags of kidney beans and two bags of chickpeas (or any type of beans that differ in color or shape). Separate one bag of kidney beans and one bag of chickpeas into a bowl for each team (you’ll also need four empty bowls for the sorting). Divide into two teams and then instruct teams to separate the beans into type. The team that gets the most kidney beans and the most chickpeas in one minutes wins.

Conclusion
Employee engagement and team-building don’t have to be full (or half) day activities. These one-minute game ideas can be interspersed throughout the day for a welcome diversion from the stress and strain of a hectic work environment.

Source: Image 1; Images 2

According to the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration, workplace accidents are more expensive than most companies realize. This is because workplace accidents and their aftermath are composed of two types of costs: direct and indirect. Direct costs are fairly obvious and include things like Worker’s Compensation claims. Indirect costs are, by nature, less obvious and include things like the costs associated with training and compensating a replacement worker, repairing damaged property, investigating the accident, implementing corrective action, and maintaining insurance coverage. Don’t forget about the even-less-obvious costs associated with schedule delays, added administrative time, lower morale, increased absenteeism, and poorer customer relations. In fact, studies have shown that the ratio of indirect costs to direct costs can reach as high as 20:1. That means that for every $1000 you spend on the direct costs of an accident, the possibility exists that you could spend $20,000 on the indirect costs of the accident. No one wants that.

So how can you make moves to prevent accidents in the workplace? One effective method is the safety suggestion box. Your workers are on the front lines – they see it all – and are the best source for safety concerns in the workplace. Instituting a safety suggestion box allows your workers to address the safety concerns – both major and minor – that they encounter every day and which might go unnoticed by management.

We at Vetter have direct experience with this. BASF’s South Carolina plant instituted a web-based safety suggestion box through Vetter (www.getvetter.com) because, according to BASF Human Resources Manager Andrew Tunstall, “[We] always need to stay focused on…employee safety concerns. So far, [our 450] employees have responded well to the new system and suggestions keep flowing in.”

Whether setting up a safety suggestion box for 450 workers or 45 workers, the process remains the same. Here’s how to implement a safety suggestion box program in just five days.

Day 1
Document the current safety situation in your workplace in order to establish some benchmark data. Find out how many accidents, leaks, spills, and other mishaps your workers are having each month. If possible, determine the financial impact of these events – whether large or small – in order to illustrate the direct and indirect costs.

Day 2
Show the data to senior management. Any big project or initiative requires the support of senior management so take what you’ve learned to the higher-ups, show how a safety suggestion box can reduce costs, and stress the importance of getting started right away.

Day 3
Establish a system for categorizing the inflow of suggestions. A simple way to do this is to divide the workplace into discreet areas (i.e., loading dock, shipping, pre-production, production, post-production, etc.). Then identify a problem area from the benchmark data you accumulated on Day 1 in preparation for Days 4 and 5.

Day 4
Send out an informative e-mail (put up a flyer, make an announcement, whatever needs done to address the majority of your workers) stating that senior management has identified a particular safety problem and tomorrow a safety suggestion box will be made available to address this – and any other – problem.

Day 5
Launch your suggestion box. In order to grease the wheels, so to speak, it’s important to have some ideas already submitted so that employees are not scared to be the first one to make a suggestion. As you might imagine, we recommend Vetter for this, but there are some other good options out there too!

It really is as simple as that; just five short days to a safer workplace and a happier workforce. And whether your safety suggestion box is a physical box located in the break room or a website that can be accessed from anywhere (this format is often more productive because ideas don’t occur only at work), it’s important to follow up on the suggestions in order to maintain the view that the suggestion box is a worthwhile endeavor.

So get started today because the sooner you start, the sooner you can begin reducing workplace accidents and avoiding both the direct and indirect costs associated with these events.