Do your employees steal from work? Two in three employees in the United States have confessed to committing at least one type of theft at their current workplace, according to a new survey. The poll from Business.com surveyed 1,000 workers to determine the scope of workplace theft this year.  In the report, employee theft has been defined as a "blanket term encompassing a wide array of misconduct," such as falsifying timecards and taking naps to shoplifting or embezzlement of company funds. It found that 67% of employees have committed at least one type of theft in their current workplace, while 41% have stolen from their employers in more ways than one. The most common form of misconduct admitted by employees is tackling personal tasks during company time, as cited by 54% of the respondents. Among these personal tasks are household chores, making personal phone calls and appointments, browsing the internet and using personal devices, running errands, and organizing personal finances. Meanwhile, the report found that roughly a quarter of employees improperly used company supplies, equipment, or vehicles. According to the report, less than one percent of workers admitted to stealing cash directly from their current employer.  Source: HR Director 5/7/25

Being a mother hurts work opportunities and holds women back: In a survey of nearly 1,000 working moms, 87% said they’ve missed promotions or other opportunities due to becoming a parent, Zety’s Motherhood & Work Impact Report revealed. Likewise, 90% said they adjusted their career trajectory due to parenthood. Working moms also face bias in the hiring process and stigma about motherhood, the report found that of those surveyed, 89% said they were asked about their parental status during either an interview or a review. A majority also said they thought their pregnancy was considered an inconvenience at work and that they needed to work harder than those without children to prove themselves. The survey results indicate that the adage “you can’t have it all” remains a reality for many working moms, who say they have had to “mak[e] major career sacrifices just to stay afloat in a system that still penalizes parenting,” according to the report.  More than 3 out of 4 working moms said they were explicitly told to put off having kids until they were more established in their career, and 82% said they were told that becoming a parent would hurt their career, the survey found.  Only 58% said they felt supported by their employer after sharing their pregnancy news. Source: HR Dive 5/8/25

Do you extend caregiving benefits to your hourly employees? Caregiving benefits have come a long way since they were first introduced into workplace compensation packages, but they're still missing the mark with certain key demographics.  Childcare costs have surged by 22% since 2020, according to a recent report from global care benefit provider Helpr. While that complicates care access for many families across the U.S., for hourly and deskless workers — such as those in retail, hospitality, food service, and construction — rigid schedules and lower wages make care nearly unattainable. In 2022, 16% of middle income and 38% of low-income parents faced significant challenges paying for childcare in 2022, according to Helpr. This compares to only 4% of upper income families. Elder care costs are also on the rise, with the average annual cost of a private room in a nursing home at approximately $9,733 per month. In-home healthcare services, often considered more affordable, still cost families over $5,000 per month on average. For many hourly and deskless workers, many are working less conventional schedules, and it can be difficult for them to find services that are not only covered but consistently fit the hours they need assistance with — particularly parents with young children who work night shifts.  Source: EBN 5/7/25

Do you run when you see a vanity title on a resume? Quirky job titles may be killing your recruiting pipeline. As hiring tightens, a rising trend of “vanity” descriptions of applicants’ work experiences is making hiring managers’ jobs more difficult. If you can’t glance at a résumé and know that “chief happiness guru” was really a chief human resources officer, it’s harder to tell if the applicant is someone you should look at more closely. Finding the right candidates can be difficult, and if a new title gets a qualified applicant out of the applicant tracking system and into the interview pile, what’s wrong with a little vanity? “First impressions count. As people scan résumés, they hope to see a title similar to what they are recruiting for,” said Katrina Collier, author of Reboot Hiring and The Robot-Proof Recruiter. Making a title “relatable” also means deflating it as much as it means inflating it to a vanity title. Mike Coffey, president of Imperative Information Group, a company that conducts background investigations and performs business due diligence, said he sees the “vanity title” often—and it often doesn’t end well for the candidate. Many of Coffey’s clients consider it lying and a red flag if someone has adjusted their title, even if it more accurately reflects what they did.  Source: Inc. 5/8/25

Delaying retirement also extends life span: The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that those who worked just a year beyond retirement age had a 9% to 11% lower risk of dying during the 18 years the research covered, regardless of health. The National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that delaying retirement from 66 to 67 could increase retirement income by 7.75%. For employers hoping to retain talent, older workers who can work remotely, at least part-time, are less likely to retire. That can save employers on hiring and training costs for new employees. Remote work changed many aspects of life, but a new study from the Center for Retirement Research also revealed that it's making later retirement not just possible, but much more likely. In fact, someone who works remotely was 1.4 percentage points less likely to retire compared with an employee in a similar position who commuted to the office. Based on the retirement rates of those included in the research, this reduction in the likelihood of retirement represents a 14.4% decrease.  It’s not clear why.  However, a considerable amount of research shows that a shift to remote work has allowed more people with disabilities to find and maintain gainful employment. This could suggest that older workers are more likely to stay on the job if they develop health issues, when medical problems may have otherwise prompted retirement.  Source: Kiplinger 5/2/24