Getting up at 4 a.m. on Saturday to watch the royal wedding? No? Maybe you should, especially if you’re concerned about corporate branding. While it’s true that nobody does pomp and circumstance better than the Brits, what this really is about is branding for the royal family “firm” and England itself. Like William and Kate, Harry and Meghan are now powerful brand influencers, generating worldwide warm fuzzies toward all things British. Translation of all that goodwill? Reuters estimates a £500 million boost to the English economy. Fast Company
If you’ve ever thought your job was driving you crazy, you might not be far off the mark. A new study by the Black Dog Institute in Australia examined the effects of job strain, namely low control and high demands, on an employee’s mental health over the course of five years. It found that people with high job strain were 14 percent more likely to develop a mental illness. What HR can do: Take steps to help empower employees, reduce workplace stress, and watch for signs of depression. Medical News Today
Overly dramatic headline aside, the Guardian is reporting that a network of arch-conservative think tanks, the State Policy Network (SPN), is conducting an aggressive anti-union campaign in the U.S. The aim is to “defund and defang” unions by encouraging members to opt out. Hmmm. A case before the Supreme Court right now is being called the most important trade union case in modern history. The plaintiff, Mark Janus, is suing AFSCME because he doesn’t want to pay union dues. If SCOTUS rules in his favor, it could trigger mass resignations from unions, which is what SPN wants. By no coincidence whatsoever, Janus spoke at SPN’s annual meeting last year. The Guardian
If you mediate employee disputes in your workplace, chances are you’re following the delicate dance leading up to the summit with North Korea. With both leaders posturing publicly, the president’s team is grappling with not just policy and negotiation tactics, but location, seating arrangements, and even menu items. Insiders say what the public sees is the tip of a very deep iceberg, with exhaustive prep work being done behind the scenes in the hopes of creating a fruitful discussion. Lessons HR can take from this: There is no such thing as too much prep before mediating a contentious employee dispute. Bloomberg
Is Blockchain a paradigm-shifter for HR? Some people think so. It’s the digital ledger where cryptocurrency transactions are recorded. It’s public, although details can only be seen by the parties involved. It’s unalterable and will survive in cyberspace long after AI robots take over the world. So, how is it poised to change HR? It can store a job candidate’s identity, entire employment history, and education credentials. No more background checks. No more fudging on resumes. (And, no more resumes.) It could streamline the entire hiring process. Places like MIT and Coca-Cola are already using it. HRM Asia
