Greater Milwaukee Jobs

see REASONS . . . page 7 2 GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS • November 6, 2014 into workplaces, businesses are perplexed by how to help these young workers build camaraderie at work while keeping other generations engaged, too. While nearly half of all workers believe office friendships increase workplace happiness, the importance of these friend- ships means something dif- ferent to each generation. Memorial Hospital Mira- mar in Miramar, Fla., has long had a social activities committee and experimented with everything from bowl- ing tournaments to Bingo night to help employees bond. It even tried hosting television watch parties. Yet, the hospital still hasn't found the right offerings for its younger workers, says Terri Garner, the hospital's human resources director. The hos- pital surveyed its workers last October and found its younger staffers want more work friends and better opportunities to make them. "It seems like for millenni- als, it's a big piece of their work life," Garner says. A survey by LinkedIn found workplace friendships not only made millennials happy: Half of those sur- veyed said such relationships motivate them, and 30 per- cent said these friendships make them productive. They view the workplace as an ideal venue to look for people to have dinner with, to catch a movie with and hang out. At the same time, Genera- tion X, the mid-level leaders who are in their late 30s, 40s and 50s, want friends in the workplace but aren't as interested in socializing with them outside the office. Being forced to do so as part of team-building and compa- ny - s p o n s o r e d a c t iv i t i e s drives Gen-Xers crazy, says workplace consultant Cam Marston. The challenge for managers becomes how to balance a workplace that young workers see as a venue to expand their social network and older genera- tions see as a separate from their personal lives. Marston, president of Gen- erational Insights, which consults businesses on gen- erational trends in the work- place, says the more success- ful companies encourage young workers to take charge of creating the cama- raderie they want at work. "Young people are saying we want a happy hour or we want a cooking class and we would like to organize it." Marston says. "Employers are then facilitating those activities by giving millen- nials space on the bulletin board or Intranet and not frowning when requests Determining pay not an exact science, but experience certainly counts By Marie G. McIntyre McClatchy-Tribune News Service & A Q A. Before addressing your question, we need a quick review of Compensation 101. Although this is hardly a capti- vating topic, it is one which employees need to under- stand, because all salaries are determined by a number of factors. In most companies, pay is influenced by both external and internal comparisons. To attract and retain desirable employees, salaries must be competitive with those of other businesses. Internally, pay must also be fairly distributed across a wide variety of jobs, considering factors like com- plexity of work and level of responsibility. Based on external and inter- nal data, management creates a hierarchy of pay scales which establish the minimum and maximum salary for every position. Each job is placed at the appropriate level in this hierarchy. Within the estab- lished ranges, individual salaries are determined by both expe- rience and performance. As you have correctly assumed, the pay differential in your situation is probably cre- ated by length of service.While level of responsibility puts you and your peers in the same salary range, their greater experience places them at a higher point in that range. Given your rapid rise, your abilities are obviously highly valued. With a better under- standing of the pay system, per- haps you can put aside these resentments and appreciate your rather amazing success. Q. Despite having a good salar y, I believe I'm not being fairly com- pensated. Seven years ago, I was hired as a staff accountant making $35,000 per year. Five years later, after several promotions, I was named Chief Financial Officer. My salary is now $120,000. Although this is obviously a significant increase, I still make less than the other members of our leadership team. I believe this disparity exists because I reached my position in such a short time, while those executives have been here for decades. In my opinion, pay should not be based on tenure, but on the person's value to the company. My role is just as important as my colleagues', so I'm not being paid what I'm worth. Nevertheless, our CEO seems to feel I should be satisfied with my current salary. What do you think? Marie G. McIntyre is a workplace coach and the author of "Secrets to Winning at Office Politics." Send in questions and get free coaching tips at http://www.yourofficecoach.com, or follow her on Twitter officecoach. A publication of Conley Media Distributed by: Conley Distribution 262-513-2646 ©2004 by Conley Media, LLC Waukesha County Independent and Locally Owned GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS is published weekly by Conley Media – Waukesha County, 801 N. Barstow St., Waukesha, WI 53186. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the publisher. GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS assumes no liability for any error in copy or content. It is the advertiser's responsibility to be aware of the laws pertaining to employment advertising. Subscriptions are available for $34 (non-refundable) for a 6-month subscription. Call 262-306-5035 for information. Call Center Director: Cindy Shaske 262-306-5016 cshaske@conleynet.com Account Executive: Jeanne Bonlender 262-306-5035 jbonlender@conleynet.com Story Coordinator: Dwayne Butler 262-513-2626 dbutler@conleynet.com Production: Patricia Scheel 262-513-2690 GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS Volume 17 • Number 9 November 6, 2014 To place an ad: Call us at 262-306-5035 or fax us at 262-542-6082 deadline: Noon on Wednesdays younger workers . . . from page 1 If you're going to call in sick, make sure you don't post pictures of yourself at a concert. According to this year's "calling in sick" report by CareerBuilder, 1 in 4 employers has caught an e m p l o y e e f a k i n g i t b e c a u s e o f s o m e t h i n g found on social media. And 1 in 5 bosses has fired employees for call- ing in with fake excuses. Using information from a Harris poll, Career- B u i l d e r a c c u m u l a t e d some of the odd excuses employees have given for missing work. Some rea- sons are believable, such as the employee who said her legs fell asleep when she was sitting in the bathroom – she stood, fell and broke her ankle. Others are just plain u n b e l i e v a b l e : T h e employee "accidentally got on a plane." This year's report said 28 percent of employees have called in sick some- time in the past year, even though they were feeling w e l l . T h a t w a s d o w n from 32 percent a year earlier. Some of those playing hooky were honest. They said they simply didn't feel like going to work. One said she woke up in a good mood and didn't feel like blowing it. About 3 in 10 admitted they just wanted a day to relax, about 2 in 10 wanted to catch up on sleep, and about 1 in 10 stayed home because of bad weather. The poll got responses from 3,103 employees and 2,203 hiring man- agers or human resource p ro f e s s i o n a l s. I t w a s taken in August and early September. Of interest to employee benefit plan designers, half the employees said they had paid-time-off programs that let them take time off when they choose, but 23 percent of them said they still felt obligated to make up excuses. For the record, here are some of the "dubious excuses" reported: • Just put a casserole in the oven. • Plastic surgery for enhancement purposes needed some "tweaking" to get it just right. Workers give all kinds of reasons for calling in sick By Diane Stafford The Kansas City Star see YOUNGER WORKERS … page 6

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