Recently in Furloughs/Layoffs/Turnover Category

Source: Janette S. Dill, John Cagle, Journal of Aging and Health, Vol. 22 no 6, September 2010
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Objectives: High turnover and staff shortages among home care and hospice workers may compromise the quality and availability of in-home care. This study explores turnover rates of direct care workers for home care and hospice agencies.
Results: Home care agencies have higher total turnover rates than hospice agencies, but profit status may be an important covariate. Higher unemployment rates are associated with lower voluntary turnover. Agencies that do not offer health benefits experience higher involuntary turnover.
Conclusion: Differences in turnover between hospice and home health agencies suggest that organizational characteristics of hospice care contribute to lower turnover rates. However, the variation in turnover rates is not fully explained by the proposed multivariate models. Future research should explore individual and structural-level variables that affect voluntary and involuntary turnover in these settings.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, USDL-10-1174, August 26, 2010

From January 2007 through December 2009, 6.9 million workers were displaced from jobs they had held for at least 3 years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was nearly twice as many as were displaced for the survey period covering January 2005 to December 2007. In January 2010, about half of displaced workers were reemployed, down from about two-thirds for the prior survey in January 2008. The more recent period includes the recession that began in December 2007. In contrast, the prior survey covered a period of employment growth and declining unemployment.

Since 1984, the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor has sponsored surveys that collect information on workers who were displaced from their jobs. These surveys have been conducted biennially as supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of house- holds that is the primary source of information on the nation's labor force.

Displaced workers are defined as persons 20 years of age and older who lost or left jobs because their plant or company closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished. The period covered in this study was 2007-09, the 3 calendar years prior to the January 2010 survey date. The following analysis focuses primarily on the 6.9 million persons who had worked for their employer for 3 or more years at the time of displacement (referred to as long-tenured). An additional 8.5 million persons were displaced from jobs they had held for less than 3 years (referred to as short-tenured). Combining the short- and long-tenured groups, the number of displaced workers totaled 15.4 million from 2007-09, up from 8.3 million for the period covered by the prior survey (2005-07).

Source: Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, 19 August 2010

A new study by Pennsylvania State University researchers found that home health aides who had training are less likely to be injured on the job, and aides who felt they did not have good support from their supervisors were also more likely to suffer injuries.

The researchers also concluded that home health aides who had not experienced on-the-job injuries had a higher rate of job satisfaction and lower turnover "intentions."
See also:
Pennsylvania State University press release

Source: Ethan Pollack, Economic Policy Institute, Issue Brief #279, May 27, 2010

From the summary:
Although recent economic indicators suggest a turnaround, much of the economy is still struggling, and these elements could keep unemployment high. Local governments in particular have suffered from the recession, which has led to massive budget gaps caused by a combination of depressed tax revenues and higher costs from a social safety net that more and more Americans are forced to rely on.

These budget gaps will translate into a loss of jobs, over half of which have yet to occur. Unlike the federal government, most local governments must balance their budgets each year. This means, among other things, that vital local public servants like teachers, firefighters, and police are a target of budget cuts and could be laid off. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 180,000 local public-sector jobs have already been lost since August 2008.

And it will get worse--much worse.

Source: Economic Policy Institute, May 26, 2010

On May 26, 2010, EPI hosted the panel discussion, Long-term unemployment: Causes, consequences and solutions, where a group of economists explored the value of extending unemployment benefits for the millions of long-term unemployed.
Presentations include:
- Unemployment insurance and the long-term effects of layoffs
- Long-term unemployment: Causes, consequences and solutions
- Should long-term unemployment benefits be extended?
- Long-term unemployment

Source: Alison F. Reif and Lisa M. Gaulin, Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 36 no. 1, Summer 2010
(subscription required)

In this article, the authors provide a basic checklist of best practices for companies planning a reduction in force.

Source: Ken Baylor, Waste Age, May 01, 2010

What factors determine job satisfaction for waste industry drivers, and what leads them to quit?

In the context of a battered global economy, job satisfaction has been a major casualty. A recent report by The Conference Board revealed that job satisfaction generally is the lowest that it has been in decades. Another study by Dice Salary showed that nearly half of the workers claim that their employers do nothing to motivate them. Just as many employees think their boss is a jerk, and Career Vision found that about 65 percent are searching for new jobs. There are more disheartening statistics, but these should be enough to get an enlightened manager's attention.

Actually, job satisfaction reports signaled a lot of room for improvement long before the economy sank. Unfortunately, some employers made matters worse by using the Great Recession to squeeze their labor costs for short-term gains, which could haunt them later. The problem was then exacerbated when the pressured workforce heard nightly news reports of climbing corporate profits and soaring top-level executive compensation.

Source: Michael Z. Green, Connecticut Law Review, Vol. 42, May 2010

From the abstract:
In these tough economic times, employers have responded by pursuing four-day work weeks and other mechanisms that change the components of the standard five-day work week. Although four-day work weeks provide some savings in the form of reduced operating and energy costs and have received recent notice for also being family-friendly and environmentally-friendly, current dismal economic prospects have inspired employers to pursue other work week changes to achieve further savings. Furloughs, also referred to as unpaid days off, represent a form of a reduced work week as employees do not work during their furloughed time and receive no income for those hours. Furloughs have become more prevalent as employers have offered this option to employees as a major cost-cutting action and as a unique response to the current recession. In some situations, employers have mandated these furloughs without consulting employees. In other situations, furloughs have been presented as a sympathetic action by an employer seeking to help employees by not pursuing layoffs. In the midst of a nearly unprecedented jobs crisis, employees have few options when responding to these wage-cutting initiatives. This Article offers a strategy to assist employees in developing a comprehensive response to an employer's planned furloughs. Through collective action, employees and their unions can navigate these difficult economic times and focus on the one benefit that would significantly aid financially-distressed workers: paid leave. Either through legislative action or union-negotiated agreements, employees must band together and respond collectively to furlough initiatives by exploring all other cost-cutting measures and by seizing upon this time to seek paid leave benefits.

Source: Carol Porter, Katharine Kolcaba, Sister Rita McNulty, Joyce J. Fitzpatrick, JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, Volume 40, Issue 5, May 2010
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
The effects of a nursing labor management partnership (NLMP) on nurse turnover and nurse satisfaction were examined.

Job satisfaction and retention are among the factors related to the nursing shortage. The NLMP was a specific intervention where nursing leaders, both nonbargaining and bargaining, worked collaboratively to improve patient care and outcomes.

There was a significant decrease in nurse turnover and a significant increase in nurse satisfaction (from moderate to high) post-NLMP.

Source: Janice Heineman, Institute for the Future of Aging Services and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, January 2010

A review of the literature and national professional association Web sites as well as attempts at personal communication with leaders of these same associations yielded little information about retention strategies and programs for long-term care professionals. Some research, although still very little, could be found in the literature about job satisfaction among professional long-term care staff and factors influencing their intention to stay in or leave their positions. Overall, however, there is a paucity of information to be found about strategies and/or programs aimed at retaining quality professional staff within the long- term care field. Moreover, anecdotal evidence and communication with leaders in the field indicate that the minimal literature and information to be found on retention strategies reflect a true lack of such strategies and not merely a lack of published information describing these strategies.

Due to the lack of defined and tested retention strategies and programs for professional long-term care staff, what follows is a summary of information and research pertaining to turnover and staffs' intentions to stay or leave. Section I presents research conducted on this topic by various groups and individuals. Section II summarizes the information, albeit minimal, uncovered on specific retention strategies and programs.