Employment arrangements : improved outreach could help ensure proper worker classification : report to the Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, U.S. Senate.

GAO-06-656 Employment Arrangements: Improved Outreach Could Help Ensure Proper Worker Classification

Many U.S. workers receive health & pension benefits from employers, & the cost of these benefits represents a growing share of workers¿ total compensation. Employers have made changes to control these rising costs, contending that these changes will allow them to remain competitive in an increasingly global market. This report examines the practices employers are using to control the costs of benefits. To evaluate changing employer benefit practices & their implications, the author examined: (1) current & emerging practices employers are using to control the costs of health care benefits, & retirement benefits; & (2) employers¿ workforce restructuring changes. Charts & tables.

Ownership and decision-making are key issues in current debates among corporate, labor, and policy leaders. This volume contains cutting-edge research on the causes and effects of financial and decision-making participation around the globe, plus theory and thought pieces on the meaning and value of employee ownership in a rapidly changing world

"Based on in-depth interviews with more than 200 leading entrepreneurs, [including the founders of LinkedIn, Chipotle, eBay, Under Armour, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, Spanx, Airbnb, PayPal, JetBlue, Gilt Group, Theranos, and Dropbox], a business executive and senior fellow at [the Harvard Kennedy School] identifies the six essential disciplines needed to transform your ideas into real-world successes, whether you're an innovative manager or an aspiring entrepreneur"--

Human resource management is experiencing profound change, new challenges, exciting accomplishments, and much uncertainity. The public service has moved away from the old days of "personnel management" concerned mostly with processing "personal action" paperwork, to a system where public employees are managed as human capital to get the work of the government done more effectively and efficiently. This volume brings together the latest thinking on human resource management in the public service, presented by distinguished thought leaders in the field. While it focuses primarily on federal government policies and practices, the principles, conclusions, and recommendations translate readily to state and local government, and to the private sector as well.

This powerful resource investigates how a positive work–life balance can help create engaged, productive employees, how imbalances in work–life balance create serious issues for workers, and identifies different ways to greatly improve one's work–life balance. Of the 35 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), all except the United States provide nationwide paid maternity leave. This is but one example of how the United States has not made adequate provisions to safeguard the work–life balance of its workforce—to the detriment of the overall economic prosperity of the nation. This insightful book shows how problematic an out-of-balance work-to-life ratio is, gives readers the raw data and information to prioritize their values, and describes tools available for selecting a position that matches an individual's talents and is congruent with her desired work–life balance. Work–Life Balance examines the controversies associated with work–life balance in the modern era and emphasizes how winning the struggle to achieve work–life balance requires buy-in from employees, management, and government. Readers will appreciate how optimizing their work–life balance may incorporate employee assistance programs, flextime, improved time management skills, technology-enabled tools, and community programs. The author explains how choosing an appropriate occupation is the first step toward having a positive work–life balance and avoiding the twin scourges of depression and job dissatisfaction. Comparisons between typical benefits in the United States with those in other countries provide data that can be used to advocate and negotiate for greater flexibility, fairness in gender equality, and better employer-employee relationships.

Combining emerging trends in collaboration, democratization, and urbanization, this book examines the emergence of entrepreneurship and innovation as a primarily urban phenomenon, explains why urban environments are rapidly attracting global innovators across three distinct forms of "urbanpreneurship," and lights the path forward for entrepreneurs, innovators, and city governments. The world is urbanizing rapidly. Currently, 600 cities account for 60 percent of the global economy; by 2025, it is predicted that the top 100 cities will account for 35 percent of the world's economy. Emerging trends in collaboration, the sharing economy, and innovation are opening up new opportunities for entrepreneurs in urban environments—"urbanpreneurs"—to participate in everything from tech startups in cities (instead of suburban tech parks) to makers and on-demand service providers to roles in civic entrepreneurship for those interested in solving the challenges that growing cities are facing. Readers of this book will understand how the converging trends of collaboration, democratization, and urbanization are rapidly attracting global innovators to cities capable of creating the enabling environment for aspiring innovators. The book discusses how entrepreneurs can best capitalize on the opportunities in urban settings, identifies what large and small cities can do to encourage more urbanpreneurship, and concludes with a consideration of the future of entrepreneurship in urban environments.