Category: Uncategorized

Option 1: Labor Unions

Labor unions across industries have many pros and cons, along with a complicated history. Some unions require you to join to accept the job you are offered. Some companies ban unions. Some require fees to be a member. All around unions offer benefits but they do come at a cost.

The reason workers form unions is to create leverage between them and their employer. This a company is not offer the benefits they want or not paying a sufficient amount for the work being done, in a worse case, the workers can go on strike and force the company to the negotiating table. The union will have delegates to meet with company execs to try to make a deal. The union is supposed to watch out for workers interest and work in the background to protect their benefits. This is the idea at least, sometimes this can not go to plan if their is corruption in the union or a company not willing to work with the union.

One of my friends is a part of the teachers union for the local school district. In her experience joining the union is optional and she has enjoyed being a part of it. From the fees the union is able to offer scholarships, discounts, financial / legal services and insurance. The union works with the state / county to protect employee pay and time off, along with other topics. She finds the union support beneficial and worth the small fee.

Well her union is worth it there are many stories about unions not working for the benefit of their members. In the end it’s very important to know what you are getting into and what you are paying for when joining a union. Overall I see them as a good thing when they are ran correctly, they keep companies honest and force them to treat their employees fairly.

Sources:

• https://oregoned.org/contact-us
• Week 10 Outline – Labor Relations

Personality and Stress Testing, and My Results

This week I took three different stress and personality related testing, Are You Type A?, Coping and Stress Management Skills Test and Life Stress Test. The first two are from Psychology Today and the last one being from the Job Center of Wisconsin. Overall I scored pretty average to below average on all the test but lets look into each and my opinion on it. We’ll also take a look at what I can do to manage stress and what companies are doing to help their employees.

For the Type A Personality test, I scored a 49 out of 100 meaning I am a mix of type A and B personalities according to the test. This score is leaning toward B personality but also a little below the average. Personally I see myself leaning more toward an A personality, based on my how I handle all my responsibilities and task tracking. Still interesting to see, cause I can find qualities of personalities in myself.

For the Coping and Stress Management Skills Test, I scored a 41 out of 100 meaning that I am somewhat stressed but below average, which is a 58. I think this is pretty accurate, as at this current moment in my life my biggest stress causer is school. Along with that I feel confident in my ability to manage my stress but I am by no means an expert. There are more steps I could / should take to lower my general stress. This could look like doing more calm tasks or doing things I enjoy. An easy one I could do more of is reading before bed instead on spending time on my phone.

Lastly I took the Life Stress test, I scored a 165 which was in the second lowest category out of 4 but was a bit above average. The category I scored is described as “1/3 of all persons in this category will experience illness or accident”. I worrying thing to read for sure, this test is based off the last year instead of my current mindset so makes sense why my stress might be a little higher. This test had the greatest effect on my mindset about stress as I want to avoid illness and or accident so that makes me want to take steps to lower my score.

These test are a good reminder that myself and employers should focus on stress and how to correctly deal with it. Left uncheck stress can have extremely adverse effects on someones health.

Take the test yourself:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/personality/are-you-type-a (Are You Type A)

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/health/what-are-your-stress-triggers (Coping and Stress Management Skills Test)

https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/publications/dwsj/pdf/detj_9441_p.pdf (Life Stress Test)

Compensation Related To Motivation, In My Experience

Compensation is often used to sway a perspective employee’s decision regarding their career. It can be used to try to get an employee to accept a job, increase their effort, convince them to take a new role or move locations, just to name a few. We can hope that someone enjoys their job but in the end cash and benefits are king and they have a large effect on the employee. The best way to for a company to get an employee to make the decision they want is to offer them more money / better benefits.

In my short career so far I have seen this first hand and it has defiantly effected my decision making. The best example was from last spring when I was mulling over what summer internship offer I should take. I had one offer that was to move to a different city where they would pay my rent for the summer (I would still have to pay rent at my current house). Another offer where I could live in my current house, commute to work and they would still pay my rent for the summer. For both companies I thought where actually working environment was pretty much the same so it truly came down to the other aspects of work I held important. As ease of life, financial situation and location (being close to friends) were major factors for me I choose to go with the second offer.

Comparing my thought process to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is interesting me. In this theory, physical needs are at the bottom and love / belonging is in the middle. I feel like in this situation I was acting with those two ideas at the top of my needs and the reasons I made this decision.

Sources:

• McLeod, Saul. “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.” Simply Psychology, 6 Feb. 2026, www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html.
  

Beneficial and Not Beneficial Work Trainings, In My Experience

In my career, I have spent most on my in construction, this has lead to lots and lots of different types of trainings as construction sites come with high risk situations. Many time as you move from job to job you have to do these trainings multiple times. This creates lots of redundant trainings but also good reminders.

Many trainings are high beneficial and necessary to mitigate risk on the job site. A classic that I find beneficial is the training on what the different colored cations tapes mean. Importantly, red means you need a special certification to be in that area so for me that means absolutely not go. An example of this is high voltage electrical work, to be safe in that situations you need lots of knowledge but also special gear that you would not normally have on. If this training did not exist there would be a much higher risk or electrocution or even death on a job site. Some of the reasons this is beneficial also lie in the method it is given. The safety manager on the job site will give this training in person on the site to every new worker, this manager also gives daily reminders of where red tape will be set up. See the tape below for an example!

There is one specific type of training I find not very beneficial in the construction world, and let me explain why. Most construction sites have a online training everyone on site most complete before stepping foot on the site. This covers liability, basic safety, and HR topics. Well yes, it is given so legal reason and to make sure the employees understands the risk and liability. I see online trainings like this to be something many people, including myself, zone out on and just skip through to get it done. I know the information is important but a training like that, given before you even start work is the last thing most people want to do. Overall I see most online trainings as not beneficial, I understand it’s cheaper but there are better ways to give this information. In todays world online trainings do not teach employees all the information that higher ups might think.

Sources:

• Outline – Training and Development
• Chen, Jackie. “Barricade Tape Meaning: 23 Types and OSHA Color Codes.” Jackwinsafety.Com, 3 Dec. 2025, jackwinsafety.com/barricade-tape-meaning/.
• Image from https://www.chhanson.com/barricade-tape-danger-1000-x3-x1-5mil-red.html
  

Implicit Attitude Test – My Results and Bias

This week I took the Implicit Attitude Test with the subject of age. This test made up mostly of matching words and pictures of people with categories of good or bad, along with a few questions. My result stated “Your responses suggested a moderate automatic preference for Young people over Old people”. I find this personally interesting, I see, as a young person myself I may prefer people in my age range. In general I have always help older people with high regard, I think they carry lots of wisdom and experience. So I find it interesting the I would have such a bias.

If I was a hiring manager I would have no idea I had such a automatic bias. It is unfair to a older person to have a disadvantage at getting a job purely because of their age. I think older people bring a lot to the table in a work environment. They bring lots of life experience, also in my opinion my be harder workers then many people in the younger category. Thats all my opinion though. In general this test brought up a great point. I’m not a hiring manager, but I can only imagine all the hiring mangers out there that might have a bias that they don’t even realize they have. That could have a great affect on many perfectly capable individuals not getting a job.

Not in a attempt to make anyone feel guilty, but I think any hiring manager should take this test, and the other test in the different categories. Just for the fact that they can have this knowledge and maybe that helps them look deeper at an individual that they normally would have inherently discarded. All they might need is the realization, just like me, I did not know I would have help that bias and this helps me recognize that.

Sources:

• https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/Study?tid=-1 (take the test I did yourself!)

What Makes Interviews Effective Or Ineffective, How Could Interviews Be Improved?

In my personal experience, I’ve had interviews with many different companies in different industries. There are many similarities in these interviews as well as many differences.

First let us look at what makes an interview effective. In my opinion I have found one on one interviews more beneficial then group interviews. In this setting the candidate can talk on their own time without pressure from other candidates. They will be more keen to ask questions about the role in this setting. Most importantly the direction of the conversation can be fluid. I think where the conversation goes outside of the interview questions is a better gauge of a candidates character. As an interviewer I would want to see how a candidates conducts themself in regular conversation, as that is how they will act in the work place. (Prevue HR)

Now let us look at some ineffective interview tactics. Well group interviews have the benefit of giving all candidates the same information at the same time. It is also based more on first impression based, which is good for getting a good gauge of a persons character. Group interviews also can cause someone to charge their true answer to a question based on social pressure form another candidates answer. This also harms the person who has to go first as they don’t get the same context.

I think interviews overall could be improved across industries in two different ways. One, there should be a heavier focus on conversation that allows the interviewer to get a better gauge on character. For example, allowing the candidate to take the conversation further then just cutting them off after they answer the question. This allows for conversation that the candidate didn’t prepare for and allows for a better judgement of their character. Two, increasing the candidates knowledge about the role before the interview. It’s the worst feeling to be in an interview and realize you are not qualified for the role. Interviewers can make sure their job descriptions on the listing are highly in-depth, they can also restate the role and it’s requirements before the interview to not waste anyone’s time. This could decrease a lot of unnecessary interviews or vetting through unqualified candidates.

Sources:

• “Group Interviews vs 1-on-1 Interviews.” Prevue HR, 1 Apr. 2025, www.prevuehr.com/resources/insights/group-interviews-vs-1-on-1-interviews/.
  

Challenges with maintaining and developing job descriptions. And solutions!

The maintenance and development of up to date job descriptions is often an overlook but critical piece of HR functionality. Job description are the “foundation of nearly every HR function” (Kathryn Tyler. Job Worth Doing: Update Descriptions).

One challenge is gathering accurate and detailed data on each position within a company. For recruitment and internal monitoring it is key to have a descriptions that reflects reality. Due to the descriptions coming from someone who is not in said position or coming from one person in the position, the real duties and needs of the role are not fully captured. A solution to this is to have a wide range of sources for the data on the role. HR could use a combination of interviews with the holder of the role and their managers, as well was observations from peers to gather more data on what is being by the role and what needs to be done by the role.

Another challenge with creating description for roles is determining the different task need from the role, as well has the attributes the person in the role needs to have. The effective analyze a HR employee can separate the elements of work need (tasks) and then use the KSAO strategy to find the attributes need from the employee (Nathan Thompson. What Is a KSAO, and How Does It Impact Assessment). KSAO is defined as Knowledge: information learned from school, experience, books, etc. Skills: learned behaviors, that can be learned on the job or from the predecessor. Abilities: innate talents the employee has. Other Characteristics: personal traits that make the employee good for the role or certifications like CPR trained. With these definitions in mind, HR has a clear path to define everything needed with a role.

If HR can over come these two challenges with these solutions in mind they can be smooth sailing to having clear descriptions from the companies roles. Constantly updating and adjusting these descriptions will make recruiting and management far easier for years to come.

Sources:

• Tyler, K. (2023, December 21). Job worth doing: Update descriptions. Welcome to SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/hr-magazine/job-worth-update-descriptions
• Nathan Thompson. “What Is a KSAO, and How Does It Impact Assessment?” Assessment Systems, 23 Apr. 2025, assess.com/ksao-and-assessment/.
  
  

This week we’ll be looking at the human resource practice of three Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For. 

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated, has been ranked one of the best companies to work for six years running. While the restaurant industry experiences a high rate of employee turn over, Cheesecake Factory is a rare outlier that is able to retain employees. “The major factor driving the high turnover rate in most restaurants starts with “not having training and bad supervision,” David Scott Peters” (Rachel). Cheesecake Factory has accomplished the perfect balance of training staff so they feel competent in their role and enough supervision to bread a high quality environment. The company has used data from other companies to refine this median so they do not become a high turnover restaurant like most of the industry.

Adobe Systems Incorporated, uses the catch phrase “Adobe for All”. This phase is meant to empower employees at every level of the company to make an impact. To keep the company at the top end of best places to work, Adobe is a leader in fair wages and payment practices. They also have a large focus in supporting employees well being not matter what role they have. These work life incentives cause Adobe to be a leader in best places to work.

Scripps Health, is the rare chase of a health company that is ranked on best places to work. Normally, the health industry suffers from a high stress environment. Scripps say “One key has been the Scripps Leadership Academy, a yearlong training program for middle managers”. It’s clear that creating an environment where a manger can feel confident in their position will cause the rest of the company to be a better place to work. If a manger does not feel confident their employees will not feel confident in their role either.

References:

Taylor, Rachel. “The Cheesecake Factory Puts the Focus on Employees.” FSR Magazine, 8 Apr. 2025, www.fsrmagazine.com/growth/finance/cheesecake-factory-puts-focus-employees/.

“Adobe for All.” Adobe For All, www.adobe.com/adobe-for-all.html. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.

“What Drives a Unified Workplace Culture.” Scripps.Org, 14 May 2025, www.scripps.org/news_items/7960-a-look-at-what-drives-a-unified-workplace-culture-at-scripps.