Smoking is a habit many employees have, and because they frequently take short smoke breaks during the workday, they end up with more time outside the workplace than non-smoking employees.

Although employees who take extended lunch breaks can irritate supervisors, if problems are not resolved promptly, they can negatively impact company morale. Coworkers may regard these rule-breakers as operating above the law, which may effectively alienate both parties.

Every business has its busy season. For instance, tax time for auditors; Valentine's season for cafes and restaurants; Christmas for personalized gift businesses. While it means sales and profits for businesses, it’s also essential for employees in the company to have the chance to take a breather when they need it during these busy seasons. 

Studies have shown that team leaders or managers typically spend about 3 hours per week creating work schedules, translating to about 20% of a manager’s time at a company. The task can become even more challenging when you have a combination of part-time and full-time workers.

Since we had nowhere to go during the MCO, many employees would have accumulated a substantial amount of annual leave. You may have questioned at some point whether you can carry over all of your unused annual leave to the following year when you will hopefully be able to use it. And if you wanted to carry forward your unused annual leave, could your employer prevent you from doing so?

Luckily, there are a few ways to create professional progression opportunities, even if you’re a small business or when promotions aren’t possible. Upskilling and reskilling remain the key to employee growth. In return, your company stays competitive and innovative, and you’re more likely to retain top performers.

Your employee training programs are only as dull as you let them be. We’ve all been there - sitting in for meeting after meeting but leaving without learning much. Some of us might have zero workplace training experience, where most skills and knowledge are self-taught. 

Are you worried about attempting to negotiate your starting salary? Don't be that way. 73% of employers expect applicants to negotiate during the hiring process, according to CareerBuilder research.

An employee handbook is an encompassing document a company shares with its workers to communicate work expectations, guidelines, and policies in one place. Typically, as part of the company’s onboarding and training process, all employees must read it to ensure they understand their rights and what is expected from them at the workplace.

Poor management practices can have a negative impact on everyone's employee experience. Let's look at these practices, why they're bad for work engagement and corporate culture, how to spot them before they cause too much damage and how to correct poor management practices.