In times like these, it’s crucial for colleagues to share their concerns, experiences suggestions. A few weeks ago, HRBenefitsAlert.com ran a special report on calming employees’ 401(k) fears. The reader comments revealed that many benefits pros were just as afraid as employees, and people’s frustration led to some unfortunate carping back and forth between several readers.

The purpose of the comments section, apart from giving people the opportunity to react to the story, is to provide a forum for benefits managers to interact. It’s my hope that we can generate an exchange ideas that have (and have not) been working at readers’ companies during the current situation. Specifically:

• What are you doing to manage health benefits costs as budgets are either frozen or shrink?
• Have you noticed a dip in morale or productivity with all the doom-and-gloom in the news?
• How is your company trying to calm employees’ fears about salary freezes or layoffs, 401(k) losses, health cost shifting and other issues that get a lot of mainstream media focus?
• What are you saying to employees to deliver the news they need to know but also keep morale high?

Thank you in advance for your willingness to share your expertise and personal experiences. Everyone benefits in the long run.

A recent survey found the average employee has three unused vacation days at the end of the year. But 33% admit that they sometimes take “unofficial” vacation days of a half-day or more. Not surprisingly, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve day and December 26 rank among the highest “presentee” days among companies (especially in the white-collar realm) that remain open on those days.

In terms of the broader question of presenteeism, what’s keeping people from using their vacation time as it’s intended?  Top answers:

• supervisors frown on employees taking vacation time
• there’s too much work to make up after using vacation time, and
• people want to “reserve” time in case of an emergency.

On the flip side, many folks who take vacation time have trouble leaving work behind. One employee in four admits to checking work e-mail and/or voicemail while on vacation.

And 29% say they have trouble forgetting about work-related stress, even when they’re using paid time off.
Among all industrialized nations, U.S. employees receive the fewest yearly vacation days – 14 on average.

A famous coach once said, “It’s not what you tell your players, it’s what they hear.”

The same is true of about what you and your supervisors tell employees about FMLA and other leave policies. Even minor misunderstandings can cause major legal headaches.

Leave isn’t guaranteed

Some employees assume they’re entitled to extended paid leave or FMLA if they simply ask for it. Of course, it’s not that easy. Most organizations require written requests and have an approval process.

Here’s a recent case (Reed v. The Lear Corp.) of a classic communication breakdown that can land any company in court:

An employee strained his back, and missed an extended stretch of work. Shortly after the injury, he contacted his employer. He asked an assistant department head for leave.

The employee was told he was entitled to “provisional” FMLA leave while he used up his paid time off.
Unfortunately, the term “provisional leave” wasn’t explained to the employee, nor did he ask for clarification.

The worker took the term to mean he could take off as much time as he needed and then provide the necessary medical certification upon his return. Meanwhile, the employee’s supervisor grew anxious – and then furious – as the absences dragged on. The absences were marked unexcused, and the employee was fired for attendance policy violations.

Provided inaccurate information

The employee retroactively applied for FMLA. The request was denied. He then filed a wrongful termination lawsuit. The man claimed the company gave him the wrong info about the workings of its FMLA certification procedures.

He also argued that the days he missed were covered by FMLA and shouldn’t have counted against his attendance record. The company countered by saying the manager who told the worker he could take “provisional” leave had no authority to grant it. The firm pointed out all employees had received written information about the company’s leave policies.

After a lengthy court battle, the employer finally won the case. Even so, a lot of time and money was spent cleaning up an avoidable mess.