Stanley Black & Decker Inc. — the New Britain-based tool and equipment storage giant — is shifting two-thirds of its office employees in Connecticut to either work remotely full-time or split time between the home and office, the latest sign the traditional workplace is being reshaped significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic. "It’s a challenging period, and it has propelled the concept that working virtually and providing a more flexible work environment can work, both for the employees and the company," Shannon L. Lapierre, the manufacturer’s chief communications officer, said Monday.
There’s a lot about work—how we think, what we feel, the decisions we make—that takes place beyond our head. Many of us have been raised to believe that our brain is the center of all our thinking and doing. We’ve grown up with the belief that training the brain is singularly responsible for how productive we can be as individuals. We also attach brain training to what makes some people successful and others less successful.
Weinstein, Spacey, Rose, Louis C.K., Franken, Conyers, Lauer, O’Reilly, Moonves, Clinton, Trump, now Cuomo, and the list goes on. Then there is Bill Cosby, who is in a class by himself. The sexual harassment continuum is vast, complicated and everchanging. A belated apology might suffice at one extreme, while jail time may be the other extreme, with large sums paid along the way to silence or settle claims. Denial is often the road most followed. But sooner rather than later, everyone will know.
When companies eventually bring workers back to the office, they'll return to an environment that looks different from the one they left. The pandemic has altered the way employers and employees view remote work, digital tools and physical space. Those who successfully rethink how work gets done have an opportunity to capture the best of remote and in-person work.
The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines that began in late 2020 has allowed many areas of the world to gradually emerge from the pandemic. That’s good new for business owners, many of whom were forced to make changes they never could have imagined making. The relationship between businesses and their customers requires careful consideration on the part of business owners, who want to provide the best possible experience for their customers, and that’s worth noting as the world emerges from the pandemic.
Homebase and UKG, which offer time-management and payroll services, issued separate analyses indicating employment hasn’t increased in states that ended federal unemployment benefits early. Twenty-six states withdrew the federal assistance in June and July, ahead of the official Sept. 6 expiration date. Economists believe other factors, like Covid fears, care responsibilities and early retirements, play a larger role than benefits in a lack of job searches.