2015: The Year in Review—an HR Perspective

A look back at the year's hottest issues shows them to be the growing influence of millennials in the workforce, regulatory changes affecting payroll, and where and how healthcare jobs are changing.

What issues mattered most to HR professionals this year?

Throughout 2015, the national news has been filled with unsettling data security stories, historic Supreme Court decisions, and, of course, the threat of workplace violence. All had implications for HR, from protecting employee data to keeping our workplaces secure.

In addition to these broader topics, healthcare HR professionals have had to consider heavy M&A activity, healthcare employment surpassing 15 million, and disputes over requiring flu vaccines among hospital employees.

But topics such as healthcare worker dress codes, new overtime regulations, and employee wellness programs also resonated most strongly with HR leaders in 2015. This year, I wrote 37 columns about the most pressing issues for HR. Here are the most-read, and a few personal favorites:

1. Underwear, Tattoos, and Patient Safety
A health system in Ohio made a splash this year by announcing a surprisingly strict dress code that not only bans tattoos and piercings (which most health system dress codes do), but also specifies acceptable hair colors, beard lengths, and skirt lengths, and like your grandma, insists that pantyhose be worn with skirts or dresses. It also stipulates that employees must wear underwear to work.

I predict that this won't be the last we hear regarding hospital dress codes. More than three quarters of millennial workers believe they should be able to wear jeans to work, and post-Baby Boom generation employees are expected to make up 80% of the workforce by 2020.

Boomers, however, came of age during a more formally attired era and have expectations as consumers that reflect this. Since they will be the primary users of hospital services in coming years, rest assured that a culture clash is coming.

Professionally attired physicians already receive higher patient satisfaction scores, especially from patients over the age 45. It's possible that dress codes will relax as younger workers assume hospital leadership positions, but, with the current importance placed on patient satisfaction, I'd hang on to that white coat.

2. New Overtime Regulations Coming in 2016
The US Department of Labor spent much of 2015 planning new regulations that will make more workers eligible for overtime pay.  Public comment on these regulations ended in early September, and it's anticipated that the final version of the regulation will be published in 2016.

The regulations propose raising overtime eligibility to the 40th percentile of earnings among workers—a figure which is currently equivalent to a yearly salary of $50,440. This will also remove exempt status from many managers.

Considering the many different kinds of workers employed in hospitals, including environmental staff, gift shop employees, and food service workers, it's easy to see that this could have major impact on hospitals financially. I discussed preparing for these regulations in detail in with an employment attorney last month.

She told me that there are objections on both sides. Some labor advocates say the regulations don't go far enough, while many employers say the regs create an undue hardship and might lead to layoffs or higher prices.

Ahead of issuing a final rule, the DOL is currently reviewing the thousands of comments it received. It will be interesting to see if the Obama administration will attempt to push the new rule through before the president leaves office in January 2017—and whether his successor opts to leave it intact.

3. The Trouble with Wellness Programs
Employee wellness programs are often thought of as an innocuous perk, but privacy activists say there's a dark side to them.

With security breaches and data leaks continuously in the headlines, there is rising anxiety over employee wellness programs in some quarters, and for a good reason: They are not covered by HIPAA, are not required to report security breaches, and have been known to repackage employee data and sell it. "[Wellness program administrators] believe they can do what they want with [employee] information," privacy advocate Deborah Peel, MD, told me when I spoke with her in February.

But the programs remain popular among employers. Virtually all (99%) healthcare organizations offer them. Wellness programs can encourage employees to live healthier lifestyles and employee participation can be a way to keep healthcare costs down, but it's important to acknowledge and address the risks they present to employee privacy.

4. Five Healthcare Jobs Transformed by Reform
Did you hire care coordinators, advanced practice nurses, and tech-aware clinicians in 2015? If so, you're in good company. Those jobs were either created by or have changed as a result of healthcare reform.

The growing importance of patient satisfaction and computer literacy coupled with the move to value-based care is changing the job descriptions of many roles within hospitals.

"Over time, healthcare may be changed in a really positive way," Bryan Basset, managing director at Health eCareers, told me in June. "We're now going to be much more focused on patient satisfaction, on treating the patient as a customer."

This means that the need for relatively new jobs such as care coordinators and scribes will grow, while jobs that have existed for decades, such advanced practice nurses and clinical pharmacists will be assigned new roles and responsibilities. We will see even more healthcare jobs change in 2016 as the effects of reform continue to ripple through the system.

Now, I'd like to share some of my favorite columns from the past year about issues close to my heart, including youth mentoring, community activism, and cultural competency:

5. Mentoring Programs a Win for Future Docs, Hospitals, Communities
In January I wrote about Montefiore Medical Center's youth mentoring program, which provides opportunities to local students that might not otherwise have the opportunity to consider careers in healthcare.

6. To Fight Hospital Closures, Activate Stakeholders
In March, I wrote about the importance of taking a stand. If you want to see HR, unions, hospital leadership, and the community band together, look no further than fighting the threat of a hospital closure.

"Everyone understands how important these hospitals in these communities are… These institutions are some of the most important institutions in the area," Ramon Rodriguez, CEO of Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, told me.

7. Why Cultural Competency Matters in Hospitals
 As our country grows more diverse, the demand for culturally aware staff will rise. In January, I wrote about the potential communication barriers a culturally unaware clinician can expect to encounter and the benefits of seeking out healthcare workers from diverse backgrounds.

What were your most memorable moments from 2015? Do you have any predictions for HR or healthcare trends in 2016? Tweet them to me @LenaJWeiner.

Happy holidays! Here's wishing everyone a peaceful and prosperous 2016!