Employee Newsletter
February 2022
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Celebrating 49 Years of Staffing Excellence! |
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2022 marks the 30th anniversary of Flex-Staff opening our first branch office in Chilton, Wisconsin. 2022 also marks the 20th anniversary of Flex-Staff opening our Eau Claire branch office. Thank you to all of our great clients and employees that we’ve had the pleasure of working with over the years.
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Bill Would Limit Unemployment and Medicaid Benefits |
Wisconsin Republicans introduced a package of legislation in January that would tighten eligibility for unemployment benefits and Medicaid coverage, saying the bills are designed to help alleviate what they describe as a crippling labor shortage in the state. |
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The bills would mandate audits of benefit recipients' work search efforts, shrink the duration of benefits as the unemployment rate drops, and deny benefits to recipients who refuse job offers or don't show up for job interviews. Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's largest business group and a key Republican ally, has also acknowledged that employers are still suffering from a lack of workers.
The proposals introduced would:
- Reinstate a three-month limit on food stamp eligibility if recipients don’t comply with work requirements. Democrat Gov. Tony Evers' administration dropped the time limitation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Require the state Department of Workforce Development to randomly audit at least 50% of all work search actions unemployment benefit recipients report to the agency. State law requires recipients to conduct at least four work search actions per week to remain eligible for benefits.
- Require DWD to expand hours at its call center to help people apply for unemployment benefits if the volume of calls increases by at least 300% in a week over the previous year or there’s a statewide emergency connected to an increase in unemployment claims. The Department of Administration would be allowed to temporarily transfer state workers to DWD to help decide unemployment benefit claimants’ appeals.
- Require state auditors to audit DWD’s attempts to reduce unemployment benefit fraud.
- Connect the amount of time someone can collect unemployment benefits to the unemployment rate. Right now, someone who is unemployed can collect benefits for up to 26 weeks. Under the bill, the number of weeks someone is eligible would shrink as the unemployment rate drops, from 26 weeks to a minimum of 14 weeks.
- Prohibit the automatic renewal of Medicaid benefits. State health officials would have to determine a person’s eligibility every six months. They would be able to access other state agencies’ databases and be required to use them to determine a person’s financial eligibility.
- Strip Medicaid benefits from able-bodied childless adults who turn down a job offer.
- Allow employers to report to DWD any eligibility issues that may surround a claimant and require the agency to deny benefits to claimants if credible reports surface that they declined a job interview or failed to show up for a job interview.
State Rep. Tyler August (R-Lake Geneva) said both the Assembly and Senate could vote on the bills by the end of February. Assembly Democrat Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) countered in a statement that Wisconsin's unemployment rate is low and that the bills are designed to undermine unemployment benefits that families need to survive. Governor Evers almost certainly would veto the package if it reached his desk, especially in an election year.
Todd Richmond - Associated Press
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VOTE FLEX-STAFF!
The local newspapers in several of the markets we serve are having their annual “best of” competitions, where you can vote for your favorite businesses in a variety of different categories. Last year Flex-Staff’s Manitowoc, Sheboygan, and Green Bay offices were all named the best employment/staffing agency in their respective markets.
Nominations will be accepted through February 23rd. Then the final voting of the top 5 nominations in each category will take place in April. You can nominate your favorite businesses once per day, every day.
Below are the links for each of the contests. Simply scroll down to the “Services” category, and then nominate Flex-Staff as the best “Employment/Staffing Agency.” Be sure to select the correct Flex Staff location when typing in your nomination. A pop-up box with options will show as you type. (You may have to type the city name as well after typing in "Flex-Staff"...)
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Spring Cleaning
DOs and DON'Ts
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DO break up the job by task, not by room. Rather than dust, vacuum, and clean the windows in one room at a time, dust every room first, then vacuum them all, then do all of the windows. You’ll find it’s easier than constantly switching gears and tasks, and having to go back and forth between grabbing cleaning supplies and cleaning tools every few minutes.
DO your prep work in advance. You can’t vacuum or dust a cluttered room. In the days leading up to your spring cleaning project, go through and organize each room to prepare it for the deep cleaning.
DO start first thing in the morning. Even waiting until after lunch means that you’ll have less time, less daylight, and less energy to get everything done you had planned.
DO assess the rooms before you start. There’s more to spring cleaning and getting your house in shape than just dusting and vacuuming. Look closely at every room for problem areas that are often overlooked. Things like dusty window screens, stains on the carpets, cobwebs around the lights, dirty ceiling fans, or even marks, scratches, or chipped paint on the walls should be addressed before you clean.
DON’T hide the clutter, purge it. Spring is a great time to make those deep cuts to things you’ve been hanging on to, but never (or rarely) actually use.
DON’T make your chores a bore. Listen to music while you clean, and clean with a partner. If you live alone, make a deal with a friend to help each other clean your respective places.
DON’T use the wrong tool for the job. Glass cleaner may be great on windows, but will not work as well on a greasy stove. Paper towels are great for smooth surfaces, but will fall apart if used on textured surfaces. A vacuum will pick up dust and dirt, but won’t get a wood or tile floor really clean.
DON’T hesitate to go the extra mile. Once everything else is deep down clean, consider renting a carpet cleaning machine from your local home improvement store to deep clean your carpets. You’ll be amazed (and possibly disgusted) at how much dirt they are hiding even after you thoroughly vacuumed them. (Consider sharing the expense with a friend or neighbor who is also doing their spring cleaning.)
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Wisconsin Unfilled Jobs
Number Jumps
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The COVID-19 pandemic sent the U.S. unemployment rate up to a post Great Depression high of 14.7% in April 2020. Though the jobless rate has since fallen back below 4%, the U.S. job market is far from pre-pandemic norms in at least one other key measure – labor supply.
The U.S. is currently grappling with a massive labor shortage. Due largely to the pandemic, millions of workers have decided to retire, over 1 million mothers of school-age children have left the workforce, and there are about 2 million fewer working-age immigrants in the country. Currently, the labor force participation rate – the share of Americans 16 and older either working or looking for work – stands at 61.9%, a low not seen in the pre-pandemic United States since 1977. As a result, employers nationwide are struggling to fill open positions. As of the end of November 2021, the most recent month of available data, there were 10.6 million open jobs in the United States, a 56% increase from one year ago.
In Wisconsin, an estimated 209,000 jobs remain unfilled, up 68.5% from the same period last year. The national labor shortage is exacerbating supply chain issues and creating an existential challenge for many small businesses. Even major companies have been forced to reduce their hours of operation. Chain restaurants, including McDonald's, Starbucks, and Chipotle, as well as major retailers like Macy's, have cut hours of operations in some or all of their locations.
Samuel Stebbins - Wall St. - Milwaukee
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Wisconsin Unemployment Rate Drops
According to figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at the end of January, preliminary employment estimates for the month of December 2021 show that Wisconsin's unemployment rate declined to a record low of 2.8% in December, down from 3.0% in November. The data also showed that the total number of people in Wisconsin who are counted as unemployed declined to a record low of 86,200. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is the 11th lowest in the nation. Nebraska has the lowest unemployment rate at 1.7%. California has the highest unemployment rate at 6.5%.
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Ten Tips for Staying Happy at Work
1. Keep Personal Problems Personal - Nobody's personal life is ever going to be completely problem-free. Just as you need to let go of work to enjoy your time at home, it's important to leave personal worries at home so you can focus and be productive at work.
2. Create an Office Nest - Make your space your own, decorate your area within the limits of company policy, and make yourself as comfortable and relaxed as you can be in your office.
3. Develop an Office Support System - Being able to share your feelings and concerns with people who understand definitely helps to minimize stress.
4. Eat Healthy and Drink Lots of Water - When you feel good physically, you'll see a big difference in your energy level and attitude.
5. Be Organized - Create a manageable schedule to handle your workload. Being proactive and getting your tasks in order can lead to greater satisfaction, more confidence, and increased motivation.
6. Move Around - Working in an office can mean sitting at a desk for prolonged periods, so it's important to both your health and your happiness to take time during your workday to stretch your legs and take a walk or two.
7. Don't Try to Change Your Coworkers - If you have an annoying coworker or a micromanaging boss, there's little you can do to change their behaviors. But you can change how you respond to them.
8. Reward Yourself - Identify a reward outside of your job, and indulge yourself. Just as stress from home can interfere with work, the positive aspects of your life can influence mood at work as well.
9. Take a Breather - If you're so inclined, take a literal breather. Stand with your feet together and your arms at your sides. Inhale deeply, then exhale and bend forward. Try to do this movement 10 times.
10. Focus on the Positives - Find the things that bring you joy at work, even if those things are as simple as your coworkers or the nice view from the conference room window. You're in charge of your own mindset. Steering yourself toward the positives can help make your job more enjoyable. Fussing about the negatives may cause you to become burned out.
Beverly West – Monster.com
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Mike Hackbarth
President
28 years
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Beth Pieper
Area Manager
Manitowoc and Sheboygan
23 years
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Steve Kamrowski
CEO
26 years
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Jessie Wensink
Branch Manager
Green Bay
12 years
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Slow Cooker Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff
INGREDIENTS
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 8-ounce bar cream cheese, softened
1 10½-ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 envelope (1¼ ounce) dry onion soup mix
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley chopped for garnish (optional)
1 pound large egg noodles
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INSTRUCTIONS
Place the chicken in the bottom of a lightly greased slow cooker. Add the mushrooms. In a medium sized bowl, add cream cheese, cream of chicken soup, and dry onion soup mix. Mix until incorporated and spread on top of chicken and mushrooms. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, or on high for 3 hours. Serve over noodles and top with fresh parsley, salt, and pepper.
therecipecritic.com
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QUOTE
Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
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