UK’s Happiest Workplace, Tough Conversations, Engagement Economics And Work-Life Balance #FridayFinds

Although it’s tough to outshine a news like the Panama Papers leak, we’ll still going to try and bring into focus some of this week’s best articles in the HR world.

Here they are:

Inside the happiest office in London — where some employees get a $14,000 travel allowance

Glassdoor’s 2016 rankings named online travel company Expedia as the best place to work in the UK. Apparently the company office has indoor Formula One simulators, a huge roof terrace that hosts regular BBQs and other staff parties, various free bars, and more “chill out zones” than you’d find at Glastonbury music festival.

Go on a written tour around Expedia’s London office and see what employees have to say about it.

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The Easy Way To Have Tough Conversations With Employees

Our brain is naturally wired to put us on the defensive when it senses a tough conversation is about to happen.

Karin Hurt and David Dye share a specific methodology that you can try when you want to have a less pleasant feedback conversation with someone on your team.

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The Compelling Business Case For Driving Employee Engagement

Oracle CEO Mark Hurd shares the strategy and economical reasoning behind OracleVoice and measuring employee engagement.

In his opinion, having employees “engaged” in their work and in the success of their organizations isn’t just a noble gesture but actually a productivity mechanism that will contribute directly to a company’s bottom line.

-> Read more

Work-Life Balance Is Easier When Your Manager Knows How to Assess Performance

A very interesting view on the negative impact of inefficient performance appraisal on work-life balance. According to Scott Behson, the best thing managers can do for all their employees — and especially those facing work-family conflicts — is to do the hard work of actually evaluating performance, not chair time or face time.

In his opinion, when managers do so, they free employees to arrange their work lives so that they can be the most effective.

-> Read more

Join us next week as we share more of our favorite articles. We’d also love to know what articles made your week and what topics you’d like us to talk about next week so comment away.

Happy weekend!