Giving your employees bonuses or gifts is often considered a way to spread cheer and thanks during the holiday season.

A holiday bonus could lessen employee financial stress during this busy time. But monetary gifts aren’t the only way to show your appreciation – don’t forget about personal thank you notes, celebratory events, team-building activities, time off, company swag, and more.

If you are looking to provide a holiday gift to your employees, it is important understand some of the implications these gifts may have – on you as the employer and on the individual employees.

The holiday season is often called the best time of the year. It is filled with special moments surrounded by family and friends. But come on, we all know what’s really important during this very special time of year: the food!

In these winter months, countless celebrations will be held. The gatherings will be filled with pies, turkeys, cookies, hams, candies, cocoa, and deliciousness galore! Unfortunately, that also means they will be filled with a variety of cooking perils. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), “three times as many home cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving as on a typical day.”

Be it on Thanksgiving or any other holiday gathering, don’t let kitchen hazards put a damper on your special celebrations. Consider these 7 tips to keep your holidays happy…and full of delicious food!

Every year, hundreds of organizations raise lung cancer awareness in November and for good reason. With an unfortunately high mortality rate, lung cancer is responsible for taking more lives than colon, breast, and prostate cancer combined. Although training and regulations are mandated, individual awareness may lack amongst individuals, especially in the workplace.

In honor of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, we’ve talked with the Mesothelioma + Asbestos Awareness Center to gather some advice on respiratory health awareness and how to keep safe while on the job. Taking time to understand these hazards and communicate them with your employees should be an important part of your workplace safety efforts.

The South Bend Alumni Association recently honored a couple, Greg and Mary Downes, inducting them into the Community Hall of Fame. This is fitting recognition for a lifetime played at a hall-of-fame level by Mary and Greg.

It got me thinking about my own legacy. Twenty-five years from now, will I be hall-worthy? If not, it won’t be because I was missing an example of leadership, duty, and compassion in the community. It won’t be because I didn’t have the opportunity to regularly and consistently observe the lesson – as President Kennedy borrowed from Luke 12:48 – that “to whom much is given, much is required.” And it won’t be because I didn’t have someone challenging my thinking and wondering if I’ve done my part. That’s because I’ve had the honor and good fortune of working for and alongside Greg for the past dozen years at Gibson. Luckily, this meant I also had a number of moments to engage with Mary, too.

Millennials are the largest generation of employees and for the first time in history, five generations of Americans are now in the workforce. The generational differences present a unique challenge for employers, especially when it comes to values and preferred communication styles.

January 31st will be here before you know it, and with it the deadline to file 1099 tax forms. In a perfect world, this deadline is met with security and peace of mind. In the real world? Not so much. We’ve seen many companies who couldn’t tell us where W-9s were kept or if the accounting department collected them at all. If you, like many companies, dread the deadline each year, there is still time. Read below to understand best practices for filing 1099s, why obtaining and maintaining your company’s vendors’ W-9s is important, and how to prepare for success for the approaching deadline.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger, Patrick Frazier, owner and executive coach for The Coaching Authority. We hope you enjoy Patrick’s wisdom and perspective.

Your attitude determines your altitude – in business and in life. You can’t change someone else’s attitude for them. But this powerful adage is a great reminder that you can put in front of anyone who needs an attitude adjustment. I want to talk about a few of the many ways each of us can develop a winning attitude every day. It is what leaders do.

Tragic stories of loss at the hands of opioids have become all too common. The misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, specifically opioids, has become an epidemic. It is a massive problem impacting our friends, families, communities, and the workforce.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger, Craig Sroda, author of YOU in the SWEET SPOT and Intentional Living. We hope you enjoy Craig’s wisdom and perspective.

I had my blind spot covered recently. We were going to make a hire and I totally didn’t see something I should have. You would think after 25 years of hiring people I would be in tune with what we are looking for, which is the case most of the time but not all the time.

We all have blind spots in life and business - and it can be a staggering 30% of our life. That means almost 1/3 of our life we can use someone else weighing in to validate what we see and what we are thinking. The key is to get whatever you are working on exposed by someone that you can trust and who can keep you accountable.

Opening your home to friends and family can be a fun way to celebrate birthdays, holidays, and more. You want to provide your guests with an enjoyable experience, but you also want to make sure they stay safe while visiting. Taking a few extra measures while planning could save you and your guests from potential injury and liability. Before your next gathering at home, consider the following: