Seasonal

Can Being Grateful Make You Healthier?

Tiffany Moore

VP, Client Partnerships

April 21, 2020

It has been said that being grateful can make you happier. According to an article published by Harvard Medical School, giving thanks, or being grateful, does, in fact, make you happier. The article claims the reason for this is being grateful helps a person connect to something greater than themselves, which, in turn, provides a sense of comfort that goodness can be found out in the world. Being grateful is often associated with being happier, but can being grateful make you healthier?

Consider this – people who are healthier, often get more sleep and being grateful can help you sleep longer. While you sleep, your blood pressure goes down, which helps to give your heart a rest after a long day. Having high blood pressure can lead to an increased risk of heart attack or stroke, so reducing your blood pressure daily has concrete health benefits. A recent study found that people who kept a gratitude journal slept for an average of a half an hour more each night and woke up feeling more refreshed than the group who didn’t keep a gratitude journal. Thirty minutes doesn’t sound like a lot, but 30 minutes a night for a month would result in an extra 15 hours of sleep a month!

Being grateful can also lead to fewer aches and pains. Grateful people also are more likely to exercise, which improves your life expectancy according to Psychology Today. The Mayo Clinic claims that having a daily practice of gratitude can boost your immune system, which is much needed during the winter cold and flu season.

How can you adopt an attitude of gratitude and become healthier at the same time? Here’s some simple ways to start:

Start a gratitude journal and write down your thoughts daily.
Put items you are thankful for in a jar.
Write a thank you note to someone.
Meditate on gratitude.
Check out these other options.

Staffing

When is Sharing NOT Caring? When it Comes to Sickness…

Greta Cline

Partner, CFO/COO

November 12, 2019

It’s cold and flu season, which means germs and bacteria are EVERYWHERE. It’s important to keep yourself healthy. So how do you combat these germs?

Clean your desk! According to studies, more than 10 million germs can be found on the average work desk, which is 400 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. Totally gross, right? Use cleaning wipes to routinely wipe down your desk surface, phone, keyboard and mouse. Do you have a co-worker out sick? Wipe down their desk too!
Sharing is NOT caring! The saying goes “sharing is caring”, but not when it comes to illness. If you are feeling sick, don’t share coffee mugs or food with others.
Wash your hands! It’s the advice we have heard from parents and teachers hundreds of times over the years. But when washing your hands, make sure not to touch the soap dispenser. In a article from Cosmopolitan Magazine, it states that the University of Arizona found that a a fourth of office soap dispensers are contaminated with fecal bacteria. You’ve been warned!
Stay clear of the kitchen! The microwave, water cooler, and coffee pot handle could be plotting against you. Do you have to give up coffee? We, at TGHR would not suggest such a thing, but give it a wipe or use a paper towel to pour your coffee.

We hope you stay healthy during this cold and flu season! If you have an employee out with the flu, don’t stress and give us a call. We can send a temp even if it’s just for one day. We’ll supply the employee, you supply the cleaning wipes – teamwork!

Tips

Not a Morning Person? Here’s How to Become One in 5 Easy Steps

Ashley Paramoure

October 24, 2018

When you wake up, what are the consistent things you do every morning before work? Wake up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush your teeth and other simple tasks, right? Adding a less than 15-minute routine, can help you be more productive during the day and give you an added boost to make you into a morning person in no time. Here are five suggestions for you to create your new morning routine from:

Breathe. Start simple by adding a breathing technique. Inhale while counting to four then exhale while counting to three. This will help you feel energized and is also a good trick to use if you feel stressed later in the day. You can also up your game with this 1-minute breathing routine once you get the hang of it.
Drink Water. Continuing with the “start simple” trend, here’s another easy idea to begin with. Drink a glass of cold water first thing in the morning. It will help wake you up and hydrate your body for the day ahead.
Get Moving! Starting your day with a quick round of exercises can lead to increased productivity later in the day. Just 2 minutes of simple push-ups, sit-ups or a wall sit can do the trick. Research has shown that substituting exercise for caffeine makes a significant daily difference. Try it!
Practice Gratitude. A daily practice of gratitude, whether you do it in the morning or before bed, has been known to improve your physical and mental health. Just writing down three to five things you are thankful for does the trick. Jot them down in a notebook or on the notes app on your phone – establish whatever method works best for you.
Generate Ideas. Author James Altucher (he’s written 18 successful books) claims that if you generate 10 ideas a day for six months, you will be able to offer ideas on any subject at any time. The ideas can be for anything – ideas for work, ideas for businesses, ideas for your family, ideas for things to do – the sky is the limit! Ten ideas may seem like a lot at first, but you’ll be humming along in no time.

So, what will you start doing tomorrow?

Healthcare

What is the #1 Benefit for Job Seekers?

Greta Cline

Partner, CFO/COO

October 3, 2018

Unemployment has continued to be at an all-time low, which means the labor market is tight. Finding qualified candidates can be a challenge. It’s a simple case of supply and demand, less people looking for work means quality candidates have more options. There is one key benefit that top employees look for when considering a new opportunity. Good news – it’s a benefit offered by That’s Good HR so you don’t have to worry about providing it to temporary or contract employees.

According to a recent study conducted by Essential Staff Care (ESC), availability of affordable, usable health benefits is a core indicator of employee interest in a position, attitude and longevity on the job. In addition, 87% of temporary employees say medical benefits are their most desired perk when job searching. Employees enrolled in the healthcare insurance plan that we offer are also more likely to stay on the job almost 4 weeks longer than those who do not have this valuable option.

More than half of Americans hold less than $1,000 in savings, meaning that one illness or injury could result in significant financial hardship. Having the option to enroll in TGHR’s health insurance option helps alleviate financial stress and gives temporary employees an affordable healthcare option, with no added expense to our client companies.

Another benefit to our candidates? The plan rates – which are paid weekly – have remained unchanged since 2010. This is just one way we can show we are committed to our candidates and prove that we want to attract the highest caliber employees for our clients.

TGHR News

Employee on unexpected leave…now what?

Tiffany Moore

VP, Client Partnerships

March 29, 2018

Having employees out, even it’s just for one day, can lead to undue stress on other employees. Not to mention, leave work unfinished and business unattended. Research shows that more than 10% of the workforce is on a qualified FMLA leave at any given time. Since it was signed into law more than two decades ago, 100 million employees have used this benefit.

There’s a simple solution if you find yourself with an employee unexpectedly out. Hire a temp through TGHR! Using temporary employees is a common solution. According to the American Staffing Association (ASA), staffing companies nationwide employed an average of 3.19 million temporary and contract workers per week in 2017. This is the third highest number of temp employees since right before the recession (2006). Temporary employees worked an average assignment of 10.7 weeks in 2017.

Temporary workers can work for as little as one day to cover your front desk or for a few months to run your payroll due to an extended leave of absence. At That’s Good HR, we’ve helped provide temporary workers for a one-day absence in a mail room or for a receptionist to cover a front desk for a day. We have provided temporary accountants for one week to three months and more. If you need HR support, a medical verification specialist or a customer service representative we have temps for those positions too.

Didn’t plan ahead? Not a problem. That’s why we are interviewing people daily so we can be ready for your call. We see this all the time and are happy to help in these times of need. Need a temp? Call us today!

TGHR News

Our Key to Success = Company Culture

Mary Springer

Partner

March 5, 2018

People before profits. That’s our company motto. Whether we’re placing a temporary employee out in the workforce, catering to one of our clients, or talking to our internal staff, we put people first.

This October That’s Good HR will celebrate 20 years in business and over the years That’s Good HR has never lost focus on what matters most – people. Ten out of our 15 employees have been at That’s Good HR for 5+ years and four team members can celebrate 10+ years with the company.

What’s our secret, you ask? Cultivating a positive company culture. We’ve never bragged about this before, but recently were honored as a Best Places to Work in Indiana. How did we achieve this honor? By creating a supportive, family-friendly environment by providing flexible schedules, including part-time options and work-from-home when needed options. TGHR employees like to come in the office too for employee appreciation lunches, pop-up smoothie bars, chili cook-offs and more.

We are always looking for innovative ways to appreciate our employees. So last year, after reading an insightful article, we introduced a new concept for TGHR – bonus days. Each employee, full and part-time employee alike, receives one bonus day per quarter. This day is designed to be used to do something for yourself like take time to pamper yourself, go shopping or take a long weekend. Bonus days are scattered through the quarter ensuring that not the entire office is off at once.

TGHR does many standard practices for employees, including offering great health benefits available from your first day of work, to having an employee of the quarter, complete with a comically large trophy, and a swinging holiday party celebrated in January with spouses.

Twenty years ago, That’s Good HR was founded out of a desire to do staffing better. This includes treating people better too – our candidates, our clients and our internal employees. Want to work with us and see why we’re one of the Best Places to Work in Indiana? Reach out and our team would be happy to show you.

Healthcare

What Makes Temp Employees Stay on the Job Longer?

Greta Cline

Partner, CFO/COO

October 5, 2017

With unemployment rates still at an all-time low, retaining temporary workers continues to be top of mind for employers and staffing agencies like That’s Good HR.

The current debate regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) does not help as benefits are a top reason talent is retained. That’s Good HR offers the required ACA health care plans to all full-time temporary workers, but there is low participation in these plans.

We are committed to our candidates and want to attract the highest caliber employees for our clients. One of the ways we do this is to offer other health insurance options, including a fixed indemnity insurance plan. Indemnity plans offer the freedom for employees to choose their own health care professionals and visit almost any hospital they choose. Employers have been using traditional indemnity plans since the World War II era. Interestingly, before World War II only 10% of employees had health coverage from any source, but by 1955 (10 years after the War) nearly 70% of workers had health insurance, according to The Essentials of Managed Health Care.

We believed that this type of insurance plan could be a better fit and more useful to a temporary employee. This month a study was released that confirmed that this was the right decision. Essential Staff Care, known as ESC, tabulated data from more than half a million temporary staffing employees across the country. The study revealed that temporary employees enrolled in an ESC Indemnity Plan stayed on their assignment 47% longer than employees not enrolled in an indemnity plan. That is good news for That’s Good HR, since this type of plan is the most popular option for our candidates. Another benefit to them? The plan rates – which are paid weekly – have remained unchanged since 2010.

Offering insurance options to our candidates helps attract better and more qualified candidates to fill open positions. The ACA requires us to offer specific plans to maintain compliance, but we also chose to offer the indemnity plan that temporary workers can afford and use. Temporary employees with this health insurance are more likely to recommend their employer to other job seekers and have fewer health related absences, according to the study.

According to the study, more than half of Americans hold less than $1,000 in savings, meaning that one illness or injury could result in significant hardship. Medical benefits rank as the number one job perk that employees are looking for and 69 percent of candidates nationally say they would consider one job over another if the benefits were better. Having the option to enroll in the indemnity insurance helps alleviate financial stress and gives temporary employees an affordable option in addition to the ACA compliant plans that we offer.

Providing this insurance and explaining the options to employees is just one of the many services That’s Good HR provides our clients – saving them time and money. The American Staffing Association states 60% of employers feel overwhelmed with the increased complexity of managing benefits packages and 7 out of 10 employers believe they cannot keep up with the changes. The good news? That’s Good HR isn’t one of them. Give us a call, we’ll take it from here. In your newfound free time, read the full study by ESC.

HR Insights

5 Ways Health Benefits Help Your Company

Tiffany Moore

VP, Client Partnerships

December 15, 2016

Think health care benefits aren’t excruciatingly important? Think again. A Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey found 95 percent of HR professionals ranked health care as one of the top three benefits for employees. This explains why nearly 20 percent of companies have changed their health benefits in order to retain talent.

So why all of this buzz about health care? With rising health care costs and federal coverage mandates, employees are valuing health care benefits now more than ever as an extension of their income. But the value extends to employers, too. Here are the top five reasons health benefits should matter to you.

1. Talent Recruitment

A business is only as good as its employees—which makes hiring quality workers a top-notch priority. With the competitive job market, the best companies are leveraging health benefits to find the best talent. Not only that, companies are also ensuring future employees understand the value of health benefits. According to the SHRM survey, only 14 percent of HR professionals felt their employees were “very knowledgeable” about their health benefits. Yikes. As your company recruits new talent, it’s important to educate—and woo—your future employee with ins and outs of your health benefit plan.

2. Talent Retention

Hopefully you’ve already hired some awesome employees who do great jobs. Now the trick is to keep these talented gems from leaving for greener grass. This Monster survey found employees rank health care plans as the most important benefit offered by employers. So while having more desirable health plan options might cost you money up front, it can also save you hiring time, money, and headaches in the long haul.

3. Job Satisfaction

We all appreciate feeling valued—in our families, relationships, and at work. When you offer a high-quality health plan to your employees, they will get the message that your company cares. You’ll hopefully end up with employees who are happier at work and more likely to give you their best.

4. Healthier Employees

The cost of health care has risen dramatically over the years, but companies that offer health benefits make care more affordable and more likely to be taken advantage of. Most solid plans include preventative care, cancer screenings, and reduced prescription costs, giving your employees accessible care when they need it most.

5. More Productivity

Our productivity at work is closely linked to job satisfaction and health. When our employees feel valued in their job, they tend to care more about the quality of their work and being productive. The same goes for health—a healthy employee is more likely to use fewer sick days and get more done. This increased productivity boosts business and can save your company valuable time and money.

Health benefits are continually becoming critical HR tools for many companies. At TGHR, we provide multiple health care plan options to our employees. Let us take care of your company’s staffing needs, and we take care of providing health care benefits to your temps and temp-to-hire employees, giving you less to worry about—and happier, healthier employees at your place of business. Want to know more? Get in touch today!