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Can Your Employees Sue You for Emotional Distress

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Suing for Emotional Distress|Can Your Employees Sue You for Emotional DistressAny business should consider the mental wellbeing of its employees. Work is stressful enough without people having to deal with the outrageous behaviors of others. Major depression and burnout cost companies billions of dollars every year. In this context, the stress in the workplace is not something to neglect. From a legal standpoint, employees have the right to sue a business for emotional distress. Here is what you need to know.

Employers Have Double Legal Duties

As an employer, you have the legal duty to avoid inflicting emotional distress to other people. You must use reasonable care to prevent such issues. You are responsible for all your employees’ conduct. Say an employee causes emotional distress to another employee or a client. If you knew and did nothing about it, you are vulnerable to a lawsuit.

Making the Difference between Legal Types of Emotional Distress Cases

An employer must follow the letter of the law and its spirit. You may do everything right and face legal exposure. Some of your employees may have asked themselves, “can you sue for emotional distress” at least once. The answer is “yes,” but it depends on the situation. Most people will not sue you because you are annoying as a person. They will if:

  • you are a negligent manager;
  • engage in reckless/outrageous behavior towards them;
  • your management led to workplace accidents and injuries;
  • you ignore their complaints.

With burnout syndrome, depression, or sexual harassment, the law is intricate. In this context, you need to know the difference between NIED and IIED.

The best way to move forward is to hire legal aid. It may be hard as a small business to find the right law firm. But, it will save you money in the long term. Most likely, it will protect your reputation.

NIED – Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress

Employees can sue for NIED when someone else’s negligence leads to their emotional distress. The proof varies from state to state. These are the general provisions when making a case:

  • The employee must prove that the defendant (employer) engaged in a negligent activity.
  • The employer is open to an NIED suit if he/she willfully violated a statutory duty.
  • The plaintiff suffered significant emotional distress (as described by the law). They must prove its occurrence, persistence, symptoms, etc.
  • The plaintiff’s emotional distress is a direct consequence of the defendant’s negligence.

Example: Employees can sue within an NIED framework if a piece of equipment fell and nearly crashed them.

IIED – Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

Bad behavior opens the door to an IIED suit. There are no guidelines on what represents extreme, reckless, or outrageous behavior. It is why IIED is hard to prove in court. Don’t misjudge the courts and lawyers, though. An IIED claim must target conducts that go beyond the usual workplace insults, threats, or annoyances. They should not exist, either, but they do not pack a big punch in court. What comes with heavyweight is the following combination of factual elements:

  • The employer/their agent’s conduct was deliberate and reckless. And there is proof to back up this claim.
  • The defendant/their agent engaged in extreme or outrageous behavior (and the plaintiff can prove).
  • This conduct led to an employee’s emotional distress.
  • The employee can prove the causality and the severity of the distress.

Example: You are open to IIED claims if you neglected an employee’s complaints regarding sexual harassment. Your failure to respond to numerous notices for months will most likely put you in the defendant’s chair.

In IIED claims, fright or shame can fall under the umbrella of “emotional distress.” As we said above, you are responsible for the conduct of all your employees. Consider promoting a safe working environment. Remove any risks of sexual harassment, bullying, shaming, emotional abuse, social isolation, etc.

Can You Put a Price on Your Employees’ Feelings?

If an employee wins an NIED or an IIED claim, you have to pay for damages. The payment is relative to the severity of the emotional injury. You should consider legal advice in such cases, even if you are a small business. Many NIED and IIED cases settle outside of court. You need to know your rights, your employees’ rights, and the methods you have to make their lives better and safer.

Employee Wellness: Tips To Make Employees More Productive At Work

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People ArticleAny company will reap many benefits when they have healthy and engaged employees. An employee wellness program curated and designed correctly will boost morale, increase productivity, and reduce stress. Wellness programs have always been thought of as something nice-to-have rather than a must-have. What employers don’t think about is the benefits in the long term. In the long run, the company will see the results. Wellness programs help employees to stay healthy and lessen absences. The cost of having this employee wellness program will just be minimal compared to the benefits in the long run. Listed below are some tips to make employees more productive at work.

1. What is a Wellness Program?

Before crafting and designing your employee wellness program, you first have to understand what it is. A wellness program is any program with the goal to improve the health and well-being of the company’s workforce. Wellness programs are supposed to help employees overcome general health issues and educate them about what they should do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Usually, companies hire third-parties to conduct the program and seminar depending on the need and expertise. There are many great ways to increase productivity, and wellness programs are one of them.

2. What improvements to target?

The way to design your wellness program should address specific needs and target personal wellness. Programs structured can target physical fitness and stamina through regular exercise, Zumba, or yoga classes for employees. This doesn’t only increase welfare but also improves self-image and self-esteem, which you want in your employees. At the same time, this also reduces the stress that your employees feel. Targeting specific health-related issues will translate into a more reliable workforce and smoother workflow.

3. What are the kinds of wellness programs you can implement?

There are tons of programs that a company can implement for the well-being of their employees. Be sure to provide flexibility in the programs so many of your employees can join in. Here are just some suggestions and recommendations for great employee wellness ideas:

  • Zumba Classes
  • Diet Guidance Programs
  • Physical Fitness Programs
  • Quit-Smoking Programs
  • Physiological Testing Programs
  • Stress Management Programs
  • Nutrition Classes
  • Blood Pressure Screening
  • Cholesterol Tracking
  • Fitness Tracking
  • Gym Plans
  • Guided Meditation Classes
  • Cooking Classes
  • Team Building Activities
  • Anxiety Workshop
  • Annual Corporate Flu Shots
  • Healthy Lifestyle Education
  • Mental Health Days
  • Emotional and Mental Health Education and Resources
  • Book Clubs
  • Healthy Potlucks

4. Healthy Snacks

With working for at least 8 hours a day, employees will grow well into the snacking culture in no time. Unfortunately, most companies only have low-quality vending machines that offer junk food such as soda, candy, and chips loaded with fat and sugar. These snacks not only decrease productivity, but it also makes a serious dent in the health and well-being of an employee. An excellent way to improve the nutrition of your employees is to provide easy access to healthier snack choices throughout the day.

5. Launch Health Competitions

Nothing else gets people off their chairs than incentives. If economics taught anything, it’s that people respond well to incentives. Why not incentivize health? Gamify employee fitness by starting challenges and giving incentives. For instance, you can start giving out gift certificates for the employee with the most visits to the gym or went running. You can also provide employees with fitness trackers to keep them in shape and encourage them. Another competition you can start is a step competition or walking challenge. You can give out cash incentives to those who hit step targets. The goal is to keep your employees in good shape, keep them motivated, and up on their feet.

6. Pet-Friendly Office Initiative

Another way that has been proven to keep employees motivated and increase productivity is to bring in your furry, four-legged friends to the office. These are tested and proved to improve collaboration among employees. Some offices even encourage to bring pets and have pets running around the office.

Keeping your employees healthy and educating them about well-being does reduce not only absences but also boosts productivity and efficiency in employees. Even though it costs very low, this initiative from companies can go a long way in helping out employees while benefiting the company. The connection between employee wellness and productivity has already been proven and well-established. Hope this guide was able to give you some tips on how employee wellness programs can help in boosting productivity and effectivity.

Unsecured Business Loans: A Comprehensive Guide

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | Entrepreneurship | Unsecured Business Loans: A Comprehensive Guide

Have you ever felt the need to apply for some sort of business funding? If yes, then I am sure you must have gone through a million options before you came to the right conclusion about your loan. For any business, whether it is a big or small business, funding can actually make a huge impact. Getting the loan that suits your business best is very important. There are various types of loan options available for you to choose from but one option that can really work for you faster is an unsecured business loan. Here is a comprehensive guide that can fully educate you about an unsecured business loan.

What Is It?

What exactly is an unsecured business loan? If we look at the basic definition then this is one type of loan that actually does not in any way require the business owner to pledge any sort of asset or collateral against the debt they receive. The usual protocol for when you get a loan from the bank is to secure any sort of leverage that the business has to the lender to ensure some sort of guarantee. Unsecured business loans are a sort of financing option for those businesses that do not have or do not want to put up collateral for the loan. Through this type of loan, they can still access it and use it in their business in their own way. To get this type of loan all you need to do is apply for financing and also have a good credit score. It is the easiest way to raise funds for your business.

Types Of Unsecured Business Loans

There are certain types of unsecured business loan options out there that you can pick and choose according to the needs of your business in every way. The time period and the amount of loan can be huge indicators for the type of unsecured loan that is the most viable option for you. With options like term business loan, the candidates are mainly given a large amount, which can be repaid over a period of one to five years. This is a type of unsecured loan that is best used to pay off substantial one-time purchases. Another option that works best for short term financing resolutions is an unsecured business line of credit that is indeed a more adaptable finance choice, which is perfect for numerous purposes. Rendering to your long term and short term financing needs, you can check which type of unsecured business loan works best for your company.

Reasons For Need

The question of the need for this type of loan is very important. Identify the clear and concise need for an unsecured business loan that you are going for. An unsecured business loan can have many uses in your company. See whether you want the loan to increase the size of your inventory or to improve the cash flow of your business. Some businesses even require this type of loan to increase the quantity of their staff. Every business has different needs for using an unsecured business loan. Many business owners might get a unique opportunity for which they might need extra funding. In that case, they then go for an unsecured business loan as it can help them in completing whatever they want. Many companies that want to create a good credit rating so that they can prepare their business for a much bigger loan in the future also use this type of loan.

Selection For Lenders

There are many lenders who actually offer an unsecured business loan. When opting for this type of loan make sure that you actually look into all the options for lenders that you have. The reason for this is that many lenders tend to vary and have a different interest rate that they give. Work your options and see what kind of lender best suits your needs and gives you the most favourable conditions for the loan. Times have changed and now when you need a loan the only option available is not your bank anymore. There are various online sources that also offer safe and secure lending procedures that you can go through. As the application procedures for banks and institutions like these have tightened up, people are looking for alternative lenders. You can go for alternative commercial finance lenders or peer-to-peer lenders according to the terms and conditions that suit you best for your unsecured business loan.

Things To Consider Beforehand

There are various things that you must consider before you go for an unsecured business loan. Things like the time period when you need the funds matters a lot. Some places might offer you funds pretty quickly while some actually take their sweet time. When exactly you need the funds needs to be clear so that then you can work according to your timeline. Another very important factor is that make sure that you are absolutely aware of all the terms and conditions of the unsecured business loan that you are about to acquire. The reason for this is that if there are certain conditions that are unfavourable then you should know about them from the get-go. You may be required representing certain financial documents to get your loan approved also. These are things you must know beforehand so that you can work around them before you actually do get the loan. Once you have gotten that loan then there is no going back so make sure you are mindful of such things in the beginning.

May Require Personal Guarantee

The level of risk attached to an unsecured business loan is much higher than a secured one. Thus, it is possible that you may be required to give some sort of personal guarantee against the debt you are to obtain. This means that in the case that your business is not able to pay back the loan it has gotten then the holder of that loan must take a personal responsibility to pay that loan back. The structure of a personal guarantee can vary from lender to lender. Apart from a good credit score the lender will look into your situation and see if you will be able to take a personal guarantee against your loan. This is done to put the lender at ease and lower their level of risk as well.

These are the main and basic principles that are attached to an unsecured business loan. This type of loan can actually be very beneficial to give your business the boost that it needs to move forward. Just make sure you are fully aware of an unsecured business loan before you actually go for it.

5 Topmost Software That Helps You In Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Entrepreneurship | Business Software | 5 Topmost Software That Helps You In Business

This is 2020, and the world has entered into a new decade, unlocking new windows to the trading world. People nowadays are indulging in various kinds of businesses and earning quality money. Youth is much more interested in becoming an entrepreneur than doing nine to five jobs. Many people are providing guidelines to business, even this, has become a business. People conduct public speaking seminars to spread awareness about entrepreneurship and unique ways to enter into the trading ball.

As you must have experienced, how every field is progressing with time and doing wonders to support each other. IT has embellished business and granted some modern ways to set your feet in it. There is now numerous software that helps in making things easy for an entrepreneur like deputy software. This software enables you to perform better and efficiently. They lessen the risks and present you with a proper platform to execute your plans without any haphazard. Here is a list of top-five software that you can use and grow your business. This list will help you to pick suitable software for your business. Have a look and follow the list,

Deal with Accounts

If you are commencing a business and don’t want to squander your precious time in 2+2=4 (accounts), what will you do? You should hire a person who can solve the account operations. However, after establishing a business, you will realize that you cannot afford to make a mistake in fiscal matters. You will also discern that human beings are not imperiled to commit mistakes. Therefore, what can be the after course? We have a quick account fix for you. You should borrow some help from the IT Department and lift your accounting matters to accounting software.

Presently, you must be wondering what kind of software you can use to handle the finance of your business? You should download QuickBooks software. Do you know anything about this magical wand named QuickBooks? It includes some very convenient features that you need to make things easier for you.

  • You can trust this software with all your business secrets.
  • It will aid you in tracking the cash and provide you with receipts.
  • It creates the invoice and any other business form that you may want to send and receive.
  • You can easily analyze the performance of your business by tapping the screen.

Website Building

As the internet is touching higher skies, every business needs a website. You cannot start a business venture without establishing a website and for that purpose; you need a website building software. People these days ask for the website first because it has turned into a matter of authenticity. The easiest and accessible website building software is Word press. It is free in the beginning and later offers discounted plans. Its features are striking as mentioned below,

  • It offers 300 themes to set up a domain. You can design it by yourself with eminent features.
  • It deports your posts to other social media platforms such as twitter.
  • It is SEO trained and increases the readability of your content.
  • You can dig the stats of the visitors that look into your website.

Digital Marketing

After expanding a topnotch business, you need to spread its name around the town. But how are you going to do this? What are the modern ways of marketing? You know the moves, don’t you? You have to acquire digital marketing software and lift your business through innovative techniques. We suggest you involve ‘Intercom’ in your business. You must be pondering what Intercom is and what it does? It is upscale software that helps entrepreneurs to grasp clients and engage with them. The features it comprised are stated below,

  • Intercom procures clients through artificial intelligence-based chatbots and generates faster links.
  • It forwards convincing emails to the people who sign up and transform them into clients.
  • It has a help desk that allows its members to get help at any moment.
  • You can depend on them with all your clients.

Project management

Everything has been going through a proper discipline but do you retain any idea about your team? How are you going to manage people with inconsistent behaviours, nature, and backgrounds? This whole team management fiasco will exhaust you but wait; we are here so why fear? We have an idea for you to get an instant update about your team members. Get Trello. Don’t know Trello? We’ll never leave you clueless. Trello is a software that promotes companies to manage their projects without any hurdle. It works in a very trendy manner. You obtain this first, make a card, include your team in that card and ask them to update it. Simple, isn’t it? Take a look at its impressive features,

  • You can avail Trello for almost every nature of tasks; family trips or high-end professional projects.
  • You can add attachments, comments and due dates to whatever task you are heading towards.
  • It provides you with a butler. Surprise? Not the real one. Butler boosts productivity through automation and formulates principles, commands, and buttons for your card.

Hiring and human resources

Last but not the least, the field of human resources is extremely important for any business. You cannot hire any Tom, Dick, and Harry without knowing their background. Recruitment CRM carries significance in every kind of business and an ideal relationship between employees and employers. With the uprising scope of the human resources department, candidate relation management (CRM) has taken place in the corporate world to hire suitable candidates. There is software that performs this high-end duty, but smashfly is the best of all. You will believe us after knowing its features,

  • It provides your team with talent acquisition software that helps in analyzing the skills of the suitable candidates.
  • It has an AI-based chatbot that heightens the probability of identifying the candidate through conversing them. Moreover, it schedules meetings for you.
  • It helps in organizing recruitments events without bearing any difficulties and leaves an unforgettable image on candidate’s minds.
  • It enables you to forget about paperwork and turn everything in digital.

These are some easy to use software that enhances the probability of your growth. You should utilize this software and enter into a rapid version of corporate. This is an era of technology boost so gain as much as you can. You are required to decide whatever software your business needs. This is the time to move forward keeping in mind the progressive technology and the fast world. Be smart and watch your step!

4 Ways to Maximise Real Estate Investing

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | 4 Ways to Maximise Real Estate InvestingWhat do your investor friends talk about all the time? What investment vehicles do they discuss, and what sectors dominate the conversations? Chances are that real estate investments are a major part of every conversation. People are drawn to real estate investments for a number of reasons: Having a real-life asset that you can touch, or amicable tax incentives are among many reasons why real estate is a popular investment niche. If this is something that you’re interested in, be sure to check out Brooklyn, NY property management.

But beyond the water-cooler conversation, how can you get the most out of your real estate investments? What do you need to do to maximize their potential, and what tips or tricks should you keep in the back of your mind for future deals? In this article, we’ll look at four possible ways to maximize your real estate investments.

Look Global

Global real estate investments have never been more accessible for investors large and small. New investment vehicles, accessible online, allow a small investor in Florida, USA and a large investor from Saudi Arabia to invest in the same properties. One of the most common vehicles is the US-based Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITs. A REIT is a company that owns, operates, or invests in revenue-producing real estate. REITs function as intermediaries, allowing investors to see profits and revenue without direct ownership or property management.

REITs began in the United States, but have now spread around the world; in the US, various kinds of REITs account for nearly $3 trillion in gross assets. There’s a wide range of flexibility within the world of REITs; a REIT can invest in any form of real estate, although most specialize in a particular niche. Hotels, multifamily, offices, senior housing – all are legitimate sectors for REIT investments.

Go Mobile

It’s the age of apps, and real estate investment is definitely in on the trend. There are apps to help locate investment opportunities like Property Fixer, apps that provide networking and education resources like BiggerPockets, and even apps that allow direct investment into REITs. In the last category, known as eREITs, you can find highly successful apps like Fundrise, which have taken the expanded reach of REITs and put them onto everyone’s phone. The world of real estate investment has even produced entire suites of software designed to streamline communications between investors and operators. These suites, known as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software like the one from Groundbreaker.co, are all aimed to boost your real estate investments to their maximum potential while giving you more access to your portfolio from anywhere at anytime.

Get Expansive

Today is not the day to think small. Whatever your budget, there are more opportunities than ever before, from traditional house-flipping to building a portfolio of REITs that focuses on specific niches you find attractive. There are new investment niches, such as green real estate or the growing student housing market, and new ways to research those areas. Think big, look beyond local markets only, and network with other investors to find and fund new real estate opportunities.

Shrink Your Vision

Now for the opposite advice: don’t forget the small-scale stuff either! There are lots of opportunities still available close to home. Some long-standing investment models are receiving fresh attention and interest. Delaware Statutory Trusts fall into this category, an older, well-established model of investment trust which has recently emerged as an attractive vehicle that facilitates participation in tax-deferment programs for real estate investments. While you are pursuing and researching the latest and best eREITs and investment apps, don’t forget to perform due diligence on some of the tried-and-true methods right in front of you.

Conclusion

From new apps with a global reach to long-standing legal entities designed to protect your investments, these are four ways to maximize your real estate investing and give your portfolio new life.