What happens in Vegas... Gets replicated by Toronto?

So earlier this week headlines were made because the Ontario Court of Appeals legalized brothels and ruled that 'sex workers could hire security staff'. 

There is definitely going to be a ton of debate around this over the coming year(s) from the courts to classrooms; the world's oldest profession tends to be a bit of a taboo subject.

The debate for those in favour of this move is that it makes it safer for the ummm... 'front line workers'.

The goal being, supposedly, to empower the people who 'choose' to get into this line of work and to make it safer for them at the same time.

Those against it see it as modeling ourselves after Las Vegas... and the proposed waterfront Casino is only helping that... and generally take a moral/ethical stance in the stereotypes that come from it.

So ya, this is going to be a subject that gets alot of attention and the opinions will no doubt go to both extremes - I don't think anyone would disagree.

However, those of us in HR need to think down the road - what is this truly going to lead too?

If these brothels become legitimate multi-staff businesses (perhaps in their own district) what will the impact be on employment law?

How do you do a reference check?

What screening questions could you ask or not?

What metrics would be looked at during performance reviews?

Obviously I ask these questions with a little sarcasm, but by the same token every business needs to adhere to employment laws.  What would the head of HR look like in that workplace?

I don't know... your guess is as good as mine.

Presenteeism: At Least I Showed Up!

Since the recession hit in the fall of 2008, there has been a general feeling that you shouldn't take vacation or taking breaks at work is the sign of unproductivity.

I get it - people want to keep their jobs and showing up when you feel like crap or really should have stayed home must show dedication... 'who could fire a dedicated employee?' the reasoning might go.

This is known as Presenteeism.

Presenteeism is tougher to address by the simple fact that with Presenteeism the person is physically there at their work station... Absenteeism is self-explanatory.

But think - are any of us above it?

"That project is due on Friday and if I can just make it through this week I can recover on the weekend!"

"I don't want to use up my vacation pay"

"It's just a bit of a cold, I don't have any meetings - I will get over it"

And so on...

It doesn't really matter whether you're talking about a business, school, or medical setting.  Even doctors, nurses, and ambulance workers do it...

So what's the problem?

One study from Cornell University estimated that Presenteeism could account for as much as 61 percent of the total cost of worker illness... Think of that at your workplace alone on an annual basis.

But how often is it addressed?

If you sneeze at the office do people say "oh, you should go home" or is it more like "Oh, I had that last week - is your throat sore?" "Mine was".

Like j-walking, most people don't really seem to address the concern.


So fellow HR Professionals, what do we do?