Category Uncategorized

A recent study found a direct link between company culture and employee performance and retention. Additional data shows a link between company culture and profitability.

While it’s clear that company culture is important, there is a fine line between dictating a company culture and allowing it to develop naturally. Leaders who try to control too much risk stifling change while too little control can create a cultural vacuum.

The study confirms that organizational integrity in hand with a clear sense of belonging and purpose is crucial to a positive employee experience. Because of this, company culture needs to be consistent throughout.

With $11 billion lost each year as a result of employee turnover, it’s more important than ever to ensure employees feel needed and happy with their jobs. With a strong company culture, employers can save money on recruiting and training costs.

Other studies show that there is also a correlation between a company’s culture and its profits. When employees feel a sense of purpose, there are more engaged in the business, which results in an increase in profits.

However, employers must take a thoughtful approach to developing a positive culture. While employers should not control every move, if they have no part of the development of culture, it may form into something they don’t want.

In order to develop a positive company culture, an employer should ensure all employees feel like they’re part of a team. Whether it’s within departments or geographically, employees should be encouraged to work in teams.

Additionally, all employees should be treated fairly. This means that people who are putting in real effort should get noticed by higher-up employees.

Fairness also boils down to things like time off and sick days. With 37% of families saying that vacations make them happy, employees should be given adequate time to do those types of things. Employees should not only be given time off, but they should be encouraged to take it. Burnt out employees do nothing but decrease productivity, and that’s not good for them or the company.

Along with time off, employees should be given opportunities to learn new things. With the implementation of development programs, training, and new technology, employees can be encouraged to learn something new. This not only keeps them engaged in the company but helps them grow personally as well.

And lastly, a great company culture includes the executives and managers. At large businesses, it can be difficult for executives to find time to really engage with their employers. However, when employees see their managers being productive and involved in the company, it makes them want to do the same.

Overall, the study confirmed when many employers already know: culture matters. With a poor culture, a company will continue to decrease profitability over time and continue to lose employees at a steady rate.

With the holidays coming up, everyone may feel a little bit tempted to nibble on some raw cookie dough while making yummy treats. However, you may want to think twice before you do it.

While most people are aware of the dangers of raw eggs, which may contain salmonella, recent research has found a new dangerous bacteria. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that raw flour can carry E. coli, which can cause extreme intestinal problems when ingested. The bacteria are normally found in meats and other moist environments, but is proven to be found in raw flour as well.

The study reported a total of 56 cases of E. coli from December 21, 2015 to September 6, 2016 in 24 different states across the country. Only 17 of the victims needed to be hospitalized.

Despite this outbreak being over, researchers still want people to know that these types of bacteria can be found in raw flour and other foods.

So while many people don’t see the harm in tasting a bit of raw cookie dough, it can actually be quite dangerous. Unbaked, room-temperature cookie dough is dangerous because it’s at the perfect temperature for bacteria to grow. However, cold temperatures can stop harmful bacteria from growing. Because of this, the dough should be kept in a refrigerator below 40 degrees Fahrenheit or a freezer below zero degrees Fahrenheit.

“We’re not trying to ruin people’s holidays but we want them to be aware of the risks,” stated Samuel J. Crowe, the lead author of the study and an epidemiologist with the division of foodborne, waterborne and environmental diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the New York Times.

Symptoms of an E. coli infection can include nausea, stomach pains, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and dehydration. Experts recommend that you see a doctor right away if you’re experiencing any of these symptoms after handling flour products.

In order to keep yourself, family, and guests safe from foodborne illnesses, experts recommend following these four safety food measures: clean, chill, separate, and cook.

Be sure to wash your hands before and after handling any food products. Additionally, it’s important to remember to wash all surfaces, like cutting boards, utensils, dishes, and countertops, that come in contact with food.

The refrigerator is a safe place to store foods before and after cooking. Additionally, it’s a great place to thaw frozen meat because it stays at a consistent temperature. Because not everybody can afford a $60,000 refrigerated trailer, make sure your fridge is cleaned out and has plenty of room to store all of your holiday food. It’s important to remember to never defrost food at room temperature to avoid allowing bacteria to grow.

When working with raw eggs, meat, poultry, and seafood, it’s important to keep them away from foods that don’t need to be cooked. Make sure different utensils and surfaces are used for each type of food. Keeping these foods separate will reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

The best way to tell if food is safely cooked is to use a food thermometer. Each food has its own safe temperature, which you should be aware of when cooking. When the food is hot enough to kill bacteria, that is when it’s safe to eat.

So remember, safety is key this holiday if you want to avoid getting sick. Stay away from raw cookie dough and see a doctor immediately if you think you’ve contracted a bacterial infection.

Within a week of the iPhone X’s release, its facial recognition technology was hacked. In the past, similar systems have experienced other high profile failures, such as being incapable of recognizing black and hispanic users.

According to Wired, hackers “cracked Face ID with a composite mask of 3-D-printed plastic, silicone, makeup, and simple paper cutouts,” resulting in questions and concerns over the efficacy of the software.

The ever-evolving tech scene has brought us PINs, fingerprint scanners, and facial identification, but what’s next in the mobile security world?

Apparently, the answer is sweat. An emerging biotechnology is now poised to use perspiration for a more secure authentication process to unlock your mobile device.

As you might know, sweat functions in the human body as a cooling mechanism, but rather impressively, the average individual has between two and four million sweat glands in their body. Not only does sweat cool you when you’re hot, but it is also composed of person-specific amino acids. The theory is that your phone will store your ‘sweat-print’ and use that as a reference whenever you go to unlock.

“Using sweat as an identifier cannot be easily mimicked/hacked by potential intruders. It is close to fool-proof,” Assistant Professor Jan Halamek told The Hindu Business Line.


Halamek teaches at the University of Albany where she also led the study finding promising results. The concept has been proven effective and she now awaits engineers to assist in bringing the concept to life.

Security for smartphones is becoming ever more important. As of 2015, there were an estimated 190.5 million people using smartphones in the United States alone, and that number continues to grow. This makes mobile users a prime target for cyber attacks.


Jan Halamek has confidence in the concepts behind sweat based authentication, yet as security improves, the skill set and technology behind hacking improves as well. Only time will tell if her ideas hold up.

The real question becomes: how quickly will hackers crack the sweat code?

Within a week of the iPhone X’s release, its facial recognition technology was hacked. In the past, similar systems have experienced other high profile failures, such as being incapable of recognizing black and hispanic users.

According to Wired, hackers “cracked Face ID with a composite mask of 3-D-printed plastic, silicone, makeup, and simple paper cutouts,” resulting in questions and concerns over the efficacy of the software.

The ever-evolving tech scene has brought us PINs, fingerprint scanners, and facial identification, but what’s next in the mobile security world?

Apparently, the answer is sweat. An emerging biotechnology is now poised to use perspiration for a more secure authentication process to unlock your mobile device.

As you might know, sweat functions in the human body as a cooling mechanism, but rather impressively, the average individual has between two and four million sweat glands in their body. Not only does sweat cool you when you’re hot, but it is also composed of person-specific amino acids. The theory is that your phone will store your ‘sweat-print’ and use that as a reference whenever you go to unlock.

“Using sweat as an identifier cannot be easily mimicked/hacked by potential intruders. It is close to fool-proof,” Assistant Professor Jan Halamek told The Hindu Business Line.


Halamek teaches at the University of Albany where she also led the study finding promising results. The concept has been proven effective and she now awaits engineers to assist in bringing the concept to life.

Security for smartphones is becoming ever more important. As of 2015, there were an estimated 190.5 million people using smartphones in the United States alone, and that number continues to grow. This makes mobile users a prime target for cyber attacks.


Jan Halamek has confidence in the concepts behind sweat based authentication, yet as security improves, the skill set and technology behind hacking improves as well. Only time will tell if her ideas hold up.

The real question becomes: how quickly will hackers crack the sweat code?

Millennials are the most vacation-deprived age group in the United States according to Expedia’s 2017 Vacation Deprivation report. The annual report analyzes the travel habits of 30,000 people in 30 different countries.

The U.S. is typically behind on vacation days in comparison to other countries. Americans often find it difficult to squeeze a vacation into their schedules despite the fact many believe vacations are important for well-being and up to42% feel more romantic after getting away.

However, this year Expedia found millennials are more likely to be deprived of vacations than any other age group. According to Lonely Planet, this may be due to the fact that millennials receive the lowest number of vacation days and are more likely to cut vacations short to go back to work.

By the end of 2017, American workers are expected to have wasted up to 462 million vacation days. That’s more than four times the number of people who did gardening as a recreational activity throughout the whole year of 2014 (113.5 million).

According to the report, up to 43% of Americans say they can’t vacation due to a restricted budget. Another 30% say they’re saving their vacation days for a longer vacation. And finally, 22% report they’re unable to leave their workplace.

These high percentages may prove to be a growing problem among the satisfaction and health of the American workforce. As high as 96% of Americans report feeling happier after a vacation. What’s more is 94% report being less stressed and 93% say they feel better-rested.

This means, with limited vacations, millennials are more stressed and less rested. Increased stress can lead to health problems as well as problems in the workplace itself. Up to 46% of workers report feeling more productive after a vacation and 60% say they have a better attitude toward their job.

Fortunately, the American workers’ perspective on vacations has been improving in recent years. Compared to the 14% of workers who felt guilty taking time off in 2016, only 8% of workers felt guilty in 2017.

However, there’s still a struggle among younger workers that needs to be nipped in the bud. The number of Americans who check their work email while on vacation has increased by 4%, which has been proven to only increase stress even during vacation days.

Hot flashes and night sweats experienced during menopause may be linked to sleep apnea, new data finds. According to a new study published in Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society, the night sweats and hot flashes so commonly attributed to menopause may be linked to a higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea.

The authors of the study used data from the Data Registry on Experience of Aging, Menopause and Sexuality. The researchers found that, between May 2015 and December 2016, reports of hot flashes and night sweats were experienced by those at higher risk for OSA.

The most common type of sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea is defined as routine stops and starts in a person’s breathing during sleep. Seven to nine hours of sleep is generally recommended for optimal rest. Obstructive sleep apnea can interrupt sleep cycles and increase the risk of serious health issues. For women, these health issues include high blood pressure, stroke, and coronary heart disease.

Menopause is known to cause an array of sleeping problems including insomnia, anxiety, hot flashes, and also breathing difficulties. For this reason, researchers found that those experiencing menopause without other risk factors for OSA were still at higher risk for sleep apnea.

“Obstructive sleep apnea is often thought of as a man’s disease, and men’s symptoms are more outwardly noticeable, in large part because of snoring,” said Stephanie Faubion, M.D.

“However,” Faubion added, “the risk for [OSA] in women goes up in their menopausal years. The symptoms they face … may not be as audible or visible to others, but they pose just as much risk to overall health.”

Up to 65% of those who proved to be at high risk of OSA failed to be diagnosed with the sleep disorder two years after the patients reported their symptoms. Faubion explains that symptoms of sleep apnea and other serious health problems may be overlooked in the face of menopause. However, by using screening tools we may be able to detect health problems in women more successfully and diagnose patients with obstructive sleep apnea earlier.

The housing market is growing tighter, and with fewer homes for sale, prices are rising accordingly. As a result, remodeling has become the way to go for many homeowners who can’t find a second home. In light of this, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) released a joint report on the 2017 remodeling market. The data shows the latest trends and the emotional and financial value that homeowners place on certain projects.

According to the report, “after completing a remodeling project 75% of owners have a greater desire to be in their home, 65% say they have increased enjoyment in their home, and 77% feel a major sense of accomplishment when thinking of their completed project. In addition, 56% felt happy when they see their completed projects, and 39% say they feel satisfied,” the report said.

The NAR president, Willaim E. Brown, said that there are a lot of reasons that homeowners are undergoing these projects, according to surveys. Whether that be to impress potential buyers, bring in better offers, or gain more equity in their homes, remodeling projects bring the most value for homeowners. For example, something as simple as bathroom remodels could bring as much as 86.4% return on investment.

NAR reports that, for exterior projects, new roofing is the most popular. The project has an average of 109% return on initial investment, more than any other exterior project. The report also stated that “though new roofing was named the exterior project that most appeals to buyers, it is followed by new vinyl windows, a new garage door, and new vinyl siding.”

“This year’s report confirms how remodeling can increase home value and day-to-day enjoyment,” said Tom Miller, President of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. “I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to work with a contractor you can trust who adheres to a strict code of ethics and can help define a realistic budget.”

The report also had a “joy rating” system, that ranked each project on what the total enjoyment each project gives the homeowner. Projects that have a perfect score of 10 include a new master suite, which has an estimated cost of $125,000 for a full makeover, and a new steel front doors.

New data shows wealth to be the key factor driving children’s participation in sports. According to the Aspen Institute’s Sports and Society program, children between the ages of six and 12 whose household income totals less than $25,000 are three times more likely to be inactive in sports compared to children whose household income totals more than $100,000.

“Sports in America have separated into sports-have and have-nots,” said Tom Farrey, the Sports and Society program’s executive director, to The Atlantic.

Children in low-income areas are also less likely to be exposed to organized sports activities such as track and basketball because such sports are typically associated with parks. Other sports such as swimming or ice hockey require facilities, which are costly to own or rent.

There has been much concern over children in sports in recent years due to physical exhaustion and injury. However, The Atlantic reports that children from low-income housing suffer more enduring losses from missing out on sports opportunities. Youth athletics offer children regular exercise, which in turn leads to improved physical health, better grades, and longevity. They also offer children lessons in teamwork, resilience, and discipline.

According to Time Magazine, the business of youth athletics has turned into a $15.3 billion industry, driven by the idea that achievement on the field may increase a child’s chances to attend college. Yet, only higher-income households are capable of affording these sports programs and the equipment they require.

Forbes reports that one in five American parents spends up to $1,000 on sports equipment per child. In the United States, up to 209,000 girls and 284,000 boys play high school soccer. That comes to a total of $493 million for sports equipment for America’s high school soccer teams alone. Compare this to the $1.5 billion the nation spent in total on camping equipment as a family in 2014.

Low-income schools have been dropping free physical-education classes and are beginning to require athletes to pay for their sports programs. As a result, up to 70% of children leave youth athletics by the age of 13.

This loss of opportunity especially affects female athletes, who have been shown to benefit highly from sports programs. Female athletes have been shown to be more likely to be business executives and politicians. They’re also less likely to develop breast cancer and self-esteem issues.

Self-esteem especially has become a distressing factor as of late. A Dove study on body confidence recently found that up to 89% of women would cancel an important event due to their appearance. In another study, up to 60% of women hair loss sufferers said they would rather have more hair than either friends or money.

“Kids who are excluded for socioeconomic reasons are missing out on all of [these positive opportunities],” said Mark Hyman, an assistant professor at George Washington School of Business. “Sports would help them develop more fully as people.”

Not only do sports help children become more successful later in life both in terms of self-esteem and job opportunities, but they also help to create integration between children who may not otherwise come together due to racial and economic differences.

“Before football, I had never like had different friends of different races,” said one football player to Canadian researchers in an interview. “And in football, everyone’s just, yeah your Jamaican kids, Somalian kids, people from Singapore, some Italians. So it really helps you learn … how to make friends, diverse friends.”

The Sports and Society program’s Tom Farrey is hopeful of movements being made to help improve the lives of low-income children such as the Aspen Institute’s Project Play Summit. “There’s a great desire for solutions in this space,” Farry said. “It’s something that government and the private sector … should be subsidizing because they all benefit.”

The number of reported cases of black lung, a lung disease found in coal miners, has been on the rise in Australia. According to Bloomberg, up to 25 cases of the illness pneumoconiosis have been confirmed in the state of Queensland.

Black lung disease is caused by the inhalation of coal dust over extended periods of time. Bloomberg reports that the illness’ sudden onset is most likely due to the limited control of dust in Australia’s coal mines and the poor use of modern mining technology.

“It is a ticking time bomb for the industry in Australia,” said David Lennox, a resource analyst in Sydney. “It’s a crisis that’s been a long time in the making and, over a long period of time, it will ultimately take lives.”

Since Queensland announced the resurrection of the illness, thousands of coal miners both retired and active have been seeking medical examinations for the disease.

As of 2014, there were a total of 66,211 lawyers actively working in Australia compared to the 1,268,011 practicing lawyers in the U.S. in 2012. According to Stephen Smyth, president of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union, these active lawyers are preparing for the vast number of workers compensation claims certain to be filed.

“No one gave it much of a thought, to tell you the truth,” said Keith Stoddart, a 68-year-old retired coal miner. “When I started in 1970, they said there was no more black lung in the mines.”

Many seniors and younger workers know what to look for work-related illnesses such as musculoskeletal disorders or dermatitis. Even symptoms of common deadly ailments that aren’t work-related are often known such as heart disease, which kills up to 84% of seniors over the age of 65.

Symptoms of rare diseases such as black lung are typically unknown. For this reason, Stoddart reportedly shrugged off the pain he felt in his back until 2015 when he coughed up a black substance as well as blood.

Jason Bing, a 46-year-old coal miner who’s been working in Queensland for nearly 13 years, has also been diagnosed with the disease. Bing is currently in the process of suing previous employers including Anglo American, the third largest coal exporter in the world.

Bing’s lawsuit calls for $2 million AUS in compensation for failing to provide adequate protective equipment and ventilation that would make it safe to work in the mines. However, what makes the case so difficult to argue is that it can take up to “http://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/383941/pneumoconiosis-facts.pdf”>10 years for symptoms of black lung to appear. Yet, the failure to detect the illness may be the fault of Australia’s medical professionals rather than the illness itself.

“The connection between exposure and disease has been known for many decades,” said Tim Driscoll, a professor at the University of Sydney. “So, there seems to me to have been a failure of exposure control.”

According to Driscoll, the disease was most likely left undetected by medical professionals due to poor quality x-rays, poor communication, and x-rays never being reported. It’s for mistakes such as these that home health care businesses, as well as other medical professionals, are recommended to know about five types of insurance including Professional Liability Insurance.

The Queensland state government has since dedicated up to $25 million toward the improvement of coal mining conditions. “The Palaszcuk government’s focus has always been to eradicate this insidious disease that does not belong in the 21st century,” said Mines Minister Anthony Lynham.

A new study by Mayo Clinic disproves a previous assumption that sleeping with your furry friends at night is bad for your health. According to the study, those who sleep with their dogs in their bed were determined to have an average satisfactory sleeping quality of 80%.

The study followed 40 adults and their dogs over a series of seven nights during which both the adults and canines wore motion-tracking devices. Evidence suggests that those who sleep with their pets in bed don’t suffer from poor sleep quality.

However, those who slept with their pets in their room rather than in bed still slept more efficiently with a score of 83%. Why the 3% difference?

The study determined the reasoning behind the lower sleep score was due to the dogs’ movements in their human companion’s bed. The dogs’ movements resulted in more disturbances throughout the night causing interruptions to the owner’s sleep cycle.

This may be due to the fact that dogs’ sleep cycles tend to be shorter than humans. According to Time Magazine, human sleep companions weren’t as disturbing of each other’s sleep cycles.

“Presumably, humans accommodate the needs of their bed partner in an effort to promote sleep in a manner that even the most well-trained dog does not,” said lead author Dr. Lois Krahn in the study.

A single dog or cat in a bed may have the best sleep results, Krahn said, but it’s when multiple animals sleep on the bed that the owner’s sleep may become unhealthily disrupted. Even just one extra hour of sleep is valuable up to 82% of Americans.

It should be noted, however, that the study only analyzed the households of middle-aged, healthy women. And, because there was no control group, the researchers were unable to officially determine whether there was a difference in sleep quality and the size or breed of the dogs.

Despite these drawbacks, Krahn’s message remains the same. “My main recommendation is for people to take a look at their setup and carefully consider whether it is truly working or not,” Krahn said. “And not allow loyalty to their pet to blind them to consequences that aren’t desirable to their sleep.”