Employees are wary of 360 reviews: More than three in four employees have expressed their desire to opt out of 360-degree feedback evaluation systems amid concerns that it could be misused in the workplace, according to a new survey. LiveCareer's poll among 1,000 employees in the United States found that 71% of organizations are using 360-degree reviews regularly. LiveCareer's poll found that 79% of employees said they would rather opt out of the performance review method amid concerns over office politics and workplace drama. According to the poll, nearly half of the respondents believe this process can amplify office politics (48%) and can be tainted by personal bias or grudges (48%).  Another 79% said they suspect the process is used to settle personal grudges, while another 29% believe they create workplace drama. Despite the anonymity provided by 360-degree feedback processes, 28% of the respondents believe it promotes vague and unhelpful comments. These negative perceptions of 360-degree feedback come as 74% of the respondents said they received feedback they felt was unfair, biased, or inaccurate.  Source: HR Director 3/5/25

Pay transparency needs to be at the forefront of recruitment programs: As of 2025, there are pay gap reporting requirements across 43 countries and 48 jurisdictions, including the EU's pay transparency directive, which will go into effect in 2027. This doesn't completely include the 14 states with pay transparency laws in the U.S., four of which go into effect this year. Every requirement looks a little different, but at the core, these laws are in place to increase awareness of pay discrepancies and close stubborn gender pay gaps. Given that the U.S. pay gap has only decreased by two cents in over 20 years (it sits at 82 cents for every man's dollar), it's clear that pay transparency legislation has its work cut out, and so do employers.   Syndio launched the Pay Gap Reporting Hub, a resource for multinational companies navigating the evolving pay reporting landscape. U.S. employers with a global workforce can find which countries and states have reporting obligations and if they will be impacted and when. With the U.S. enforcement devolving to state level, domestic employers need to be aware of the growing number of requirements.  Source: EBN 3/4/25

31 million Americans borrowed money to cover healthcare costs: More than 31 million Americans borrowed money last year to pay for healthcare, a new survey found. Those Americans borrowed about $74 billion, despite most of them have some form of health insurance, the West Health-Gallup survey found. Most of the borrowers were ages 18-49. Just 2% of Americans who borrowed were over 65 years old. “Too many Americans are racking up medical debt whether they have health insurance or not,” Tim Lash, West Health Policy Center president, said in a statement. “A high-priced healthcare system that requires Americans to take out loans or make painful tradeoffs just to stay healthy is in desperate need of policy reform or things will get even worse.”  The survey found that Black and Hispanic Americans were “significantly” more likely to have borrowed than white adults. 23% of Black respondents said they borrowed for healthcare over the last year, while 16% of Hispanic adults borrowed. Just 9% of white adults borrowed funds for healthcare. Most Americans, 58%, say they are at least somewhat concerned that a major health event will put them in debt. The survey noted that the concerns span income levels. Source: The Hill 3/5/25

Why diversity matters:  A perceived lack of generative AI’s relevance to their jobs may keep women from learning more about how to use the technology at work, which could worsen a growing gender divide in AI skills, according to separate reports from both Amazon Web Services and Coursera.  Only 36% of women said that they believe generative AI can help advance their careers, compared with 45% of men, according to Coursera’s report, citing a survey by Cognizant. Similarly, 31% of women surveyed by AWS said they were uncertain how generative AI applies to their role. General findings indicate that women may be more wary of engaging with AI overall; a Cypher Learning study from September 2024 noted that women, workers over 55 and clerical or physical workers were less likely to use AI at work compared to younger workers and men. Additionally, women and workers over 45 were more likely to see AI as “a threat to society” and resist using the technology altogether, according to a report from Slack’s Workforce Lab.  Further Randstad’s latest AI & Equity and Workmonitor reports showed that although AI is the most sought-after skill, the vast majority of workers who say they’re skilled in AI are men (71%), while just 29% are women report the same – a 42% gender gap.  Source: HR Dive 3/11/25, 3/10/25

Is this possibly illegal DEI? The North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters (NASRCC) has started its annual recruitment of women to establish a career in carpentry, an industry that NASRCC contends is “traditionally overlooked.”  The union cites data from the U.S. Census Bureau that indicates women continue to be underrepresented within the industry nationally and in New York State, though numbers are rising. Across the U.S., 11.5% of construction workers are women, and in New York State, about 11,000 women are employed as construction workers.  The Sisters in the Brotherhood program has launched the carpentry careers of over 150 women across New York since 2015, the NASRCC said. The pre-apprenticeship program provides women with the chance to gain experience and become skilled, qualified carpenters, “offering them a path to a career with excellent wages, benefits, and independence through trade education,” the NASRCC said.  Diversity still matters, but it may be crossing a line under this administration.  Source: The Central New York Business Journal 3/5/25