Economists and sociologists report falling birth rates and demographers and political analysts foresee a public debate within the next decade.  In fact, according to Jennifer Schramm, Manager of Workplace Trends and Forecasting Program for the Society for Human Resource Management, competing interests may already by playing out in the workplace.  A backlash against parent-focused benefits appears to be brewing.  As employees postpone parenthood or forgo it altogether, contentiousness may increase about employer sponsored benefits that appears to favor employees who are parents. 

The United States Senate and the House of Representatives recently approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.  The legislation will prohibit employers and health insurance companies from discriminating against or refusing coverage to individuals based on the results of genetic testing.  It is expected that President Bush will sign this bill.  

The power of praise to influence human behavior is well accepted and based on the behavioral sciences.  Now we have physiological proof as well.  Researchers are mapping what happens in the brain during social interactions using technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography as well as wave analysis.  Scientists can study neural connections as they happen in the living brain.  Discoveries are confirming HR professionals’ hunches about workplace behavior.  One study showed that social pain from being berated lights up in the brain.  Unfair situations generate amygdala arousals releasing cortisol into the brain that shuts it down and closes it to new ideas.  Social fairness and respect, such as when a manager rewards people and make them feel positive, also impacts the brain by “squirting” a chemical called serotonin which opens minds to ideas.  This is fascinating research with real implications for how we treat people at work — as well as the whole human family.   The above insights are based on findings from Dr. Ellen Weber, Director of the MITA International Brain Based Center and David Rock, CEO of Results Coaching Systems.

Discoveries based in neuroscience about human behavior come out every week and include breakthroughs with real impact on workplace management.  Researchers are exploring the concept of “reappraisal” which is the ability to look at a situation and change your interpretation of it.  If you hear your boss stomping down the hall, instead of concluding quickly that you are about to get in trouble, you reappraise the situation for what it is — your boss is having a bad day.  Reappraissal changes your brain’s interpretation of the event, dampens the amygdala response and changes the actions you take — for the better.  You experience decreased stress and increased job satisfaction and ultimately greater productivity, creativity and effectiveness.  To learn more about the “amydala hi-jack” and how you can tame your amydala and slow down your negative reactions, read up on “Emotional Intelligence”.  To learn more about “The Brain at Work” read the article by Adrienne Fox in the May 2008 issue of HR Magazine.