Employee Participation

Michigan voters will decide next week on a labor-backed ballot proposal that would strengthen municipal workers' union rights, even as some deficit-plagued cities look to cut pay and other benefits negotiated through collective bargaining.

Twenty-two percent of employees are suffering from presenteeism, up three points from 2011, according to the latest StressPulse survey by ComPsych Corp, a provider of employee-assistance programs, behavioral health, wellness, work-life and human resources administration services.

The unemployment rate for workers with disabilities rose to 13.7 percent from 12.9 percent during the third quarter, according to a recent study by Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and Medicare plan selection services.

Whoever wins the U.S. presidential election will likely struggle to manage the biggest economic threats he'll face.

In short, management is a lot harder than it looks. At least for me.

For four years, the bumpy economy cut an uneasy path. It raked small towns and big cities, knocked liberals and conservatives on their backs, plagued Republicans and Democrats alike. It was the worst economic setback since the Depression, and it didn't take sides.