In February (was that only 10 weeks ago?) I was conducting a training session for senior leaders at a bank. Many of the leaders had traveled to attend the session, as had I. As people came together from different regions, people got up and warmly greeted each other, hugging or, at the very least, shaking…

After 60 days of isolation, my teenage daughter had her first social distancing visit. She and her friend sat 15 feet apart in the front yard and talked for 2 hours. While they would have been able to do the same thing over FaceTime, she felt the in person visit was more enjoyable. Feeling bad…

Employers are now making plans to re-open. As you start thinking about bringing your workbase back to the workplace, please ask yourself, and your team, this question: What opportunities do we have now that we did not have before? For example, in one company a very productive teammate has been able to work their ideal…

The Covid crisis gave some an opportunity to escape the grind—the metaphorical hamster wheel. But for others, that wheel provided exercise, stimulation, challenge and purpose and the loss of the grind is disorienting. As May is Mental Health Awareness Month, we need remind ourselves that we live in our heads. Our mental health is so…

The investigations of today are the litigation of tomorrow. Not because investigations cause litigation–a well-conducted investigation can actually help avoid litigation. Rather, the issues we see as investigators now are the issues to be litigated six months from now. So here is what is what we see as investigators–Allegations of: – Harassment and discrimination. Many…

The longer the trip the longer the stay. If you are traveling to the other end of the world, you stay longer to make it worth it. Same thing for a work meeting— you wouldn’t travel cross town in traffic for a 5 minute meeting. We recently had a meeting that was scheduled for an…

When I was 16, I was emptying bedpans at Astoria General Hospital as an unpaid volunteer. I was unable to find a paid job at the time and opted for experience. A job for a teenager in NYC in the ’80’s and ’90’s often required manual labor, a long subway commute and hours that required…

What I like about sheltering in place: * I can literally beam myself from meeting to meeting (no time wasted in taxis, subways, trains, planes or airports) * More family time * Connecting with friends and colleagues near and far (because near/far is the same thing now) * Saving money on dry cleaning, commuting, travel,…

As of the end of March 2020, EPT Legal has donated $20,000 worth of services or direct financial support to the community. In addition to our pro bono efforts and our charitable contributions, we continue our mission of making the workplace a better place, through training, internal investigations, alternative dispute resolution and professional coaching. Now…

Today I added my pronoun on LinkedIn. It’s not the one I would have chosen, but it’s the correct one for now. When I was in the 10th grade, my teacher Mr. Greenberg and I had a debate over his comments on an assignment. I had written an essay and had inserted “s/he” throughout as…