Workplace Buzz: Today’s Headlines

Silliest Business Moves for 2007
Ah, what a dumb year it was! And that’s the positive spin on it. Consider the alternative. Like, if selling poisonous toothpaste to children isn’t dumb, what is it? If the constant slide and imminent collapse of air travel isn’t dumb, what then? If all the hyperintellectuals who created the subprime mess aren’t functional dummies, what might they be, huh? No, we’ll take dumb over evil, inept, and greedy any day. In fact, our hats are off to all of these, the absolutely dumbest of the dumb that the gods of fate and humor delivered into our laps—and yours—this past year. Thanks to each and every one of them! Yahoo.com

Incentive for Some GM Employees
General Motors Corp. is offering buyouts and retirement incentives to 5,200 hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers. GM would not reveal how many workers it expects to leave under the program, but said 5,200 are eligible, spokesman Dan Flores said Tuesday. More than 34,000 GM workers left last year by way of retirement or buyouts, he said. The program announced Tuesday will be offered to all UAW-represented hourly employees working at GM's service and parts and operations facilities across the country. CNNMoney.com

Maintaining a Healthy Office
Employers are beginning to react to the new health risk posed by antibiotic-resistant staph infections, a hazard that has spread beyond hospitals into schools and now workplace environments. This fall, an employee in the office of the Will County circuit clerk's office in Joliet, Ill., contracted a case of antibiotic-resistant staph. County health department spokesman Vic Reato says his agency disinfected the facility. "There's a very acute fear, which is why they elected to do a more thorough cleaning, to make the employees feel more comfortable," Reato says. Gannett News Service