GreatWork Blog

Building better workplaces through compliance, culture, connection

Strong teams are built on trust. Trust fuels real collaboration. When people trust each other, conversations are direct, problems surface early, and decisions move faster. At the center of that trust is psychological safety, the shared belief that you can speak up, ask questions, admit mistakes, or offer a different perspective without fear of embarrassment or punishment.

As disability accommodation requests continue to increase with the return to in-person work, Oregon and Washington employers are often left unsure what their obligation is regarding service animal requests under the ADA, and whether that obligation extends to emotional support animals.

Most people are familiar with service animals in grocery stores and other public settings, as you’ve likely seen the “service animals only” signs posted at entrances. However, the workplace rules are different. In employment settings, the key question is not public access. It is whether allowing the animal is a reasonable accommodation that enables the employee to perform the essential functions of the job without creating an undue hardship. Here’s a breakdown of what Oregon and Washington employers should know.

Outpacing frontline worker wage gains, executive pay has increased dramatically over the past several decades and continues to grow as leaders are faced with managing business activities in increasingly complex and risky macroeconomic environments.

Meal breaks might seem like a simple part of the workday, but in Oregon, the law has very specific requirements about how they must be provided and when they must be paid. Understanding these rules can help employers stay compliant and avoid unnecessary penalties.

If your team avoids conflict, it can feel peaceful at first. No tension. No tough conversations. No awkward meetings where someone “says the thing nobody wants to say.” But here’s the truth many leaders learn too late: A team that avoids conflict doesn’t avoid problems, they avoid conversations. And when people stop communicating directly, they start communicating indirectly. That’s where passive-aggressive behavior comes from. Passive-aggressive culture isn’t the absence of conflict. It’s what conflict becomes when it’s not handled in the open.