Many bosses are ditching traditional holiday parties. Instead, they're sponsoring shopping sprees and cruises to reward staffers and celebrate at the end of the year.
The head of the U.S. Small Business Administration says she doesn't expect operations at the agency to be dramatically affected by automatic federal budget cuts scheduled to begin March 1.
In the early months of the recession, human resources consultants advised small business owners to take steps to boost their employees' morale, or risk losing them when the economy got better. That advice still stands.