The Ontario government is introducing legislation that will require employers with 25 or more employees to draft a right-to-disconnect policy. On Monday, Monte McNaughton, the province’s minister of labour, training and skills development, announced the move as part of the Working for Workers Act 2021, as the Ontario government gears up for an election next […]
Plan sponsors and plan members have diverging opinions on where benefits dollars are best spent, according to the 2021 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. The survey found that plan sponsors and members are less aligned on the value of many benefits than they were a year ago. Indeed, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year, […]
As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, it’s dragging down plan members mental and physical health, according to the 2021 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. About a third of plan members reported increased feelings of anxiety or sadness/depression, decreased physical fitness (34 per cent) and/or poorer eating habits (31 per cent) in the past year. More than one in […]
On the first day of her period, Amy Saunders says she’s often stuck in bed with a hot water bottle, downing painkillers and drinking tea. “I’ve always had painful periods,” she says. “I’ve definitely had to use sick days or vacation days in the past,” says Saunders, the communications director for Diva International Inc., who […]
Canadian health benefits plan members’ top stressors have shifted to reflect the new work environments created by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the 2021 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. The survey, formerly known as the Sanofi Canada Healthcare Survey, found that 35 per cent of plan members described their stress level at the beginning of 2021 […]
3M Canada’s long-term focus on helping employees “refresh, re-energize and feel well” secured the company a win at Benefits Canada’s 2021 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 14. The manufacturing company won in the Health/wellness program category for an employer with more than 1,000 employees for its ever-evolving comprehensive wellness program, called Empowering Healthy Living, that focuses on […]
Shopify Inc. was awarded for its digital-first employee health and wellness strategy at Benefits Canada‘s 2021 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 14. The technology company won the award in the Coronavirus and Benefits category for an employer with more than 5,000 employees. Although the organization already had a few remote workers, it swiftly transitioned all of its employees […]
Unilever Canada’s holistic approach to supporting employees’ health and well-being throughout the coronavirus pandemic scored the company a win at Benefits Canada’s 2021 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 14. The organization was awarded in the Coronavirus and Benefits category for an employer with fewer than 5,000 employees. Unilever’s global well-being framework is based on four […]
One in three (33 per cent) women in the U.S. said they’ve considered downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce this year, compared to one in four (25 per cent) who said this a few months into the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org. It also found 40 per […]
With the Delta variant leading the coronavirus pandemic in a renewed surge, employers continue to have a surplus of challenges, regardless of whether or not they’re planning a return to the workplace. I discussed this latter challenge in my Editorial last month, but at the risk of heaping on more doom and gloom, it may […]