At Benefits Canada‘s 2020 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 16, Scotiabank was recognized for a mental-health strategy that starts at the top of the organization and focuses on total employee well-being. “It’s one thing for [human resources] to preach from the centre the importance of mental health, but it’s quite another — and quite inspiring — to […]
The Canadian workforce is still undecided on the longevity of the shift to working from home, but across the border U.S. employers are increasingly making it a permanent fixture in their office policies. According to Statistics Canada’s latest labour force survey, the proportion of Canadians who worked from home during the pandemic decreased very slightly, […]
Despite a decline in mental health and well-being since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Canadians are still hesitant to access support, according to Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s latest monthly mental-health index. About half (53 per cent) of respondents indicated the pandemic has made them less likely to access health care for physical (29 per cent) and mental-health […]
One in four women in the U.S. are either considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workplace entirely, according to a new report by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org. “The events of 2020 have turned workplaces upside down. Under the highly challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 crisis, many employees are struggling to do their jobs,” said the report. […]
At IBM Canada Ltd, if an employee joins a meeting, but doesn’t turn on their camera, the solution is simple: don’t worry about it. This is one attitude the company has formalized during the coronavirus pandemic to safeguard the mental well-being of its staff, says Katherine Faichnie, the technology company’s director of human resources. From a technology perspective, […]
Images of parents trying to shush their kids during work Zoom meetings are now as commonplace as, well, Zoom meetings. With many people six months into working from home due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, employers can often literally see employees with kids trying to juggle it all. A new survey by Willis Towers Watson found the three-quarters (74 per […]
While the coronavirus pandemic is increasing employee burnout globally, the impact differs across countries, according to a new work trends index by Microsoft Corp. The survey, which polled more than 6,000 information and frontline workers in eight countries, including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, India, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S., found more than 30 per […]
I’m about to embark on the most exciting and terrifying chapter of my life — by the time you read this, I’ll be more than six months pregnant with my first child. With a decade in the industry, writing and editing stories about work-life balance, it’s now time to face the reality myself and try […]
Early in Lana Burnstad’s career, she worked at a railway company that was merging several regional railways and their various benefits plans. Part of that process included working with multiple unions, which were traditionally male-dominated environments at the time. “That was a rough process — swearing and fist-pounding . . . . It was pretty […]
A majority (82 per cent) of senior managers said they’re worried about their company’s ability to retain valued staff, with 34 per cent saying they’re very worried, according to a new survey by Robert Half Canada Inc. Among this group, 41 per cent attributed their concern to salary reductions or planned salary freezes for the […]