First Reference Talks

Do we place too much emphasis on stress at work?

Monday, October 17th, 2011

Seventy-three percent of working Canadians experience almost daily stress in their jobs, according to a recent study by Statistics Canada. That’s approximately 10 million people, or nearly one-third of Canada’s population. More than one-quarter of workers say their job is “quite a bit” or “extremely” stressful; close to half say they experience “a bit” of stress. But where is all the stress coming from, and is it affecting workers’ productivity?

Morever, should employers be aiming for stress-free workplaces?

Tags: challenging work, disengaged employees, engagement, flexible scheduling, insomnia, motivation, productivity, sources of stress, stress, work-life balance
Posted in Employee Relations, Human Resources | Make a Comment »

What all employers can learn from Google

Friday, September 30th, 2011

Google has been rated the world’s most attractive employer in two categories, business and engineering, by Universum. The rankings were based on responses from 160,000 career seekers. So what can employers learn from Google to improve their own attractiveness?

Tags: career seekers, education, engineering, financial rewards, gift matching program, Google, Googler, health and wellbeing, individually-tailored packages, learning and development, most attractive employer, personal and professional development, retention of employees, supporting families, time away from the office, top 50 attractive employers, top attractive employer in the world, top universities, Universum, work-life balance
Posted in Employee Relations, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring | Make a Comment »

Reduced hours of work and job sharing – an idea suited for North America?

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

In a recent Globe and Mail video, author Juliet Schor discusses how reducing work hours might be the answer to some of the problems facing Canada’s workforce. Schor mentions that having employees work shorter hours decreases unemployment rates, lowers greenhouse emissions, and improves quality of life.

Tags: career advancement, conflicts between jobs, decreased unemployment rates, employee burnout, financial collapse, Germany, higher quality of life, hours of work, HR, job sharing, lower carbon emissions, minimum wage earners, Netherlands, reduced hours of work, second jobs, time affluent, work-life balance, workforce, working more hours, workplace
Posted in Employee Relations, Employment Standards, Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Volunteering: a pleasure or a burden?

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

After I joined the board of directors at a not-for-profit arts organization, it didn’t take long for me to wonder how I’d balance my new obligations with the rest of my day-to-day life. I’d volunteered before, but only informally. Now I have regular responsibilities, mainly meetings and fundraising. I’ll probably invest 70 to 80 hours volunteering with the organization this year. It’s a worthy cause, but it’s also worthwhile to question the time commitment.

Tags: counselling, EAP, employee assistance program, employee communication, employee health, family commitments, HRPP, Human Resources PolicyPro, Legal Profession Assistance Conference, LPAC, morale, not-for-profit policypro, NPPP, productivity, stress, Thomas E. Ullyett, volunteer workers, volunteering, work-life balance
Posted in Employee Relations, Human Resources, Internal Controls, Not-for-Profit | 2 Comments »

Women’s expectations in the workplace may play critical role in how they are treated at work

Friday, May 27th, 2011

Canadian women starting their careers still expect to earn considerably less than men, wait longer then men for promotions, and have lower salaries after five years of working, according to a soon-to-be-released study. This despite the fact that some believe we are reaching the point of equality in the workplace. Why is this happening? Why do women still have these expectations?

Tags: career, career counsellors, discrimination, employment law, equal pay for equal work, equality for women, equality in the workplace, gap in actual earnings, gender gap, historical gender-role stereotyping, labour market, lower earnings, male-dominated fields, management, negotiation, Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office 101, pay equity, salary, salary expectations, Unconscious Mistakes Women Make that Sabotage Their Careers, under-representation of women in male-dominated fields, Women’s expectations in the workplace, work-life balance
Posted in Employee Relations, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring | 2 Comments »

Election fever! Who’s got it?

Friday, April 29th, 2011

It’s that exciting time again, when somewhat more than half of Canadians over 18 will come together to select the people who will govern us until the next impassable crisis of parliamentary confidence. For some, it’s a celebratory time when we Canadians demonstrate our democratic will. For others, it’s a cynical time (I know: how can it be?) when incumbents and hopefuls tell us what we want to hear just to win their seats in Ottawa and their cushy benefits.

Tags: Canada Elections Act, economic recovery, economy, election, federal budget, federal election, HRinfodesk, pensions, politics, small and medium enterprises, small business, social programs, tax credits, tax cuts, time off to vote, voting, work-life balance
Posted in Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Internal Controls | Make a Comment »

Work-life balance incentives

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Quebec launches a work-life balance initiative that is said to be unique in all the world. Let’s hope it catches on in other provinces and territories.

Tags: child care, competitive labour market, daycare, duty to accommodate, employee retention, employment law, family-friendly workplaces, la norme Conciliation travail-famille, public and private sector employers, Quebec, work-family balance certification, work-life balance, Work-life balance incentives, work-life balance initiatives, work-life balance standard
Posted in Human Resources, Human Rights, Recruiting and Hiring | Make a Comment »

The season of stress?

Monday, December 20th, 2010

What types of pressures you’re feeling this season—both at and away from work—and how do you deal with them? My coping method is to pray desperately for vacation (four days away!) and think about how great I’ll feel in the new year.

Tags: Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, AODA, Christmas, coping with stress, four day workweek, Health Canada, Holidays, illness, ontario, overtime, stress, stressors, vacation, work culture, work-life balance
Posted in Accessibility Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Standard for Employment | Make a Comment »

Slaw: Human rights tribunal defends family values: work-life balance ruling

Friday, August 13th, 2010

While not every childcare need gives rise to an employer obligation to accommodate, the employee argued that her complicated and unpredictable schedule made it impossible to care for her children. Moreover, she knew that…

Tags: Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, childcare need, duty to accommodate, employer obligation to accommodate, employment law, family status, marital status, policy, policy and procedures, policypro, Slaw, work-life balance
Posted in Human Resources, Human Rights | Make a Comment »