work environment

7 ways to decrease negativity in a working environment

July 21, 2017 Beyond Rewards Inc Employee Relations, Human Resources, Standard for Employment, Standard for Information and Communications

Workplace negativity is an increasing problem in today’s society. Some say that this negativity is a result of the loss of control, confidence, or community of a workplace. The best way to combat workplace negativity is not to allow it to occur in the first place. Here are seven ways that your business can combat workplace negativity before it begins.

employees, employment law, healthy work environment, Human Resouces, Negativity, work environment

Implementing better ergonomics within the workplace

February 16, 2017 Beyond Rewards Inc Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources

By implementing better ergonomics within the workplace, the overall efficiency of the workplace will improve. Tasks will become easier for workers because there will be a reduction in the strength exerted on a process, the number of steps in a task, the amount of training needed, etc. An ergonomic environment is a healthy environment—please be ergonomically safe!

employment law, ergonomic hazards, ergonomics, WMSDs, work environment, Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders

Presenteeism in the workplace

July 22, 2016 Beyond Rewards Inc Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Training and Development

Presenteeism results in productivity loss, workplace epidemics, or poor health and exhaustion, which can lead to higher absenteeism for longer periods or accidents. Whether it is a physical or mental ailment, employees should be staying home when they are unable to be present at work. Being physically at work is different than being present at work. It is one thing to show up at work; it’s another thing to be actually productive while at work.

absent from work because of illness, Absenteeism, demanding job, employee assistance program, employee productivity, employment, employment law, heavy workloads, Human Resources, job security, mental health, off-the-job wellness, presenteeism, sick days, work environment

Human factors influencing safety in the workplace

June 21, 2016 Beyond Rewards Inc Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR and Technology, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, International HR Law, Training and Development, Union Relations

Safety is expensive, but an accident is even more costly. All organizations, all business owners, all managers, supervisors and workers in all workplaces need to understand the effect of work performed on the human body and how we influence the demands of the work we do through human interaction. Both of these things relate to the correlation between the worker and the demands of the work they do, known as ergonomics and human factors.

best work practices and systems, employment law, human error, human interaction, individual abilities, job assessment, preventing occupational accidents, safety in the workplace, safety program design, skilled workforces, work environment, Workplace accident

Does management limit engagement?

September 16, 2013 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation

“Disengagement is not an employee problem. It is a hangover from the Industrial Age that invented a middle tier in companies so useless and intrusive that a cartoon strip called Dilbert is the best picture we have of how it functions.” Those are the words of author Chuck Blakeman. What do you think?

best employers in Canada, Chuck Blakeman, control over work, disengagement, division of labour, eliminating managers, employee development, employee engagement, employee management, employee retention, employment law, engagement, flex hours, flexible scheduling, flexible work arrangements, Frederick Taylor, Generation Y, Jim Clifton, leaders not managers, scientific management, telecommuting, telework, unconventional benefits, work environment

Employer sexually harassed adolescent employee

March 18, 2013 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights

The Yukon Human Rights Board of Adjudication just found that a teenaged employee was sexually harassed by her employer with persistent unwelcome sexual conduct. This finding was underscored by the power imbalance, age difference and generational communication issues present. That said, the harassment was considered to be at the most mild end of the spectrum of sexual harassment.

age difference and generational communication issues present, communications, conduct and behaviour, dress codes, employee policies, employee's perception of the relationship that was central, Employer sexually harassed employee, employer-employee relationship, employment law, harassment, left her employment as a result of the behaviour, misconduct, no formal schedules, power imbalance, questionable emails, questionable texts and other interactions, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexually harassed, social communication, unwelcome sexual conduct, work environment, Yukon Human Rights Board of Adjudication

Employees with disabilities: disclosure v. privacy

September 22, 2010 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Accessibility Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Standard for Employment

One of the most difficult decisions employees or applicants have to make is to decide whether to inform their employer of their non-obvious disabilities. Why?

disclosure, Disclosure of a disability, discrimination, duty to accommodate, Employees with disabilities, employment law, privacy, work environment

Multi-tasking: where do you draw the line?

August 26, 2010 Adam Gorley Health and Safety, Human Resources, Training and Development

Multi-tasking is so serious that workers are taking their work into the washroom, with disturbing results. According to a recent survey, one-third of Brits admit they’ve made a “stall-call”—that is, a call from the toilet, not just the restroom—whether for business or pleasure. And one in twenty said they’ve taken their laptop with them when nature called. The survey also found a significant—and disgusting—number of people eat, drink and brush their teeth while answering nature’s call.

cellphone use, health and safety, hygiene, illness, illness at work, multi-tasking, productivity, risky behaviour, sickness, stall-call, vicarious liability, work environment, working, working conditions

Genetic discrimination in the workplace

November 24, 2009 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Human Resources, Human Rights

I first wrote about genetic discrimination in the workplace in August of 2004. At that time, I compared it to the movie Gattaca, in which a man tries to hide his “imperfect” genetic makeup so that he can enjoy a way of life and secure a job reserved for people without “flawed” genes. Although Gattaca is science fiction, the movie’s plot is not that remote from present-day reality.

anti-discrimination law, discrimination, employment discrimination cases, employment law, genetic data, Genetic discrimination, genetic makeup, genetic predispositions, genetic testing, genomics, human DNA, Human Genome Project, human rights, The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, work environment, workplace performance