work-life balance

Are employees “off-ramping” from your organization?

January 21, 2020 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development, 0

We live in an age of increased workplace stress (not to mention societal stress in the form of newspaper headlines), and burnout has now been recognized in the International Classification of Diseases as an occupational phenomenon.

employee burnout, employee productivity, employment law, flexible work arrangements, flexible work hours, flexible work schedules, mental health in the workplace, off-ramping, supportive workplace environment, work-life balance, workplace stress

Does a 4-day work week work for your business?

April 10, 2019 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Wages and Compensation, 0

For each individual business, it will depend on whether a 4-day work week means reducing hours, or simply compacting the same hours into less time. Some research has shown that workplaces can maintain the same level of productivity with staff working 32 hours a week as they do with teams working a full 40 hours.

4-day work week, employment law, overtime, Scheduling, work schedules, work-life balance

Health and safety: It’s not just physical

February 21, 2019 Beyond Rewards Inc Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, 0

Employers have the duty to protect their workers and provide a healthy and safe work environment. Health & safety is about both physical and mental health.

mental health, organizational culture, work-life balance

Millennials at Work: Common Legal Issues

July 10, 2018 Lisa Stam, Spring Law Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development

This emerging new workforce of millennials is as engaged as ever, keen to participate in a meaningful way without merely clock-punching, and can bring an important perspective to any workplace looking to continue being relevant in the modern workforce.

employee feedback, engaging workers, Millennials, work flexibility, work-life balance, work-life blend, work-life boundaries

Separation anxiety: Prepare for employee exits

May 17, 2016 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Union Relations

The recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia highlights the duality of employee exits. For exits like Justice Scalia’s, it is unlikely that within hours of death, friends and family ponder the vacuum and replacement challenges the employer will face. Exits like Justice Scalia’s may precipitate introspection by remaining employees – resolutions to focus on family and work-life balance; or a realization that regardless of the power or indispensability of a role, in the end it really is “just a job”, because, as far as we know, we leave it all behind.

departing employee, duality of employee exits, Separation anxiety, succession plan, termination, terminations, work-life balance

Six in ten workers around the world would telecommute full-time

July 30, 2013 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, International HR Law, International Payroll, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

Career advancement website HowDoIBecomeA.net recently featured an infographic on trends in telecommuting around the world. Apparently, one in five workers globally telecommutes frequently, and seven percent of workers work from home every day. Research shows that six in ten workers worldwide would telecommute full-time if their employer allowed it. Why do employers not allow it? In Canada, about 37 percent of workers say their employer needs them to be at their workplace…

career advancement, cost in finding replacements, drawbacks to telecommuting, flexibility of telecommuting, gender wage gap, infographic, need to retain workers in the workforce, Preventing extra stress on employees, telecommuting, telecommuting around the world, turnover, work-life balance, workers globally telecommute, workforce, working from home, workplace

Workplace flexiblity outside of Silicon Valley

March 5, 2013 Marcia Scheffler Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, HRMS, Human Resources, Human Rights, Union Relations

The recently publicized news regarding the ban of telecommuting at Yahoo has ensued in a debate about the benefits of flexible work from home versus the requirement to come into work. However the first thought to cross my mind was that this flexible work arrangement only applies to a very small and privileged sector of employees. For example, working in healthcare, I am very aware of the fact that this debate doesn’t apply to nurses or personal support workers.

canadian employment law, childcare obligations, compressed or shorter workweek, discrimination, duty to accommodate, employment law, family status, flexible scheduling, flexible work, flexible work arrangements, flexible work hours, healthcare, healthcare human resources, HR issues, human rights code, job sharing, part-time work experience, policies and procedures, pros and cons of working from home, shifts, telecommute, telecommuting, work-life balance, working from home, workplace flexibility

Returning from parental leave and accommodating family status

January 4, 2013 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits

After 20 weeks of parental leave, I’m back in front of my computer, checking my email, catching up on workplace changes, putting together a schedule and generally getting back into the swing of things. Per the law, my employer has reinstated me to the same position I left (at the same wage), although with some accommodation to ease my transition, and I will no doubt be expected to perform up to my previous standard. I know I’ll need the help!

accommodating family status, accommodation, accommodation on the basis of family status, accommodation policy, assist employees who are caring for family members, discrimination, Due diligence, employee requests for accommodation, employment law, family status, leave of absence, maternity and parental/adoption leave, my employer has reinstated me to the same position, parental leave, productivity, prohibited ground, Return to work, stress, work-life balance

Employee burnout: how employers can help avoid it

April 13, 2012 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources

Is there a law that says employers must prevent employee burnout? No, not really, but occupational health and safety legislation across Canada provides that an employer must take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect a worker. That could include ensuring that an employee does not suffer from full blown burnout. When employers assist in this regard, they are also ensuring that their workplaces remain healthy and productive, and have higher morale.

control over work, downsizing, duty to protect employees, employee burnout, employee detachment, employee morale, employment law, exhausted physical and emotional strength, health and safety legislation, how to avoid burnout, productivity, rewards and recognition, stress, stress-related illnesses, value alignment, work-life balance, workaholics, workload

New provisions for family caregiver leave

December 21, 2011 Earl Altman Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources

On December 8, 2011, the Ontario Liberal Government introduced Bill 30, entitled the Family Caregiver Act. This Act intends to create an additional entitlement to a leave of absence from work while the employee’s job is protected. The proposed Act will provide for an unpaid leave of absence for up to eight weeks to allow an employee to care for a sick relative.

canadian employment law, employment law, employment standards act, Family Caregiver Leave, Job protected leave, leave of absence, Statutory leaves, unpaid leave of absence, work-life balance

Do we place too much emphasis on stress at work?

October 17, 2011 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Human Resources

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?

challenging work, disengaged employees, engagement, flexible scheduling, insomnia, motivation, productivity, sources of stress, stress, work-life balance

What all employers can learn from Google

September 30, 2011 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring

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?

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

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

July 22, 2011 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources

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.

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

Volunteering: a pleasure or a burden?

June 23, 2011 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Human Resources

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.

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

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

May 27, 2011 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring

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?

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