Kanupriya Vashisht

Improving engagement, retention by taking care of employees’ loved ones

Employees have multi-dimensional lives, with responsibilities outside the workplace that affect how they perform within it. This is why companies that are consistently recognized as family-friendly are maximizing their workers’ potential by helping take care of their families through benefits and wellness programs. Samuel, Son & Co., a family owned and operated metal and distribution […]

March 15, 2019 February 25, 2021
08:56

Tips for handling difficult conversations about absenteeism

When left unchecked, absenteeism is like a termite that stealthily eats into employee engagement, team morale and organizational output, often costing companies millions of dollars in lost productivity, wages and management time. The trick is to proactively address the issue before it becomes stickier than it needs to be. Quite often, a straightforward conversation between […]

June 29, 2018 March 17, 2021
08:54

Financial Literacy Month: WSIB seeks to integrate financial fitness with workplace wellness

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is taking a more holistic approach to workplace wellness by putting financial fitness on the same pedestal as physical well-being and mental health. “Traditionally, workplaces have focused on physical wellness and dedicated a lot of resources to it at the expense of overlooking the mental and financial aspects of […]

November 29, 2017 September 13, 2019
15:43

How to bridge the insurer, physician divide in disability management

Despite mental health accounting for more than 30 per cent of long-term disability claims, there’s a disconnect between medical practitioners and insurers that unwittingly impedes the ability of plan members to receive timely care. Samuel Mikail, senior consultant for mental health at Sun Life Financial, told attendees at Benefits Canada’s 2017 Mental Health Summit in […]

November 28, 2017 September 13, 2019
10:59

Workplace wellness incomplete without financial fitness

When it comes to workplace wellness, health and wealth must go hand in hand, according to a speaker at the recent Mental Health Summit in Toronto. Eric Pfeiffer, a senior health management consultant at Manulife Financial Corp., told attendees at the Nov. 7 event that dealing with financial fitness is similar to dealing with mental […]

November 28, 2017 September 13, 2019
10:59

Why employers stand to gain by helping their employees sleep

Between trouble sleeping, chronic insomnia and sleep apnea, three-quarters of Canadians sleep less than the recommended seven hours a night. “These sleep-deprived people show up to work but suffer from serious presenteeism,” Josée Dixon, executive vice-president of group and business insurance at Desjardins Insurance, told attendees at Benefits Canada’s 2017 Mental Health Summit in Toronto […]

November 28, 2017 September 13, 2019
10:58

Early detection, treatment key to addressing mental disorders

With mental illness the leading cause of disability in Canada, early detection and treatment offer the best and perhaps only chance of a full recovery. That was a key message from Dr. Jeffrey Habert, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s department of family and community medicine, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2017 Mental […]

November 28, 2017 September 13, 2019
10:57

The role of technology in improving access to timely care

Despite growing empathy and awareness around mental illness, Canadians coping with mental-health disorders continue to struggle with frequent misdiagnoses, ineffective treatment plans and a lack of timely access to care. With average wait times stretching to more than five months, Julie Gaudry, speaking at Benefits Canada’s Mental Health Summit in Toronto on Nov. 7, noted […]

November 28, 2017 September 13, 2019
10:56

A call for urgency in treating mental disorders

Clinical depression is much more than a persistent feeling of sadness. It’s a debilitating disease that keeps half a million Canadians away from work in any given week, according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Just like diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, severe depression can progress into a progressive inflammatory disease. As a […]

November 28, 2017 September 13, 2019
10:55

Why first responders need a paradigm shift around mental-health disorders

Given the stressful nature of their jobs, Canada’s first responders ― police, paramedics, firefighters and correctional workers ― are living with much higher rates of mental disorders than the general population, according to a recent national survey published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. “It’s a community that’s hurting,” Andy MacDonald, a veteran firefighter and […]

November 28, 2017 September 13, 2019
10:54