More than a quarter (29 per cent) of Canadian employers say employee health and well-being is a top risk for companies, according to a new report by Aviva Canada Inc.
The report, which analyzed responses from roughly 1,500 Canadian business leaders across a range of small and medium-sized enterprises and Canadian-headquartered multinational corporations, found employee health was ranked third behind public health events (32 per cent) and cyber threats (30 per cent) and ahead of skilled labour shortages (31 per cent) and business interruptions (27 per cent).
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Around six in 10 respondents from the real estate sector said employee health and well-being is a big concern, as did half (51 per cent) of respondents from the retail and professional services industries. Among respondents from the manufacturing sector, 45 per cent said they’ve seen an impact to employee mental health and well-being due to safety protocols and health regulations enacted during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Health and well-being are top of mind, especially with large organizations,” said Danny Davies, chief people officer at Aviva Canada, in the report. “If there is one thing that has been clear in the past two years, it is that thinking you know what is coming next is much less effective than listening and adapting.”
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