Employers need programs to attract and retain employees that reduce the stress from balancing family and work demands, according to Rosie Parnass, director of organizational and staff development programs at the University of Toronto.
Speaking today at the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario annual conference and trade show in Toronto today, she said the drugs plan sponsors spend the most on are for stress-related diseases and conditions.
The key to promoting work health wellness programs is support from senior management. With that support, the university created two unique positions: a quality of work/life advisor and a manager of health and well-being services.
To retain talent, U of T has a family care office, onsite childcare and emergency backup childcare programs, flexible work arrangements, parental and adoption leave policies, as well as career management opportunities.
“We see career management as a work/life issue,” Parnass said. Stay interviews are conducted with employees to find out what else the university can do to keep them from leaving.
U of T has also had a month-long event called “Achieving Work/Life Balance” that coincided with Canada’s Healthy Workplace Week. There were numerous sessions each week, with seminars on career fitness, coping with depression, and developing flexible work arrangements.
Part of the event also included a take back the lunch campaign to encourage people to take a break because productivity increases if people leave their desks.
The advantages of these programs, she said, encourages managers to listen to their employee’s concerns, heightens employee engagement, and promotes the concept of healthy workplaces and employer of choice.
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