Justin Ryan Horton has two jobs. When he’s not working 24-hour shifts as a firefighter, he’s working as an administrative assistant for a local community college from his home in Colorado Springs, Colo. Firefighting isn’t a work-from-home kind of job, so when the community college position gave him the choice to clock in remotely, he […]
Many employees try to carry on with work while dealing with stresses in their personal lives — and many wait too long before sharing their difficulties with their colleagues or managers, said Valérie Fernandez, senior advisor for workplace health best practices and strategic support for group insurance at Beneva Inc., during Benefits Canada’s 2023 Mental Health […]
Even as signs emerge that the labour market is starting to shift in employers’ favour, employee attraction, retention and engagement remain top priorities. During Benefits Canada’s inaugural Future of Work Summit in October, a panel of employers, insurers and academics weighed in on the results of Benefits Canada’s 2023 Future of Work Survey. Almost two-thirds […]
Two-thirds (65 per cent) of U.S. employees rank flexible work options as the No. 1 component of compensation beyond salary, down from 71 per cent in 2022, according to a new report by the Conference Board Inc. The survey, which polled more than 1,500 workers, found employees in hybrid (68 per cent) and fully remote […]
In order to support in-person collaboration while maintaining flexibility, Hootsuite Inc. is encouraging employees to reconnect with their co-workers through its new Perch Days program. “We started our distributed workforce strategy during [the coronavirus pandemic],” says Tara Ataya, the company’s chief people and diversity officer. “With this strategy, we have taken a test-and-iterate approach to […]
Novartis Canada is enticing employees to spend more time working onsite with the opening of its new Montreal office space. The health-care company brought its workplace culture to life and acknowledged employees’ personal lives by hosting an event that welcomed employees’ families and friends to the new office. “We recognize it’s because of their families and […]
While fixed income has long had the reputation of being the conservative and stable supporting partner in the traditional balanced portfolio, unbundling fixed income into its sub-components presents opportunities for enhanced risk-adjusted returns, said Aaron Young, vice-president and client portfolio manager at CIBC Asset Management. When investors buy the FTSE universe bond index or even […]
Fidelity Canada’s flexible return-to-office rollout landed the company a win in the Future of work strategy category at Benefits Canada’s 2023 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 20. In September 2022, the organization launched its future-of-work program, which classifies each employee’s role as either hybrid, remote or in person. Indeed, 87 per cent of roles at Fidelity are […]
In 2022, some of the top chronic conditions affecting group benefits plans were diabetes, obesity, depression and arthritis. Diabetes was the No. 1 ranked condition for drug claims in 2022, knocking rheumatoid arthritis down to the No. 2 spot, according to Telus Health’s annual drug plan trends report. And the 2023 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey […]
Amid a challenging labour market, Canadian employers say attraction (64 per cent) and retention (57 per cent) are the top challenges impacting total rewards decisions, according to a new survey by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The survey, which polled more than 500 employers, found just a third (29 per cent) were concerned about benefits […]