Technology and artificial intelligence can play important roles in helping to address mental-health issues, but they also have the potential to greatly exacerbate them, according to Bill Wilkerson, executive chairman at Mental Health International and an advisory board member at EQ Care. Speaking at Benefits Canada’s 2020 Mental Health Summit on Nov. 13, he pointed to studies […]
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Canadian employers are balancing the need to reduce benefits costs while focusing on employee well-being, according to a new survey by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Just over half (55 per cent) of respondents said controlling costs is their top benefits-related challenge this year, with many considering measures such as variable cost […]
A majority (52 per cent) of human resources managers said they’ll continue with flexible working policies to support their employees’ work-life balance once the coronavirus pandemic is over, according to a new survey by Robert Half Canada Inc. “The recent pivot to new working models has made managers more aware of the importance of work-life balance,” said […]
Men are picking up jobs at more than three-times the rate that women are leaving the workforce amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report by the Royal Bank of Canada. The report found more than 20,000 women left the workforce between February and October, while about 68,000 men joined it, with the pandemic and […]
The Toronto Transit Commission Pension Fund Society has been reminded of the importance of liquidity during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Sean Hewitt, the fund’s chief executive officer, during a virtual roundtable hosted by the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute on Thursday. “COVID-19 was a really interesting test study in liquidity,” he said, noting the TTC plan […]
Canadian employees are seeing significant workplace shifts amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report by payroll and benefits company Humi. It found employees took 40 per cent less vacation time in 2020 compared to 2019. Meanwhile, the number of sick day requests was “drastically higher” in the months leading up to the […]
With the coronavirus pandemic forcing us all into social distancing measures for the majority of 2020, one inevitable side-effect is the substantial growth in our digital interactions. For my part, I’ve caught up with colleagues on Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business, attended a baby shower and a baby naming ceremony over Zoom, bought clothes […]
While occupational health and safety legislation is clear, the definition of PPE has evolved since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Mark Hancock, National president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees The coronavirus pandemic has made the acronym PPE — or personal protective equipment — a house-hold buzzword. At the onset of the pandemic, shortages […]
Like many national retailers, Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. has a diverse group of employees across the country, working in more than 250 stores, as well as warehouses and distribution facilities, delivery services and a head office. “The whole point of this was to create a way for us to communicate with our [employees] across […]
Despite several bumps in the decade since the 2008/09 financial crisis, the swift and brutal crash in global equity prices when the coronavirus was declared a pandemic sent pension investors reaching for their playbooks to implement defensive strategies to mitigate the damage. “People have worked very hard at just acting on the set strategies that […]