A migraine sufferer herself, Dr. Rose Giammarco, founder and director of Hamilton Headache Clinic, told the audience at Benefits Canada‘s 2019 Mental Health Summit that migraine can be very disabling and cause tremendous burden of disease. “Clinically, these patients come in with severe headaches, throbbing pain that can last hours or days, sometimes weeks at […]
Mental health is a growing concern both in and out of the workplace, and employees with these issues often need days to deal with them. Paula Allen, vice-president of research and analytics at Morneau Shepell Ltd., suggests employers provide employees with workplace flexibility because “we’re not robots.” Specifically, she supports and encourages mental-health days, though she believes the real promise and […]
Looking ahead to 2020, the big story for health benefits is often avoided because it isn’t easy to address. It’s the elephant in the room. Over the past year, there’s been no shortage of momentum in new and emerging product offerings in the health benefits space — everything from digital cognitive behavioural therapy to virtual […]
When the federal government signed the Cannabis Act into law in 2018, legalizing recreational cannabis, it also committed to providing patients with better access to medical cannabis and to more extensively researching the trends, use patterns, patient impact, potential therapeutic treatments and adverse effects of cannabis and cannabinoids. The legislation also prompted new conversations in […]
From rowing to rugby, skiing to athletics, coaching has long been an intrinsic part of sports. In the workplace, however, coaching is a newer development. “Twenty years ago or so, I met with [human resources] managers to introduce having a coach accessible on the worksite to offer individuals a confidential sounding board to air their […]
Ceridian HCM Inc.’s director of employee engagement and culture discusses flexible working, parental leave and family bike rides. Q. What top challenges do you face in your role? A. Our team’s area of focus means the tightening labour market will keep us busy in the coming years. Our greatest challenges are identifying programs . . […]
Canadian insurance and risk management brokerage Navacord Corp. is acquiring Concord, Ont.-based SmartChoice Benefits Inc. The acquisition will allow Navacord to enter the third-party administration space, noted a press release. “It also shows our commitment to building the required scale, carrier relationships, . . . products and technology solutions to place us among the leaders in the Canadian market for […]
The beginning of a new year is a great time for employers to reflect on their benefits plans and take steps to get in ahead of potential challenges. Here are four ways to set the benefits year off on a good foot: 1. Review the company’s benefits philosophy Every organization should have a philosophy that drives the design and structure […]
Employees at the Indigenous Women’s Healing Centre in Winnipeg who are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2348 have ratified their first collective agreement. The new agreement allows “employees wishing to take part in traditional Indigenous ceremony such as a Sundance or healing ceremony up to four paid working days leave per calendar […]
Mercer is teaming up with Lift Digital Inc., an artificial intelligence-based fitness and wellness platform, to bring customized, on-demand digital fitness to employers and employees. The Mercer 365 platform, combined with Lift, will provide access to a number of fitness offerings, including customized and automated fitness sessions, access to wellness experts via chat, live online group classes and Lift […]