While a majority (55 per cent) of North American employers said they expect most of their furloughed workers will return to work by the first quarter of 2021, just 16 per cent said they expect to rehire laid-off employees by then, according to a new survey by Willis Towers Watson. It also found respondents expect the proportion […]
The children of Manulife Financial Corp. employees can take a virtual visit to the International Space Station, create their own ice cream in a bag and design a toy boat during a virtual summer camp put on by the insurer. Camp Manulife is running for four weeks in late July and early August, with the […]
Four in five (80 per cent) Canadian employers believe they have the appropriate programs and practices in place to support employees’ mental, physical, emotional and financial well-being as they return to the workplace and settle into a new normal, according to a new survey by Mercer Canada. The survey, which examined Canadian organizations’ preparedness for returning to […]
Several prominent players in Canada’s pensions and benefits industries have signed onto the BlackNorth Initiative, pledging to take specific actions within their organizations to tackle anti-Black racism. “The persistent inequities across our country underscore our urgent, national need to address and alleviate racial, ethnic and other tensions and to promote the elimination of anti-Black systemic […]
As lockdown restrictions begin to lift and companies co-ordinate their return-to-work processes, more than half (55 per cent) of Canadian employees said they’d prefer to work from home more frequently, while 41 per cent agreed the era of the 9-to-5 workday is now over, according to a new survey by multinational software company Citrix Systems […]
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. employers were beefing up their financial well-being offerings and starting to see positive results, according to a new survey by Buck. The survey, which polled more than 150 U.S. organizations, found employees’ financial stress is a top motivator for companies to invest in financial well-being programs. As well, 40 […]
Over the past few months, we’ve all had to deal with the challenges of social distancing and self-isolation. Some people have faced the extra pressure of continuing to work without interruption to earn a living, while also providing daily childcare. Others have dealt with the challenges of social isolation and living alone. For those of […]
In this unprecedented time, it’s more evident the physical, psychological and financial components of health are all interconnected, said Charmaine Alexander, senior disability management advisor at Desjardins Insurance, during a webinar hosted by Benefits Canada. Prior to the pandemic, in May 2018, Desjardins conducted a survey to measure these interactions to better understand how they […]
The pandemic changed our world and our jobs overnight and stretched compassion, empathy and flexibility to the limit. There has never been a better time to reconsider everything about employee benefits. For me as a benefits consultant, the crisis has highlighted how unprepared the typical benefits plan is to truly support the needs of employees in […]
Industrial conglomerate Siemens is allowing more than 100,000 of its employees to work away from the office for two or three days a week on a permanent basis. The Munich-based company said the coronavirus crisis has “shown that working independently of a fixed location offers many advantages and is possible on a much wider scale […]