On May 21, Benefits Canada hosted a webinar to explore the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on chronic disease in the workplace, as well as how virtual solutions can support employee health through this unprecedented time. All employers are currently facing the same concerns, said Marie-Josée Le Blanc, a partner at Mercer, during the webinar. Pointing to the 2019 […]
Slack Technologies Inc. is offering its employees the option to work from home permanently, along with extending its coronavirus-related office closures past Sept. 1. In a blog post, Robby Kwok, senior vice-president of people, said the company plans to hire workers who are permanently remote. It’s also looking to revamp the design of its offices for the eventual return to […]
The coronavirus pandemic has been disruptive for all and sadly, devastating and difficult for many. In the pandemic’s early days, we saw a great deal of change and upheaval very swiftly — both for organizations and our communities. The way in which we live our lives day to day changed very quickly. And for many Canadian employers, […]
While 72 per cent of Canadian employers said they’ll make minimal or no changes to their benefits coverage in 2021, 21 per cent are planning some plan design changes around health coverage, according to a new survey by Arther J. Gallagher & Co. Eight per cent said they’re looking at plan design and contribution structure […]
Canadian employment numbers rose by 290,000 in May, or a 1.8 per cent increase on the previous month, as provinces started to reopen their economies, according to new data from Statistics Canada. The number of people who reported working less than half their usual hours in May dropped by 292,000 or 8.6 per cent. Combined, […]
Shopify Inc. is moving the majority of its employees to permanent work-from-home arrangements and closing its offices until 2021. “Until recently, work happened in the office,” tweeted Tobi Lutke, chief executive officer of Shopify on Thursday. “We’ve always had some people remote, but they used the internet as a bridge to the office. This will […]
Only eight per cent of Canadian employers said they’re fully prepared to reopen their workplaces when provincial governments lift restrictions, according to a new survey by the Conference Board of Canada. The survey found a further 39 per cent of respondents said they’re nearly prepared and almost half (48 per cent) said they’re somewhat prepared. While few […]
BMO Financial Group’s chief human resources officer and head of people and culture discusses mental health, leadership development and yoga. Q: What top challenges do you face in your role? A: We’re a people business . . . so [our challenges are] skills, the access to fantastic talent, making sure we’re developing our people. But […]
Three-quarters (74 per cent) of Canadian employees who are working remotely said their manager has clearly communicated their expectations around remote work, according to a new survey conducted by Angus Reid on behalf of ADP Canada Co. However, the survey, which polled 500 remote-working Canadians, found respondents are split on how they feel about the […]
With employers around the world forced to move to a work-from-home model in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Twitter Inc. says it will allow employees to continue to work from “forever.” In a blog post, Jennifer Christie, the organization’s vice-president of people, said Twitter was uniquely positioned to be able to respond quickly and […]