When Nikelle Inman started a new job coaching first-generation college students, she looked forward to meeting with them one-on-one to talk about how to surmount obstacles and find resources to succeed. Instead, she and her fellow success coaches at a community college in North Carolina spent a year mired in paperwork, tasked with reviewing applications […]
When the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, companies across Canada scrambled to shift their employees to home setups. For the dozen or so staff at Edmonton-based technology company Punchcard Systems, the new reality meant figuring out new patterns of how to communicate as they would have at their downtown office. […]
Most Canadian benefits plan sponsors (89 per cent) and members (73 per cent) agree their workplace environment supports mental wellness, according to the 2024 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. On the converse, about a quarter (27 per cent) of plan members disagreed. Despite the mostly positive perspectives, a quarter is still a significant portion of the […]
More than three-quarters (79 per cent) of Canadian employees say their overall well-being has significantly improved due to the greater flexibility offered by hybrid working, according to a new survey by International Workplace Group. The survey, which polled more than 1,000 Canadian employees, found 64 per cent said their physical health has improved due to […]
While ‘Blue Monday’ may highlight the importance of employee mental health, supporting workers’ psychological safety is a year-round duty, says Mara Notarfonzo, vice-president of total rewards at CAA Club Group. “I think a lot of organizations definitely do concentrate on specific initiatives or events on that day and during that week — so do we, […]
Employers can take a proactive role in supporting employee mental health during the holidays through early intervention, communication and making wellness resources easily accessible, says Lindsey Gage-Cole, senior vice-president of client and member operations at GroupHealth Benefit Solutions. “For employees, the holidays can mean increased workloads, balancing holiday planning with work obligations and the pressure […]
Canadians employees aged 20 to 29 continue to have the lowest general well-being, with a score of 46.3 out of 100, according to a new report by Dialogue Health Technologies Inc. The report, which analyzes data across five dimensions of well-being — including mood, stress, sleep, activeness and sense of purpose — found Canadians’ average well-being has […]
Physically active workers in Canada lose 10 fewer workdays of productivity annually than their sedentary counterparts, according to Telus Health’s latest mental-health index. The survey, which polled 3,000 employees, found workers dissatisfied with their physical health scored 22 points lower in mental health and lost 21 more days of productivity annually than satisfied counterparts. The […]
Employees’ online searches for burnout signs and symptoms are up 50 per cent worldwide in 2024, according to a new study by Instant Offices. The global study, which analyzed trends across 30 major cities, found Toronto workers had one of the highest burnout rates worldwide when looking at online sentiment, with 710 burnout term searches […]
While Canadian privacy laws allow employers to track employees in a remote or hybrid working arrangement, this surveillance must be related to their job. “Employers have a proper and reasonable right to supervise their employees and ensure they’re doing their jobs and doing them safely,” says David Young, principal at David Young Law. “The flip […]