Canadian employees are lacking much-needed sleep with 27 per cent reporting they feel tired most days or every day during the work week, according to a new report by the Conference Board of Canada. Its survey of 739 full-time and part-time Canadian employees found fatigue affects the way individuals think, react and display emotions at […]
Citing changing expectations around health care, League Inc. founder Michael Serbinis called for Canada to embrace the changes needed to encourage innovation in employee benefits at an event in Toronto yesterday. “Innovation is when people are open to changing outdated regulatory frameworks,” said Serbinis during a Toronto Region Board of Trade event on Thurday that […]
Canadian employers are being cautious about budgeting for salary increases in the coming year, according to a new survey by Mercer. It predicts average raises will be just 2.6 per cent across all employee groups. When taking anticipated salary freezes into account, the survey expects overall salary increases in 2017 will be even lower at 2.3 per cent. […]
A case centred on the ability to access actuarial documents filed with the Ontario pension regulator may soon be heading to the Ontario Court of Appeal after a panel of judges took issue with a ruling by the information and privacy commissioner that ordered the Ministry of Finance to release the information. In a ruling late […]
While external motivators, such as a promotion or employer-paid benefits, can be successful in encouraging employees to perform well, the intrinsic need for autonomy can be even more powerful, researchers have found. “There is strong evidence that having more autonomy at work is associated with higher job satisfaction across most jobs,” says Harjinder Gill, a professor […]
Three years ago, Imax Corp. created a $500 annual wellness spending account for its Canadian employees to spend on anything related to health and fitness. Employees can spend their allowance on things such as gym and sports membership fees; fitness classes and personal training sessions; smoking cessation; weight management; stress management and nutrition counselling programs; […]
Stephanie Berry wasn’t exactly happy in 2011 when, after working for 19 years as an information technology supervisor for the state of Tennessee, she learned her office would convert to an open-space environment. “I was on the move committee for my group and sat through all the meetings where they listed the rules,” says Berry. […]
While a wellness spending account may seem straightforward, it’s more difficult to manage than it seems, says Art Babcock, senior vice-president at Aon Hewitt. The flexibility means employees have some leeway around what they spend the money on, but there also needs to be limitations on which purchases constitute a step towards better health, he […]
Organizations that have resilient employees are more likely to succeed in turbulent times, a University of Toronto professor told Benefits Canada’s Healthy Outcomes conference in June. “What is it about them that’s succeeding and making them so strong?” asked Julie McCarthy, an associate professor of organizational behaviour, during a keynote speech at the June 10 […]
Among the companies taking wellness issues to heart is Campbell Co. of Canada. The company began boosting its wellness programs in 2003 after receiving feedback from employees and consumers, said Laura Lee-Blake, vice-president of human resources at Campbell Canada, during the Healthy Outcomes conference in June. After surveying its 600 Canadian employees, the food manufacturer […]