Canadians are generally healthy people. Thanks to a high standard of living and public health efforts, such as smoking cessation, immunization and seatbelt safety programs, most of us enjoy good health and we’re living healthier for longer. But there are inequalities in health status, due to genetic, personal and certain socioeconomic factors. A person […]
Canadians are spending less time at the office. Statistics Canada reports that the average workweek in this country declined from 38.6 hours to 36.5 hours between 1976 and 2006. But are we working less? Do we have better work-life balance now than we did 30 years ago? There’s evidence that we don’t. Consider a […]
The most important characteristic that Canadians look for in a job is respectful treatment at work, according to Graham Lowe, a leading work expert and president of the Kelowna, B.C.-based Graham Lowe Group. Referencing a 2007 study, 21st Century Job Quality: Achieving What Canadians Want, he said Canadians place a high value on workplaces that […]
Canada’s Healthy Workplace Week is officially becoming a month. This year, organizations can take part in the national workplace-health-promotion campaign for an entire month—from September 29 to October 29. Healthy Workplace Week (and now Healthy Workplace Month) is an opportunity for employers to educate their workforces about health and wellness. Many companies hold onsite health […]
Often when I meet workplace health professionals I hear that one of their biggest challenges is getting senior-level support for wellness initiatives. It’s no wonder a Buck Consultants questionnaire revealed that some wellness managers felt their greatest success with these programs was “actually getting [them] approved in the first place.” There are decision-makers who […]
Offering employees a smoking-cessation program can generate a “large payback for a small investment,” said Andrea Docherty, a senior coordinator with the Canadian Cancer Society’s Smokers’ Helpline. She spoke Monday at Health and Safety 2008, the International Accident Prevention Association’s (IAPA) annual trade show and conference. Referring to a Conference Board of Canada report, Docherty […]
The federal government is providing $110 million to the Mental Health Commission of Canada to establish research projects aimed at helping homeless Canadians suffering from mental illness, announced Finance Minister Jim Flaherty yesterday in the 2008 federal budget. “Very little is known about the most effective ways of providing services to people living with mental […]
Employers and service providers tackle mental illness in the workplace. What are the signs of a troubled employee? What is best practice for addressing a workplace mental health issue? How can managers support an employee struggling with a mental illness? At Working Well’s first stakeholders’ forum held in October, we posed these and other questions […]
Health spending up 6.6% Total healthcare spending in Canada reached $160.1 billion last year, up 6.6% over 2006. The ratio of private- to public-sector spending remains relatively stable at 30:70 for the 11th consecutive year. Private-sector spending (insurance and out-of-pocket) reached $47.1 billion in 2007, while public-sector spending reached $113 billion. In 2005 (the […]
They will take care of the company. I once worked for a company where the president’s motto was “self-interest is my only interest.” Human resources didn’t share his attitude, but it somehow infiltrated organizational practices and values, poisoning the corporate culture. Workplace morale was low, distrust of senior leadership widespread, and staff resignations commonplace. When […]