When staff and faculty at Toronto’s Ryerson University kick back in their lounge, they can, at least in part, thank the institution’s mental-health co-ordinator for the luxury. Natalie Roach, the university’s mental-health co-ordinator, notes this year’s $500,000 rejuvenation of the staff and faculty lounge was part of efforts to help put people first, which is […]
With SSQ Life Insurance Co. Inc.’s partnership with Allianz Global Benefits last month, the Canadian insurer is looking to provide its employer clients with the advantages of international risk pooling. Though the concept is more familiar in countries where multinational companies are headquartered, international risk pooling is a way to provide health and insurance benefits using […]
There were almost 4,000 opioid-related deaths in Canada in 2017, according to Health Canada statistics released in June. Meanwhile, in the United States, a new survey by the National Business Group on Health found 60 per cent of large employers had experienced at least one issue stemming from prescription opioid misuse or abuse in the workplace. Forty […]
While a national pharmacare program is likely to come with a tax hike, will that cost be balanced out by savings on prescription drugs and private drug spending? In a presentation to be delivered Friday to provincial and territorial premiers, former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page is expected to be straightforward about the costs of a cross-country, publicly […]
Golf Town Ltd. is giving its workforce a little nudge to help get its communications across. Last year, the retailer connected with Nudge Rewards Inc., introducing the technology company’s mobile platform to facilitate the way it communications with employees. “They were talking about how to engage and communicate with employees, and we have multiple locations across Canada and we […]
Mindfulness meditation negatively effects motivation and may be counterproductive in a workplace environment, according to a recent study. The study, by Andrew Hafenbrack, an assistant professor of the Catholic University of Portugal’s school of business and economics, and Kathleen Vohs, a professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson school of management, concluded that mindfulness meditation may provide […]
Job seekers and employers in Britain are open to some unorthodox methods when it comes to the recruitment and hiring process, according to new research by the Knowledge Academy Corp. The global provider of training courses found that more than two-thirds (68 per cent) of employers would be interested in using an escape room to assess an applicant for […]
Hub International Ltd. is acquiring two more Canadian companies as it rolls out its strategy for expanding its employee benefits and pension business in Canada. “We decided a few years ago that one of the key strategic initiatives for the entire company was to build a market-leading employee benefits and pension organization in Canada to complement […]
Ontario’s new Conservative government has announced changes to the province’s youth pharmacare program to make it second payer for Ontarians under age 25 who have coverage through private benefits plans. “Today, our government is announcing our intent to fix the OHIP+ program by focusing benefits on those who do not have existing prescription drug benefits,” […]
When it instituted random drug testing last year, the Toronto Transit Commission was eager to ensure its employees knew what it expected of them. To get the message out, the transit authority mailed a handbook last year to the home of every employee and published it online so all workers would be fully aware of […]