The federal labour minister says the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need to give employees the ability to avoid work emails and text messages as the lines between home and work lives blur. The idea, known as the right to disconnect, first came up as a proposed addition to the federal labour code almost three years ago. Read: How can employers manage work-from-home burnout? […]
Employee mental health is the top well-being issue in Canada, according to 72 per cent of employers, surveyed for Aon’s 2021 global well-being survey. Work-life balance followed closely behind at 69 per cent, followed by burnout (52 per cent), virtual work environment and working environment/culture (both at 39 per cent), as the top well-being issues […]
As it becomes increasingly clear that workplaces are a key transmission location in the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, some Canadian employers are offering paid sick leave to their employees in the absence of government action. Paid sick leave benefits, which allow workers to call in sick without fear of losing a day’s pay, […]
Amid mounting pressure from both the public and private sectors for an action plan that provides affordable childcare for Canadian working parents, on Monday, the federal government unveiled its 2021 budget proposal for a national community-based childcare system. Once partisan policy, many business and union leaders have been aligned on the issue of affordable childcare in […]
Fundamental changes to the traditional workplace are causing greater levels of mental distress for managers and non-managers alike in the Canadian workforce, noted findings from Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s latest monthly mental-health index. At the one-year mark, the mental-health score for March 2021 (negative 11.2) was similar to that of April 2020 (negative 11.7) but slightly […]
Ontario’s two biggest coronavirus hot spots are moving to temporarily close businesses with recent outbreaks of the virus, in an effort to rein in surging case counts experts said were fuelled by workplace spread. The City of Toronto and Peel Region announced within hours of each other Tuesday that they would issue updated orders requiring […]
In advance of the federal government’s 2021 budget, released on Monday, the Ontario government struck down a motion by the New Democratic Party seeking to create a provincial paid sick leave program. Advocates have long called on the province to bring in paid sick leave, saying it would help support essential workers during the coronavirus […]
Manulife Financial Corp. is making Phzio Canada’s virtual physiotherapy platform available to its plan members, noted a press release. Approximately one in five employees will experience a musculoskeletal condition annually that impacts their ability to perform in the workplace, resulting in an increased need for treatment programs, accommodations and time away from work, said the […]
The best way to learn is by doing. And since March 11, 2020, when a pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization, we’ve all certainly learned a lot by doing things we never thought we’d do. Over the past 13-plus months, I’ve done everything from lining up to buy toilet paper to doing yoga […]
In a bid to ensure individuals from hot-spot communities get access to the coronavirus vaccine, the Ontario government is working with public health units, business groups and large employers to explore setting up employer-operated, onsite vaccination clinics, noted a press release. “Partnering with communities to deliver the vaccine is critical to reducing the impact of […]