Even before the coronavirus pandemic, technology was blurring the lines between work and home life. An unhealthy attachment to our mobile phones made it easy to get lured back into our work worlds when we were supposed to be on vacation, socializing with family and friends or just enjoying some downtime. During the pandemic, millions […]
While the vast majority of Canadians say the coronavirus pandemic is impacting their mental health, just 60 per cent are receiving the treatment or social support they need. “We’ve asked them, what are the barriers? Why aren’t they accessing the resources?” said Sophie Ouellet, vice-president of business development at Sun Life Canada, during a session on […]
The Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal has found a labour arbitrator failed to properly analyze an employer’s efforts to accommodate an employee taking medical cannabis for his chronic pain. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers initially filed a grievance on behalf of one of its members, who was refused employment by Valard Construction for […]
For Chantelle Tadman, returning to work after maternity leave was more eventful than she’d hoped it would be. Between needing to take disability leave during her pregnancy and the maternity leave itself, she was off for 21 months. During that time, her company was acquired, her manager left and her team and job responsibilities completely […]
Canada could experience a 2.6-fold increase in visits to mental-health practitioners and up to a 20 per cent increase in antidepressant prescriptions due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report by Deloitte. The report explored the human and social impact of natural disasters and periods of economic hardship — such as […]
In this unprecedented time, it’s more evident the physical, psychological and financial components of health are all interconnected, said Charmaine Alexander, senior disability management advisor at Desjardins Insurance, during a webinar hosted by Benefits Canada. Prior to the pandemic, in May 2018, Desjardins conducted a survey to measure these interactions to better understand how they […]
iA Financial Group is launching a service for its group plan members to target major mental-health issues that contribute to absenteeism and disability claims. The new mental-health coaching service, which will be managed by health services provider Novus Health, is set to launch on Aug. 1, 2020 and will be provided to plan members for […]
Most (79 per cent) plan sponsors said they have at least one major concern about their health benefits plan, with this increasing to 89 per cent for employers with 500 or more workers, according to the 2020 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. The top concerns include drug plan sustainability (42 per cent), dental plan sustainability (39 […]
Employers are increasingly interested in seeing more support for chronic disease and chronic pain management in their benefits plans, according to the 2020 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. The vast majority (88 per cent) of plan sponsors said they want their health benefits plan to do more to support plan members living with chronic diseases, up from 82 […]
More than three-quarters (79 per cent) of plan sponsors said they’re interested in their benefits providers sending targeted communications to plan members, according to the 2020 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. That’s up slightly from the amount who said the same in 2019 (74 per cent) and 2018 (64 per cent). However, slightly fewer (62 per cent) plan members […]