Epcor Utilities Inc.’s senior manager of pension and benefits talks mental-health training, volunteering benefits and whitewater canoeing. Q. What top challenges do you face in your role? A. A big challenge is employees . . . thinking the company is 100 per cent responsible for all of their paramedical [and] dental costs, and that any […]
Mental-health benefits offerings are on the rise, with the share of Canadian organizations that provide mental-health coverage nearly doubling over the past five years, according to a new survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The survey, released this week to coincide with World Mental Health Day, found more than three-quarters (79 per cent) […]
Equitable Life Insurance Co. of Canada is expanding the services it offers to plan sponsors through its partnership with Homewood Health Inc. While the insurer has worked with Homewood Health for seven years to provide plan members on disability with specialized return-to-work support, it will now make the latter organization’s employee assistance program and online health and wellness […]
Canadian employees suffering from mental-health issues aren’t accessing support through their workplace benefits, according to new data from Sun Life Canada. The data found 59 per cent of working Canadians said they’ve experienced a mental-health issue, an increase from 52 per cent in 2017. Among this group, 60 per cent said they aren’t accessing support through their workplace benefits […]
In October 2017, De Beers Canada senior management flew to the company’s remote Victor diamond mine near Attawapiskat, Ont., to tell its employees some tough but not unexpected news: the mine was slated to close in the first quarter of 2019. When the fly-in, fly-out operation opened in 2008, the company forecasted it would last […]
Compared with people who don’t access employer-provided employee assistance programs, Canadians who use the services have increased workplace engagement, as well as reduced presenteeism and distress at work, according to a study published last month in the U.S.-based Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health. The study, which looked at the causal effects of Arete Human Resources Inc.’s EAPs on mental […]
Employees dealing with mental-health or other well-being issues spend more than a third of their time at the office being unproductive, according to new research by Morneau Shepell Ltd. and the International Employee Assistance Professionals Association. The research found this ineffective time at work adds up to eight days a month of lost productivity. The same […]
The contents of employee assistance programs are growing and reflecting a wider range of services. At the same time, attitudes to pricing are also changing. Trader Corp., a Toronto-based digital marketing company serving the automotive industry, expects more from its EAP provider and is willing to pay for it. “Our workforce is increasingly diverse with […]
Mental illness and problems with mental health cost employers $20 billion annually, and it’s the cause of one in every three claims for short- and long-term disability, according to a study by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. It’s no wonder mental health remains an area of focus for Canadian employers. While they grapple with how to tackle […]
Bruce Power Ltd. Partnership’s manager of human resources and total rewards shares her view on optimizing the benefits plan, enjoying the great outdoors and employee assistance programs. Q. What are the top challenges you face in your role? A. Getting employees to be active participants in the benefits plan. We’re trying to encourage individuals to […]