This summer, KPMG in Canada is helping staff refresh and recharge by making every weekend a long weekend. As the country prepares to enter the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, the professional services firm is giving employees in Canada seven additional paid days off in July and August that will fall on weekends that […]
Diversity, equity and inclusion are top of mind during Black History Month, so it’s no surprise two of the top five stories over the past week on BenefitsCanada.com relate to efforts by organizations to address a range of DEI issues in February and beyond. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. How HOOPP is […]
Landing in the emergency room in the middle of the night was a wake-up call for Margaret Eaton. She started a new job as the Canadian Mental Health Association’s national chief executive officer in January 2020. Then, about two months into her new gig, the coronavirus pandemic hit. As the pandemic’s finish line kept moving […]
Making mental health and well-being the foundation of an organization’s culture wields success for employers. Well before the coronavirus pandemic put mental health in the spotlight, Schneider Electric was taking a proactive approach to psychological safety in the workplace by naming it as a priority and building a culture of inclusion that allows employees to […]
IKEA Canada’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are helping employees step into the shoes of their fellow workers and highlighting how DEI and employee mental health are inextricably tied. “A big part of who we are is stories,” says John Williams, the organization’s DEI lead. “We really believe stories matter because they shape how we […]
The vast majority of Canadian employers are increasing salaries amid a challenging labour market, according to a new survey by Normandin Beaudry. The survey, which polled 285 Canadian employers, found fewer than 0.5 per cent were planning a salary freeze for 2022 in the late fall of 2021, down from three per cent in the […]
KPMG in Canada is piloting a program that taps into the neurodivergent talent pool as part of its ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion strategy to attract, support and retain employees with disabilities. In December 2021, KPMG launched a program with the help of a non-profit to adapt its recruitment process for individuals who are neurodivergent. The […]
Sally Phuong took a four-week sabbatical from her job as an account executive at Sun Life Financial Inc. last year so she could participate in a professional floral design program at the Canadian Institute of Floral Design in Toronto. Phuong, 37, plans to retire at 55 from Sun Life and open her own floral store. […]
Employees’ confidence in their organization’s culture and leadership has dropped slightly (three per cent) since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey by Eagle Hill Consulting. The survey, which polled more than 1,000 employees across the U.S., found slightly more than a quarter (29 per cent) believe their organization has trusted leaders […]
Legal challenges of employer vaccine mandates and health measures are being tossed out as arbitrators in Canada largely side with the need to maintain safe workplaces during a pandemic, say legal experts. Most of the cases with rulings so far involve employee grievances in unionized workplaces, which have an expedited decision-making process compared with the courts, […]