The past few months have upended the traditional workplace, but whether remote working remains the norm is still up for debate. Robby Kwok, senior vice-president of people at Slack Technologies Inc. We’re never going back to the old way. The last few months have demonstrated that it’s possible for teams to thrive in a distributed […]
Early in Lana Burnstad’s career, she worked at a railway company that was merging several regional railways and their various benefits plans. Part of that process included working with multiple unions, which were traditionally male-dominated environments at the time. “That was a rough process — swearing and fist-pounding . . . . It was pretty […]
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 […]
The City of Mississauga’s acting senior manager of total rewards talks virtual health care, pension communications and spending time with family. Q. What top challenges do you face in your role? A. I think we can say there are two worlds: pre-coronavirus and post-coronavirus. In the current situation, the top challenge is making sure our […]
A new report is urging the federal government to introduce new types of leave and make broad changes to employment insurance. The report, by the YWCA Canada and the Institute for Gender and the Economy at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, is advocating for an equity-informed economic recovery plan that will ensure gender and sexual […]
Among Canadian expatriates who said their future plans have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, 53 per cent said their health and well-being is now a greater priority, while 48 per cent cited family as the biggest priority, according to a new survey by Allianz Care. The survey, which polled expats living in Canada, France, […]
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 […]
Japan Tobacco International is launching a global equal family leave policy for all of its employees. The new global strategy, which goes beyond the national family leave provisions in 80 per cent of the 81 countries in which the multinational is located, offers a minimum of 20 weeks fully paid leave for employees, regardless of […]
Fujitsu Ltd. is introducing permanent remote working for 80,000 global employees in a bid to boost innovation and work-life balance. The Japanese multinational’s campaign, which it calls ‘Work-Life Shift,’ relies on three core principles: smart working, borderless offices and culture change, marking “the end of the conventional notion of commuting to and from fixed offices, […]
The majority (95 per cent) of global employers said they include emotional and mental-health programs in their corporate well-being platforms, according to a new survey by Business Group on Health and Fidelity Investments Inc. The survey, which was fielded last fall and prior to the coronavirus pandemic, found the most common mental-health and well-being offerings […]