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Shopify wins award for ‘digital by design’ employee health, wellness strategy

Shopify Inc. was awarded for its digital-first employee health and wellness strategy at Benefits Canada‘s 2021 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 14. The technology company won the award in the Coronavirus and Benefits category for an employer with more than 5,000 employees. Although the organization already had a few remote workers, it swiftly transitioned all of its employees […]

  • October 18, 2021 October 20, 2021
  • 09:00

Employers leveraging benefits, flexibility to prevent pandemic surge in disability claims

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ottawa Community Housing Corp. battened down the hatches and focused on addressing any absence management issues before they occurred. Now, Cindy Newell, the company’s director of human resources, says OCH is expecting to see fewer disability leaves post-pandemic, thanks to a proactive absence and disability management strategy […]

  • October 15, 2021 November 17, 2021
  • 08:56

Manulife giving extra days off to help employees recharge

Manulife Financial Corp. is giving its employees the second Friday of every month off through to the end of the year to support the well-being of its global team. Starting in September, the organization will launch Fuel-up Fridays, which will see its employees come together for a morning of collective learning, followed by an afternoon […]

  • September 3, 2021 September 3, 2021
  • 09:00

Ontario women’s shelter, employees at impasse over wellness benefits, temporary staffing

Contract negotiations between Napanee, Ont.-based Lennox and Addington Interval House and Unifor Local 414, the union representing the company’s employees, have reached an impasse over maintaining the workers’ wellness fund. LAIH, a shelter serving women and children fleeing domestic violence, and the union have been locked in a conciliation process since March 10, 2021. The current […]

  • August 19, 2021 August 18, 2021
  • 09:00

Pride Month: How employers can create a more inclusive work culture

When Mercer Canada recently partnered with a vendor on an employee well-being initiative, the human resources team noticed the images included in the materials reflected a stereotypical idea of the traditional family — a heterosexual couple with two children, all Caucasian. “It wasn’t reflective of our population,” says Julie Duchesne, Mercer’s health business leader in […]

  • June 11, 2021 June 25, 2021
  • 09:30

Mental-health, specialty medications driving drug costs in 2020: report

Canadians’ health priorities are shifting as the coronavirus pandemic drags on, as claims for medications to treat mental-health conditions continued to rise in 2020, along with claims for specialty drugs designed to treat rarer, yet increasingly chronic diseases, according to Telus Health’s annual drug trends report. There were noticeable shifts in the utilization of mental-health […]

  • June 10, 2021 June 10, 2021
  • 09:00

2021 BPS coverage: New disruptors awaiting employers in the post-pandemic workplace

As employers and their employees exit the coronavirus pandemic, they’ll be confronted with a host of new challenges, said Linda Duxbury, Chancellor’s professor in management at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, during the keynote session of Benefits Canada’s 2021 Benefits & Pension Summit this week. “Much like with a tsunami, [smaller] waves are going […]

  • May 21, 2021 May 21, 2021
  • 09:05

LinkedIn supporting well-being via bonus paid week off for global workforce

To support employees through the many personal and professional challenges of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, LinkedIn Corp. recently provided its global workforce with a week off to rest, recharge or have some fun. “The world is confronting unprecedented challenges, but as leaders, we have a unique opportunity to build more connection and engagement across communities,” […]

  • May 5, 2021 May 5, 2021
  • 09:00

Employers must weigh several factors while planning for post-pandemic future: webinar

Many white-collar employees were forced to work from home when a global coronavirus pandemic was declared last March, but now, with an eye toward the great reset, employers must decide whether to embrace working from home permanently or revert back to an in-person working model. Most employees’ sentiments have shifted toward a preference for continuing […]

  • April 7, 2021 April 7, 2021
  • 09:00

Pension plans focusing on streamlining ESG strategies in 2021

Pension plans in Canada now factor environmental, social and governance monitoring in their investment process, and in the absence of national guidance, plan managers are using various tools and methods to analyze ESG risk, noted panelists of a roundtable recently hosted by The Association of Canadian Pension Management. “Considering ESG requires a balance of the investment […]

  • February 8, 2021 March 26, 2021
  • 09:00