Linda Lewis-Daly is a workplace wellness program consultant at GoodLife Fitness and owner of Lewis-Daly & Associates.
These are the views of the author and not necessarily those of Benefits Canada.
Linda Lewis-Daly is a workplace wellness program consultant at GoodLife Fitness and owner of Lewis-Daly & Associates.
These are the views of the author and not necessarily those of Benefits Canada.
The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic is currently slamming into regions across Canada, once again testing employers’ resilience in the face of mounting challenges. But resilient managers can bounce forward out of adversity, stay focused and productive through constant change and continue to thrive when things are difficult. Resilience equips people to deal with […]
There’s no question that COVID-19 has disrupted usual work-life routines. The need to work from home, self-isolate and quarantine can have significant impacts on the well-being and mental health of employees. For this reason, it’s important that employers continue to provide support through a virtual wellness program during the pandemic — and likely beyond. Here are […]
Looking ahead to 2020, all indicators point to technology playing a greater role in human resources practices given the rapid advances in artificial intelligence and emerging virtual health-care services. But while HR and wellness professionals adapt to these new technologies, they should also be looking at other important considerations to help make their workplaces more comfortable and their employees […]
No matter the size of a business, nothing affects the bottom line more than declining employee productivity. Employees can be the best and brightest parts of an organization, but if they’re sitting sedentary at their desk for eight hours a day with no stimulation, even the sharpest minds become sluggish and productivity plummets. Left unchecked, this can decline into a […]
While “brain fog” isn’t a clinical condition, it feels like forgetfulness, slow thinking and difficulty concentrating. It happens to everyone at some point and can often impact productivity at work. Some common causes of brain fog include stress, lack of sleep, dehydration, hormonal changes from pregnancy or andropause/menopause, an unhealthy diet, vitamin B12 deficiency, chemotherapy and side-effects […]
The mantra “build it and they will come” may have worked in the 1989 movie Field of Dreams, but it doesn’t always work with wellness programming. When wellness programs are first introduced, they typically achieve fairly high levels of participation. However, participation often declines once the newness wears off. Incentives can help engage, re-engage and […]
A new year typically brings a renewed focus on health and wellness both at the personal level, via goals or resolutions, and at the corporate level through benefits and wellness programming. Here are five fitness and health trends to watch for 2019. 1. Faster, focused workouts The No. 1 excuse for not working out continues to be lack […]
Fall is a season of new beginnings. It’s a time when many workplaces introduce, or re-launch, weekly group exercise classes to get employees motivated to stay healthy. One of the most effective approaches, which is growing in popularity, is high-intensity interval training. An HIIT workout is all out, with 100 per cent effort through fast, intensive bursts of exercise, followed […]
Many of us are counting down the days until a much-needed vacation as summer approaches. Unfortunately, a lot of people cancel or postpone their vacation time because of real or perceived work obligations. A vacation provides well-deserved time off from work and an opportunity to rest and recharge. Too much time spent at work and managing […]
With studies showing high levels of employee stress about their finances that’s translating into lost productivity, absenteeism or health issues, the time is right for financial wellness programs in the workplace. There’s an opportunity for employers to step in and offer much-needed guidance, but they could (and should) be helping workers with far more than the basic advice about […]
In a recent case, the Ontario Superior Court found an employee failed to mitigate damages when he refused a return-to-work offer from his employer, with whom he…
Many of the changes that were introduced to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act in January 2018 were short-lived, as the province’s new government elected in June…
With the legalization of recreational cannabis on Oct. 17, 2018, employers have been preparing to answer questions about whether their current benefits plans should provide…
In a recent decision, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found an employer didn’t constructively dismiss a long-service employee when it provided her with 18 months…
On Oct. 17, 2018, it will be legal to purchase and consume recreational cannabis in Canada. In a recent survey of Mercer’s employer clients and Canadian employees, we found…
Some organizations are unique. Their employees are genuinely excited to be at work and an undercurrent of energy and vitality permeates the air. They’ve transformed the…
While many Canadian organizations continue to search for solutions to rising health-care costs, most are falling short. That’s why they must investigate any opportunity to find…
Macroeconomic trends such as longer lives, a lack of access to pensions and retirement supports, a low-growth environment, and persistent lack of financial literacy and…
Heading into the summer months, parents of young or school-aged children are likely juggling work with gaps in their childcare needs. While many working parents…
As this wave of the coronavirus pandemic abates and more organizations settle into their respective futures of work, leadership teams are considering how the many…
As companies adapt their people strategies for return to the office or for a new remote or hybrid work arrangement, employee retention will be a…
The Council of Parties to the United Nations’ climate convention, known as COP26, which is currently underway in Glasgow has put climate change on the…
Pension plan sponsors can’t ignore the financial risks of climate change or respond to them with half-baked approaches that allow companies to continue pumping out pollution.…
The importance of risk management isn’t new for the majority of defined benefit pension plan sponsors and administrators. The impact of long-term interest rates, market…
The images of floods, forest fires and heat waves over the past few years is putting climate change front of mind for many, including pension…
Pension governance policies have been common for many years, at least since the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities published its initial guidelines on pension…
Employers that act as pension plan administrators have statutory fiduciary duties that are defined by the plan documents and by governing pension legislation. While those duties…
Employees everywhere are redefining what work means to them and redrawing their expectations of employers. Mental-health supports and flexible working options are now imperative if…
Workplace burnout isn’t always easy to talk about, but after living through nearly two years of the coronavirus pandemic, employers really can’t avoid it —…
Any return to the workplace, whether it’s after a medical or parental leave — or say, following a global pandemic — requires consideration and care…
Whether they’re delivering takeout, chauffeuring passengers, or fixing leaky sinks, most gig workers in Canada don’t get benefits. Classified as independent contractors rather than employees,…
Pension coverage in the public sector is high, with the vast majority of public sector employees covered by a defined benefit pension plan. However, the…
As a new year dawns, our attention turns to what’s ahead, the following are a few of my predictions for trends in the world of…
After being off of Canadians’ radar screens for years, the re-emergence of inflation in recent months is receiving significant attention for many, including pension plan…
Over the past several months, much attention has been paid to the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on financial markets and, subsequently, defined benefit pension plans’ financial conditions…
What’s the value of Bitcoin? Or better, what makes it valuable? Is it because many people think it’s valuable? Is it valuable because it’s cool…
It’s a chaotic time for institutional investors. Between rising inflation and interest rates, war in Europe and an ongoing global pandemic, stock market volatility is…
With gas and oil prices reaching new heights last week, panicking both politicians and consumers, we must ask ourselves if this behaviour is typical of…
I have been watching Bitcoin’s price advance with trepidation. In just six months its value has quintupled and it has risen more than tenfold since…
At the start of every new year, many employees resolve to improve their fitness — emotionally, financially and/or physically. One pretty easy way that employers…
The possible legal ramifications of publicity placing a current or past employee in a false light is an issue employers should keep in mind in…
On the heels of the World Health Organization declaring the novel coronavirus a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, Canada’s federal government rolled out several…
In June, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Uber Technologies Inc. v Heller, dismissing an appeal of a decision by the Ontario…
The COVID-19 pandemic has created many complicated issues for employers. Prudent employers should ensure they’re aware of the resources that may be available during this…
Last year was a tumultuous one, with economies ravaged by successive waves of coronavirus pandemic-related stresses and closures. Despite the negative impact these forces had…
Last year offered up one of most tempestuous investment environments in recent memory, and this year looks to be equally dynamic. It will be increasingly…
We won’t soon forget 2020. This tumultuous year was characterized by a global pandemic, lockdowns around the world, spiking unemployment levels and business failures. Increasing…
\Over the course of the last 15 years we have seen an increase in the number of frozen corporate defined benefit plans in Canada. Frozen…
As has been the case for the past couple of years, we’re ending 2021 with as many questions as answers. On the surface, economic conditions…
Almost 16 months since the global coronavirus pandemic was first declared, there’s now yet another thing for institutional investors to worry about — the possibility…
Back in December 2018, I wrote an article asking whether it was a good time for pension plan sponsors to revisit value investing. At that time, public…
Last August, I wrote about whether central banks were creating a financial bubble with their coordinated easing programs intended to spur economic growth and/or lift inflation.…
As 2021 winds down, I have a few predictions of the human resources trends for employers to keep top of mind in 2022. Employers finding…
Words and imagery have the power to connect, evoke emotion and elicit a reaction. They also have the power to be inclusive, or exclusive, and…
It’s often said perception is reality and that’s definitely true when it comes to benefits plans. If employees can’t easily perceive the value in their…
How long is your attention span? Be honest and think back to the last time you received an email about your employee benefits and didn’t…
For months, Canadian employers have been creaking under the strain of a labour crunch. Finding top talent has always been one of leaders’ most pressing…
COVID-19 cases are dropping and vaccine counts are rising. The economy is reopening and we can expect to be back at the office soon. But…
Employee benefits and total rewards planning have always been a critical element of business planning, but never more so than during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.…
Over the past few months, we’ve all had to deal with the challenges of social distancing and self-isolation. Some people have faced the extra pressure…
With October inflation hitting an 18-year high, inflation risk is back on the radar of plan sponsors providing inflation-linked defined benefit pensions. In the past,…
The recent announcement that General Motors of Canada Co. purchased $1.8 billion of annuities for its salaried pension plan is creating a lot of excitement.…
Much has been written about how 2020 was unprecedented, challenging and exhausting — take your pick of adjectives. It was also a white-knuckle ride for…
Defined benefit pension plan sponsors who are interested in better pension risk management for their retirees have two main strategies to consider: They can either…
In Canada, the coronavirus pandemic is entering a new phase — vaccines are widely available, travel restrictions are gradually lifting and people are returning to…
For most Canadians, it’s been well over a year since most of the country went into its first lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. I…
While talk about the importance of improving diversity on corporate boards and in the C-suite has been ongoing for decades, actual action has been too…
With the repatriation of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor following their three-year incarceration in China, relations between Ottawa and Beijing are to be reset.…
It’s a welcome development that so many pension fund managers are increasingly preoccupied with the ethical implications of their investments and incorporating data to ensure…
Various forms of digital health care have been available in Canada for several years, but I’d argue nothing has accelerated the awareness, need and adoption…
Anyone who’s ever run a marathon or completed an endurance race or trek knows the last few miles are the hardest, both physically and mentally.…
Any do-it-yourself handyman’s toolbox isn’t complete without a roll a flexible multi-purpose cloth adhesive that has unlimited uses — a.k.a. duct tape. It’s been used…
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…