woodworkingnetwork.com As Canadian provinces lift restrictions meant to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, employers are scrambling to prepare their workplaces for the safe return of their employees. According to the recent “Return to Work Survey” by the Conference Board of Canada (CBC), only 8% of the 279 organizations participating said they are “fully prepared” to reopen their workplaces.
itworldcanada.com Employers are increasingly looking for ways to help employees with the impact of isolation as they continue to work apart. IT teams are playing a bigger role in coming up with solutions. “The dialogue on business continuity dramatically changed in the last few months,” said Wayne Feyer, Principal Corporate Account Manager with Citrix Systems, at a recent ITWC virtual roundtable. “We have to design a new normal that keeps people in the centre of the discussion.”
If you are lucky enough to be hiring new employees during COVID – 19, then use this opportunity to welcome them to your company. I have worked with many organizations that spend so much time and energy to hire an individual and when it comes to their new employee orientation, they fall short. This is the beginning of a new relationship where you are creating the building blocks to a trusting – win/win – relationship. A solid onboarding process sets the stage for success for your new hire.
Source: biv.com Youngest workers hit hardest by instability; older employees may postpone retirements The COVID-19 pandemic will have far-reaching effects on how Canadians in different age groups view their careers and work lives. Canada lost three million jobs in March and April because of restrictions aimed at fighting the pandemic, and the weekly work hours of another 2.5 million Canadians were cut back. With the country’s unemployment rate at 13% – the highest since 1982 – the crisis has likely shaken the confidence many workers had that their job was secure.
Source: https://cornerstone-toronto.com/ ALEXANDER LUTCHIN of CORNERSTONE TORONTO Across the world, we are collectively experiencing one of the most significant changes of our lives. The loss of physical touch, standing close to people without fear, and dinner out with friends. We have lost the option of celebrating milestone – birthdays, weddings, graduations, baby showers, holidays and cancelled vacations, the losses are mounting.
Source: hrreporter.com But more than one-third feeling less productive: survey More than two-thirds of workers in Canada (67.91 per cent) have been asked by their employers to work from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and most of them say that their transition has been seamless. On a scale of one to five – with one being poor and five being perfect – many rated their transition as a four (47.87 per cent), and some even say it has been perfect (13.39 per cent), found the survey of 726 people in Canada by Sykes, a business processing outsourcing provider.
Source: www.cbc.ca From pet services to food delivery and even advertising, many companies are forging ahead with launch plans Even with the country in lockdown, a number of Canadian entrepreneurs are plunging ahead with new ventures. Some are focusing their startup on issues related directly to the virus.
Source: business.financialpost.com Here’s everything you need to know about the Canada Emergency Business Account The federal government has rolled out a series of measures to help Canadian businesses and families weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s everything you need to know about the Canada Emergency Business Account, or CEBA:
Source: www.cbc.ca Economists had been expecting about half a million jobs to be lost Canada’s economy lost more than one million jobs in March, Statistics Canada said Thursday, pushing the jobless rate up to 7.8 per cent. Economists had been expecting the figure to come in at around 500,000 jobs lost, which already would have been the worst month for job losses on record.
Source: www.ctvnews.ca OTTAWA — As another critical week in Canada’s efforts to flatten the COVID-19 curve begins, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government will soon introduce new measures to make emergency benefits accessible for Canadians who don’t currently qualify.
Source: www.theglobeandmail.com Canadian postsecondary students are weeks away from stepping into a job market that is reeling from unprecedented layoffs, raising concern about how those returning to school in the fall will fund their studies and whether graduates will bear long-term scars of unfortunate timing.
Source: ctvnews.ca OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a major increase to the wage subsidy for small- and medium-sized businesses, boosting it to 75 per cent, up from the 10 per cent previously promised. This decision, to help “qualifying businesses” keep employees on staff, is being back-dated to March 15, with more information coming soon. Read more…
Source: www.hcamag.com At a time when nearly every growing business is facing a shortage of qualified workers, the HR function has never been more important. In the last decade, the country’s unemployment rate has plummeted from approximately 10% to 3.5%. At the same time, the skills gap has grown, and as a result, business leaders’ No. 1 concern is now attracting and retaining talent.
Source: www.mondaq.com In recent weeks, we have paid close attention to government and media reports confirming new cases of a novel coronavirus originating from Wuhan, China and spreading to a number of cities and countries worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared a global health emergency as the outbreak continues to spread. According to recent reports, there are confirmed cases in Canada in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec.
Source: www.theglobeandmail.com American psychologist and author Adam Grant has famously described the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, arguably the most commonly used personality assessment, as being somewhere between a horoscope and a heart monitor in terms of accuracy. Unfortunately, many employers misuse personality tests to make significant human-resource decisions, from who to hire to who to promote.
Source: hrreporter.com Mental health, right to disconnect, digital platform workers on agenda Minister of Labour Filomena Tassi was in Windsor, Ont. recently to meet with stakeholders to discuss a number of new labour policy initiatives the federal government is piloting. Meeting with leaders of a local Unifor union, along with the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce, Tassi sought stakeholder views on three new initiatives.
Source: winnipegfreepress.com With Boomers sticking around longer, it’s getting harder to attract and retain Millennials The year 2020 is Manitoba’s 150th birthday which got me thinking about birthdays in general. I was thinking especially about those individuals that are turning the so called “magic” age of 65 but who are still in the workforce. Statistics show this group of workforce seniors doubled between 1995 and 2015 and grew again by 20 per cent between 2011 and 2016.
Source: hbr.org With critical thinking ranking among the most in-demand skills for job candidates, you would think that educational institutions would prepare candidates well to be exceptional thinkers, and employers would be adept at developing such skills in existing employees. Unfortunately, both are largely untrue.
Source: hrreporter.com ‘Many are feeling rudderless when it comes to managing finances’ People in Canada spend an average of two hours per day worrying about their finances, with 18- to 35-year-olds worrying the most, finds a new survey from Scotiabank. This age group worries about finances 2.4 hours a day, while those 55 and up worry an average of 1.4 hours a day and those 35 to 54 worry two hours a day, found the survey of 1,520 Canadians.
Source: hrreporter.com 47 per cent say technology has blurred boundary between professional, personal life The advent of technology and the modern work-from-home setup have allowed parents to earn money in their homes, but they also have negative effects on family relations, wellbeing and work-life balance, according to a new report.
Source: hrreporter.com About 3,000 workers lost jobs due to manufacturer shuttering long-running assembly plant A new centre to support auto parts workers affected by the assembly line closure at the General Motors (GM) Oshawa plant with skills retraining and employment services is set to open. In October, Unifor and the Ontario government announced the opening of an action centre for GM employees.