Work. Family. Life.

One in five Canadians late for work once a week: survey

Um . . . the dog ate my BlackBerry? . . . Would you believe a prostitute stole my car keys?

Those are just two of the odder excuses Canadians used last year to explain their late arrival at work, according to a new survey that suggests nearly one in five employees showed up tardy at least once a week.

Nineteen per cent of workers surveyed admitted they were late at least once a week in 2010, according to numbers released Wednesday by CareerBuilder.ca.

The previous year, the number had been 17 per cent, although the difference falls within the margin of error for the survey.

Another 11 per cent of respondents said they had been late more than twice a week.

Lack of sleep and traffic topped the list of excuses workers gave their managers, the survey said.

Fifteen per cent of tardy respondents blamed public transportation and 12 per cent said the weather had slowed them down.

Other common excuses including getting kids out the door, Internet use or their spouse.

Some employees got more creative.

Hiring managers reported hearing these outrageous reasons for delays: The dog ate my BlackBerry. A prostitute stole my car keys. I forgot it was a workday. I ran over myself with the company truck.

And one employee claimed a bear stopped his car, broke his window and tried to grab the occupants.

"While workers will sometimes be late due to circumstances out of their control, they need to be aware of their companies' tardiness policies," Rosemary Haefner, vice-president of human resources for CareerBuilder, a job-hunting website, said in a statement.

"Regardless of the reason, workers who are running late should always be honest with their manager."

The response to tardiness varied among managers, but 30 per cent of respondents said they have fired an employee for being late.

The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive among 227 Canadian employers and 550 Canadian full-time employees in the private sector between Nov. 15 and Dec. 2, 2010.

Some of the results were taken from a subset of the overall survey, leading to margins of error of plus or minus 6.5 and 4.18 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

via www.theguardian.pe.ca

Facebook and Twitter Should Be Allowed at Work: security expert

Does your workplace allow the use of social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter?  Here are some quotes from an interesting article about this issue:

"Employers should tear down firewalls that prevent staff from social networking while at work, according to a leading internet security expert.

Paul Ducklin, head of technology in the Asia Pacific for computer security firm Sophos, said companies were "damned if [they] do and damned if [they] don't" restrict access to popular sites like Facebook and Twitter."

Plus

Mr Behrens said it was productivity and not the risk that sensitive information could be leaked that drove most business opposition to social networking use.

"Initially, when these social networking sites came out, there was usage by employees and then a number of companies started to crack down on it because it was starting to compromise workplace productivity," he said.

"And now, it's come full circle and it's really seen as a performance management issue more than anything else and if you're on the ball, hopefully it won't be a problem."

But Mr Ducklin said productivity should not be used as an excuse to restrict employee access to the sites.

"Let's face it - if someone is a time-waster, they'll find some way of wasting time," Mr Ducklin said.

"It doesn't really matter if it's Facebook or Sudoku."

Happy to be on PEI for Launch of Caring Coast to Coast - May 6, 2010 - Do join us!

A new project, focused on supporting employees who juggle work and caregiving responsibilities, launches on May 6, 2010 in Charlottetown. The project entitled, “Winning Strategies to Support Caregivers in the Workplace”, will be announced at the project’s first event, “Caring Coast to Coast”.  The event will be held at Confederation Centre of the Arts in Studio 1 from 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and will be opened by Verna Bruce, Past Associate Deputy Minister of Veteran Affairs Canada and recipient of the 2008 PEI  Lieutenant Governor's Award for Excellence in Public Administration.  The half day session will be held in an “open space” format allowing opportunities for participants to engage in open dialogue about the realities of managing the issues related to work and caregiving. Last month, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility .  Using the perspective of not only supporting employees who have caregiving responsibilities outside of work but one of economic necessity, our neighbours to the south have placed a national priority around creating more flexibility within workplaces. John Berry, Director of Personnel Management for the federal government, said, “Flexibility is the new email.  There are those employers that have it, and there are those that will.”  The time has come to understand and address the realities of employees who are stressed and overloaded. The Canadian Caregiver Coalition estimates that 4-5 million Canadians struggle to balance work and caregiving for a family member who is in need of support because of age, disabling medical condition, chronic injury, long term illness or disability. “Winning Strategies to Support Caregivers in the Workplace” will view these issues through both an economic and humanitarian lens. When employees and employers work together to resolve work and life issues, there are significant improvements to customer satisfaction, employee engagement and the bottom line.

Project Coordinator, Jane Boyd, couldn’t be more pleased with the team she has put in place for this project. She states that, “Collectively, our team has over 50 years of experience related to work life issues traversing across family, childcare, eldercare, health and human resources.”  Boyd has been actively involved in the early learning field and family related policy on the Island since 2007.  She is particularly pleased to have Rob Paterson, a leading advisor on social networks and on how human culture operates, serving as a project advisor. Based in PEI, his work flows between organizational design, research and the web 2.0 world. Paterson is pleased to be involved in this innovative project. He says, “The stage is set to utilize social networks and technology in gaining a national perspective around the issues and solutions for Canadian’s juggling work and caregiving responsibilities.” Paterson goes on to state, “Our hope is that we engage the hearts and minds of employers and employees as we venture on this journey of discovery. This journey will encompass the value of social media, collaborative stories and action.” In addition, the project's research partner, University of Guelph’s Centre for Families Work and Wellbeing, will be pivotal in ensuring that the discoveries are solid and useful in creating a less stressful experience for Canadian’s who provide care while employed. The Centre for Families Work and Wellbeing has already conducted extensive research in this area. In addition, they are very familiar with international best practice around this issue.

Members of the Project Team Include:

Jane Boyd - Project Co-ordinator

Dr. Carol Matusicky - Engagement Co-ordinator

   Wendy Creelman - Marketing Co-ordinator

   Robert Paterson - Social Media Advisor

Funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnerships Program, this three year project will aim to support employers in becoming best practice employers around the dual roles faced by many Canadian’s. By engaging employers, employees and service providers, the hope is that the resulting conversation will create innovative workplace supports, tools and resources that will assist employees who face the dual role of work and caring for their children, elders and other family members.

To register or for more information, please e-mail caringcoasttocoast@gmail.com. Space is limited.  You can also learn more at our Caring Coast to Coast Facebook Page.

On my reading list as of March 9, 2010: REWORK

Pink Glove Dance

Health Work and Wellness coming to Vancouver in 2010

Health Work & Wellness™ Conference 2010

Thinking Organizations...SUCCEED!

Hyatt Regency Hotel
Vancouver, B.C,
September 30 - October 3, 2010

Think, think, think,... our brains are always doing it and our organizations are always counting on it. When change and transformation are happening so rapidly in business and in the world around us, we need to be more fluid in our thinking on one hand, while being better critical thinkers on the other. We need to tap into our right brain more often for that intuition and emotional awareness that is there, yet not lose sight of the left brain logical, objective thinking.

For 2010, Health Work & Wellness™, Canada's leading forum on organizational health will focus on helping you to build a "thinking organization". This requires engaged, empowered leadership. It requires us to narrow the "knowing-doing gap". It means integrating organizational health with business objectives. And it may require a big culture shift.

As we emerge from economic recession, the success of organizations will be determined largely by their ability to think in a new business environment. Optimal performance at all levels will depend on optimal thinking.

via conferences.healthworkandwellness.com

15 minutes of looking and still nothing...are the Federal Government really acting to help self employed families?

So it would seem that the Government of Canada are going to establish an expert panel to consult Canadians on how best to provide the self-employed with access to maternity and parental benefits under the Employment Insurance (EI) program.  The first press release on this seems to have come out on March 24, 2009.  In addition, there is a full promotional page devoted to this item on Canada's Economic Action Plan website. 

• I am interested to know who the experts are on this panel.
• Have they been appointed yet? 
• What is the timeline for their work? 
• Are there any terms of reference established for this panel yet? 
• Will there be a report issued?

I have looked all over the internet for at least 15 minutes now and can find no additional "action" anywhere on this item.  So I find myself wondering if the Federal Government is really acting at all on this issue?

It seems that the Conservatives had a lot of this already figured out prior to the election:

• The system will be voluntary.  Self-employed Canadians will be able to opt in to EI premiums and, in return, will be able to receive maternity and parental benefits.
• Self-employed Canadians will have access to the same type of maternity and parental benefits available to regular EI participants.
• Self-employed entrepreneurs will be required to opt-in to EI premiums at least six months prior to making a claim.
• Exact premium amounts and required payments post-claim will be set upon implementation, following a review by the newly created Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board.

If this is the case; why do we now need to consult with Canadians on this issue?

It might help the Government to know that this issue has been studied several times already. 

Here are a few resources from The Centre for Families Work & Well-being at the University of Guelph

• Self-employment for Women: Policy Options that Promote Equality and Economic Opportunities. (Rooney, Lero, Korabik & Whitehead). Funder: Status of Women Canada's Policy Research Fund. Executive Summary Contact: dlero@uoguelph.ca
• Evaluation of Parental Leave Benefitis: Impacts of Canada's extended leave policy for women, families, children and employers: Analysis of factors affecting fathers' use of parental leave and benefits (Lero). funder: Human Resources Development Canada through ARC. Contact dlero@uoguelph.ca

The Advisory Council on the Status of Women have also studied this issue. In 2004 they released a Policy Guide on Maternity and Parental Benefits.

The Canadian Council on Social Development called for action on this issue in the Spring of 2000. 

"To address the growing number of self-employed women and the dropping birth rate, the federal government should not only consider extending the duration of parental leave, it should also consider extending access to such benefits to include workers who are most in need, particularly self-employed women."

Here is a blog posting from the Straight.com earlier this year on the lack of real action on this.

“Why do they need to ask me?” Brewin said of the consultations. “It seems like the right thing to do. They need to spend money on consultation on that? Lord.”

I couldn't have said it better myself.  This issue is old news...it's time to actually do something about it...other than talk!!!!

Are Canadian businesses prepared for a pandemic?

From a Press Release issued today by GlaxoSmithKline

Even though more than 80 per cent of Canadian companies with 500+ employees are concerned about the impact of a flu pandemic on their business, half of them have no pandemic plan. According to the results of a national survey released today, roughly 40 per cent of companies without a plan do intend to create one. However, one third (33 per cent) of all companies are not even thinking about pandemic planning.

Of those companies with a plan, only 1% of them have accounted for the 15 key components authorities and experts generally recommend for a complete pandemic plan. These components - recommended by agencies such the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, and the B.C. Ministry of Health – include minimization of direct interaction between employees; identification of key employees and critical functions; extra stock of critical supplies; a diversified stockpile of antiviral medications for employees; and factoring in school/daycare closure and transportation disruptions into absenteeism projections. Of the companies included in the survey, on average only eight of the 15 key components were addressed in their plans.

Here is are a few online resources -

• Government of Canada - Pandemic Influenza Website

• Flu Watch

• List of Links to Provincial and Territorial Pandemic Planning Resources

• Google Flu Tracker - which I previously wrote about here.

According to the BC Government there are 10 steps that organizations can take in order to begin to address pandemic related issues.  They are as follows:

Check that existing contingency plans are applicable to a pandemic, and that core business activities can be sustained over several weeks in the event of high employee absenteeism.

Plan accordingly for interruptions of essential governmental services like sanitation, water, power, and disruptions to the food supply.

Identify your organization’s essential functions and the individuals who perform them.

Build in the training redundancy necessary to ensure that work can be done in the event of an absentee rate of 25-30 percent.

Maintain a healthy work environment by ensuring adequate air circulation and posting tips on how to stop the spread of germs at work.

Promote handwashing, and coughing and sneezing etiquette. Ensure wide and easy availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizer products.

Determine which outside activities, such as transportation systems, are critical to maintaining operations and develop alternatives in case they cannot function normally.

Establish or expand policies and tools that enable employees to work from home with appropriate security and network access to applications.

Expand online and self-service options for customers and business partners.

Tell employees about pandemic influenza and the steps the organization is taking to prepare for it.

Encourage employees to stay home if they are sick to stop the spread of illness, and update sick leave, and family and medical leave policies. Concern about lost wages is the largest deterrent to self-quarantine.

The top 100 - Maclean's 2008

They offer flex hours, on-site daycare, transit rebates and free gyms. They're Canada's top employers, and they're raising the benefits bar.

Healthy workplace month is now underway - what is your workplace doing?

Canada's Healthy Workplace Month (CHWM) is designed to introduce workplace health to Canadian organizations and to support those who are already on the journey.  The month runs from September 29, 2008 to October 26, 2008. More info can be found here.

The goals of Canada’s Healthy Workplace Month (CHWM) are to:

• Increase awareness of a comprehensive approach to workplace health in Canada that involves all three elements of a healthy workplace
  • Health and Lifestyle Practices
  • Workplace Culture and Supportive Environment
  • Physical Environment and Occupational Health and Safety
• Through healthyworkplacemonth.ca, generate awareness and availability of healthy workplace tools and resources so that Canadian organizations may build and sustain healthy workplaces where there are mutual benefits for employees and their organizations
• Build awareness of workplace health research and how its outcomes apply to business productivity and performance, and
• Increase the number of healthy workplaces in Canada.

BC increases number of StrongStart Centres

BC has announced that it is going to double the number of StrongStart BC Centres in BC schools.  Here are the locations of the new centres that have been announced.

From the StrongStart BC website:

StrongStart BC is a free, drop-in early learning program for preschool‑aged children accompanied by a parent or caregiver. 

Qualified early childhood educators lead learning activities, including stories, music and art to help children get ready for success in kindergarten.

Parents and caregivers attending StrongStart BC centres can expect to participate in organized sessions like story time, in play activities, and in serving a healthy snack.

Parents and caregivers are likely to discover new ways to support their children’s learning at home, and may make valuable connections with others attending the centre.

So while this is great news...I do find myself wondering where all the Early Childhood Educators are going to come from?  You may recall that we are having a bit of a staffing crisis in BC (as is much of the country) in attracting and retaining qualified educators.

Worklife balance in the public and private sector - Key highlights from Tamara Vrooman, CEO VanCity

The following notes were live blogged from my Blackberry (given this, they may not be as complete as possible as my fingers could only type so fast!) at the WorkLife BC Forum 2008.  These are key highlights from the presentation by Tamara Vrooman, CEO, VanCity.

• What works well? What does't work?
• VanCity - flexibility - purchase extra care days for family support. Employees really like this. Flexibilty around child care. Purchase spaces at centres around lower mainland. Not working so well.
• Try to hire local people who don't have to commute across the lower mainland. Reduce commute times help to acheive balance. Employees are relocating to closer branches. This has been good for business as employees have more balance and contacts in the community.
• Small things pay big.
• Support - health and wellness programs, spiritual wellness. Talking and having stories shared among employees. Expecting parents and outreach clinics. This works well.
• Leadership is missing. Employee engagement scores are in mid to high seventies. Except in worklife balance. What is happening? There is a problem with communication and this is being fixed.  What appears to be happening is that the actions of management don't match the message about flexibility. They are working on this.
• People feel pressure to balance work with life. Management that walks the talk gives employees the permission they need to walk the talk.
• Make leadership roles transparent. Show employees that work life balance is a good idea and demonstrate this.

Keynote Highlights - Cameron Herold, CEO BackPocket COO - WorkLife BC 2008

The following are notes that I took and live blogged from my Blackberry (given this, they may not be as complete as possible as my fingers could only type so fast!) during the WorkLife BC Forum that was held in BC earlier today.  This is from the presentation by Cameron Herold, Founder of BackPocket COO.

• Focus on creating an amazing culture.
  Think three years out. Write down your painted picture. Let people know where you are going. Describe everything how you see it in the future.
  Read The Secret this quarter.
  Like attracts like. Like repels the opposite of like.
  Some people won't get your vision. Good let them go.
  Elder care is critical and looming.
  Create alignment to your painted picture. Everyone is clear where you are going.
  People need time to refuel. Give them downtime and flexibility. Vacation is good.
  The Duck - figure out the decoy to attract people.
  Recruit people who have the same vision and values.
  Challenge the status quo. Create change.
  Look for the sparkle in people's eyes.
  Let go people who are not in alignment.
  Good to Great - Get the right people on the bus.
  Workaholics can have balance.
  Culture needs to attract employees. Bring the bees to the honey.
  Get rid of private offices. Get out of your office. Be approachable.
  Interaction is key.
  Think about the values you raised your 20 something children. They were raised to challenge authority. Embrace that.
  Hit people with your culture.
  Create a blue sky room.
  Think about the work environment. - Connect your senior staff to employees. This builds great culture.
  Who says you cannot have fun? - Look at companies where no one quits.
  It is not a tight labour force. Take the employees away from the companies that don't get it.
  Borrow from other companies....look at what they are doing to solve your problems.
  Let people go who are right but in the wrong set. Let them go with respect.
  Allow employees to be themselves.
  101 Goals from the Dream Manager. Help your employees achieve their dreams and they will never leave. We will help you make it come true.
  Give employees their bonus now. Mentor employees. Care about people's lives.
  Hire a dream manager. Help people move on to other organizations to meet their dreams.
  MEW - management by walking around. You don't need to be in a suit.
  First date dress code
  Don't shoot the messenger. Listen, Listen, ask questions. Don't shut people down.
  Huddle - seven minutes to connect. What's broken, not working. Same time every day.
  Go for lunch and don't talk business.
  Run and play while you work.
  Booze fairy. One drink. Put some rules in place.
  Look for little things. Recognize the right stuff. Random acts of kindness.
  Random celebrations.
  Drink the cultural koolaid. Add drops everyday.
  That's it!

Parenting and Working

Fast Company Expert Blogger Brian Reich asks some interesting questions in his posting about becoming a new parent...

Ok, here are the questions I keep thinking about:

- How will my feelings about work change? Will I still want to get up in the morning and go to work, if it means having to leave my baby for the day?

- How will my relationship with clients change? Am I going to be at a disadvantage because I won't be able to go out socializing with a client?

- How will my relationship with colleagues change? I work with a lot of younger people -- folks who are just getting married, probably not thinking about kids at all. Are they going to see me differently now that I am a daddy?

- Will I become more creative than I was before? Being a parent means an opportunity to meet all sorts of new people, read different books and watch different TV shows, learn about a whole new category of things. Will that help me come up with better answers and more ideas for my projects?

- Will my work habits change? I have this vision of working between baby naps, early morning and late at night -- wherever I can steal away a few seconds of uninterrupted time. Am I crazy to think I can do that, or that I will want to do that?

I know that parenting, like everything else, is about balance. And I know that most of my questions are heavily weighted towards one extreme or the other. And like I said abvoe, I don't think I am nervous about the changes that will occur - more curious, and excited. My way of learning is to collect lots of opinions and stories and then try to process what wilil work best for me. So, I hope that you will be willing to share some of your experiences about work life after having a baby. And maybe a whole discussion will come from this - I sure hope so.

These are all good questions and really reminded me of the crazy days when my children were much younger. (Now 13/7/4) All working parents have the those moments and later look back on them and wonder how they got through.  My own favourite memory is of trying to add my commentary to a grant application for research on self employed women and how they strive to try and fit (and fund) maternity leave into their careers...of course I was doing all of this while my brand new crying baby girl was swinging in her swing beside my desk in my home office.  Not my favourite memory of work-life balance - but none the less reality for many self employed working parents.  (Note - The application did get funded...and several years later I found myself proofing the final report just days before the birth of my third child!  Just a bit ironic!)

So...if you are a parent...drop by Brian's blog and post some comments for him...how did you do it?  Is it hard?  Do you fit it all in?  Are you more or less confident with your colleagues, your clients? If you aren't a parent - is this because you can't imagine working and parenting at the same time?  If so, also leave some comments. It will all make for a good discussion...

Right...I'm off to check on my kids...

Issues and Trends in BC

The BC Progress Board have just released their 2007 Interim Report and Special Discussion Paper on Strategic Considerations for BC's Future.  Selected findings include:

BC's population will continue to age, with the median age rising to 46.2 years by 2031 from 39.8 in 2006. By 2031 those aged 65+ will increase to 24.2 percent of the population in 2031 from 14.0 percent in 2006.

BC's population growth will be concentrated in areas of the province that are already relatively dense: Greater Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Fraser Valley, Cowichan Valley and Central Okanagan.

BC's economy will likely continue to be strong for the next five years, with real GDP growing above the national average, while the unemployment rate will remain under 5 percent, or basically at full employment.

Competitive economies of the next few decades will be underpinned to a considerable extent by "City States" in many instances. This implies that the Lower Mainland will need to cooperate much more closely to increase regional competitiveness.

Skilled worker shortages will persist well into the next decade as the labour market ages and the baby boom generation reaches retirement age.

Climate change is likely to persist as a critical provincial, national and global issue which will result in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the short to medium term. It is imperative that British Columbia does so in a measured, balanced and economically sensitive fashion.

As population growth in urban and regional British Columbia continues, water quality and quantity will increasingly be an issue.

Health care and costs will continue to be critical issues for BC and other provinces in the coming decade. The question of sustainability of the system driven by population ageing, escalating technology costs, together with increased utilization of services underscores the need for prevention, healthy living and other individual efforts to reduce system costs and improve health outcomes.

As a small, open, jurisdiction, BC must prepare for and to the greatest extent possible guard against pandemic and infectious diseases. The potential for economic and social disruption is significant, given an increasingly globally oriented economy and society.