A year ago today the Globe and Mail’s headline in the Report on Business read “Surging job growth adds to the improved economic picture”. The national unemployment rate was 5.7%. Today’s Globe headline should probably say something like “Surging job
Decision Making in a Disrupted World
We all make hundreds of decisions every day. Small decisions based on what we know from experience works. Our bigger decisions are made in a similar way. This pattern of making decisions works well with routine decisions in a predictable
Achieving Balance in Disruption
In the days following the 2001 terrorist attack on the US, my parents watched the news all day every day. They were teenagers during World War II and adults during the Korean War. The events of 9-11 were incredibly stressful
Are You Prepared for the Possibility of the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Please note: The Government of Canada still (at February 26/2020) considers the public health risk associated with Covid-19 to be low. See https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html for updates. Pandemics are: the worldwide spread of a new disease, unpredictable but recurring events that
Unpaid Caregiving and Employer Challenges
Every day, along with their day jobs, about 25% (5 million employees) of Canada’s workforce are also providing unpaid physical, cognitive and/or mental health care for family members. On average those people are adding the equivalent of a half time
REALLY????? ………. STILL!!??!!
The first Equal Pay for Equal Work legislation was enacted in Canada in 1956 – that’s 54 years ago. The first Pay Equity legislation was in 1977 – that’s 43 years ago. Those two types of legislation are intended to
The Costly Lesson
I recently heard a sad story about a skilled tradesman who agreed to do a project for a contractor. The tradesman completed the work and then went to collect his pay. The contractor was not there. The tradesman went back
Ghosts in the Workforce
My best estimate is about 3.6 million ghosts in the void between Canada’s Labour Force and the Labour Force Participation Rate. They are the not still-in-school, retired, employed and unemployed members of the Labour Force. If we assume that 50%
I’m Worth More Than This
That comment has been made so often in my HR career when people are frustrated with the amount of their pay or pay raises. My response is always “of course YOU are worth more”. The pay for this job is
Alligators and Alienation
The following visual comparison of average weekly wages and CPI (proxy for cost of living) instantly made me think of “when you are up to your ass in alligators it is hard to remember ….” The differences in wages as