Benefits Canada Interview: Employers can use Bell Let’s Talk Day to normalize mental-health discussions, taking leave

This article was originally published in Benefits Canada – written by Sadie Janes.

Employers can use Bell Let’s Talk Day to normalize talking about mental health and reflect on whether they’re ‘walking the talk,’ says Janet Candido, founder and principal at Candido Consulting Group.

“Some employers I work with say, ‘Mental health is important to us,’ but then you might see the executive team rolling their eyes when they hear someone’s taking a mental-health break. That doesn’t add up, so [everyone at the company] needs to take mental health seriously.”

The executive team can set an example by taking a mental-health day off when they need it, so they’re demonstrating to employees that it’s okay to focus on their mental health.

She notes there’s a generational gap when it comes to mental health and acceptance in the workplace. “You have the older generation that still sees it as a badge of honour to come into the office when you’re very ill. But the younger generation has normalized mental health to the degree they’re not afraid to tell you they need a break or they’re taking mental-health days. A company that’s looking to attract and retain younger workers has to pay attention to the things that are important to them.”

According to a 2023 survey by EY, more than half (55 per cent) of Canadian employees said they previously left a job because the company didn’t value their well-being, a percentage that increased to 65 per cent among generation Z employees. Nearly two-fifths (38 per cent) of employees felt their personal needs and well-being weren’t being prioritized at work and 31 per cent said their company doesn’t focus on fostering a sense of belonging.

For Bell Let’s Talk Day, employers can also focus on manager training because it’s a crucial part of the puzzle, says Candido. “I think many managers feel stuck in the middle with an employer that still sees mental health as an excuse and employees who are demanding their mental health be acknowledged. So they need proper training on how to talk to employees, how to help them access the resources they need and how to advocate for them with the senior leadership team.”

Beyond this, she notes employers can provide more access to mental-health resources and be flexible with offering employees the appropriate time off to take care of their mental health.

CTV News Interview: What does the term 'quiet hiring' mean? These Toronto experts explain

This article was originally published in CTV News Toronto – written by Katherine DeClerq.

Months after the phrase ‘quiet quitting’ began to circulate social media, kick-starting a frenzied discussion about workplace boundaries and expectations, other similar buzzwords have started popping up.

First came quiet firing, in which an employer makes a work environment unsustainable so that a worker quits instead of the company fulfilling its termination process.

Now, the concept of “quiet hiring” is starting to become more pervasive. But what does it mean?

Similarly to the first two buzzwords, quiet hiring is not new, according to Toronto experts.

“It really only means that the organization is looking internally to find people it wants to promote,” Janet Candido, founder of Toronto-based HR firm Candido Consulting Group, said in an interview. “They're assessing their workforce and what they're looking for are employees who seem to be working not just working harder, but they're taking on job responsibilities that are beyond the scope of their own job.”

“So effectively, they've started already working on the job they want to be promoted to before the promotion.”

In these cases, employers are not promoting new positions and therefore reduce the chances of other workers feeling disgruntled when they don’t get the job, Candido added.

“They're recognizing that the person is already doing more than they were simply hired for.”

‘OTHER DUTIES AS NEEDED’

Nita Chhinzer, associate professor in the department of management at the University of Guelph, says the nature of the modern workforce is constantly changing. There is an expectation that a worker will take on tasks that may not specifically be outlined within a job description. Most businesses no longer include a specific list of tasks within job descriptions as a result. Lines such as “other duties as needed” can also be used to indicate the employee may be asked to perform roles outside of their expected scope.

However, Chhinzer adds that quiet hiring comes with its own risks. For example, there may be informal expectations that are never set by an employer, leading an employee to take on more responsibilities without the rewards.

“All employees are hoping for some form of incentive or reward, and the incentive or reward is often a pay bump or a raise, but it should happen simultaneously,” she told CTV News Toronto.

“Technically, if we're going to modify someone's job a lot, we should actually give them a new employment contract. But the truth is, in practice, jobs are fluid.”

Both Chhinzer and Candido said that a labour shortage provides employees with more leverage when it comes to having those discussions with their managers. It also could encourage companies to promote from within in order to retain the talent they have.

Employers are getting “a little bit more spooked,” Candido said.

“They might be losing employees without really realizing it. So they want to make sure they're paying attention and taking care of the people who are demonstrating more of a willingness to stay with the company and really work hard.”

The key to making quiet hiring work is communication. If a company is not transparent with their intentions, Candido says an employee may feel like they are being taken advantage of.

In these instances, it may be up to the employee to reach out and ask to be recognized for their efforts.

Chhinzer adds that employees should evaluate their capacity to add new responsibilities to their portfolio and not be afraid to ask that other tasks be removed.

“It's a desirable thing to have our jobs evolve. I think the challenge comes when new things are added without old things being taken off.”

CBC News Interview: Companies embraced technology to work remotely during the pandemic — now they're using it for layoffs

This article was originally published in CBC News.

Using email or video calls to deliver bad news fails to factor in the people on the receiving end, workers say

It was stressful enough for Fionn Kellas to suddenly lose their retail job. But getting the news via WhatsApp message rather than in-person made it worse.

"It was an absolute shock to me," said Kellas, recalling the hurt of being dismissed in a way that felt so abrupt and cold.

Months later, the memory of being laid off from a Toronto-area candy store is still painful for Kellas.

"I was crying."

Using technology to deliver this kind of bad news — whether via email, video call or similar tools — is an approach some organizations embraced during the pandemic, but employees and experts say it fails to factor in the people on the receiving end of job losses. 

"I think it's another example of us really not getting our heads wrapped around the best use of technology," said Paula Allen, a senior vice-president of research and total well-being at human resources firm LifeWorks.

Logging on for layoffs 

Thousands of employees at tech companies Meta and Twitter recently learned of confirmation of their layoffs in emails.

This was months after hundreds of U.K. ferry workers were fired via Zoom call. Workers at online car retailer Carvana learned of large job cuts in a similar manner in the spring.

While such mass terminations at large firms have made headlines, it's not just big business using these tools to part ways with staff.

For Kellas, the jarring WhatsApp-delivered news of employment loss came from the small store's manager.

"I've moved on from it, but it still is kind of a 'What the F?' kind of situation," said Kellas, who noted the manager could have made the moment a little less harsh by calling instead. 

But a phone call may not be that welcome in all cases either.

Kelsee Douglas learned she was losing her job at a Saskatchewan hearing clinic halfway through her workday last winter. 

First came an electronic message notifying her of a surprise meeting. Then came the phone meeting, during which she was told her employment was coming to an end — immediately.

"I was really, really shocked," said Douglas, who had been in the job for two and a half years. 

Allen, the HR firm leader, said it's key that organizations provide employees with support — such as counselling and career coaching — as they adjust to their new reality.

She cautioned that employers may not know the full set of personal circumstances people are facing at the time of a layoff or termination notice — nor do they know how hard employees will take the news.

"A lot of people are dealing with many issues and coming into the office every single day and this is the one straw that makes it very difficult for them to see their next step."

A pandemic uptick

Sixteen years ago, consumer electronics retailer RadioShack notified 400 employees they were losing their jobs via email. 

Back then, prominent labour leader Bruce Raynor called it an "outrageous way to treat human beings."

But it's seemingly become more common, especially during the pandemic. 

Cannabis company Canopy Growth used a Zoom announcement to lay off 200 employees back in 2020. 

Just last year, 900 people at Better.com learned they were being let go during a much-criticized Zoom call.

And 700 people at Swedish payment company Klarna were told about cuts in a recorded message in May, after which employees reportedly had to wait for an email to find out if they were affected.

Janet Candido, a Toronto-based HR consultant, said she hopes the remote termination approach "doesn't become commonplace."

She said the use of these methods seems to have expanded during the pandemic. As a greater number of people began to use these tools to work remotely, that same technology was being used to let some of them go. 

Camilla Boyer, a U.K.-based executive communications consultant, believes globalization has also contributed. 

"Companies with employees spread out across the world don't have the option to gather everyone in one room or meet with them face-to-face in an office the way it may previously have been done," said Boyer, who has helped advise firms on layoffs in the past.

"That has given rise to the increased use of technology in carrying out reductions in force," she said in an email. 

Room for improvement

"I think the practice has good and bad sides," Martha Maznevski, a professor of organizational behaviour at Western University in London, Ont., told CBC News via email.

Maznevski said the process is "completely dispassionate and cold" and leaves little goodwill among departing employees. But it may also be an efficient way to share key information, particularly in organizations that are spread out geographically.

Nadia Zaman, an employment lawyer with Rudner Law in Markham, Ont., said "employers should be cautious in carrying out dismissals via video or other similar methods."

Aspects of these tools, she noted, may allow an employer to have discussions in a private and confidential manner.

In the long-term, Allen doesn't expect these practices to go away — people will continue to be hired remotely and let go in the same way in some cases. 

No matter what the circumstances, she said consideration of the person should be at the centre of the process.

"I think it's the how it's done that needs a little bit more care." 

CBC Radio Interview: Daily work-life is stressing workers returning to the job in-person

After 2.5 years of working from home, Canadians are preparing to head back to the office to work in person. For many this transition may cause some stress about the day-to-day workplace activities we may no longer be used to. Things like bringing in our lunch, wearing business attire and commuting again. Experts say these are real stresses for many workers.

Follow this link to listen to Janet Candido’s interview with Rubina Ahmed-Haq.

Not like 'the before times': what work could look like for Edmontonians returning to the office

This article was originally published in the Edmonton Journal.

As COVID-19 vaccination numbers ramp up and the Alberta government considers its economic reopening plan, many Edmonton workers returning to the office, in the coming months, may find it has changed since the pandemic.

Janet Candido, founder and principal of human resources firm Candido Consulting Group, said those who have been working from home likely won’t be returning to the same work environment or nine-to-five routine they remember from 14 or 15 months ago.

“I don’t think we’re going to be going back to the office the way we were doing it in the before times,” said Candido.

While the idea of working from home might have been popular in the beginning, it’s left many workers exhausted and disengaged, she said.

A recent survey conducted by Angus Reid for ADP Canada reported that 44 per cent of remote employees are working longer hours, and stress levels are also on the rise, hitting 41 per cent, up from 34 per cent in April 2020.

It also found that 46 per cent of remote workers surveyed were feeling less engaged with their work since the start of the pandemic.

“I did hear from a lot of people, ‘well you know, I don’t have anything else to do so I might as well do the work.’ But it’s gone on for a long time, and they’re a little sick of not having anything else to do. The other problem is that their employer has gotten used to an increased volume of productivity, creating expectations that are not necessarily well received,” said Candido.

Of those who spend an increased amount of time working, paying a kind of “COVID-19 tax,” one in 10 reported working an additional eight hours or more per week.

But many Canadians see the perks of continuing to work virtually, at least for some of the time.

A recent survey from KPMG found that most Canadian workers want to get back to the office, but about three-quarters prefer a “hybrid” model that allows some flexibility to work remotely.

“I think we’re going to see more flexibility and more hybrid situations. Some people really enjoy working remotely and would rather continue to do that, some people really hate it, and then there’s a whole bunch of people that say, ‘well, I’d like to come into the office a few days and work at home a few days,'” Candido said.

She added the challenge will be for employers to figure out how they’re going to accommodate that.

Felicia Mutheardy, Edmonton’s acting chief corporate economist, said in an email the return to work may be industry-dependent, with some in the professional services, finance and insurance industries more likely than others to permanently offer employees the possibility of remote work after the pandemic.

Candido said after months of working in relatively isolated spaces, workers value in-person social interaction and the opportunity for group work even more – which could change the way office space looks.

“Instead of individual offices you might have more communal spaces, you might reduce your footprint. You might even decide to make some changes to how you work together, like capitalizing on the in-person time for innovation and collaboration and, tapping into the collective brain of colleagues,” she said.

She added that she hopes the resources employers have put into mental health supports continue beyond stay-at-home orders.

“Up until now we’ve done little other than just pay lip service to mental health,” said Candido, adding she’s concerned about the number of people who have opted not to take time off, like a vacation, which can lead to burn out.