The Globe and Mail: Provincial flip-flops on vaccine mandates are creating confusion for businesses

This is an excerpt of an article written by Rita Trichur originally published in The Globe and Mail. Read the full article here.

As more provinces prepare to relax COVID-19 restrictions, our premiers are seeking political cover from recent social unrest by punting the divisive issue of vaccine mandates to businesses.

“We’ve spent two years being terrified of catching COVID and I think it’s going to take some time for people to lose that level of fear,” said Janet Candido, a human resources expert who is also the founder and principal consultant of Candido Consulting Group.

“I hear from people who are saying ‘I don’t want to go back to the office because I have to travel, I have to use public transit and I don’t know who I’m sitting next to. I don’t know if they’re vaccinated or not.”

Businesses should also pay close attention to staff interactions in the office because vaccine mandates are proving to be a very divisive issue, she said.

“You’ve got to make sure you don’t have the two factions: the vaccinated sitting over there and the unvaccinated sitting over there,” Ms. Candido said. “Try to stay on top of people bringing their personal beliefs into the office and affecting the ability to work.”

Managing social tensions is tricky. But if the recent trucker blockades have taught us anything about managing risk, it is the importance of proactive problem-solving during this pandemic. Too bad that lesson seems to have escaped our elected officials.

“It’s easier to try and address it before it gets really bad than it is to wait three weeks and then try and fix it,” she added.

Preparing For The Future Of Work: The Top Five Trends To Watch In The Future Of Work - Authority Magazine

Read the full interview in Authority Magazine.

Here are Janet Candido’s top 5 trends to watch out for in the future of work:

1. Remote work and virtual meetings are here to stay. The rise in virtual meeting technology like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, GoToMeeting, have facilitated the transition and we have all become more comfortable using these tools. Even though brainstorming, onboarding and negotiating are examples of things that do not work well remotely, the pros outweigh the cons. For employers, this means reduced office space requirements, reduced need for business travel, which saves the organization time and money. Employers will start to redefine productivity and redesign workspaces to accommodate the new styles of working. For employees, they benefit with a reduced commuting time and increased work-life balance.

2. Freelance and/or temporary contracts will become increasingly common. Employers and employees alike benefit from the flexibility such arrangements offer. Although the downside of freelance/temporary staff is that there are no afforded benefits, pension contributions or other traditional perks, I think we can expect to see increased innovation and uptick in individual benefit plans that are affordable and portable. I can also see more creative perks offered by employers to attract and reward temporary staff.

3. Diversity and inclusion are increasingly important considerations for talent management. Businesses are recognizing that having a workforce that better reflects our society makes connecting to our stakeholders more authentic and real. Competition for good employees will increase, as they can work from anywhere. Organizations will have to work harder and be more creative to recruit, attract and retain employees. Personal and corporate value alignment is more important as competition for employees increases.

4. Leaders will have to develop new skills to connect with their employees. Virtual leadership is very different and much harder than in-person leadership. Employees are less forgiving and leaders need to look for ways to support cross team collaboration, brainstorming and innovation. The future of work will need to focus more on monitoring performance and results rather than the process, meaning less about the hours you work and more about what you produced and accomplished.

5. Companies will continue to pay more attention to mental health. Mental health challenges will be destigmatized as people are more open to speaking about them and requiring their employers to support them whether it’s for depression, suicidal ideation, substance and domestic abuse. We will talk about mental health more and offer more resources and support available for employees. The traditional models of mental health support will be augmented by quicker, technology-driven solutions. Employers need to pay attention to mental health concerns and how they’re employees are feeling as it impacts their ability to work.

'Burning out': Remote workers report paying a price for increased productivity

This article was originally published by CTV News.

TORONTO -- Remote workers in Canada are logging more hours, experiencing more stress, and feeling less engaged with their work, according to a new survey.

The online survey, conducted by ADP Canada and Angus Reid, asked 1,501 Canadians working remotely and in person to evaluate their experience working during the pandemic, including their work hours, productivity, engagement, stress levels, and quality of their work.  

The survey found that 44 per cent of remote workers reported they were logging more hours of work than they were in pre-pandemic times. Of those, one in ten reported working an additional day, or more than eight extra hours per week.

In contrast, only 15 per cent reported working fewer hours and 38 per cent said there was no change in the hours they worked.

Janet Candido, a human resources professional of 20 years and founder and principal of Candido Consulting Group, said she thinks people are working longer hours because they’re not as busy in the evenings or on weekends due to pandemic-related restrictions.

“I heard this from my own team a year ago: ‘Well, I don't have anything else to do so I might as well get this done,’” she told CTVNews.ca during a telephone interview on Thursday.

Candido, who was not involved in the survey, said workers’ output is increasing as a result, and this increased productivity has almost become an expectation.

“I don’t think it’s an expectation so much in terms of companies saying, ‘Well, now you can work 10 hours a day.’ I think the expectation is around the production,” she said.

It seems employees agree their output has increased as a result of their long workdays with 42 per cent of remote workers reporting that they feel more productive and 37 per cent saying they have noticed an increase in the quality of their work.

While increased productivity sounds good on paper, the survey also showed that employees’ stress levels were on the rise and engagement with their work was down.

Stress levels rose seven per cent over the past year, from 34 per cent in April 2020 to 41 per cent in April 2021.

In terms of engagement, the survey reported that 46 per cent of remote workers said they felt less engaged with their work since the start of the pandemic.

Candido said these findings should be a cause for concern for employers.

“They’re burning out,” she said. “They’re exhausted.”

WHAT CAN EMPLOYERS DO

Candido said a lot of employees haven’t been taking their vacation days during the pandemic because they’re not able to travel or do a lot of the activities they would normally do.

“They can't go play golf, they can't travel, they can't go to a concert. So they kind of feel like it's a waste of their vacation,” she said.

This only adds to employee burnout and stress, according to Candido. To prevent this, she said employers should force their employees to take their vacation time so they can have a break.

And Candido says employers should strongly discourage workers from putting in longer hours on the job.

“[Say to them] ‘I don't want to hear from you after six o'clock, I don't want to hear from you on the weekend.’ If you don't reward it, the behaviour will stop eventually,” she said.

Candido also recommended that employers pay close attention to their remote-workers’ mental health and well-being by scheduling regular check-ins.

“Do you see signs of anxiety? Are they short-tempered? Do they appear to be really tired? Or, like, ridiculously awake? Are you seeing any signs that not all is well? And then you have to address it,” she said.

From her own experience, Candido said she’s had employees tell her they’ve really appreciated hearing from their manager or their supervisor while they’ve been working from home.

“They're not telling me that they're happy their manager called to find out if the report was done on time, they're happy the manager called just to check in on how they're doing,” she said.

Candido said it’s also important for companies to have mental health resources available to their workers, even when they’re not physically in the office.

“We all pay lip service to it, but it's not always effective,” she said. “So they have to put more effort into making those resources available and making it OK for employees to access them.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, here are some resources that are available.

Canada Suicide Prevention Helpline (1-833-456-4566)

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (1-800-463-2338)

Crisis Services Canada (1-833-456-4566 or text 45645)

Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868)

If you need immediate assistance call 911 or go to the nearest hospital.