Canadian HR Reporter - Ontario

CANADIAN HR REPORTER AUGUST 2018 NEWS 3 Many employers still concerned about legalization of cannabis: Survey Human resources has major role to play before Oct. 17: Experts BY MARCEL VANDER WIER NOW that Canadians have an of- ficial date — Oct. 17 — when they will be able to legally purchase and consume recreational marijuana, employers should be preparing for the potential impact on issues such as occupational health and safety, productivity and atten- dance management. But a strong majority (85 per cent) remain concerned about the implications for the workplace, according to a Conference Board of Canada report released in June. Twenty-five per cent are very con- cerned, 27 per cent are concerned and 33 per cent are slightly con- cerned, found the survey of 198 employers. e top five concerns for em- ployers ahead of impending le- galization include workplace safety (57 per cent) — especially in safety-sensitive roles — im- pairment or intoxication at work (39 per cent), increased usage of cannabis inside and outside work (21 per cent), testing (20 per cent), accommodation and disclosure, and cost (both 15 per cent), said Blazing the Trail: What the Le- galization of Cannabis Means for Canadian Employers. "Where most organizations are worried right now is sort of (if ) the social, casual person who hasn't been participating or partaking may start in this new realm," said Bryan Benjamin, vice-president of leadership and HR research at the Conference Board of Canada in Ottawa. "Employers are just recognizing that they've got to be comfortable not actually having all the answers going into this." e rapid shift in cannabis le- galization has occurred absent of an appropriate educational jour- ney for Canadians, according to Reva Seth, CEO of Business of Cannabis in Toronto. "We're going from employers seeing this as a drug to 'maybe it's a medicine, maybe it's a recre- ational drug,'" she said. "ere's a real education gap in terms of how HR feels." "It's a giant void right now… It's a giant shift that people aren't fully prepared for — not employ- ers and not employees," said Seth. "It's going to take a lot of iterations before we get there… (and) there's a lot for industry to do in terms of educating employers." Modern cannabis is different from most people's understand- ing in terms of products, strains and ingestion methods, she said. "is is all new for most Cana- dians," said Seth. "Most Canadians are not actually cannabis users." Need for leadership HR should become educated on cannabis, starting with medical cannabis and concluding with how the organization treats it go- ing forward, she said. Many organizations are still working on this issue as informa- tion continues to evolve. "People will look to HR to re- ally lead that. I think it's a good moment for HR departments to take on one of the big pressing changes," said Seth. "Step two is start to step into the stigma issues and look for poten- tial situations where intervention by HR can prevent this transition from being difficult." The stigma associated with cannabis use and the concern people have about discussing and sharing their own habits is very real and very powerful, she said. "HR teams need to be high- ly aware of this as they navigate forward." Workplace culture and conver- sation will need to shift quickly, and HR can help by "stepping into the awkward conversations," said Seth. "is is what HR does best, is take on those messy situations, from dating in the workplace to everything in-between." "It will be confusing and unset- tling at first for people… It's such a shift," she said. "So many things will just continue as is, because those who were using, whether recreationally or for medical rea- sons, will continue. at's not go- ing to be different." Rather than viewing the subject with trepidation, HR would be wise to embrace cannabis legal- ization as an opportunity to lead globally, said Seth. HR has an important role to play in furthering the conversa- tion within workplaces, in terms of setting policy, restructuring health benefits or advocating for new cul- tural norms amongst employees, said Lori Casselman, chief health advisor at League, a digital health insurance provider in Toronto. "Now, we have a better under- standing of dates, they're formal- ized," she said. "Employers do have some catch-up to do, but it's not overly complex." Updating policies A thorough risk assessment of individual organizations is a rec- ommended action for HR —un- derstanding current policy and identifying potential exposure or loopholes, said Benjamin. Once educated, HR must en- sure managers and employees are EDUCATE > pg. 11 "It will be confusing and unsettling at first for people... It's such a shift."

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