Canadian HR Reporter

THE NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT September 2019 www.hrreporter.com PM41261516 MAJOR JOB LOSSES WITH CLIMATE CHANGE: REPORT 'We found a huge negative impact on workers and on enterprises and on the economy' BY MARCEL VANDER WIER T he continued warming of the planet will dramatically change the world of work by 2030, according to a report by the Interna- tional Labour Organization (ILO). Global warming is expected to result in an in- crease in work-related heat stress, damaging pro- ductivity and causing job losses equivalent to 80 million full-time positions, says Catherine Saget, ILO research chief in Geneva, Switzerland and co- author of Working on a Warmer Planet. "Heat stress is an issue more for workers doing physical efforts and more for outdoor workers, workers in agriculture and construction, in refuse collection, in tourism, sport," she says. "Heat stress is more prevalent in countries where there's already a lack of decent work, where social protection is weak or [non-existent], informal employment is wide- spread and there's more working poverty." "But it also affects workers in textile factories in the hot countries where there's no air conditioning. And it can also affect us office workers." Workers in tropical or sub-tropical regions face far more serious effects, but northern countries in North America and Europe are not immune, says Saget. e 2003 heat wave that swept Europe with eight straight days of temperatures above 40 C — killing thousands of people — is a prime example, she says. A stifling heat wave also swept the southern Unit- ed States this past August, with temperatures in the high 40s, restricting work opportunities. 'e science is pretty clear' Such events signal that climate change effects are powerful and real, says Tiff Macklem, chairman of Canada's expert panel on sustainable finance, which published its findings in June, pushing for climate change risk management to become more main- stream when it comes to decision-making. Canada has endured its share of forest fires and Credit: Andreas G. Karelias (Shutterstock) INCREASED > pg. 8 Edible cannabis Will new products pose challenges for employers? Pg. 2 Funding to combat harassment Feds commit $50 million to legal services, public education Pg. 3 'Unfair' assessments Many employees tempted to quit after performance reviews Pg. 7 Overcoming overtime Proper policies, records and discipline make all the difference for payroll Pg. 17 TELUS 1.8 Psst... Did you know TELUS offers HR and payroll solutions? See page 19. Global warming could lead to job losses in the millions, says a report from the International Labour Organization. Employers lack formal digital strategy: report Many need 'breakthrough in leadership development' SARAH DOBSON WHILE the drive for automation continues to creep into workplaces, many employers don't have a digital transformation strategy in place. And many say they need a "break- through in leadership development" to address the challenges accom- panying this trend, according to a report released by Willis Towers Watson. "Workplace automation has been growing in leaps and bounds, and all signs point toward continued expansion," says Tracey Malcolm, global leader, future of work, at Wil- lis Towers Watson in Toronto. "With such widespread change, companies must address how they'll get work done. ose companies that under- stand the impact of automation and digitalization on their workforces and organizations will be best po- sitioned to gain [a] competitive advantage." Digital transformation has many levers related to it, she says. "A lot of questions relate to lead- ership and digital strategy and ca- pability and technology, but it also includes ensuring that organizations advance from a culture perspective, from a structural perspective, from a human capital management per- spective as they transform." is wave of digital transforma- tion is fundamentally different than what's occurred over the last couple of decades, says Ryan Androsoff, di- rector of the digital leadership pro- gram at the Institute on Governance in Ottawa. "People can get lulled into complacency a bit, where they say, 'Well, we've got a website and online services, and we're digital.' ey're not thinking about [how] this is actually more than just a service delivery channel, it's about how technology at a really fundamental level is changing the economy, is ROBUST > pg. 10

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