Canadian HR Reporter is the national journal of human resource management. It features the latest workplace news, HR best practices, employment law commentary and tools and tips for employers to get the most out of their workforce.
Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/1220817
NEWS BRIEFS Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and personal devices that make communication and remote work easier will significantly change how the workplace is managed and the accessibility of work within only a few years, says Gartner: • By 2024, AI, virtual personal assistants and chatbots will replace almost 69% of a manager's workload. • By 2023, the number of people with disabilities employed will triple, due to AI and emerging technologies reducing barriers to access. • Organizations actively employing people with disabilities will have 89% higher retention rates, a 72% increase in employee productivity and a 29% increase in profitability. "The role of manager will see a complete overhaul in the next four years," says Helen Poitevin, research vice-president at Gartner. "Currently, managers often need to spend time filling in forms, updating information and approving workflows. By using AI to automate these tasks, they can spend less time managing transactions and can invest more time on learning, performance management and goal setting." Three in five Americans (61%) report feeling lonely, according to a survey of 10,441 adults, up from 54% in 2018. This has increasingly negative effects on the workplace: 3 5 Manager's role changes with tech Growing number of lonely workers costly for employers Employment by province Source: Cigna People who report that they don't have good relationships with their coworkers (53.7%) are 10 points lonelier than those who do (43.7%). Americans who feel they don't have a good work-life balance (50.8%) are seven points lonelier than those who say they do (44%). A majority of non-lonely workers ( 54% ) claim higher productivity than their peers most or all of the time, while only 45% of lonely workers make the same claim. When employees feel that technology helps them make meaningful connections to coworkers, they are more than four points less lonely (43.9% vs. 48%). Employees who feel they share goals with their colleagues are almost eight points less lonely than those who don't feel that way (43.7% vs. 51.6%). IN December 2019 (thousands) January 2020 (thousands) December to January (% change) January 2019 to January 2020 (% change) Newfoundland & Labrador 221.7 222.5 0.4 -4.2 P.E.I. 80.0 80.3 0.4 6.4 Nova Scotia 465.6 467.3 0.4 0.4 New Brunswick 356.3 360.9 1.3 1.6 Quebec 4,345.4 4,364.5 0.4 1.4 Ontario 7,542.4 7,558.3 0.2 2.8 Manitoba 654.5 661.0 1.0 0.5 Saskatchewan 579.0 580.2 0.2 0.6 Alberta 2,337.4 2,318.5 -0.8 -0.4 British Columbia 2,542.2 2,545.6 0.1 -0.1 Canada's economy started off 2020 the way it ended 2019, with 35,000 jobs added in January — the same as the previous month. This contributed to a 1.4-per-cent increase in employment since January 2019 and a slight drop in the national monthly unemployment rate to 5.5 per cent, according to Statistics Canada's most recent Labour Force Survey. 14 www.hrreporter.com M A R K E T N E W S