Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER CANADIAN HR REPORTER April 21, 2014 April 21, 2014 12 12 EXECUTIVE SERIES/NEWS EXECUTIVE SERIES/NEWS Near-record workplace deaths in Alberta Near-record workplace deaths in Alberta Inclusion of occupational disease spikes fatality rates Inclusion of occupational disease spikes fatality rates BY SABRINA NANJI FATALITIES AT workplaces in Alberta hit a near record in 2013. According to data released by the provincial government, 188 workers died last year as a result of the jobs they did. ose numbers have nearly doubled in compari- son to previous years — a jump likely caused by the inclusion of occupational diseases in the prov- ince's fatality rubric. Of those 188 deaths, 99 could be linked to an occupational dis- ease, according to data compiled by the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB). at means any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of the work performed, such as long-term exposure to carcinogens or other dangerous airborne particles. at the fi gures are so high does not necessarily come as a surprise to omas Lukaszuk, who helms Alberta's newly formed Minis- try of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour. " ese are the numbers about which you and I cannot do any- thing today. It is damage that has happened in the past," he said. "But these are the numbers that can teach you and me a lesson on what we need to do now so that the minister 20 or 30 years from now won't be dealing with the same thing." Figures skewed: AFL As they currently stand, the fi g- ures are skewed, according to Gil McGowan, president of the Al- berta Federation of Labour (AFL). at's because there are increas- ingly more deaths that should be offi cially considered occupational fatalities in the data — but they aren't covered by the province's defi nition. " e only reason it's not an all- time record is because the record is almost unbeatable," he said, citing the 1914 Hillcrest mine explosion, otherwise known as Canada's worst mining disaster, which killed 189 workers. at year holds the current record for workplace fatalities, at 221. "For all intents and purposes, this actually really is the high- water mark for modern work- place fatalities in Alberta," said McGowan. "Albertans and poli- cymakers should see this as a warning bell. Something is going seriously wrong in Alberta." In reality, the numbers are likely much higher, he said. While the inclusion of some occupational diseases led to a spike in the num- ber of deaths, the possibility ex- ists that fatalities would be even higher had additional occupa- tional diseases been worked into the rubric. McGowan pointed to fi refi ght- ers, whose high-risk, work-related cancers and diseases are now eli- gible for workers' compensation benefi ts. Had the data included other work-related cancers, in particular those that energy sec- tor employees are at a high risk for, the numbers would have been higher. Lukaszuk (who years ago was the minister in charge of occupa- tional health and safety) echoed these concerns, but argued that we simply cannot know what we cannot know. " ere is also an irony in that number as well in that as our science gets better and our under- standing of occupational diseases gets better, we accept occupation- al diseases, fatalities and medical conditions, which even last year we did not know about," he said. "So, as the number goes down, we accept medical conditions and we grow that number as well." In order to tackle this health and safety beast, Lukaszuk said he intends to work closely with health and safety offi cials and the province's WCB — as well as simi- lar bodies in other provinces and countries — to ensure best prac- tices are applied. e province will also ramp up its education and enforcement eff orts. "We have two new tools in our enforcement tool box. ose are administrative fi nes, which can be quite hefty, and also we can now ticket in the province of Alberta to reinforce how important this is. But, by far, education would be the preferred tool," he said. But that plan is a superfi cial one, according to McGowan. "In many ways, it's not rocket science. We need more inspectors, we need more tools for inspectors, we need better safety education and, frankly, we need a slower pace, especially when it comes to development in the oil sands," he said, because that quick develop- ment often pushes safety to the backburner. Another benefi t is that making a more aggressive commitment to enforcement would have employ- ers thinking twice about cutting health and safety corners. By announcing months-long inspection blitzes in specific sectors, such as construction and manufacturing, the govern- ment is warning employers, said McGowan. at means companies tend to clean up their act for that block of time — and it illustrates the need for followup surprise inspections, he said. While the inclusion of cer- tain occupational diseases and a pledge to focus on health and safe- ty are steps in the right direction, that's only "the tip of the iceberg," said McGowan. is actually one of the great sourc- es of the Canadian productivity gap." Other more subtle toxic teams include the "bobblehead" team — where everyone seems to always be in agreement and there's no confl ict or diversity of thought — and the "spectator" team. " at's where people show up, report out and then tune out. 'I did my bit, this is my marketing report — that stuff , that's not my stuff . I'm just gonna check my email,'" says Davey. "Picture the Olympic hockey team. ey're in a really heated game, back and forth… and imag- ine that, all of a sudden, you're a defender and you see the puck go down into the other half of the ice — so you pull out your phone and you check your email. It's stupid when you say it like that… but I bet you've done it in a meeting." So how do we "teach people to team?" e solutions organiza- tions turn to most often are "tis- sue issue" counsellors and consul- tants, or team-building activities, says Davey. "We do fun, silly, superficial team-building, thinking that it's going to address the toxins," she says. "Ziplining, cooking, paint- ball — whatever else isn't going to fi x the problem." Instead, there are two areas teams need to work on to address their issues. One is aligning the team with its business purpose, says Davey. "What is your organization counting on you to do? And only after you understand that can you build the dynamic that will allow you to execute on it," she says. "Once you have this north star, this clarity about 'this is our unique value' … then you can total- ly realign meetings, agendas, what you're spending time on, what you need to take off the agenda. And the most frequent outcome of this is actually to cut meeting times for the team." After the team's purpose has been fi rmly established, then you can start to fi gure out where peo- ple fi t in as individuals and how diff erent personalities will mesh together. "Create a mindset shift," says Davey. "Show that diff erence is not 'He's annoying' — it's 'Wow, that's someone who thinks diff er- ently than me. ere is my chance to think diff erently, to think more broadly and, very importantly, to cover my blind spots.'" Align team with its business purpose Align team with its business purpose TOXIC TEAMS < pg. 10 More of us have experienced teams that are functional, with ev- eryone doing his part, but people were never sure why they needed to spend time in meetings togeth- er when it really didn't impact the outcome. en there are the teams that have the toxic behaviours Davey identifi ed, which are often frus- trating, dysfunctional and de- moralizing. Her description and process for fi xing these teams is practical but requires organiza- tions to be more deliberate in terms of when and how teams are formed and to embed practices in their culture that support the establishment and operation of teams. While there is the temptation to throw a group of people together for almost any activity, organiza- tions need to be more mindful of situations where forming a team makes sense and where it does not. ey also need to make sure team members understand why they are a team, not just individual contributors, and what they will co-create together. Finally, organi- zations that rely on teams should ensure their culture actively sup- ports eff ective team practices. Karen Gorsline is SCNetwork's lead commentator on strategic capability and leads HR Initiatives, a consult- ing practice focused on facilitation and tailored HR initiatives. Toronto- based, she has taught HR planning, held senior roles in strategy and poli- cy, managed a large decentralized HR function and directed a small busi- ness. She can be reached at gorslin@ pathcom.com. 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