Canadian HR Reporter

PM40065782 RO9496 June 2, 2014 INSIDE HOME, SWEET HOME Canadians are reluctant to move for work – even if generous incentives are on the table Defi cient data StatsCan's job numbers could be more useful page 2 Weedless worker Tips on getting employees to kick the nasty habit page 9 Grey power Changing post-retirement benefi ts can be tricky page 11 page page 3 Corporate Outplacement Services CMScareers.ca Leaving made Easier Should your customers Should your customers be treated rudely? be treated rudely? Snobby sales staff may make customers Snobby sales staff may make customers more inclined to buy aspirational items: Study more inclined to buy aspirational items: Study BY SARAH DOBSON WHEN MARKETING professor Darren Dahl walked into a store to purchase Hermes cologne, he was wearing tattered jeans and a T-shirt. Not surprisingly, he was treated with disdain by the sales- person. But instead of leaving the store, Dahl became even more de- termined to buy the product — so he did. But it made him think: Why did he react that way when common sense should have told him to leave after he was treated poorly? e answer is counter-intuitive, according to Dahl, senior associ- ate dean, faculty of research, at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business in Van- couver, who wrote a study on the issue with Morgan Ward, assistant professor of marketing at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "Most research in this space would say, 'Oh, you always want to give good service, never ever is it a good idea to give bad service' and this research says, 'Well, that's true but there's some situations where bad service may actually cause Credit: Brendan McDermid (Reuters) A woman exits a Tiffany & Co. store. A study has found rude employees at luxury retailers could actually boost sales — but the counter-intuitive effect won't work for less prestigious brands and may not last long. RUDENESS > pg. 12 Too much information? Too much information? B.C. privacy commissioner urges tougher rules for background checks B.C. privacy commissioner urges tougher rules for background checks BY LIZ BERNIER AS PART OF her application for an offi ce job, Eileen had a routine police information check done. But she was shocked by the re- sults: Her record showed informa- tion about a past suicide attempt — something that led to a very uncomfortable conversation with her prospective employer. In the end, she did not get the job. Eileen's story is one of many in- cluded in an investigative report by the Offi ce of the Information & Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia about the use of police information checks in the prov- ince. e report — which is not legally binding — presents a num- ber of recommendations around record checks, particularly in re- gards to mental health and non- conviction information. B.C. privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham said the report is the most important one she has ever written. "( at's) because most of us fi nd ourselves applying for employ- ment or applying for a volunteer position — this involves almost all British Columbians. And the police policy of broad-based in- formation checks that contain non-conviction information can frustrate a person's ability to fi nd employment, which is so funda- mental to our well-being," she said. Typically, the process in B.C. — like elsewhere in Canada — is an employer requires a prospective employee to obtain a background check, criminal record check or police information check from the police or RCMP, said Denham. at information is then turned over to the employer — and it may contain some pretty sensitive information. "If non-conviction information is released… many people say, 'Well, what's wrong with that?' Be- cause the individual has consented EMPLOYERS > pg. 6 Before you Before you hit 'Send...' hit 'Send...' French collective agreement French collective agreement sparks renewed debate sparks renewed debate around after-hours email around after-hours email BY LIZ BERNIER IT'S A COMMON complaint among employees: Long after the workday is done, after-hours emails digitally tether them to the office. Whether the message is from a boss, colleague or custom- er, employees can feel obligated to respond — even when they're off the clock. e issue has seen its fair share of media attention. But renewed scrutiny arose after an April col- lective agreement in France grant- ed 250,000 workers the protected right to not answer work email after 6 p.m. Some initial reports suggested France had banned work email outright after 6 p.m., which is not the case. But, even so, that new protection is sparking debate about email etiquette, especially as work-life balance, mental health and burnout have become signifi - cant concerns. Many professionals don't think twice about shooting off a quick email in the evening, but that email can have a signifi cant impact, ac- cording to Dianne Hunnam-Jones, Canadian district president at Ac- countemps in Toronto. "At the end of the day, I think we're in a steep decline as a society because we just don't disconnect," she said. "If you feel as if you're constantly on-call, it has a very negative impact." Of course, the benefi ts of being instantly available and accessible are clear, said Hunnam-Jones — and if there is an emergency or a truly urgent situation, after-hours email can be a lifeline. "But the downside is if people feel that they're drowning — they have to respond to emails late at night and on weekends and do the work — ultimately, people will suf- fer from stress and burnout, which ultimately, as we all know, impacts productivity. And it impacts mo- rale and love for a job as well." Ongoing burnout and stress can negatively impact retention — which can do serious damage to the bottom line. "Turnover is a very, very expen- sive exercise… as an organization, every time you lose somebody, you're losing profitability," said Hunnam-Jones. "And turnover because people are feeling stressed and burnt out and low productivity and morale is unnecessary turnover. ere's always going to be natural attrition and necessary turnover in organi- zations, but this kind of turnover is unnecessary." FLEX > pg. 8

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