Canadian HR Reporter

CanaDian hr rePorter august 11, 2014 14 INSIGhT in praise of bereavement leave EmpLOYEES NEvER understand the full value of their benefi ts package until it comes time to use them. ings such as maternity leave benefi ts, short- and long-term dis- ability and bereavement leave are barely on the radar when it comes to what jobseekers are looking for — generally, it's "How much does the job pay?" and "How much va- cation do I get?" Unfortunately, I got to put one of those underappreciated ben- efi ts to the test recently when my mom passed away on July 13. Her death wasn't completely unex- pected but it happened far faster than we anticipated. ankfully, I got to spend some time with her at the end — moments I will cherish forever. I was able to take one full week of bereavement leave off work to spend in my hometown of Wind- sor, Ont. — four hours away — which made me thankful on two fronts: First, that my employer off ered the leave. And second, and perhaps more importantly, that it has a culture that encourages people to take the time off to spend with loved ones, make funeral arrangements and start the healing process. Pressure to return I know of some people who have struggled with the decision of how much time to take off , and were even pressured not to be gone too long. But, at the time, there was no ques- tion where I needed to be — and I returned to work with a heavy heart, but ready to dive back in and try to resume a "normal" life. Not having to worry about work, and working with a team and in a culture that gave me the luxury of truly putting it out of my head, made the days after my mom's death easier. I was able to focus on my family rather than worrying about deadlines and reports and who was doing what back at the offi ce. e luxury of time It allowed me to spend time with friends, to reminisce about my mom's remarkable life and ev- erything she accomplished as a teacher, a scouter and a mom, aunt, sister and grandmother. It allowed me to spend time with my niece and nephew, to see my aunt — who fl ew in from Brit- ish Columbia — and to be there for my sister, who was there so of- ten for my mom in recent years as her health worsened. Engagement, retention Until my mom passed, I never thought of bereavement leave as an employee engagement and retention factor. But I'm fi rmly in that camp now. We all know employers are frustrated that employees don't fully understand the broad range of benefi ts they off er. Regardless of how well you communicate your benefit of- ferings to employees, they can never fully comprehend the value of the total rewards package. But take solace in this fact: When the day comes that they actually have to dip their toes into the lesser- known benefits pool, they will appreciate them tenfold. I had the privilege of delivering my mom's eulogy at the celebra- tion of her life, one of the most diffi cult things I have ever done. ( ough I saw it as a way to sort of pay my mom back because she delivered a phenomenal speech at my wedding that brought more than a few of my friends to their feet.) My favourite line from her eulogy summed up everything about her: "She was a friend to the needy, an enemy to the bully and she lived her life with a kind heart." I strive to be what she was and will never forget her — and I will be forever grateful to my employ- er for giving me the time I needed to start the healing process and surround myself with loved ones. todd Humber editor's notes a GeNeroUS New CHaPTer VICTORIA, B.C. —Four workers at a Munro's Books were recently given an added bonus: owner- ship of the store. e 84-year-old owner, Jim Munro, had run the shop for 50 years but decided to move on. While some considered the move too generous, Munro disagreed. "Without them there, the business isn't worth anything. ey are like an extended family," he said, according to Metro News. Munro was married to nobel Prize-winner alice Munro and has three daughters. "We all totally agree that the store should go to the staff , that we hold the building and that we want the Munro name to continue," he said. With 18 staff and an inventory of about 30,000 books in the 6,000-square-foot store, Munro estimates the value of his gift is around $1 million, with its marble fl oors, 24-foot cof- fered ceilings and walls hung with tapestries. THaT'S oNe way To HIde THe eVIdeNCe CHENGDU, CHINA — if you ever fi nd a fl y in your soup at a restau- rant, be aware the server may try — rather unconventionally — to conceal the evidence. at's what businessman zhang yen found out when he uncovered a cock- roach in his salad at the Jinsha era Plaza hotel restaurant, according to Metro in the U.K. Fellow cus- tomers fi lmed the exchange when 39-year-old waitress Jin Kuo told yen such a discovery was perfectly common and there was nothing to worry about. When he asked her if she'd like to eat it, she scooped it up and ate it, saying, "no mat- ter which restaurant you go to, you will always fi nd cockroaches in the food. it is very normal." apparent- ly, the restaurant apologized, say- ing the server had been given a pay cut as punishment. doN'T eVeN THINk aBoUT doZING oFF SAN FRANCISCO — Sleepy work- ers now have no excuses — at least two new products are deter- mined to keep them upright and functioning. e Masunaga Wink Glasses can detect when a person hasn't blinked in fi ve seconds and fog up one of the lenses. a "simple function" then jolts the eyes and makes them focus, waking up the wearer. e glasses are powered by a USB or battery, lasting eight hours. But if that doesn't keep employees out of dreamland, why not off er Sprayable energy, a topi- cal caff eine spray "applied to your skin for a smooth, focused boost of energy" that's clear, unscented and has no calories. "Sprayable is the answer to anyone who's ever been dissatisfi ed with energy drinks or coff ee, and has thought to them- selves that there must be a better solution out there. it's fast, con- venient, multi-use and gives you a smooth, steady energy without the jitters or crash," said Ben yu, co-founder of Sprayable energy. aNCHorS away BEIJING — opening its daily broad- cast as usual, the China Central television camera zoomed slowly toward the news desk to reveal only one anchor waiting, the oth- er seat empty. turns out one of the anchors — popular host rui Chenggang — had been detained by police shortly before airtime, according to Cnn. Chenggang's longtime patron Guo zhenxi, head of state-run CCtV's fi nan- cial news channel, was detained in June for allegedly accepting bribes, and several other senior fi gures at the channel were also implicated, said the government. Dubbed "the new face of China," Chenggang has more social media followers than any other CCtV personality and has interviewed many famous people, including Barack obama — but it looks like he might be in the hot seat now. W EIRD orkPLaCe THe JUST HoLd IT awHILe CHICAGO — Workers at WaterSaver might CHICAGO — Workers at WaterSaver might CHICAGO not be drinking much water these days, but it's not because of any environmental con- cerns, according to Cnn. e company disci- plined 19 workers in June for "excessive use" of washrooms, according to teamsters local 743 in a complaint with the national Labor relations Board. e company's hr department described "excessive use of the bathroom as... 60 minutes or more over the last 10 working days," according to the affi davit — six minutes per day. WaterSaver also installed swipecard systems because it felt some employees were spending too much time in there — 120 hours of production were lost in May, accord- ing to Ceo Steve Kersten, who believes workers are secretly spending time there on their phones. But there's a reward for "good behaviour" — workers can earn a gift card of up to US$20 each month if they don't use the bathroom at all. But the monitoring is an invasion of privacy, according to the union. " e company has spreadsheets on every union employee on how long they were in the bathroom," said union representative nick Kreitman. " ere have been meetings with workers and human resources where the workers had to explain what they were doing in the bathroom." Vol. 27 No. 14 – August 11, 2014 PuBLiSHed BY Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ©Copyright 2014 by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. CaNadiaN Hr rePorter is published 22 times a year. 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Address changes and returns: Send changes and undeliverable Canadian addresses to: SuBSCriBer SerViCeS Canadian Hr reporter one Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy rd. Toronto, on m1T 3V4 ❑ From time to time, we make our subscriber list available to companies and organizations whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you do not want your name to be made available, please check here and return with your mailing label. CuStoMer SerViCe Call: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5082 (Toronto) (877) 750-9041 (outside Toronto) Email: carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com LetterS to tHe editor todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com CHRR reserves the right to edit for length and clarity. "That is great your employer gave you the week but, in some cases, a week is hardly enough time to even get through the funeral, not to mention all the paperwork if you are the executor. Employers are generally getting better but many keep to a three-day leave for im- mediate family loss. Employers need to consider not only the time for the funeral but also the mental and physical toll that grief takes on an individual and the risks of having someone in the workplace who is not physiologically ready to be there. The key part of your message, I think, is that of the employer not putting pressure on the employee to return — each individual grieves differently and, thus, their needs ought to be reasonably flexible in that respect. Thank you for sharing your story." — Candice Wilson, commenting on Todd Humber's blog "In praise of bereavement leave" Join the conversation online. Comment freely on any blog on www.hrreporter.com. reader CoMMeNtS Credit: amadorgs/Shutterstock.com

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