Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR december 15, 2014 22 INsIGht AS LONG AS IT'S NOT A BIRTHDAY SUIT WiLLoUGHBY, nSW — Karl Stefanovic, co-host of a morning tV show in australia, decided to wear the same suit for one year — and no one noticed. e presenter did so because he didn't like the sexism faced by his female col- leagues, including his co-host on Channel nine's Today program, Lisa Wilkinson, according to Fair- fax Media. "Women are judged much more harshly and keenly for what they do, what they say and what they wear," he said. "i'm judged on my interviews, my ap- palling sense of humour — on how i do my job, basically. Whereas women are quite often judged on what they're wearing or how their hair is." after revealing his year- long fashion faux pas, Stefanovic auctioned off the blue jacket and pants on ebay to raise money for White Ribbon, a campaign to end violence against women. "to be honest, i'm kinda going to miss it. it's become like another member of the Today show team," said his co-host. in the end, the well-worn suit raised $10,000. 'RUDOLPH UNIT, COME IN' MoSCoW — in Russia's arctic regions, people often fl ee to re- mote spots to escape the long arm of the law. and your average snow- mobile just isn't up to the task. So the ministry of the interior is con- sidering using herds of reindeer as transport for tracking down crim- inals, according to the Telegraph, citing Moscow's Izvestiya news- paper. "Criminals go into hiding in the tundra and hard-to-reach places on their own reindeer sleds and offi cers don't always have the means to follow them there," said a police source. " e same problem arises with delivering suspects to the station." e legal basis for po- lice to use camels, mules and rein- deer was confi rmed by a 2012 in- terior ministry directive that stated how much food each beast should receive over a 24-hour period: a "service-reindeer" should get 0.5 kg of oats, 1 kg of hay, 1kg of bread made from mixed rye and wheat fl our and 6 kg of lichen. SHAKESPEARE WOULD BE PROUD St. andReWS, SCotLand — Civilization is not yet dead. two Scottish students disappointed to discover a local tesco grocery store no longer stocked their fa- vourite popcorn decided to pen their displeasure in a letter to the company containing a 14-line son- net, according to the Scotsman: "i live in St. andrews, thus the issue: no plans to restock, you said with a sigh; So answer me this or hand me a tissue: Have i butterkist my true love goodbye?" to their surprise, the grocery chain replied in kind: "alas, dear ladies, your woes are continued; e popcorn in ques- tion has been discontinued," wrote Frances Hickling of the chairman's office. "However, dear ladies, please dry your tears; We'll still sell your popcorn for many more years." e 20-line poem directed the students to other locations sell- ing the salty caramel popcorn and ended with the lines: "We know it's been stressful, we know it's been hard; But you can still buy your popcorn, here's a £ 10 giftcard." DEGRADING RECRUITMENT JaKaRta — Getting into a po- lice force is no easy task. But for women in indonesia, the process it not only diffi cult but also dis- criminatory and degrading, ac- cording to Human Rights Watch. Female applicants are subjected to "virginity tests" — a requirement listed on the offi cial police recruit- ment website. "in addition to the medical and physical tests, wom- en who want to be policewomen must also undergo virginity tests. So all women who want to become policewomen should keep their virginity." and it's a longstanding practice — one retired police offi - cer said her class of female recruits in 1965 had to undergo the test. police authorities in Jakarta need to immediately and unequivo- cally abolish the test and make certain all police recruiting sta- tions nationwide stop administer- ing it, said nisha Varia, associate women's rights director at Human Rights Watch. if they don't, the 400,000-offi cer police force could be challenged — it hopes to boost the number of policewomen from three per cent to fi ve per cent. W EIRD ORKPLACE THE Vol. 27 No. 22 – December 15, 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. Publications Mail – Agreement # 40065782 Registration # 9496 – ISSn 0838-228X director, carswell media: Karen Lorimer - (416) 649-9411 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Publisher: John Hobel - (416) 298-5197 john.hobel@thomsonreuters.com editorial Associate Publisher/managing editor: Todd Humber - (416) 298-5196 todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com lead editor: Sarah Dobson - (416) 649-7896 sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com News editor: Liz Bernier - (416) 649-7837 liz.bernier@thomsonreuters.com employment law editor: Jeffrey R. 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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. todd humber editor's notes Birthdates not succession criteria A s a gen-xer, it's hard not to feel discouraged by the buzz surrounding millennials when it comes to leadership. take this headline, which appeared on the Globe & Mail's website last month: "mil- lenials better poised than gen x for leadership roles." e argument is that gen-X work- ers came into the workforce dur- ing a recession. As a result, we have been trained to keep our heads down, work hard and be thankful we have a job. We're great workers but not leadership material — or so the argument goes. Millennials, on the other hand, "are more social and interested in what they can get out of a job to meet their future career goals," the article stated. Lisa Ritchie, senior director of talent management at Match, put it this way: "Gen X was happy to have a job. Millennials want a fu- ture." Mary Donohue, of Dono- hue Mentoring System, was even more blunt: "Millennials are the future, gen-Xers are already the past when it comes to managers of the future." To which I say, "Poppycock." I don't buy it, and neither should employers. Gen-X workers are entering their prime working years and many have been tutored and mentored by the best baby boomers in their organization — in some cases for decades. Many gen-X workers haven't been given the opportunity to take the lead- ership reins because boomers are staying in the workforce longer, thanks in part to fi nancial con- cerns and the end of mandatory retirement. But the boomers can't stay on the payroll forever, so why would any organization overlook a talent pool that understands the busi- ness, has been learning the ropes for the better part of two decades and has the experience to step into the vacuum created when boom- ers head off into the sunset? Let's break down a few myths. Myth one: Millennials are more tech-savvy: I don't see it. Sure, the Atari 2600s and Com- modore 64s of our childhood pale in comparison with the iPads and smartphones of today — but gen- Xers have kept pace with technol- ogy just fi ne and in fact have been the driving force behind much of this innovation. Myth two: Millennials are more social: Sure, millennials probably have more friends on Facebook. But gen-Xers grew up in a time when relationships weren't measured by an online friend count but face-to-face in- teractions on a regular basis. at helps build empathy, which is one of the most important character- istics of a good leader. Myth three: Millennials want a future, gen-Xers just want a job: I know plenty of millennials struggling to fi nd work in their fields. The unemployment rate for youth is higher today than it was when generation X entered the workforce. The conditions under which millennials are join- ing the workforce are technically worse than gen-X — so they too will have to keep their heads down and work hard to keep their jobs. (I'm still not sure how that's neces- sarily a bad thing.) e bottom line is this: It's im- possible to pigeonhole genera- tions into stereotypes, no matter how easy the narrative. Are there great millennials in your organization that will make better leaders than gen-X staff - ers on your payroll? Undoubt- edly. But to argue that generation X isn't the future of leadership or isn't equipped because it was forced to work hard is nonsense. Succession planning efforts need to focus on fi nding the best possible candidates in your orga- nization to rise to the next level when opportunity knocks — the year on the worker's birth certifi - cate is an irrelevant part of that discussion. See you next year is is the last print edition of Ca- nadian HR Reporter for 2014. On behalf of the entire team at Car- swell and omson Reuters who work so hard to bring you this publication, I'd like to wish you and your family a happy holiday season. It has been our privilege to cov- er the world of human resources for you over the past year, and we look forward to continuing to bring you the news and informa- tion you need to stay up to date and on top of your profession. Our next print issue will be Jan. 26. But, as always, keep an eye on www.hrreporter.com for daily news postings and updates. It's been a blast. See you in 2015. YOU'RE HOT AND YOU'RE COLD paRiS — e food might be sumptuous but, behind the scenes, the situation is much less dignifi ed. a group of top chefs is calling on their peers to stamp out a culture of violence in the kitchens of France's top restaurants, according to the Telegraph. it's time to "lift the lid on the law of silence," said Guillaume Gomez, head cook at the French presidential palace, citing physical violence, sexual harassment and hazing at some of the fi nest eateries. all great French cooks are being asked to stand up against violence by signing a manifesto called touche pas a Mon Commis (Hands off My Range Chef ). e wake-up call followed an incident earlier this year at a costly paris restaurant where a station chef deliberately and repeatedly scalded his kitchen assistant with a white-hot spoon on the arm, according to gastronomy magazine Atabula. Soon, others reported slaps in the face with a wet fi sh, being stabbed in the calves with a kitchen knife, shin kickings along with scaldings and humiliations. at a university debate in paris, most chefs agreed violence was unacceptable but emphasized the profession was not for the faint-hearted. "Yes, i have received a few kicks in the ass. Yes, i have taken a rack of lamb to the head," said chef Christian etchebest. "it was for my own good. We have a very tough job, you need mental strength." Credit: iralu/Shutterstock . it's time to "lift the lid on the law of silence," said Guillaume Gomez, head cook at the French presidential palace, citing physical violence, sexual harassment and hazing at some of the fi nest eateries. all great French cooks are being asked to stand up against violence by signing a manifesto called touche pas a Mon Commis (Hands off My Range Chef ). e wake-up call followed an incident earlier this year at a costly paris restaurant where a station chef deliberately and repeatedly scalded his kitchen assistant with . Soon, others reported slaps in the face with a wet fi sh, being stabbed in the calves with a kitchen knife, shin kickings along with scaldings and humiliations. at a university debate in paris, most chefs agreed violence was unacceptable but emphasized the profession was not for the faint-hearted. "Yes, i have received a few kicks in the ass. Yes, i have taken a rack of lamb to the head," said chef

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