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/802101
PM40065782 RO9496 April 3, 2017 tune up your finances with 1000+ savings opportunities financial well–being tone up with up to 50% off gym memberships physical fitness zen out with 300+ Health & Wellness partners mental wellness www.venngo.com/perks 1.866.383.6646 ext.202 Find out more... © Copyright 2017 Venngo Inc. All rights reserved. WorkPerks ® is a registered trade-mark of Venngo Inc. V1_20170112 An award winning Venngo program is a core element of a complete compensation and benefits strategy. it's a lot more than discounts INSIDE You might want to sit down for this While many headlines have warned "Sitting is the new smoking," research suggests there are potential downsides to people standing at their desks Job-hopping bias Employee loyalty may be overrated by employers page 2 The rise of robots Are employers thinking about the repercussions? page 7 Hiring with AI Recruiters can put forward more of a human face page 14 page 11 Credit: Issei Kato (Reuters) HOW WILL YOU APPROACH YOUR NEXT AGREEMENT? Labour Reporter Canadian labour-reporter.com Travel ban could impact staffi ng, recruitment Canada may become more popular with job candidates BY MARCEL VANDER WIER THE LATEST travel ban put for- ward by United States President Donald Trump has left Canadian companies scrambling to under- stand how their employee popu- lation will be aff ected while travel- ling — if they haven't been already, according to legal experts. e executive order would ban citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, So- malia, Sudan and Yemen from the U.S. for 90 days. It would also ban refugees for a period of 120 days. While the ban was blocked by a federal judge in Hawaii, Trump vowed to appeal the decision — even if it meant a trip to the Su- preme Court. e order has caused concern for employers recruiting foreign talent to travel abroad, or looking to extend worker status or visas, according to Julie Lessard, a lawyer at BCF Business Law in Montreal. REPERCUSSIONS > pg. 10 Genetic testing put to the test Prohibitions around use of results opposed by insurance industry BY SARAH DOBSON A MOVE to further prohibit and prevent genetic discrimination has been met with concern by the insurance industry — though em- ployee advocates are praising the move. Bill S-201 was awaiting royal assent as of March 8, but a po- tential hiccup emerged when the federal government said it wanted the Supreme Court of Canada's advice on the constitutionality of the act. Genetic testing involves the sequencing of human DNA to reveal genetic diff erences, anoma- lies or mutations that may prove pathological. If passed, the bill would amend DISCRIMINATION > pg. 8 Leaner oil and gas sector starting to emerge Companies, workers adapting to volatile environment BY SARAH DOBSON A FULL economic recovery is still an elusive reality in Alberta's oil and gas sector, where volatile oil prices continue to plague the industry since major declines in 2014. Tens of thousands of work- ers have been laid off, directly or indirectly, with many people leaving the profession — and the province — to try and fi nd work elsewhere. But when the sector does fi nally make a comeback, it'll be a diff er- ent-looking labour force, accord- ing to experts. "What we're facing is a jobless recovery and that's what people need to become mindful of," said Jackie Rafter, founder, president and CEO of career transforma- tion company Higher Landing in Calgary. "We're not seeing a lot of white- collar jobs coming back, and we're really going to see the wage of incredible talent wars within or- ganizations competing for fewer promotions and advancement." Signs of a recovery While the oil sands sector experi- enced sustained cost-cutting, re- structuring and deeper-than-an- ticipated job cuts in 2016, a mod- est recovery of about 3,400 net jobs is projected over the next four years, according to the Oil Sands Labour Demand Outlook to 2020 Update, released by PetroLMI in December. Employment is forecast to grow by about six per cent, from an esti- mated 63,800 in 2016 to 67,200 in 2020 as companies shift spending from expansion to maintenance, repair and optimization of their operations. " ere's more drilling activity at this time this year than there was EMPLOYERS > pg. 9 ROBOT RECEPTION Dinosaur robots acting as receptionists greet a hotel employee at the Henn na Hotel Maihama Tokyo Bay in Urayasu, east of Tokyo. We take a look at the repercussions of the rise of robots and artificial intelligence in the workplace on pg. 7.