Canadian HR Reporter

PM40065782 RO9496 September 4, 2017 INSIDE Balancing the scales When it comes to recruitment, a hiring manager's unconscious bias about education can lead to a select group of candidates, and affect an entire company Implanted microchips Should workers have tech embedded in their bodies? page 9 Tracking workers Are migrant workers being unfairly targeted? page 10 Alberta's unions Legislative changes could mean higher membership page 27 page 21 DIVERSITY DILEMMA In August, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees that portions of engineer James Damore's "anti-diversity" memo violated the company's code of conduct and "cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace," according to Reuters. The engineer was subsequently fired. For commentary on the issue, see page 31. Credit: Stephen Lam (Reuters) Are workers wasting time on social media? Employees on mobile devices 'the new world of work': Expert BY MARCEL VANDER WIER ARE employees spending too much time on Facebook and Twit- ter at the offi ce? Not necessarily. at's the consensus of experts responding to research indicat- ing the average Canadian worker "wastes" several hours of offi ce time each week on non-work activities. In fact, it's high time organiza- tions embraced social media as a tool to advance their respective workplaces, according to Lori Schmidt, CEO of GO Productiv- ity in Edmonton. "It is the new world of work," she said. "Everyone is connected all of the time. Some of that is going to be a bit of a time-waster… but also a lot of it is people tweeting out what their business is doing." "It is a reality, so we need to look at how we engage it for good: 'How is that helping us drive what we want to accomplish as an or- ganization?' as opposed to 'How do we put a fence around it?'" said Schmidt. Digital age Canadian employees spend an av- erage of 43 minutes per day (more than three-and-a-half hours each week) on their personal mobile de- vices at work — completing tasks such as checking personal email or surfi ng social media, according to a survey by Offi ceTeam, a Robert Half company, of 400 offi ce work- ers and 300 senior managers. LINE > pg. 15 Employers cite costs of Ontario workplace reforms But union says they'll make for stronger economy BY MARCEL VANDER WIER WHILE many Ontario business groups are urging the provincial government to push the brakes on labour reform set to become leg- islation this fall, others believe the proposed changes still don't go far enough. The reforms would include equal pay for part-time workers, boosted vacation entitlements and expanded personal leaves. e majority of these changes would come into eff ect on Jan. 1, 2018. If the legislation is enacted as it stands, 185,000 jobs will be at risk in the next two years, according to an economic analysis released by the Keep Ontario Working Coali- tion in August. "If the Ontario government chooses to proceed with these sweeping reforms too quickly, all of us will be aff ected, and the most vulnerable in our society chief among them," said Karl Baldauf, group spokesperson and vice-president of policy and gov- ernment relations at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, a coali- tion member. Ontario business will incur $23 billion in extra costs over the next two years, said the report. Many employers will need to increase prices, scale back employee to- tals — or even close up shop, said Baldauf. " ere is the potential for job loss as a very real result of this." Bill 148 would introduce two paid emergency days for work- ers, penalize employers that alter schedules without 48 hours' no- tice, and increase minimum vaca- tion time from two weeks to three for employees working at the same business for at least fi ve years. But reforms such as the elimi- nation of fl exible scheduling will make companies less nimble, negatively aff ecting the province's manufacturing sector, said Ian Howcroft, vice-president of Cana- dian Manufacturers and Exporters Ontario. " ere's actually very little that we can support in here," he said. "It goes far beyond what was necessary." Fears that businesses could head south of the border for growth opportunities are legitimate, said Howcroft. While the vast majority of manufacturers pay above mini- mum wage, the "ratchet impact" of a lesser wage diff erential could de- motivate workers and raise pres- sure to increase costs. DOCTOR'S > pg. 8 Aging parents costly concern Caregivers will face loss of income, advancement: Report BY SARAH DOBSON AN aging population combined with longer lifespans and strained social services means more Ca- nadians are taking on the role of caregiver for their aging parents. And that trend is likely to intensify, according to a report from CIBC. While the share of Canadians aged 65 and older has gone from 14 to 17 per cent over the past de- cade, that will jump to 22 per cent by 2027, said Who Cares: e Eco- nomics of Caring for Aging Parents. As a result, caregivers will face a number of costs, including out-of- pocket expenses and loss of labour income due to time spent caring for aging parents. Close to two million Canadi- ans — or 14 per cent of those with parents over the age of 65 — incur care-related, out-of-pocket costs, said CIBC, citing a 2017 survey of 3,034 adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists. On average, that cost is $3,300 per year per caregiver, translating into an annual cost of just over $6 billion to the overall econo- my. And it is likely that number FLEX > pg. 12

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