Picture yourself as a supervisor/manager. You have an employee with a problem. Not just an ordinary problem, like what to buy a spouse for her birthday. But something big…. like depression, or alcoholism.  And it's starting to affect your employee’s work and productivity. And not only does it affect that particular employee, it also affects all those working with him. What do you do? Let your employees know you care about their mental wellness! First, you should consider implementing an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for your company. (Okay, okay, you got us - EAPs are not "free". BUT they are inexpensive and definitely…

An employee’s personal issues definitely reduce their engagement and success on the job. This is called “presenteeism”. How can a small employer identify and tackle personal issues which affect employee performance? Some employees may grapple with personal issues like the following: Alcoholism or drug abuse in the immediate family…. or maybe an employee himself Worrying about the state of their teenage children. Does it affect their marriage? Do they use work time to deal with their issues? Health issues which cause time off from work.  How do you help them promote healthier lifestyle choices? Is a…

Everywhere you look there is dialogue about Mental Health, Work-Life Balance, and the costs of Depression and Mental Illness to society. What can any employer do at a personal level? Sure, a major Employer with 1000 employees can implement wellness initiatives, health fairs, fitness challenges, and so on… but what can  small employers do to identify a problem in their workplace and begin to solve it? A 2008 statistic estimates the cost of Mental illness to be $51 Billion per year!  “They” say 1 in 5 employees has a mental issue of some kind.  The…

A question that frequently arises from employers is, "Do I still need to pay for my employee's benefits while they are on maternity or parental leave?" Perhaps you have wondered this yourself. The answer, at least in British Columbia, and along with most other provinces/territories in Canada, is YES, you do still need to pay. As an employer, you are required to continue to offer benefits for any employee that is away on a legislated leave such as maternity or parental leave. While the employee's salary during the leave is typically unpaid by the employer…

After a several months of planning, we are thrilled to announce that we have refreshed our website to include a Blog page!  This page will move to replace and enhance the content previously published in our monthly Newsletters. You can still check out all of our Newsletters here. We wanted our website to better collaborate with our clients on that which we are most passionate about: Enhancing the Power of the Human Capital in your company.  We hope to be able to provide you with both insight and perspective on the latest issues and trends that affect…