When we think about flexible work arrangements, I am sure many of us make the assumption that they were first introduced to accommodate women and their family commitments and women are therefore the main users of such arrangements. But a study done in January by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Psychological Association's Center of Excellence (COE) found that men used the flexible work arrangements offered by employers more than women.

'Only 38% of women employees avail themselves of flexible-work arrangements, compared with 42% of men. In addition, while just 37% of women employees regularly use those benefits ‘designed to help them meet demands outside the office’, that figure is 42% for men.

The focus of employers should, therefore, no longer be solely on meeting the needs of women, but on meeting the needs of all employees, according to David Ballard, head of the COE. Ballard told HRE Online that an earlier APA study showed that one of the top two factors that cause people to stay in a job is that the job fits well with the demands of their personal lives. “This should be a huge wake-up call for employers that workplace flexibility isn’t just for women and [their] family demands,” he said. “It’s more of a human issue now.”'

When I first read this I thought that women might not feel comfortable using the flexible work arrangements as they may think it shows them in a negative light to their supervisors but this same article states that there are studies that demonstrate that men actually feel more penalized for using these arrangements especially if they are thought of internally as a way to help women. At the end of the day, both men and women feel the same stresses when they cannot meet their family and personal commitments and flexible work arrangements are a way to help employees cope and be more productive at work.

Check out the full article here. 

In my last blog post I referred to a study about the uptake by employees of company wellness plans. It is difficult to get employees to sign up for programs given their time limitations and lack of interest. But a recent study of Fortune 100 companies, illustrates why employers keep trying. Healthy employees mean longer employement retention, higher productivity, and lower health costs.

"This study demonstrates that a scientifically-validated measure of a workforce’s well-being is a strong indicator of future retention, productivity and health outcomes and can serve as a meaningful business performance metric. The findings also reveal there is a significant connection between improvements in a workforce’s well-being over time and in better employee health and performance outcomes—which should accrue to a company’s bottom line.

They found that employees who eat healthy all day long were 25% more likely to have higher job performance, while those who eat five or more servings of fruit and vegetables at least four times a week were 20% more likely to be more productive.

In addition, employees who exercise for at least 30 minutes, three times a week, were 15% more likely to have higher job performance. Overall, absenteeism was 27% lower for those workers who ate healthy and regularly exercised and that their job performance was 11% higher than their peers who were obese."

Check out the full article here.

In recent years, organizations have added wellness programs to try and promote healthy lifestyles and engage employees. Conceptually, these programs could benefit both the individual and the company. Happier, healthier employees translate to more productive and engaged workers. A recent report out by Global Corporate Challenge states that employees are not participating for two main reasons: lack of time, and the initiatives are not fun.

"Wellness programs in the workplace are no good to those who don’t have time to take part. According to GCC, trying to feel better – through exercise, distressing or nutrition – has to be an integral part of a company in order for it to have a place in the work day. It has to be part of the culture. Workers can’t feel they have to break free of their schedules to take time to feel better; it has to be part of their schedules.

If employee engagement and morale are important, and a vast majority of employees see fun as a top priority, are these wellness initiatives sapping morale by offering a disappointing experience?

According to GCC, lack of implementation may be the culprit here, as well as the drag of not feeling there’s enough time to feel good. Budget constraints are the real pull, according to the organization’s report, as are sufficient resources to promote and execute the initiatives."

Check out the full article here.

Like many others running a business today, I have been trying to understand all the different digital and social marketing tools and how they fit into our larger marketing plan. I went to a breakfast seminar this morning put on by BIV (Business in Vancouver). It was a panel discussion on digital marketing strategies and how to take the first steps. The panel participants were:

• Andrea Hadley, president & partner, dStrategy Media
• Bryan Mavrow, senior vice-president, marketing, First West Credit Union
• Paul Hecht, vice president, digital media, Glacier Media

My top 5 takeaways from the discussion were the following:

1. All marketing strategy (including digital and social) has to drive from the organization's goals. You have to know what your ultimate goal is, whether it be increased brand recognition or more sales of your product or service, you have to be clear on what you are trying to achieve.
2. You have to be able to measure results of your marketing strategy against your goals. Don't put further tactics in place or change your strategy until you understand the impact of your previous efforts. If you can't measure it, don't do it.
3. Target your messaging. You want to be seen as an authority in your industry and to your customer base.
4. Outsource the skills you do not have in-house. This is especially true in the digital world where things are changing very quickly and most organizations do not have internal talent they can call on for the advice they may need in such a rapidly changing technical world.
5. Content is everything. You need to continually refresh your content no matter what delivery method. If your website is your core source of content, you need to make sure it is properly and actively managed.

We are all looking for signs that the economy is strengthening. The latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey about Canadian employers' plans to hire, shows things are holding steady and we have reason to be optimistic.

'The quarterly employment outlook survey reveals that 20% of employers plan to increase their staff payrolls in the second quarter, 75% intend to maintain their current workforce, and only 5% are foreseeing cuts.

"The national hiring climate should remain upbeat," said Byrne Luft, Vice President of Operations for Manpower Canada. "Employers in the Transportation & Public Utilities and Construction sectors anticipate the strongest gains in the upcoming quarter, especially in Western Canada. Additionally, we're seeing that most of the new jobs created in Canada so far this year have been full-time positions. This continuing trend toward full-time employment is an encouraging sign."

This positive news on the hiring front aligns with other recent reports. According to the latest Stats Can Labour Force Survey, the Canadian economy added over 50,000 new jobs in February of this year.'

Check out the full article here.