Perry Work Report for the week of September 21, 2009

September 21, 2009

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The Death of Macho? video podcast

The great he-cession: Bearing the brunt of a bad economy and shifting social expectations. It's a man's world or is it? The great recession and the death of macho.

The Agenda with Steve Paikin (TVOnatrio) Thursday, September 17, 2009, featured a program titled The Death of Macho?Guests included: Reihan Salam, Schwartz Fellow at the New America Foundation and author of Foreign Policy’s The Death of Macho, Barbara Byers, the executive vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress, Armine Yalnizyan, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and David Foot, a demographer and professor of Economics at the University of Toronto. Visit footwork.com.

Video Podcast of The Death of Macho? September 17, 2009: scroll down to Your Agenda: Death of Macho?

Episode guide with links to documents listed below available here
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Canada’s “He-Cession” 
Statistics Canada, August 2009 Labour Force Survey 
The American Prospect, Don’t Call It a “He-cession”

 

Workplace Bulletin

The newest issue of the Workplace Bulletin, issued by the Labour Program, is now available. Published twice a month, this bulletin provides wage and other information relating to collective bargaining in Canada and offers updates on industrial relations issues.

Workplace Bulletin, September 15, 2009 (19 pages, PDF)

If you have not already read the August 31st issue of the Workplace Bulletin, a report titled Innovative Workplace Practices for the second quarter of 2009 was included. This report analyzes recently ratified collective agreements covering 500 or more employees across all industries as well as an overview of workplace innovative practices.

Workplace Bulletin, August 31, 2009 (13 pages, PDF)

 

Unemployment and Mental Health

The Institute for Work and Health, an independent Canadian not-for-profit organization, has issued a briefing that summarizes key research on the negative effects that unemployment has on mental health. It explores the implications of these findings for policy-makers in governments, and health and safety service providers.

Press release

Issue Briefing, August 2009 (4 pages, PDF)

 

Declining Health of the American Workforce

The Families and Work Institute has released a study titled, The State of Health in the American Workforce: does having an effective Workplace Matter? The study found that the health of American workers has declined since 2002 and that there is a strong relationship between an effective workplace and employee health. The new report is based on data from the Institute’s 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce, which has collected data concerning life on and off the job from 1977 to 2008.

A quote from Senior Research Associate and report co-author, Kerstin Aumann:

“This report demonstrates how our workplaces — where we often spend most of our waking hours — can help or hinder our personal well-being and health. Our findings serve as a wake-up call for employers and employees alike to take a closer look at how their organizations affect people’s health and well-being”

Press release

Study, September 22, 2009 (46 pages, PDF)

 

Making Work Work in the Current Economy

The Families and Work Institute has released, The 2009 Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work : Highlights Trends and Solutions for Dealing with the Financial Crisis. The publication features 260 award-winning employers’ best practices of effective and flexible workplaces from across the United States. All of the employers are 2008 winners of the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. The award is unique in that applying employers have to score in the top 20% of employers nationally to be selected as winners and two thirds of the winning score is based on employee experiences as reported through an employee survey.

Press release

Publication, August 12, 2009 (180 pages, PDF)

 

Healthy Workplace Month for Staff at the University of Toronto

October is Healthy Workplace Month at the University of Toronto. All staff and are invited to attend the sessions:

Harnessing your strengths! Attend the invigorating keynote address on October 6 by Sunjay Nath, who travels North America sharing The 10-80-10 Principle, a powerful concept that will help you operate consistently at a dynamic level.

Enjoying the autumn! Join the Walking Fair on October 15, featuring an Architectural Tour of the St. George Campus with Prof. Larry Richards, former Dean of Architecture and author of "The Campus Guide".

Embracing happiness! Come to the closing keynote with Louisa Jewell on October 30, focusing the art and science of increasing feelings of happiness in our lives.

For more details and registration

 

Working Mother 100 Best Companies 2009

Business Week’s Business Exchange website features the results of its surveys on Working Mother 100 Best Companies 2009. Also available on the site are the following results: 50 Best Law Firms for Women, Best Companies for Multicultural Women, NAFE Top Companies for Executive Women, Best Green Companies.

Business Week’s Business Exchange, September 22, 2009: Working Mother 100 Best Companies 2009:

List of Companies See Best Companies Categories in right sidebar to link to other Best Companies survey lists

 

New Issue of Network News - Parental Leave in Australia and Spousal Wage Gaps

The Sloan Work and Family Research Network has released the latest edition of their monthly work-family publication,Network News. This issue includes an interview with Dr. Marian Baird titled, Parental Leave in Australia, which discusses Australia’s struggle to introduce their newly implemented nationally, mandated paid parental leave.

Also included in this issue of Network News is the newest entry to The Sloan Work and Family Research Network’s Encyclopedia. An entry titled, Spousal Wage Gaps: Income Disparities in Couples (2009), is now available, discussing the basic concepts and definitions surrounding this area of research, as well as its impact on family life.

Network News, Volume 11(8), August 2009 (HTML)

Article: Parental Leave in Australia, by: Susan Lewis (5 pages, PDF)

Encyclopedia entry , August 28, 2009

 

Pay Increase Forecasts for 2010

Every fall, a number of different salary surveys predict Canadian pay trends for the coming year. An article featured in the Globe and Mail summarizes the findings of these surveys.

Globe and Mail, September 19, 2009: “Muted optimism for pay raises in 2010,” by Tavia Grant

Survey highlights from three of the firms included in the Globe and Mail’s article are also available:

Hewitt survey, September 10, 2009

Watson Wyatt survey, September 17, 2009

Morneau Sobeco survey, September 17, 2009 (13 pages, PDF) Please refer to article titled “Employers Planning for 2.5% Salary Increases for 2010” (p. 3) for details

 

Mercer Survey on the Impact of the Global Economic Downturn

Mercer has released the results of its global survey titled, Leading through Unprecedented Times: global version 2.0. Over 2,100 organizations with employees in 90 countries responded to the online survey conducted in May 2009. The survey looks at the HR, human capital and benefits challenges that organizations continue to face as a result of the global economic downturn.

Executive Summary, June 23, 2009 (6 pages, PDF)

Leading Through Unprecedented Times website: click on any of the tabs i.e. Cost & Performance, Risk & Control… and scroll down to link to lists of documents available online

 

Recruitment Season Now in Session

The Globe and Mail has a web section titled GlobeCampus. A current posting with links to valuable information looks at how to be successful candidate for the fall campus recruitment sessions.

GlobeCampus, September 18, 2009: How to stand out during the fall campus recruitment season, by Cassandra Jowett, editor, TalentEgg.ca

 

Canadian Manufacturing Sector: Adapting to Challenges

Statistics Canada has released the research paper, "The Canadian Manufacturing Sector: adapting to challenges.” This study examines the challenges that the manufacturing sector has faced over the last half century, investigating how the industry has responded and adapted to specific shocks during this period -- exchange-rate movements, trade liberalization and business cycles. It finds little evidence that the sector is in long-term decline.

Summary, July 28, 2009

Report, July 2009 (55 pages, PDF)

 

U.S. Labor Department Reports on Child Labour

The United States Labor Department has released three reports on child labor and/or forced labor in countries around the globe.

The Department of Labor's 2008 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, September 10, 2009 (448 pages, PDF)

List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, September 10, 2009 (194 pages, PDF)

Bibliography of Each Product Listed in the Initial Determination by Country of Origin, September 10, 2009 (50 pages, PDF)

 

The Court Blog

“The Court is the online resource for debate & data about the Supreme Court of Canada”

Take a look at a very interesting article titled, Prodding the Court Along on its Journey into the 21st Century, September 21, 2009.

 

Book of the Week

Social Commitments in a Depersonalized World, by Edward J. Lawler, Shane R. Thye and Jeongkoo Yoon. New York : Russell Sage Foundation, 2009. 244 p. ISBN 978-0-8754-463-6 (pbk.)

As individuals’ ties to community organizations and the companies they work for weaken, many analysts worry that the fabric of our society is deteriorating. But others counter that new social networks, especially those forming online, create important and possibly even stronger social bonds than those of the past. In Social Commitments in a Depersonalized World, Edward Lawler, Shane Thye, and Jeongkoo Yoon examine interpersonal and group ties and propose a new theory of social commitments, showing that multiple interactions, group activities and, particularly, emotional attachment, are essential for creating and sustaining alignments between individuals and groups.

About the Authors:

EDWARD J. LAWLER is Martin P. Catherwood Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and professor of sociology at Cornell Univeristy. SHANE R. THYE is professor of sociology at the University of South Carolina. JEONGKOO YOONis professor of business administration at the Ewha University, South Korea.

 

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