November 29, 2010
- Happiness – does money matter?
- Generation Facebook
- Older Workers – the new unemployables and working in retirement
- Job retraining isn’t working
- Ivey Business Journal – Managing Risk
- Asia Connect – Aon Hewitt publication on human capital management in Asia Pacific
- Incentives -- Towers Watson Canadian Survey Report
- Canadian Universities’ big pension problem
- CFIB Report on the cost of increasing CPP and QPP benefits and premiums
- Contract Work increasing
- Patient Safety and Quality of Working Life
- Telework Day
- 20th Annual University Rankings by Maclean’s
- Obama freezes federal worker pay while Performance pay for Canadian senior bureaucrats up sharply
Happiness – does money matter?
The Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) has released a major study on factors influencing the happiness or life satisfaction of Canadians. The report, prepared in partnership with the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity (ICP), was based on data for 70,000 Canadians from Statistics Canada’s Community Health Survey. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the happiness landscape in Canada, quantifies the many variables that determine happiness, and explains the variation in happiness across provinces, CMAs and health regions.
The Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), November 23, 2010: Does Money Matter? Evidence Shows that Mental and Physical Health, Stress, and Sense of Belonging Trump Income as Determinants of the Happiness of Canadians (2 pages, PDF)
The Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), November 23, 2010: Does Money Matter? Determining the happiness of Canadians (138 pages, PDF)
Executive Summary (4 pages, PDF)
BNN Video, November 23, 2010 : Happy Public Policy
Should governments have happiness as an objective for public policy? And, if so, what policies they should adopt? BNN asks Andrew Sharpe, Executive Director, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, and Roger Martin, Dean, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Globe and Mail, November 24, 2010: Be happy - move to Sherbrooke, by Tavia Grant
Conference, Happiness as a goal for public policy, December 1, 2010: Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity and the Centre for the Study of Living Standards: Happiness as a goal for public policy Wednesday December 1st, 2010 Ottawa, Ontario Chateau Laurier Hotel Price: $250. Reduced rate of $100 available to students, retirees, and unemployed.
Wikipedia, Gross national happiness
Generation Facebook
Zadie Smith has written a piece in the New York Review of Books that looks at the recently released film, The Social Network, about Facebook’s creator Mark Zuckerberg. She also references the bookYou Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto by Jaron Lanier.
“The Social Network is not a cruel portrait of any particular real-world person called “Mark Zuckerberg.” It’s a cruel portrait of us: 500 million sentient people entrapped in the recent careless thoughts of a Harvard sophomore.”
New York Review of Books, November 25, 2010: Generation Why? by Zadie Smith
Globe and Mail, November 25, 2010: The communication troubles of Generation Text by Lisa Stephens
Youth & Work: A blog examining millennials, employment, education, workplaces, and trends, November 6, 2010: B.C. Labour Relations Board upholds firing for Facebook comments
Older Workers – the new unemployables and working in retirement
Sloan Center News, November 16, 2010: Older Adults Struggle in Job Search
Fast Company, November 22, 2010: How I Hailed Cab and Learned to Help Older Workers Find a Job
BY FC Expert Blogger Cali Williams Yost
Sloan Center News, October 6, 2010: Working In Retirement: A 21st Century Phenomenon
Research Paper: Working In Retirement: A 21st Century Phenomenon, by Melissa Brown, Kerstin Aumann, Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Ellen Galinsky and James T. Bond (24 pages, PDF)
Sloan Centre on Aging and Work website
Job retraining isn’t working
“A paper [Today’s innovation, tomorrow’s prosperity Annual Report 9 - November 2010 ] released last week by the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity in Toronto said there's “little evidence” that current retraining programs are helping. Other studies on the link between retraining and finding a new job have mixed conclusions, and tend to show little impact on earnings. It’s cold comfort for the thousands of Canadians who have taken expensive college courses, only to find little or no benefits once their programs end.”
Morley Gunderson, professor in industrial relations at the University of Toronto, says …“It's not what politicians like to hear, but the solid studies tend to suggest [retraining] is not the saving grace… academic literature “tends to show little or no impact on a cost-benefit analysis.” [from the Globe and Mail]
Globe and Mail, November 29, 2010: Job retraining: No ‘magic bullet’ by Tavia Grant
Globe and Mail, November 23, 2010: Ontario needs to pull up its socks [Task Force findings- Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity], by Tavia Grant
Ivey Business Journal – Managing Risk
The latest issue of the Ivey Business Journal for November/December 2010 has a new look.
This issue features stories on risk management. Papers include Women in the pipeline: next practice actions, by Dianne Jacobs , of www.thetalentadvisors.com , who reports on “a wide-ranging, multi-country research study that explored how companies integrate gender diversity into their talent practices”;
How businesses can profit from raising compensation at the bottom by Jody Heymann and Magda Barrera, “If only companies did pay attention to workers on the bottom rungs of the organizational ladder – like those on the top rungs — what would happen?”
Successes and potential obstacles to change management in the public service by Henry Hornstein, “Changing the Canadian public service has been a perennial goal of almost every government. But the failure of the change exercises, has highlighted how the best-intended change management can be outdone by a lack of clarity, resolve and purpose.”
Ivey Business Journal: improving the practice of management, November/December 2010
Asia Connect – Aon Hewitt publication on human capital management in Asia Pacific
The current issue of Asia Connect looks how people risk affects an organization; recent survey findings on employee pay perception; and the attributes of a comprehensive leadership program.
People Risk Index: Five Key Lessons for Asia Pacific (5 pages, PDF)
Money Talks but Talk is Cheaper...' (3 pages, PDF)
What Should a Leadership Program Look Like? (3 pages, PDF)
Asia Connect Subscription Form
Incentives -- Towers Watson Canadian Survey Report
Towers Watson has released the 2010/2011 Canadian Survey Report on Professional & Skilled Trades Personnel Compensation. “Bonus and/or other cash incentive payments, including profit-sharing and commission, averaged 24.5% of salary for all salary levels combined. The percentage of eligible employees receiving a short-term incentive varied slightly among salary levels, ranging from a high of 35.5% of professional and skilled trades personnel earning $100,000 or more to a low of 25% of incumbents earning less than $40,000.”
CNW, November 24, 2010: Employees working in the retail and wholesale trade sector received the largest short-term incentive awards
Globe and Mail, November 26, 2010: Canadian retail, wholesale trade workers reap the best bonuses, by Wallace Immen
Canadian Universities’ big pension problem
“Canadian university pension plans have fallen into a collective $2.6-billion hole, and may have no choice but to cut services to begin climbing back out of it.” A recent Globe and Mail article provides a summary of the percentage loss experienced by university pension plans across Canada during the economic downturn, the estimated solvency deficit, and how provincial governments are handling the solvency payments.
Globe and Mail, November 29, 2010: Universities facing service cuts to climb out of ‘pension abyss’ by James Bradshaw
CFIB Report on the cost of increasing CPP and QPP benefits and premiums
Ken Georgetti has dismissed criticisms by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) regarding the CLC’s proposals to gradually double benefits paid by the Canada Pension Plan.
Canadian Federation of Independent Business, November 25, 2010: Boosting CPP benefits through higher payroll taxes would kill jobs and harm the economy, but there’s room to compromise
Canadian Federation of Independent Business, November 2010: Forced Savings: economic impacts of raising CPP/QPP retirement benefits and premiums (12 pages, PDF)
Canadian Labour Congress, November 26, 2010: Georgetti says CFIB off base in pension criticism
Canadian Labour Congress, October 20, 2010: Canadian Labour Congress Pension Proposals: What Do They Mean for …? [each province & territory]
Contract Work increasing
“In 2009, contract positions accounted for just over one-half (52%) of temporary jobs, representing nearly 1 million workers. The other half was equally composed of seasonal and casual workers. Since 1997, contract jobs have grown at a faster pace than other types of temporary employment. Contract jobs [have] increased by more than 3% between 2005 and 2009, despite the overall employment downturn in 2008.”
“Professionals make up a large proportion of contract employees. On average, contract workers are more educated and slightly younger than permanent workers. Contract jobs are concentrated in health, education and public administration, industries that were relatively untouched by the recent economic slowdown.” [from Statistics Canada]
Globe and Mail, November 27, 2010: Canada’s shifting job market: the rise of contract work, by Tavia Grant
Statistics Canada, November 26, 2010: Study: Temporary employment in the downturn 1997 to 2009
Patient Safety and Quality of Working Life
A recent report by Accreditation Canada looks at the connection between patient safety and quality of worklife in health care. Findings include:
Quality of worklife has an overall effect on staff health and well-being, patient safety, organizational performance, and quality of care.
Health care providers need additional support from supervisors, and sufficient time to deliver high quality patient care.
While data indicates errors are being regularly reported, there is a shared perception they are not.
Press release, September 29, 2010: Accreditation Canada report explores the connection between patient safety and quality of worklife in health care
Accreditation Canada, September 29 2010: 2010 Canadian Health Accreditation Report: Through the Lens of Qmentum – Exploring the Connection between Patient Safety and Quality of Worklife (22 pages, PDF)
Telework Day
“What started as a mere Workopolis poll question has grown into a grassroots campaign to rethink Canadians' commutes – one that's added an MP and an entire city to its ranks. The City of Ottawa recognized Telework Day today as discussions took place on Parliament Hill in what some are hoping is the first step to National Work From Home Day.” [from Canadian Business Journal]
Canadian Business Journal, November 24, 2010: Work from Home movement gets national attention, Justin Holmes
Globe and Mail, November 24, 2010: Liberal MP wants you to stay home and work, Jane Taber
20th Annual University Rankings by Maclean’s
For the full text of this publication you will have to buy the print edition but the rankings are available via the link provided below – just click on the charts to enlarge the picture.
Macleans.com, November 10, 2010: 20th Annual University Rankings: Who has bragging rights? Where should you apply? Our annual exclusive has the answers.
A controversial article from the publication titled, “‘Too Asian’?” was retitled: The enrollment controversy*: Worries that efforts in the U.S. to limit enrollment of Asian students in top universities may migrate to Canada by Stephanie Findlay and Nicholas Köhler.
Maclean’s responded to the controversy with the following article: Merit: the best and only way to decide who gets into university: We find the trend toward race-based admissions policies in some U.S. schools to be deplorable by macleans.ca on Thursday, November 25, 2010
Obama freezes federal worker pay while performance pay for Canadian senior bureaucrats up sharply
Globe and Mail, November 29, 2010: Obama freezes federal worker pay, by Julie Pace
New York Times, November 29, 2010: Amid Deficit Fears, Obama Freezes Pay
The Perry Work Report is not published in July & August so these stories on Canadian senior bureaucrat pay were not reported earlier but are of current interest.
Globe and Mail, August 31, 2010: Performance pay for senior bureaucrats up sharply, even as bonuses are slashed: Overall compensation packages rise 19%, as Ottawa cuts with one hand and tops up with the other
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Thirteenth Report, July 12, 2010: Advisory Committee on Senior Level Retention and Compensation (scroll down to read report)
Book of the Week
Retooling HR: Using Proven Business Tools to Make Better Decisions About Talent, by John W. Boudreau. Boston : Harvard Business Press, 2010. 212 p. ISBN 9781422130070 (hardcover)
HR professionals have made major strides toward becoming strategic partners. But they need to do more - by generating value through savvy decisions about talent. HR leaders typically assume that, to make such decisions, they must develop sophisticated analytical tools from scratch. Even then, the resulting tools often fail to engage their peers. In Retooling HR, John Boudreau shows how HR leaders can break this cycle - by adapting powerful analytical tools already used by other functions to the unique challenges of talent management. Drawing on his research and examples from companies including Google, Disney, IBM, and Microsoft, Boudreau explains six proven business tools leaders already use. And he shows how HR can apply these tools to talent management.
Examples include: Using engineering tolerances to find pivot points that job descriptions miss Using inventory and supply-chain analytics to ensure a ready supply of the right talent Applying logistics tools to optimize succession planning and leadership development Adapting consumer research tools to find untapped value in total rewards Retooling HR builds on Boudreau's bestselling book Beyond HR, which traces HR's evolution as a decision science. For HR professionals seeking to sharpen their decision-making prowess, this provocative new book blazes an innovative new path.
About the Author:
John W. Boudreau is a Professor and Research Director at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and Center for Effective Organizations.
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