Graham Lowe

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21st Century Job Quality: Achieving What Canadians Want (Sep. 3 '07): by by Graham Lowe
This new study, published by Canadian Policy Research Networks, is urging employers and governments to focus on job quality as a means to recruit and retain the workers needed for Canada's future prosperity. In 21st Century Job Quality: Achieving…
A good job is hard to find (May. 1 '00): by by Graham S. Lowe
The people rhetoric of the 'Alberta Advantage' is weak in practice. Needed is a more human resource-intensive economic developement strategy in the province of Alberta. This means creating workplaces where learning, innovation and skill can more…
A proper welcome (Jul. 17 '06): by by Graham Lowe
This article provides advice on how managers can welcome new employees, so they become connected to the organization's values and culture.
Acquisition of employability skills by high school students (Mar. 1 '02): by by Harvey Krahn, Graham S. Lowe, and Wolfgang Lehmann
Much of the debate about enhancing the employability skills of Canadian youth is premised on untested assumptions. This paper examines Alberta high school students' self-reports of the employability skills they have acquired in high school courses,…
Are you ready to tap older workers' talents? (Feb. 27 '06): by by Graham S. Lowe
This is the second of a two-part series on older employees that was published in the Canadian HR Reporter on February 27, 2006.
Building collaborative labour relations in government workplaces (Jun. 1 '01): by by Graham S. Lowe
The scale and complexity of change in governments demands a collaborative approach that taps into all available knowledge and expertise. Employees need a more active role in designing and implementing change strategies at the workplace level. This…
Building healthy organizations takes more than wellness programs (Sep. 8 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
This article lays out the ingredients of a healthy organization, how this is a step beyond 'workplace healthy promotion', and the change strategies required to get there.
Control Over Time and Work–Life Balance: (Jun. 21 '07): by by Graham Lowe
This report was prepared for the Federal Labour Standards Review Committee. It examines the research and relevant Canadian empirical evidence on work schedules, work time and work–life balance. It assesses trends and current practices in…
Coordinated Action Agenda for Healthy Workplaces and Supporting Evidence (Nov. 16 '07): by by Canadian Healthy Workplace Council
The Canadian Healthy Workplace Council is calling for a coordinated action agenda to create healthy workplaces. Recognizing that a critical mass of governments, organizations and workplace health practitioners are pursuing healthy workplace…
Correlates of employees' perceptions of a healthy work environment (Sep. 9 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe, Grant Schellenberg, and Harry S. Shannon
This study analyzed correlates of workers' perceptions of the extent to which their work environment is healthy, and how these perceptions influence job satisfaction, employee commitment, workplace morale, absenteeism and intent to quit. The study…
Creating a Quality Work Environment: Survey Results (Sep. 9 '06): by by Graham Lowe
Creating a Quality Work Environment RESULTS FROM THE HSAA 2006 WORK ENVIRONMENT SURVEY The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) conducted a Work Environment Survey to provide new evidence that can be used constructively to improve the…
Creating Healthy Health Care Workplaces in British Columbia: Evidence for Action (Nov. 24 '06): by by Graham Lowe
Creating Healthy Health Care Workplaces in British Columbia: Evidence for Action. A DISCUSSION PAPER Prepared for the Provincial Health Services Authority. KEY MESSAGES There is a business case for investing in healthier work…
Creating Healthy Organizations (Jan. 17 '08): by by Graham Lowe
Keynote presentation by Graham Lowe at Apples to Zen: Empowering Employee Wellness, Best Practices Forum. Calgary, October 24, 2007. Sponsored by Calgary Economic Development. All presentations and panels at this Forum will be available soon…
Creating healthy workplaces for all health care workers (Nov. 7 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
Keynote presentation at the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, Labour Relations Conference, Edmonton.
Creating High-Quality Health Care Workplaces (Jan. 1 '02): by by M. Koehoorn, G. S. Lowe, K. V. Rondeau, G. Schellenberg and T. H. Wagar
Health human resources have emerged as a top priority for research and action. This paper echoes calls for a fundamentally new approach to the people side of the health care system – treating employees as assets that need to be nurtured rather…
Custom-Fit Healthy Workplace Strategies (Oct. 29 '04): by by Graham S. Lowe
90-minute session at the Health, Work and Wellness Conference, October 29, 2004, Vancouver. For more information visit the conference website: www.healthworkandwellness.com
Employee assistance professionals' role in creating healthy, productive organizations (Jun. 15 '04): by by Graham S. Lowe
Underlying workplace conditions have a much greater impact on employees' productivity and health than individual behaviour. Employee assistance professionals can help redefine workplace health as a strategic issue that affects corporate costs and…
Employees' basic value proposition: Strong HR strategies must address work values (Jun. 15 '02): by by Graham S. Lowe and Grant Schellenberg
Today's skill needs and tomorrow's baby-boomer retirements are motivating employers to act strategically about recruitment and retention. Too often, however, the goal of a resilient and committed workforce is expressed in vague terms, like becoming…
Employer of Choice: Workplace Innovation in Government. (Jan. 1 '01): by by Graham S. Lowe
Canada’s governments want to become "employers of choice." Many are striving to be more flexible, knowledge-intensive and learning-based. Reaching these goals will require nothing short of a bold new human resource strategy that can…
Employment relationships as the centrepiece of a new labour policy paradigm (Mar. 1 '02): by by Graham S. Lowe
This paper examines changes in employment relationships in Canada during the late 20th century. Despite well documented transformations in labour market structures and work contexts, we are only now grasping the significance of these trends for the…
Forging tighter links between workplace health and productivity: an action plan for Canada (Sep. 9 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
Keynote presentation at the Roundtable Project on Safe and Timely Return to Function/Return to Work. September 8, 2003. Toronto.
Getting a grip on stress (Jun. 10 '08): by by Graham Lowe
Work stress often gets labelled a 21st century epidemic. However, increased employer attention on creating healthier work environments may be helping to get stress under control.There’s only one way to know whether the stress landscape is…
Healthy work environments: Canada's Next Big Idea (Jun. 21 '04): by by Graham S. Lowe
Nachemson Lecture, Institute for Work & Health, 21 June 2004, Toronto What would it take to make healthy work environments a top national priority? For this to happen, employers, employees, unions and professional associations, and…
Healthy workers = productive workers (May. 13 '08): by by Graham Lowe
Graham Lowe co-presented with Linda Duxbury a session at the Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute's annual conference, Forum 2008, Toronto, May 13, 2008. Session description: Learn about evidence-based strategies for improving employee…
Healthy Workplace Strategies (Jan. 15 '04): by by Graham S. Lowe
Healthy Workplace Strategies: Creating Change and Achieving Results. Healthy jobs and workplaces benefit workers and employers, customers and shareholders, citizens and society. This report focuses on the organizational change processes,…
Healthy Workplaces and Productivity (Apr. 14 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
This paper examines two health issues of crucial importance to practitioners and policy makers: the work environment and organizational factors that positively influence workers’ health and well-being, and the relationship between healthy…
Here in body, absent in productivity (Dec. 2 '02): by by Graham S. Lowe
Presenteeism hurts output, quality of work-life and employee health. Absenteeism has caught the attention of many employers. It’s on the rise, costly, and one of the most widely measured indicators of a healthy organization.
High trust workplaces support service excellence (Oct. 15 '06): by by Graham Lowe
This article exlpores the relationship between high-trust work environments in government and the goals of service excellence.
High-quality healthcare workplaces: A vision and action plan (Aug. 1 '02): by by Graham S. Lowe
Looking into a future marked by intense competition for talent, growing numbers of employers are striving to create “workplaces of choice.” Yet, despite the consensus that health human resources are a vital piece of the healthcare reform…
How can you create and maintain a safety culture? (Jan. 15 '09): by by Graham Lowe
Graham Lowe's PowerPoint presentation for the Accreditation Canada webinar on safety culture, 15 January 2009.
How governments can become employers of choice (Mar. 1 '01): by by Graham S. Lowe
Governments want to become 'employers of choice'. Many are striving to be more flexible, knowledge-intensive and learning-based. Reaching these goals requires nothing short of bold new ways of organizing, managing, supporting and rewarding people.
How healthy organizations support learning and innovation (Sep. 25 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
Keynote talk at The Changing Face of Work and Learning conference, Telus Centre, Edmonton. Sponsored by The Work and Learning Network, University of Alberta. For conference details see: www.wln.ualberta.ca TALK OUTLINE: Marshall McLuhan once…
How hospitals become great places to work (Sep. 28 '05): by by Graham S. Lowe
This article describes the cultural practices of 7 hospitals on Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" list.
How many injured workers do not file claims for workers' compensation benefits? (Oct. 1 '02): by by harry S. Shannon and Graham S. Lowe
Anecdotal evidence suggests that some injured workers do not file for workers' compensation claims. This article provides evidence of this under-reporting, based on a national survey of Canadian workers. Forty percent of workers who had experienced…
How to strengthen the people-performance link in the healthcare quality chain (Mar. 4 '09): by by Graham Lowe
Graham Lowe’s keynote at the Quality Worklife - Quality Healthcare Collaborative's 3rd annual Summit, March 2009, explores what energizes a “people-performance-quality chain” in healthcare. He shows how innovation, renewal and sustainability in…
Identifying the Building Blocks of a Healthy Health Care Work Environment (Jan. 23 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
Keynote presentation and wrap-up session, one-day workshop. Keynote presentation at Achieving High Quality Health Workplaces in Saskatchewan, Satellite Training Workshop, sponsored by Saskatchewan Health. Saskatoon (broadcast province-wide) January…
Inclusive wellness (Sep. 30 '08): by by Graham Lowe
To achieve a national healthy workplace agenda, health promotion efforts and resources must be directed to employers of all sizes.
Is the tide about to turn on workplace stress? The consequences of yesterday's truths (Oct. 7 '02): by by Graham S. Lowe
Keynote presentation by Graham Lowe at the Health, Work & Wellness 2002 Conference. Lake Louise, Alberta. October 7, 2002
It pays to treat the worker well (May. 19 '00): by by Graham S. Lowe
Response to the Business Council on National Issues statement on competitiveness, arguing that quality workplaces are critical to this agenda.
It's a matter of trust (Mar. 1 '07): by by Graham Lowe
This article discusses the key to building a trust-based corporate culture.
Job Quality: The Missing Link Between School and Work (Mar. 17 '99): by by Graham S. Lowe
The litmus test for a "knowledge economy" is how well students make the school to work transition. Even if schools, technical institutes, colleges and universities meet rigorous standards of excellence fulfilling their mandates – as…
Job quality: What is it, why does it matter, and how can it be improved? (Nov. 11 '09): by by Graham Lowe
Plenary presentation by Graham Lowe at the Institute for Work & Health. 9:30 - 10:45 a.m. November 17, 2009. Institute for Work & Health, 481 University Avenue, Suite 800, Toronto (Directions). To confirm your attendance, please RSVP to…
Leveraging the skills of knowledge workers (Jul. 1 '02): by by Graham S. Lowe
Across the industrialized world, governments have adopted a human resource-based model of economic development. Enabling citizens to acquire knowledge, skills and education is a necessary but no longer sufficient condition for economic success.…
Literacy Utilization in Canadian Workplaces (Aug. 1 '98): by by Harvey Krahn and Graham S. Lowe
Adults with limited literacy skills have long been a cause for concern since such individuals have difficulty coping in a complex society. However, the focus of debate regarding the adult literacy "problem" has shifted as concerns about…
Making a measurable difference: evaluating quality of work life interventions (Mar. 1 '06): by by Graham S. Lowe
Across the country, nurses and other front-line health system workers are taking actions to improve the quality of their work environment. A high quality work environment is being accepted, albeit slowly, as a prerequisite for building the human…
Men's and Women's Quality of Work in the New Canadian Economy (Feb. 21 '03): by by Karen Hughes, Graham S. Lowe and Grant Schellenberg
Despite much debate and commentary on the emerging knowledge economy in Canada and other industrialized countries, there has been little in-depth analysis of how gender issues are playing out in the process of economic and workplace change.…
Mental health and healthy leadership: A challenge to corporate culture and corporate health (Oct. 13 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
Keynote presentation at the annual meeting of the European Network of "Entreprise for Health", Mondragon, Spain.
Organizing the next generation: influences on young workers' willingness to join unions (Jun. 1 '00): by by Graham S. Lowe and Sandra Rastin
This paper argues that union attitudes and behaviour are important but neglected features of the school–work transition process. Using longitudinal panel data from a study of high school and university graduates in three Canadian cities, we…
People & Performance: Building Alberta’s Future Construction Workforce (Jul. 9 '09): by by Graham Lowe
People & Performance: Building Alberta’s Future Construction Workforce is a discussion paper on how the global construction sector is addressing workforce development issues. It makes recommendations for how building trades unions, contractors,…
Preserving Organizational Health in an Economic Downturn (Jul. 10 '09): by by Graham Lowe
Preserving Organizational Health in an Economic Downturn. Presentation by Graham Lowe, "New Economics of Workplace Health and Well-Being", a conference sponsored by The Conference Board of Canada. Calgary, 29 April 2009. Graham provides a…
Raising the Bar for People Practices: Helping All Health Organizations Become “Preferred Employers” (Jan. 24 '05): by by Graham S. Lowe
This article outlines how professional, employer, industry and government organizations across Canada can collaborate to raise the bar for human resource practices and the quality of work life in Canada's health care organizations. Published in…
Report on the National Roundtable on Learning (Jun. 1 '01): by by Graham S. Lowe
Participants at the National Roundtable on Learning, convened by Canadian Policy Research Networks on behalf of Human Resources Development Canada, proposed a Vision for Learning as a way to address the widely expressed concern at the Roundtable…
Rethinking contingent work (Sep. 1 '99): by by Graham S. Lowe
Contingent work now encompasses more than one in five workers. It is time to move beyond describing the details of this trend by proving the changes it signals in employment relationships. This paper examines the implications of contingent work for…
Retiring baby boomers open to options, but get them before they leave. (Mar. 10 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
Now is the time to rethink retirement, so that workforce renewal is orderly, planned and responsive to the needs of people and organizations.
Riding the Age Wave: Designing People Strategies for an Aging Workforce (Jun. 15 '05): by by Graham S. Lowe
Workshop material presented to the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute in Edmonton, Alberta, June 15, 2005, addressing how employers can respond to an aging workforce.
Shaping the Future Workforce and Workplace (Feb. 18 '04): by by Graham S. Lowe
Keynote talk at the What Works Alberta Conference 2004, Building a Skilled Labour Force. Edmonton, February 18, 2004. Shaping the kind of workforce and workplaces Alberta will need in 2014 requires labour market stakeholders to collaborate on…
Strategies for an ageing workforce: responding to skill and labour shortages (Mar. 26 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
Plenary presentation by Graham Lowe at the Alberta Chambers of Commerce conference on "The Alberta Workforce: Explore the Opportunities." Edmonton, Alberta. March 26, 2003.
Strategies to Strengthen the People, Performance, and Quality Chain (Nov. 4 '09): by by Graham Lowe
Session presentation by Graham Lowe at Health Achieve 2009. Tuesday November 17 2009 - 1:30pm to 3:00pm. Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 205 D Presiding: Rob Devitt President & CEO Toronto East General Hospital Achieving High Quality,…
Surveying the 'post-industrial' landscape: information technologies and labour market polarization in Canada (Jan. 1 '00): by by Karen D. Hughes and Graham S. Lowe
A key issue in recent debates over the impact of new technologies on work is the polarization of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ jobs within the ‘post-industrial’ economy. Two dimensions skill andearnings have been of central…
The dollars and sense of health promotion (Sep. 23 '02): by by Graham S. Lowe
Expect to hear a lot more about workplace health in the near future. Skyrocketing public and private health-care costs will almost certainly increase calls for workplaces to be used as venues for health promotion.
The Healthy Organization: Creating Vibrant Workplaces That Inspire Employees (Dec. 12 '08): by by Graham Lowe
Presentation by Graham Lowe at the Health System Group's 30th Anniversary celebration for clients, Calgary, December 4, 2008. Graham's presentation presents his latest thinking about the ingredients of a healthy organization and how these…
The language of productivity is the language of workplace health (Dec. 6 '04): by by Graham S. Lowe
The same workplace practices that lead to increased employee health also lead to greater productivity and performance. A healthy work environment is the precondition for generating skills and knowledge, collaborative relationships, change readiness,…
The quality of work features prominently in Europe's plans for competitiveness (May. 19 '03): by by Graham Lowe
The European Union's goal of becoming the world's most competitive knowledge-based economy by 2010 will depend, in part, on achieving its ambitious goals for improving the overall quality of jobs.
The role of healthcare work environments in shaping a safety culture (Apr. 7 '08): by by Graham Lowe
Graham Lowe's feature article in the current issue of Healthcare Quarterly examines the role of healthcare work-environment factors in creating a culture of safety. In the first study of its kind undertaken in Canada, Lowe uses survey evidence…
The yin and yang of change (May. 14 '04): by by Graham S. Lowe
The key to a better workplace is achieving balance between the structural and cultural forces at play.
Trust can ease the stress (Oct. 22 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
This article argues that healthy workplaces start with healthy work relationships. It also provides guiding principles for creating healthy workplaces.
Trust is tops (Apr. 10 '06): by by Graham Lowe
This article is part of a feature in Canadian Business magazine on the first annual Best Workplaces in Canada. It describes the steps managers can take to build high-trust, high-performing organiztional cultures.
Under Pressure: Implications of Work-Life Balance and Job Stress (Apr. 4 '07): by by Graham Lowe
This report presents new findings from two national surveys, one of employers and the other of workers, on work-life balance and job stress. The report discusses the implications of these issues for employers and points to actions they can take to…
Universities as healthy work environments (Nov. 4 '05): by by Graham S. Lowe
Like any knolwedge-based, high-performing organization in the private sector, a university must strive for excellence in its people practices, embedding these goals within its overall business plan.
Want to reach staff? Tell them a story (Sep. 12 '05): by by Graham S. Lowe
Best workplaces have a corporate culture of open and honest communication.
What work should be (Mar. 1 '02): by by Graham S. Lowe
Canadians want quality. We want quality time with our loved-ones, quality consumer products, and quality service as customers. What about the quality of work?
What workers want: It's time to raise the bar (Sep. 4 '07): by by Graham Lowe
Op-ed article by Graham Lowe on 21st century job quality, published in the on-line edition of the Globe and Mail newspaper (www.globeandmail.com).
What's a Good Job? The Importance of Employment Relationships. (Mar. 1 '01): by by Graham S. Lowe and Grant Schellenberg
This report presents key findings, and practical implications, from Canadian Policy Research Network's 'Changing Employment Relationships' project.
Work aspirations and attitudes in an era of labour market restructuring: a comparison of two Canadian cohorts (Mar. 1 '00): by by Graham S. Lowe and Harvey Krahn
This article tests the assumption that youth's work attitudes are changing to reflect the restructured labour markets that often are taken as a characteristic of late-modernity. Comparing 1985 and 1996 cohorts of high school leavers in a Canadian…
Work force singing a new kind of blues (Mar. 1 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
The old industrial era was stressful for workers. Factories churning out endless consumer products were built around assembly line jobs, which were physically taxing and mind-numbingly boring. In today's global knowledge economy, robots or workers…
Workforce and Workplace Renewal: Keys to Success (Sep. 24 '03): by by Graham S. Lowe
Keynote presentation at the 52nd annual Western Cities Conference. Edmonton.
Workforce and workplace renewal: Keys to success (May. 31 '04): by by Graham S. Lowe
Keynote presentation at the International Personnel Management Association - Canada, 2004 National Training Conference. St. John's, Newfoundland. 31 May 2004.
Workshop on Quality of Worklife Indicators for Canadian Nurses (Jun. 1 '02): by by Graham S. Lowe
Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) convened in 2002 a national workshop in Ottawa to develop quality of worklife indicators for nurses in Canada. Using a collaborative, consensus-building process the workshop actively engaged participants in…
Your role in public service renewal (Feb. 7 '07): by by Graham Lowe
Keynote presentation at the 2007 Joint Pacific Learning Forum, federal public service managers. Vancouver.

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