News from July 2003

Australia is more competitive, but quality of work life suffers
(Jul. 31 '03)

Australian journalist, Adele Horin, writes that the downsizing and restructuring that has made the Australian economy more competitive also has made it more difficult for employees to take time off work. Australians get 4 weeks annual vacation -- more than in Canada -- but fewer take this time because of work pressures.

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Statistics Canada charts the geography of the new economy
(Jul. 31 '03)

A new Statistics Canada study, A decade of growth: The emerging geography of the new economy 1990 to 2000 documents that Canada's high-tech revolution is disproportionately a "big city" phenomenon. During the 1990s, Ottawa cemented its position as a high-tech city. But Toronto was the true employment centre for firms in information and communications technology (ICT) industries. Calgary and Montréal enjoyed strong employment gains in research and development-intensive science industries. During the 1990s, employment growth in Canada was fuelled by job gains in the technology sector. One out of every six jobs created during the decade was in the ICT sector. In Canada's largest cities, ICT industries accounted for 4 out of every 10 new jobs. These trends continue, and raise questions about the capacity of smaller cities to become high-tech mecas.

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Effective retention strategies needed to avert serious nursing shortages
(Jul. 30 '03)

More than one-quarter of Canada's registered nurses (RNs) may retire by 2006, according to a new national study by Canadian Institute for Health Information and the University of Toronto's Nursing Effectiveness, Utilization and Outcomes Research Unit. Most nurese now retire by age 55, so over 1 in 4 of all RNs working in 2001 are forecast to be retired by 2006, according to the study, Bringing the Future into Focus: Projecting RN Retirement in Canada. This challenges health care employers to implement retention strategies that will encourage nurses to stay on beyond age 55. To be effective, such strategies must address working conditions.

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WalMart is the new focus for business school courses and university researchers
(Jul. 27 '03)

Move over GM and Sears, business school courses and university researchers now are looking for a wide range of lessons from WalMart -- America's biggest employer. This NYT article assesses the diverse perspectives academics are taking on WalMart, including the cultural critics who argue that it sets a lowest common denominator for comsumer goods and employment. But if you want best practices for supply chain management and marketing, WalMart seems the place that academics look first.

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The career world of freelance IT trouble-shooters
(Jul. 27 '03)

In response to a New York Times article proclaiming that computer technology will become toaster-simple, Grant Barrett writes in World New York about his career transition into freelance tech consulting, providing a wide range of support to all sorts of individuals and businesses that don't need expensive new systems, but a trustworthy trouble-shooter. A very interesting perspective on emerging IT career opportunities.

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Workplace violence 2nd leading cause of occupational death in US
(Jul. 26 '03)

In the past 3 weeks in the US, 13 workers have been killed in their workplaces. While overall workplace violence has declined in the past decade, homicide is the 2nd leading cause of workplace deaths. This article examines the trend, its causes, and how employers can address it. In contast, workplace homicide is a truly rare event in Canada, although it still is very important for Canadian employers to develop policies to deal with violence.

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Vacations are a key to wellness, but getting ready can be stressful
(Jul. 25 '03)

Marshall Loeb, writing on CBC MarketWatch.com offers some practical advice on why we should take vacations and how to make them less stressful. The healh-promoting effects of planned vacation time are well documented. But there also is evidence that many workers get stress-out at work trying to prepare for a vacation. This calls for shared responsibility between employees and employers to ensure that pre- and post- vacation workloads and expectations are manageable.

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Canada's Information Technology workers profiled by Statistics Canada
(Jul. 24 '03)

Nearly 3% of all employed Canadians worked in an information technology (IT) occupation in 2001, according to an article published in the July 2003 online edition of Perspectives on labour and Income. IT workers tend to be relatively young, highly educated and well-paid. The sector is still largely male dominated, although women are making some inroads. Immigration policy changes in the late 1990s made it easier to recruit foreign workers, so there is a higher than average proportion of immigrants working in IT.

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Ford releases its 2002 Corporate Citizenship Report
(Jul. 23 '03)

Ford Motor Company released its 2002 Corporate Citizenship Report on July 18th. It lays out guiding "Business Principles" such as accountability, which were published for the first time in the report, stressing matters such as accountability, environment and community. The annual report also showed that salaried employees' overall job satisfaction slipped from 64 percent to 61 percent, still above the company's 60 percent target. Employee satisfaction with workload, stress, reward and recognition, and diversity also are reported.

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Barclays Bank's employee consultation model helps it become an Employer of Choice
(Jul. 23 '03)

PersonnelToday.com reports that Barclays Bank, in the UK, has introduced a Partnership model with its employee union that increases opportunities for management at all levels to consult with employees. Employee representatives meet twice annually with bank executives to discuss policy. More frequent meetings are held with other managers. The bank's change management policies are among the issues discussed. The success of this partnership model rests on changing the culture of the bank, something that middle managers are slow to embrace, and which requires considerable training for all involved. The bank hopes that the partnership model will help it become an Employer of Choice.

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Union-management cooperation on high performance work organization brings results
(Jul. 22 '03)

Industryweek.com provides several examples of union-management collaboration to create high performance work organizations. A Kentucky plant of Industry Specialty Products, winner of a 2002 Industry Week Best Plants Award, credits its improved labor-management relationship and performance in part to its implementation of a high performance work organization (HPWO) partnership, a cooperative agreement reached between management and the IAMAW union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) that promotes shared decision-making as the means to help a business grow and flourish. The article outlines the 10-point IAMAW High Performance Work Organization Partnership process used in a number of plants.

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Retention solution add to morale problems at United Airlines
(Jul. 14 '03)

United Airlines has asked a bankruptcy judge to let it give as many as 600 computer programmers, analysts and other information technology employees bonuses of as much as $9.5 million--a move that has angered the union representing its flight attendants, whose pay was cut an average 9 percent, not including other benefit cuts, after the airline filed for bankruptcy reorganization in December. This retention bonus is intended to stem the departures of these professionals, but raises issues about consistency in HR programs and fairness in compensation. This is a common problem across the troubled airline industry -- hanging onto key staff in ways that do not further erode the already low morale of other employee groups, who feel they are just as important to the survival of the airline.

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NASA management failures contributed to Columbia shuttle disaster
(Jul. 12 '03)

The New York Times reports that management failure at NASA was as important in the destruction of the shuttle Columbia and the loss of its crew as the chunk of foam that knocked a hole in its wing, the chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board said today. As the board prepares its final report about what led to the breakup of the shuttle over Texas on Feb. 1, board members have become more concerned about NASA's flaws in communication and in its evaluating and tracking of problems before the Columbia's launching and during its flight.

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Long-term job stress has cumulative impact on health
(Jul. 11 '03)

When workers spend years at a high stress job, blood pressure reflects the strain, a new study shows. Men who worked for 25 years or more at a demanding job over which they felt little control had a large increase in blood pressure both when they were on the job and at home, according to the study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology (2003;157:998-1006). As one of the researchers observed, "We've known for a while that the risk of high blood pressure goes up with age," he said. "The question has been why. We think work stress is one of the reasons. In more primitive societies blood pressure doesn't go up at all with age. People reach the age of 70 and they still have blood pressure readings of 100/60." The solution to this health problem is work environment change.

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No more stock options for Microsoft employees
(Jul. 11 '03)

Microsoft's announcement this week that it will offer its employees stock instead of stock options may have started a trend that will change compensation practices in Silicon Valley and beyond. The end of stock options as a performance incentive has implications for compensation and corporate accounting. The question is: how far and how fast will this trend spread? So far, Cisco and Intel are resisting this new policy.

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Economic Policy Institite report critical of proposed US overtime pay changes
(Jul. 8 '03)

A Bush administration plan to rewrite regulations governing who receives overtime pay is blasted in an Economic Policy Institute report, Eliminating the Right to Overtime Pay. At issue are proposed rewrites to Fair Labor Standards Act regulations, which provides overtime compensation, at a time-and-a-half rate, for hourly workers who work more than 40 hours a week. Regulations define who is eligible to be considered hourly -- and thus covered by the law -- and who is salaried, or exempt, from overtime rights. The institute's report said more than 8 million white-collar workers, "including some who earn as little as $22,100 per year, could soon become ineligible to receive any extra pay when they work more than 40 hours a week." The proposals also take away overtime protections for workers who earn $65,000 a year or more and perform any duty defined as exempt from overtime rights. Examples of occupational groups that would lose overtime protections, according to the authors: paralegals, emergency medical technicians, licensed practical nurses, surveyors, reporters, technical writers, bookkeepers, dental hygienists, lab technicians, cooks and factory supervisors. The plan would "dramatically increase the number of workers whose jobs are classified as professional, administrative or executive and therefore ineligible for overtime pay." For example, an assistant manager in a fast-food restaurant, who spends most of the day doing the same tasks as the employees he or she helps supervise, would become ineligible for overtime.

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Australian report on the future of work warns of less money, longer hours and harder work
(Jul. 7 '03)

A major report has been released by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) which shows that, after two decades of labour market reform, most Australians are working longer hours, don't get paid for their overtime, and suffer stress at work. The report shows that much of the Australian workforce is underemployed or has no job security. Nearly half of the workforce is in part-time or casual work, even though most of those in casual work have been doing the same job for over a year. The report also predicts that by 2010, one in three workers will be employed on a casual basis. The report was prepared by a University of Sydney research unit.

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For baby boomers, 70 will be the new 50, writes Guardian columist
(Jul. 5 '03)

Polly Toynbee, writing in The Guardian, examines the changes in retirement thinking and practices that baby boomers are likely to bring. With close to half the UK population soon to be over 50, enabling boomers to work longer is not only good public policy, it also meets the needs of this generation.

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Is there a ground-swell against long work hours in the US?
(Jul. 4 '03)

Comments by Seattle filmmaker and social critic John de Graaf, editor of the upcoming book "Take Back Your Time," rasies many concerns about the personal and social implications of America's long work hours. He attributes the problem to America's obsession with producing and comsuming. In an effort to change that, de Graaf and others in a group called the Simplicity Forum decided to establish Oct. 24 as a national "Take Back Your Time Day." (More information about the group is available at www.timeday.org.)

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Wal-Mart and corporate social responsibility
(Jul. 3 '03)

The July 3rd issue of The Economist reacts to Wal-Mart's decision to extend its anti-discrimination policy to include gay and lesbian employees. The magazine states: "Wal-Mart dented its conservative image by revealing that it would extend its corporate anti-discrimination policy to include gay employees. But the world's biggest retailer will doubtless continue to sell guns, while barring the sale of mildly titillating magazines or CDs with what it deems offensive lyrics." This raises important questions about how companies can develop consistent corporate social responsibility codes.

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New York Times editorial calls for a reconsideration of new US overtime regulations
(Jul. 3 '03)

A NYT editorial entitled "The Quiet Shift in Overtime" raises concerns about the Bush administration's changes in the federal regulation of overtime pay. The changes cut two ways. Hundreds of thousands more low-wage earners will be eligible for time-and-a-half. However, proposed Labor Department regulations have stirred justifiable concern that numerous white-collar, middle-income workers could lose income because employers will have more leeway to pronounce them managers and deny their current right to overtime. This could far outweigh any gains made by low-wage workers.

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New Wal-Mart policy protects gay and lesbian employees
(Jul. 2 '03)

Wal-Mart Stores, the US's largest private employer, has expanded its antidiscrimination policy to protect gay and lesbian employees, company officials said today. The decision was first disclosed today by a Seattle gay rights foundation that had invested in Wal-Mart and then lobbied the company for two years to change its policy. "It's the right thing to do for our employees," Mona Williams, Wal-Mart's vice president for communications, said in a telephone interview. "We want all of our associates to feel they are valued and treated with respect — no exceptions. And it's the right thing to do for our business." With Wal-Mart's decision, 9 of the 10 largest Fortune 500 companies now have rules barring discrimination against gay employees.

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Money brings happiness only if you value it
(Jul. 2 '03)

A new study, published in the June edition of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, finds that people who enter the workforce looking for a hefty salary are happy when they get it. But those who are interested in leaning or fulfillment on the job actually feel worse as they move up the ladder. This raises interesting questions about the potential fulfillment and creative expression some people trade off for career success, at least measured in financial terms.

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Few employees have family-friendly work arrangements, Statistics Canada reports
(Jul. 2 '03)

According to a new Statistics Canada study, based on the 1999 Workplace and Employee Survey, one-third of Canadian employees reported having flextime schedules. However, access to other family-friendly work arrangements was extremely low. The WES data suggest that most companies do not foster climates that promote the integration of work and family through formal workplace practices.

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