Canada’s Best Workplaces- Does it include employed carers?
The April 10, 2015 Globe and Mail had two interesting sections that seemed to me to be juxtaposed. I feel they should be integrated so hence this blog.
One section was on Canada’s Best Workplaces. This was a sponsored content piece highlighting ‘Canada’s Best Workplaces for 2015’. I think it is great to highlight exemplary companies that have a great workplace culture. The research highlighted show the listed companies that recognize “ trust in the foundation for quality jobs and performance excellence”.
The Life & Arts section had another sponsored content piece on Autism Awareness and as well in the same section, there was an article by Sandra Martin titled ‘Love through illness’, The Long Goodbye. This highlights the story of Glenn Campbell and his family’s experience with his Alzheimer’s disease.
The missing piece for me was the lack of caregiver recognition as part of the best workplaces. What makes a workplace great, I believe it is how they treat their employees and recognize and support Canada’s employed caregivers- estimated to be 35% of the employed workforce.
April 7, 2015 was National Family Caregiver Day. The Canadian Caregiver Coalition recognizes the ‘6.1 million employed Canadians who must balance their personal commitments, caregiving duties and work responsibilities. The time and physical demands they experience are often equivalent to working two full-time jobs.’ The federal Employer Panel for Caregivers in their report ‘When Work and Caregiving Collide, How Employers Can Support Their Employees Who are Caregivers (January 2015) identify that ‘corporate leadership, formal policies and programs, self-identification of caregivers and creativity were all recognized as key elements of a caregiver friendly workplace’.
Perhaps next year Canada’s Best Workplaces will include recognition for those companies that provide greater supports and recognition for their employed carers. If you want to know how, read more about tips and tools for employers and Employee Caregiver Tips and Tools and you can ask me!
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