Newspaper Articles

News Article: UK- Stress puts people out of work and on to benefits

A major concern to businesses has become a new level of stress at work. Guest lecturers from The Canadian Mental Health Association describes stress as a physical, mental, or emotional response to events that cause bodily or mental tension. Due to the affects of stress, a number of employees have been forced to quit their jobs and live on the benefits the company provides. This UK article (above) states, more than one million people now cite mental or behavioral problems in support claims for sickness benefits- a rise of more than 200,000 in a decade (Nigel, 2012). This result is shocking and one can assume a similar statistic in North America. It is important to note these claims do not all suggest a pure sick leave due to stress. Regardless, the figures reveal an importance for employers to provide good quality support for people in the workplace. Early intervention can make a substantial difference in preventing employees taking stress leave (Nigel, 2012). This in turn would save the business money and allow employees to be more productive at the workplace. Research suggests the impact of  stress on the Canadian economy is $33 billion each year between lost productivity and medical costs (Langton, Robbins, and Judge, 2009).

Why is stress so much higher than just a few years ago? Professionals suggest the pressure of high unemployment and low job security is being felt in workplaces (Nigel, 2012). In addition, "a lot of people now are identifying techno-stress and the 24/7 workday" (Langton et al., 2009, 105).  A job can be ranked in stress level by the following characteristics: overtime, quotas, deadlines, competitiveness, physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards encountered, initiative required, stamina required, win-lose situations, and working in the public eye (Langton et al., 2009). 

Research in dealing with stress is now more popular than ever before. University professors suggest both individual and organizational steps to manage stress. Individual strategies that have been suggested include time management techniques, physical exercise, relaxation techniques, and a close social support network (Langton et al., 2009). These strategies have never been emphasized so much as they are presently. Individuals are able to take certain precautions to avoid a medical stress leave. The organization itself can also reduce employee stress by "improving the process for choosing employees, placing employees in appropriate jobs, realistic goal setting, designing jobs with employee needs and skills in mind, increasing employee involvement, improving organizational communication, offering employee sabbaticals, and establishing corporate wellness programs" (Langton et al., 2009, 110). Evidently, mental health issues such as stress have become a common concern for businesses today and require appropriate attention from management.

Temporary Foreign Workforce

In their Vancouver Sun article “Temporary foreign workers: Filling labour gap or depressing wages?” Peter O’Neil and Tara Carman study the topic of temporary foreign workforce program and its impacts to Canada. The discussion has risen again from the mining business where a consortium of Chinese companies is seeking permission to use Chinese labour for underground work in British Columbia. In Canada the TFW (temporary foreign workforce) program started in 1966 as seasonal agriculture program and has then developed into the TFW program. The Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, announced measures to boost the use of the program last year because of labour shortage but now the conversation draws attention the contradictory elements of TFW. (O'Neil & Carman, 2012)

Today the trend in workplaces (especially in certain industries, e.g. fast food industry and telemarketing) is to use temporary workforce more and more compared to even five years ago. Also cheap labour is big deal in certain areas because the standard of living has risen in the western world and it has had an impact on wages. We notice this in our everyday lives when we see foreign people cleaning or serving us fast food. Canada also faces labour shortage and more increasingly so in ten years time when massive amount of workforce retires. Already in Canada the number of TFW has increased by 56% in 6 years and in B.C. alone 66% in the same time (O'Neil & Carman, 2012).

The dilemma with TFW is to do with ethics and morale. On one hand it is claimed that the TFW takes domestic jobs away and decreases wages. On the other hand TFW is hired to remote places to suspicious working conditions where they experience discrimination and unfair payments. It is evident that Canada need the workforce but how to do it right puzzles the government. There have already been cases where TFWs have started to challenge their employers, which make the companies anxious.

What does all this big talk about societies and change in the workforce mean for individuals in workplaces? This is a clear evidence of how important it is to know and accept different cultures in a workplace nowadays, and also to adapt to change. Nowadays the demographics of the workforce changes most drastically and individuals have to be able to communicate, make decisions and get work done in an international and fast-changing environment.

RIM's woes linked to policy; Canadian telecom rules partly to blame

Research in Motion has been struggling over the past few years. In result, Research in Motion has been forced to make many global workforce cuts. The ultimate question that many analysts ask is “why?”.

The article “RIM's woes linked to policy; Canadian telecom rules partly to blame” written by Michael Geist, an author in “The Ottawa Citizen, ideas of the causes of RIM’s downfalls are discussed. Mr. Geist’s views on Research in Motions failures are primarily based on the issue with Canadian telecommunication carrier’s policies. As it currently stands, carriers have full monopoly on which phones they wish to carry and which they do not. This causes an issue for companies like RIM that may not be able to get full exposer when the carriers are heavily marketing other phone brands such as Samsung and Apple. Mr. Geist say the solution isn’t for government to assist RIM but rather recognize the policies that have created this issue (Geist,2011).

This article shows a business issue in the telecommunication industry and brings suggestions on how this issue can be avoided in the future. Overall it is a great read for those involved in the telecommunications industry as well as an person interested in the functions of business.