news
let your manager know when you’re
having problems, and what you can
do to fix them. Your boss may have
suggestions you hadn’t considered.
5. Lead by example: Managers can set
the tone for a successful work-life
balance program by incorporating
and following through on a tailored
approach that fits with their own
lifestyle and obligations. Likewise,
employees should recognize that what
works (or doesn’t work) for them can
serve as an example to others, and share
their experiences with colleagues and
superiors.
HOW WORKPLACES CAN
PROMOTE HEALTHY ACTIVE
LIVING
Busy schedules, looming deadlines –
the demands of today’s workplace can
make it challenging for employees to prioritize
a healthy, active lifestyle, but it
doesn’t have to be that way. A new report,
Moving Ahead: Workplace Interventions to
Reduce Physical Inactivity and Sedentary
Behaviour, produced by The Conference
Board of Canada’s Canadian Alliance
for Sustainable Health Care and issued
with ParticipACTION, provides a model
for how Canadian employers can help
employees change their behaviour about
physical activity.
“With more than half of Canadians
spending at least one-third of their waking
hours at work, the workplace is an
ideal and important setting for health promotion.
Corporate wellness initiatives
must fit with the organizational culture so
that employees are more likely to participate,”
said Louis Thériault, vice-president,
Public Policy at The Conference Board of
Canada.
In addition, inactive employees must
decide to change their behaviours and
participate, which is a challenge in most
organizations. Faced with competing priorities,
employees often feel that they
cannot prioritize their health.
The report identifies two broad types of
initiatives that employers can implement
in their workplaces to effect change:
1. Initiatives intended for the entire
employee population, such as awareness
campaigns, education programs and
instructor-led activity sessions
2. Initiatives targeting the particular
needs of specific, high-risk employees
like health coaching or counseling and
targeted activity sessions led by an
instructor
You can check out the Conference
Board’s Physical Activity and Sedentary
Behaviour Health Meter (bit.ly/1S8M2sJ)
to find out where your physical activity
and sedentary behaviours rate in one of
four categories.
TAKE THE CHRP/CHRL HR
DESIGNATION ASSESSMENT
CHALLENGE
Want to see how you measure up against
your CHRP and CHRL peers across different
HR functional areas like strategy,
organizational effectiveness, total rewards
or OHS?
Take the Human Resources Professionals
Association (HRPA)’s HR Designation
Assessment – a timed, multiple-choice
evaluation that will help assess your
current knowledge relative to what is expected
of those qualifying for the CHRP
and CHRL designations.
The HR Designation Assessment
tool is part of HRPA’s new CPD Needs
Analysis Self-Assessment tool – a new
online training needs analysis tool that
will help members create an individually
tailored continuing professional development
plan in about 30 minutes.
Your CPD plan will highlight both your
HR competency strengths and gaps and
recommend and prioritize specific areas
for professional training and development
options. You can also use the plan as your
business case for your employer to invest
in the learning and development outlined
in the report.
Since the tool’s launch in January at
the HRPA Annual Conference, more
than 500 members have taken the assessment,
including the entire HR team at
Economical Insurance in Waterloo, Ont.
Photo Africa/Shutterstock.com
INACTIVE EMPLOYEES MUST DECIDE
TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOURS AND
PARTICIPATE, WHICH IS A CHALLENGE
IN MOST ORGANIZATIONS.
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ MARCH/APRIL 2016 ❚ 13