Human Resources 101

Samantha Grice takes a look at the the benefits of a mid-day nap on productivity in the workplace in the National Post article, Workers of the world, turn out the lights!.
Napping tips from Take a Nap! Change Your Life. : The Scientific Plan to Make You Smarter, Healthier, More Productive.
- Remove “nap blockers,” meaning [...]

Employers have a legal obligation to ensure their employees receive WHMIS education This site provided by Health Canada in partnership with provincial and territorial governments is the official national site to obtain Canadian WHMIS information and data.
The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) is Canada’s national hazard communication standard. The key elements of the system are cautionary [...]

Here’s a piece from NPR looking at some of the things the LAPD Call Centre is doing to help their operators cope with stress.
Job stress costs employers $300 billion a year — but how do you keep workers from hitting the burnout point? Apryl Lundsten looks at how emergency call centers help their operators cope.
Marketplace: [...]

Back in April I pointed to a series of stories CBC ran on workplace safety in Canada. This time around, CBC is looking at the disconnect between workplace safety inspections and the modern workplace environment. The series, Out of Sync, looks at increasing safety threats in health-care and administrative work settings, while safety legislation continues [...]

Almost a year and a half ago, a 14 year old boy was killed on the job while sandblasting a truck box. The Reynolds Museum and its director were convicted of employing an underage individual without parental consent and of having the teen in a dangerous work environment.
The museum and owner were fined the maximum [...]

The Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) has released a new research report “Five Deaths a Day: Workplace Fatalities in Canada, 1993-2005 ” (PDF). The report provides an analysis of the types of persons who die on the job and the reasons they die.
Two key messages emerge from this study:

The number and rate of workplace fatalities [...]

The requirements of the OHS Code 2006 come into effect on February 1, 2007.
This allows employers and workers a phase-in period to come into compliance with the requirements of the OHS Code 2006.
The requirements of the OHS Code 2003 remain in effect until January 31, 2007.

OHS Code (2006)
OHS Code Explanation Guide (2006)
OHS Code [...]

H & H Stucco & Siding Ltd. to pay largest penalty ever in Alberta for workplace incident
Edmonton… H & H Stucco & Siding Ltd. has received the highest penalty ever imposed in Alberta for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company was sentenced to pay a combined total of $345,000 following [...]

More than a million Canadian workers, or about 1 in 12, are dissatisfied with their jobs, a Statscan survey released Tuesday suggests – and that dissatisfaction leads to stress and depression, researchers warn.
The 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey, which focused on mental health and well-being, said just over six per cent of workers were “not [...]

Students can show employers their Work Safe Passports
Edmonton… This morning, Centre High Campus hosted the official launch of new resources developed to teach students how to work safely before they enter the workforce.
“Educating students in the classroom about workplace health and safety is an excellent way to prepare them for the realities that they will [...]