Harassment, marijuana, labour churn at forefront
Sexual harassment in the workplace and the impending legalization of marijuana could be two of the most significant trends facing human resources professionals in Canada this year — but not the only ones, according to experts, citing additional concerns such as labour churn, changing workplace expectations and cybersecurity.
Legal risks
The explosive sexual harassment fallout triggered in October with the fall of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has continued unabated into the new year, while the federal legalization of marijuana is slated to occur this summer.
These two challenges will require HR policy reviews, according to Michael Grodinsky, partner at Borden Ladner Gervais in Montreal.
Companies need to be prepared to invest resources into existing policies and reporting procedures to ensure they can cope with a harassment complaint, he said.
“Employers need to have a proper handle on the situation,” said Grodinsky. “It’s not only sufficient to have a reported policy buried somewhere in a handbook, I think it needs to be accessible and it needs to be publicized and it needs to be prominent.”
While the decriminalization of marijuana is not necessarily earth-shaking for HR, it is an issue for employers, he said.
“What this will become is a hot-button topic where people need to remind employees of the rules regarding safe and sober conduct at work.”
Labour churn
Employers should also brace for increased staff churn, following a calendar year in which corporate success was not matched with appropriate hiring or pay raises, said Louisa Benedicto, vice-president at Hays Canada in Toronto.
A reliance on contingent workers, coupled with forecast pay raises of less than three per cent for permanent staff, could erode morale and increase stress among workers, according to the 2018 Hays Canada Salary Guide survey.
As a result, staff turnover will be a major factor this year for organizations, said Benedicto.
“We’ve got great market conditions. We’ve got people feeling dissatisfied in their current positions. Salaries haven’t been growing as much as they would like them to,” she said.
“You add in the fact that there’s going to be high demand in the market… there’s going to be a big retention issue on people’s hands if they don’t take precautions to stop that.”
For the past decade, employees have been happy to simply have a job, and have not been very concerned about small salary increases, said Benedicto.
“But I think we’re out of that now,” she said.
“Vacancies are being created. It’s kind of the perfect storm, when you couple in the fact that you’ve got a slightly more disengaged workforce than normal. Then, yes, you would expect people to start wanting to move.”
HR should review salary structures to ensure pay levels are competitive, said Benedicto. Additionally, emphasis could be placed on benefits such as work-from-home opportunities, increased training, or improved company culture.
Changing workplaces
Adapting to change also remains a front-of-mind issue for HR this year, said Paula Allen, vice-president of Morneau Shepell’s health solutions and research group in Toronto.
“The pace of organizational change, and the frequency of it, is increasing like no other time in history,” she said. “We have disruptive business models, competition with globalization, and a very different opportunity to do business in a different way, given technology.”
“There are all sorts of things that are requiring every business to take a really hard, close look at itself to see if it needs to modify. And almost everybody is saying that they do.”
HR may turn to artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to streamline tasks and increase operational efficiency, said Allen.
Mental health and a shift to strategic operations are also in-focus topics, according to Morneau Shepell’s Trends in Human Resources report, which surveyed 370 Canadian organizations.
“When you have a workplace that’s always going through change, that puts strain on people,” she said.
“That constant change is a potential risk. And the other side of the coin is that organizations — in order to manage this changing market landscape — need people to be at their best.”
U.S. challenges somewhat similar
Legislative changes, sexual harassment claims, and cybersecurity are the top issues facing companies south of the border, said Beth Zoller, legal editor of XpertHR in New Providence, N.J.
Employers will continue to grapple with uncertainties as the country’s administration attempts regulatory overhauls of systems such as immigration, tax and health care, she said, citing data from an XpertHR survey of 1,000 American HR practitioners.
“Employers have a lot to deal with in terms of understanding this complex patchwork of all of these laws,” she said. “There’s a state of confusion and unknown, but I think things are becoming clearer.”
Other challenges identified for HR include policy creation around workplace violence, and the continued rise of the gig economy, said Zoller.
“The role of HR is definitely more important than ever,” she said. “The way people work has really changed… There’s a lot to consider and HR really needs to take an active role in understanding what these issues are, how they can prepare and really reduce employer liability.”
