Human capital enables us to develop or make use of all other forms of capital. There are several kinds of capital. Mentioned most often are investments in buildings, machinery, equipment and infrastructure that enable us to be productive, and the financial assets that represent them. Natural capital is now getting more attention – that’s the…
Part of the reason clients hire me is to give them an outsider’s opinion of the challenges or opportunities facing their businesses. I take this very seriously, so I’m constantly scanning the economic horizon for changes that could have an effect on these leaders and their organizations. Over the past few months, I’ve been talking…
Why is change so slow?
Why on Earth has Canada not been able to change the number of women entering and progressing in skilled trades careers or associated apprenticeship programs? We’ve been talking about this subject for too long. For many women who trailblazed and pushed their way into skilled trades jobs over the last decades, it must feel exhausting.…
Offer to do what needs to be done on a contract basis. Since there’s no long-term commitment, it’s easier for the employer to agree
Summer ends, September approaches. Schools may be opening or closing or something in between – even though the ads for back-to-school sales have been conspicuously fewer than usual. As the days shorten, our thoughts reluctantly turn from beaches, picnics and holidays to getting back to work. Perhaps you, like so many others, are out of…
Outdated Canadian labour laws need to reflect new evidence on how deeply grief affects us, says U of A researcher
It takes months, even years, to recover from the grief of losing a loved one, and Canadian legislation and workplaces need to start recognizing that, says a University of Alberta researcher. While many workplaces offer three days of paid or unpaid bereavement leave, it’s based on an outdated 1967 federal law in the Canada Labour Code…
If China wants to keep trading with the West, it needs to do something about the living standards of its working people
The idea that our entire civilization could depend on millions of foreign slaves that we pretend don’t exist is like something out of a dystopian novel. But it’s the world in which we’ve lived for decades. COVID-19 is proving to be the wake-up call we needed. With cheap goods comes cheap labour, and with cheap…
She played two off-screen roles that took courage and independence. She was, to put it simply, a woman of genuine substance.
Olivia de Havilland died last weekend at the age of 104. She was often described as the last survivor of Hollywood’s golden age. Making theatrical movies from the mid-1930s to the late-1970s and continuing in television until 1988, de Havilland earned five Academy Award nominations and won Best Actress twice. Not bad going by anyone’s…
By reducing business profits, unionization ultimately makes workers worse off, diminishing employment and wages
A recent story in The Monitor – a magazine published by the left-wing, union-friendly think-tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – provides an important lesson in basic economics. The headline triumphantly proclaims: “Gig workers win the right to unionize.” The end result was unfortunate for the workers, however. An editor’s note at the top of…
The use of robots can make the restaurant sector more robust financially and more secure from a public health perspective
Canada’s first server-free restaurant has opened its doors in Toronto. Box’d is a fully-automated restaurant designed for life during a global pandemic. It’s an interesting concept but it makes you wonder what role humans can and should play in the food industry. Being aware of the new risks, we need to boldly move forward to…
Training robots to guide people through tasks could improve return-to-work evaluations and treatment: U of A researchers
Training robots to guide injured workers through simulated tasks could make return-to-work evaluations and treatment programs more effective and accessible, according to researchers at the University of Alberta. In a review of scientific literature on efforts to use robotics for occupational rehabilitation, the researchers reported that robots with machine learning capabilities have the potential to…