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Chapter 1: The World of Human Resources Management: 1-2f Issue 6: Adapting to Educational and Cultural Shifts Affecting the
Workforce
Book Title: Managing Human Resources
Printed By: Krishna Patel (patel.t.krishna@gmail.com)
© 2020 Nelson Education Ltd, Nelson Education Ltd

1-2f Issue 6: Adapting to Educational and Cultural Shifts Affecting the Workforce

Education of the Workforce

The 2016 Census shows that more than half (54.0 percent) of Canadians aged 25 to 64 had
either college or university qualifications, up from 48.3 percent in 2006. Canada continues to
rank at the top among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) countries in terms of the proportion of college and university graduates.

The 2016 Census confirmed that higher education is a gateway to higher earnings, as did
all previous censuses. The data suggest that for women between 25 and 64 years old, who
worked full-time, full-year, with a high school diploma earned $43,234; those with a college
diploma earned $48,599, and those with a bachelor’s degree earned $68,342. On the other
hand, the comparative figures for men were $55,744, $67,965, and $82,082. (Apart from
the income–education differences, the male–female earnings gap is noticeable).

According to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the value of a college
or university degree is $1 million over the course of a career. The unemployment rates of
those with only high school education are on average 12 to 20 percent higher than those of
degree holders of the same age. It is important to note, however, that whereas the
complexity of jobs is increasing significantly, the skills gap is huge and widening. More than
3 million Canadians (aged 16 to 65) have problems reading printed material. Management
at the BHP Ekati Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories realized that a large number of
candidates had not completed high school, so the company hired educators to deliver
training in basic math and literacy, using actual workplace documents and manuals as
teaching tools. Many employers are using a tool, the Test of Workplace Essential Skills
(TOWES), developed at the Bow Valley College in Calgary, Alberta, to assess employee
competence in three essential skills: reading text, document use, and numeracy. The test
results provide managers with information about the gaps in existing skills sets in
employees; managers can then turn to educators or institutions for remedial training. As a
result of skills gaps, businesses now spend millions of dollars on basic skills training for their
employees.

Cultural Changes

The attitudes, beliefs, values, and customs of people in a society are an integral part of their
culture. Naturally, their culture affects their behaviour on the job and the environment within
the organization, influencing their reactions to work assignments, leadership styles, and
reward systems. Like the external and internal environments of which it is a part, culture is

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undergoing continual change. HR policies and procedures therefore must be adjusted to

cope with this change.

Employee Rights

Over the past few decades, federal legislation has radically changed the rules for
management of employees by granting them many specific rights. Among these are laws
granting employees the right to equal employment opportunity (Chapter 3), union
representation if they desire it (Chapter 14), a safe and healthful work environment (Chapter
12), pension plans regulated by the government (Chapter 11), equal pay for men and
women performing essentially the same job (Chapter 9), and privacy in the workplace
(Chapter 13). An expanded discussion of the specific areas in which rights and
responsibilities are of concern to employers and employees will be presented in Chapter 13.

Concern for Privacy

HR managers and their staffs, as well as line managers in positions of responsibility,

generally recognize the importance of discretion in handling all types of information about
employees. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is
a federal law that deals with the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information (note
that Quebec is the only province with similar laws, although Ontario, British Columbia, and
others have draft legislation in place). This law requires federally regulated organizations
holding personal information on customers or employees to obtain their consent before they
use, collect, or disclose this information. Employer responses to the issue of information
privacy vary widely. IBM was one of the first companies to show concern for how personal
information about employees was handled. It began restricting the release of information as
early as 1965 and in 1971 developed a comprehensive privacy policy. Royal Bank of
Canada (RBC), Hudson’s Bay Company, and Zero Knowledge Systems in Montreal are
among other employers that have developed privacy programs.

Globalization has added another twist to privacy compliance. For example, EU countries
prohibit the transfer of personal data to countries with inadequate data protection laws, such
as China. In addition to implementing privacy policies, most companies now try to limit the
use of social insurance numbers on time sheets, log-in sheets, and other employment
forms. Some companies lock up employee files, conduct background checks on employees
who have access to others’ files, educate employees in fraud prevention, and contract with
outside firms specializing in identity theft.

Although PIPEDA protects people’s electronic communications, such as their email, the
rules are different when it comes to the privacy that employees can expect with regard to
their electronic communications at work. Workers are learning the hard way that their
employers have a right to monitor their email and Internet use, for example. The information
employees post on the Web—either on social networking sites or on job-hunting sites such
as Monster.com—has also become subject to scrutiny by employers. Electronic surveillance
in the workplace is also becoming an issue. In Chapter 13, we will discuss the content of

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privacy programs, along with the privacy employees can expect while on the job, and
recommend some privacy guidelines.

The Business Case

Advantages and Disadvantages of Part-Time Workers

The trend in Canadian employment is definitely away from full-time, “permanent”

jobs toward the use of part-time and temporary employees. The advantages of
employing temporary workers are numerous:

It reduces payroll costs because part-time and temporary workers seldom

receive the same benefits as full-time workers.

Businesses can respond to fluctuations in demand. Contingent workers can

be hired or dismissed during periods of high or low demand (e.g., for retail
stores—high demand during holiday seasons; low demand in January).

Businesses can access specific expertise—when an organization enters a

new business or needs specific expertise for a limited time (development of a
website, for example), it makes economic sense to hire only for that need.
Contingent workers may also be used to bring in new ideas and skills from
other organizations and/or train regular employees.

Organizations can “test” employees’ skills and fit with the organization by
specifying a limited work contract. In this way, productive employees can be
hired and those who are underperformers can be released without costly
termination costs.

Most employers recognize these advantages and so wish to employ more

contingent and part-time employees. However, although these costs are easily
assessed, there may be greater benefits to be achieved by hiring full-time
employees. Loblaws thinks so. Canada’s largest grocery store chain is planning to
convert 10 percent of its part-time workforce to full-time work. Ten thousand full-time
jobs will be created to increase productivity and improve retention. The assumption,
backed by HR research, is that the use of full-time employees will increase
employee engagement, which in turn will improve customer service (a key
differentiator among retailers) and thus improve revenues and then profits. The
increases in compensation (full-time workers make 50 percent more in benefits than
part-time workers) will be offset by the savings of reduced turnover (the part-timer
turnover rate is 50 percent).

Although hiring part-time workers has various benefits, there are several drawbacks:

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Employees often lack the type of commitment that full-time employees often
possess. This is due in part to the lack of commitment demonstrated by the
employer, in terms of benefits and hours.

Due to limited hours and the nature of their work, particularly seasonal, they
lack knowledge and familiarity with the organization, which can impact their
performance.

Higher training cost results, and health and safety are impacted.

Turnover and absenteeism tend to be more of an issue with part-time workers.

Sources: M. Dunn, “Who Chooses Part-time Work and Why,” Monthly Labor Review (March 2018): 1–25;
T. Agovino, “Tinkering with Time,” HR Magazine 62, no. 1 (2017): 46–52; G. White, “Finding the Best
Temp Worker for the Job,” Canadian HR Reporter 22, no. 9 (2009): 17; S. Klie, “Part-timers Could Go Full
Time at Grocery Giant,” Canadian HR Reporter 22, no. 6 (2009): 1, 8; Neil Kokemuller, “Advantages &
Disadvantages of Part-time Employees,” Chron (2015), http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-
disadvantages-parttime-employees-21870.html.

The Changing Nature of the Job

The era of the full-time, permanent job seems to have disappeared. The number of self-
employed is also increasing, accounting for 15.6 percent of employment. The number of
Canadians self-employed increased by 41,100 in January 2015, accounting for almost 54
percent of total new job growth. Nearly half of all the jobs created in the last two
decades have been nonstandard—that is, part-time, temporary, or contract work.

As job security erodes, so do pension plans and healthcare benefits, especially for part-
timers. Nonstandard jobs represent about 30 percent of all employment. The Business
Case outlines the advantages of employing temporary workers but also shows why a
company has moved away from this strategy to reap higher benefits.

As shown in Ethics in HRM, labour force participants have become increasingly polarized
into haves and have-nots. We return to the subject of changing employment options in
Chapter 4.

Ethics in HRM

Skywalkers and Groundworkers

Canadian workers can be divided into two classes: skywalkers and groundworkers.
Skywalkers, those working in white-collar jobs in high-rise buildings, are well
educated and well trained and earn good incomes. Their jobs are secure, and they
receive full benefits. For these knowledge workers, the employment prospects in
computer programming, financial analysis, insurance, business services, and real
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estate are bright. Those working as managers in the high-rises on Bay Street, Howe
Street, and rue St-Jacques earned relatively high incomes.

Below the high-rise buildings toil the groundworkers. Those with little education and
outdated skills are suffering massive unemployment. Groundworkers suffer further
from job insecurity and a lack of benefit programs. Look for these workers in
restaurants, hotels, and shops. The “McJobs” they hold in the accommodation, food,
and beverage industries are generally paid minimum wages. Those working part-
time—a growing segment that now comprises 34 percent of the Canadian workforce
—fare even worse. Companies have discovered cost savings by replacing full-time
employees with part-time workers, thereby eliminating benefits and increasing
staffing flexibility. This restructuring of the job market has produced winners and
losers, but many would argue that all Canadians lose when the unemployment rate
is high and citizens feel insecure about their futures.

Sources: Daniel Tenser, “‘Permanent Damage’ to Job Prospects as Canada Shifts to Low-Wage Hiring,”
Huffington Post (December 12, 2016), https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/07/12/low-wage-jobs-canada-
hiring_n_10945650.html, retrieved April 9, 2018; Heather Scoffield, “Hold the McJobs: Canada’s High
End Employment Boom,” The Globe and Mail (February 17, 2006): B1, B4; Statistics Canada, “Statistics
Canada Measures of Weekly Earnings,” http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/.3ndic.1t.4r@-eng.jsp?iid518, retrieved
May 11, 2009.

Changing Attitudes toward Work

Employees today are less likely to define their personal success only in terms of financial
gains. Many employees, especially younger ones, believe that satisfaction in life is more
likely to result from balancing their work challenges and rewards with those in their personal
lives. Although most people still enjoy work and want to excel at it, they tend to be focused
on finding interesting work and are more inclined to pursue multiple careers rather than
being satisfied with just “having a job.” Figure 1.3 outlines the job features that are important
to Canadian workers. People also appear to be seeking ways of living that are less
complicated but more meaningful. These new lifestyles cannot help having an impact on the
way employees must be motivated and managed. Consequently, HRM has become more
complex than it was when employees were concerned primarily with economic survival.

Figure 1.3
Work Is More Than Just a Paycheque

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Source: Jobquality.ca Online Survey, 2004, “What Do You Value in a Job?” Canadian Policy Research Networks,
http://www.jobquality.ca/surveys/results_8.shtml, retrieved July 26, 2009.

Balancing Work and Family

Work and family are connected in many subtle and not-so-subtle social, economic, and
psychological ways. Because of the forms that the family now takes—such as the two-wage
earner and the single-parent family—work organizations are finding it advantageous to
provide employees with more family-friendly options. “Family friendly” is a broad term that
can include flexible work hours, daycare, eldercare, part-time work, job sharing, pregnancy
leave, parental leave, executive transfers, spousal involvement in career planning,
assistance with family problems, and telecommuting. A survey by HR consulting firm Hewitt
Associates found that 86 percent of employers now offer flexible work hours, 54 percent
permit job sharing, and 77 percent allow telecommuting. Other companies are exploring
the use of four-day workweeks to lessen their employees’ commuting costs (particularly with
rising gasoline prices).

Companies with programs such as these calculate that accommodating their employees’
individual needs and circumstances is a powerful way to attract and retain top-calibre
people. Aetna Life and Casualty, for example, cut its turnover by 50 percent after it began
offering six-month parental leaves, coupled with an option for part-time work when
employees return to the job. With that said, family-friendly companies have to balance
the benefits they provide to families versus their single employees. The majority of
employees have no children under 18. A Conference Board survey of companies with
family-friendly programs found that companies acknowledge that childless employees
harbour resentment against employees with children who are able to take advantage of
these programs.

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See Highlights in HRM 1.3 for a discussion with Nora Spinks, an expert in work–life
harmony.

Highlights in HRM 1.3

Work-Life Harmony

Nora Spinks, president and CEO of Work–life Harmony, a consulting company

specializing in work–life balance issues, comments on the demographic issues
affecting employee behaviour:

Women are in the workplace to stay; they have fewer and shorter career
breaks and have more opportunities to make or influence organizational
decisions. There is a high proportion of the aging ‘boomer’ workforce that are
asking, ‘What is my legacy?’ They are rethinking priorities and lifestyles and
reducing the number of hours they are working. At the same time, the
millennial generation [i.e., the generation born in the 1980s] is entering the
workforce and managerial positions with a fresh perspective and different
outlook on the work experience. They see work as a means to having a life,
not as life in and of itself. The boomers tend to live to work; the nexus
generation work to live. Growing up, they witnessed people give up a life for
the sake of a job, only to see them ultimately lose employment in periods of
downsizing and restructuring. They don’t want the same experience.

A recent international study of students found that young people about to

enter the workforce wanted to have a challenging career with plenty of
opportunity to grow personally and professionally, and they wanted to be
able to take advantage of those opportunities while achieving work–life
balance. It is up to organizations, executives, and managers to create the
kinds of environments to make that possible. It is the only way for them to
meet increasing customer/client demands, meet the challenges of global
competition, and reach their organizational objectives.

Source: Interview with Nora Spinks.

Chapter 1: The World of Human Resources Management: 1-2f Issue 6: Adapting to Educational and Cultural Shifts Affecting the
Workforce
Book Title: Managing Human Resources
Printed By: Krishna Patel (patel.t.krishna@gmail.com)
© 2020 Nelson Education Ltd, Nelson Education Ltd

© 2021 Cengage Learning Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may by reproduced or used in any form or by any means -
graphic, electronic, or mechanical, or in any other manner - without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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