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9 tips for engaging older workers

Older workers' knowledge and experience may be your company's greatest asset - not just to the company, but to your health and safety culture. It’s critical to keep them engaged and supported.

"As the workplace and workforce change, older workers can become disengaged for a number of reasons," says Kristy Cork, Health and Safety Consultant (Workplace Mental Health) at Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS). These can include:

• not being perceived by others as a valuable asset,
• a preference for traditional ways of working,
• difficulty adapting to new technology,
• reporting to a younger/less experienced manager,
• different learning styles from other workers.

 

"What's more, disengagement can lead to mental health issues, such as stress, depression and anxiety. Other possible consequences include reduced productivity and retention, and increased conflict or misunderstandings with other workers," notes Cork.

To help organizations engage and benefit from older workers' life experience, institutional knowledge and skills, she offers the following nine tips:

• Provide refresher health & safety training to all workers on key topics so that older workers don't feel singled out and can see other workers accepting the desired practices and behaviour.
• Acknowledge and leverage the experience of older workers. Highlight the good work they've done over the years, and find ways for them to actively contribute their knowledge and skills.
• Create opportunities where older workers can lend their experience and insights to special projects and other initiatives.
• Pair older workers with younger workers. Older workers have a key role to play as coaches and mentors.
• Help older workers engage with new technologies. For example, in one healthcare facility the prospect of a new charting system had older nurses upset because they thought it detracted from their nursing duties. To address this, older workers were invited to help the working group find a way to use the new system that made sense to them. Plus, these workers were encouraged to set the pace of change.
• Help older workers gain confidence by consulting with them on matters where experience is important.
• Manage your own expectations with respect to how much time older workers need to pick up new skills.
• Ensure that supervisors and managers understand and are able to adapt to generational differences when it comes to learning styles, work styles, and worker expectations. An effective manager will seek to understand the unique needs of their workers and adapt accordingly to minimize the risk of psychological harm.
• Ensure the worker and the job are still a good fit. Can the worker meet the physical and cognitive demands of the job? If not, can the job be adapted to the worker? Conduct a demands analysis of not just the physical requirements of the job, but the cognitive ones as well.

 

This article was prepared by Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS), helping Ontario businesses improve health and safety for over 100 years. For more information, visit wsps.ca or contact WSPS at customercare@wsps.ca.

TORONTO’S SHORT-TERM RENTAL RULES UPHELD BY ONTARIO TRIBUNAL

Joint Statement from the Hotel Association of Canada, the Ontario Restaurant, Hotel & Motel Association and the Greater Toronto Hotel Association:

November 19, 2019 (Toronto, ON) - Following a lengthy legal process, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) has ruled in favour of the City of Toronto’s Short-Term Rental Regulations. This is a significant and precedent-setting win for the hotel industry.

The City of Toronto had passed strong and restrictive regulations in December of 2017 following a significant and sustained lobbying effort by the hotel industry and, in particular, the Ontario Restaurant, Hotel & Motel Association and the Greater Toronto Hotel Association. Almost immediately, these regulations were appealed by Airbnb advocates and commercial operators, resulting in a lengthy delay in implementation.

The decision delivered by the LPAT yesterday upholds the original regulations, dismisses the appeals and plants the City firmly onside with hotel, housing and community advocates.

The most significant component of these new regulations is the zoning bylaw that stipulates that short-term rentals can only occur in one’s principal residence. This will effectively shut down the commercial side of Airbnb’s business - those running multiple units or homes. The rules will also apply to other short-term rental platforms.

In addition to limiting operations to a principal residence, the regulations also include the requirement for owners to obtain a licence, register with the City, and pay a 4% accommodation tax.

This decision sets an important precedent as other jurisdictions across Canada work towards regulations in their regions. Later this month, the City of Ottawa will be voting on their proposed regulations which we trust will follow Toronto’s lead. 

The Hotel Association of Canada, together with its Provincial and City Hotel Association partners, will continue to drive a national strategy that aligns our efforts and positions the industry to achieve fair rules across the country.

More information will be provided by the City of Toronto in December 2019 regarding implementation and timelines.

FULL RELEASE

Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week is November 1–7, 2019

The Hawkins Gignac Act, 2013 (French) proclaims the week beginning on November 1 of each year as Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week. No matter which day of the week it is, November 1 always is the start of Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week.

Fire department resources:

• Resources, including new resources for 2019 (French), are available to support CO Awareness Week initiatives and campaigns in your community. Tweet links to them using the hashtag #COsafety, or print and distribute them when delivering presentations in your community.
• More resources are available from TSSA.

 

Tweet/Post links to the following information using the hashtag #COsafety:

• Carbon monoxide infographic (French),
• What is carbon monoxide? (French),
• How to prevent carbon monoxide (French),
• Carbon monoxide alarm installation requirements (French),
• Carbon monoxide alarm tips (French),
• Carbon monoxide alarm questions and answers (French),
• Carbon monoxide information sheet (French).

 

Heating Safety:

 

• Cut and paste the heating safety news release (French) into a Word document, customize it and send it to local media to raise awareness of heating safety.
• Tweet heating safety tweets (French) throughout the colder months.
• Tweet/post links to the Heating Fire Safety Info Sheet (French).

 

Fall Fire Safety Tips:

 

• Tweet/post links to TSSA’s Autumn Watch Booklet and Autumn Cleanup Checklist.

 

Electrical Safety:

 

• Tweet electrical safety tips from the Electrical Safety Authority throughout the month.
• Tweet/post links to the Electrical Fire Safety Info Sheet (French).

 

Cooking Safety:

 

• Tweet cooking safety tweets (French) throughout the month.
• Tweet/post links to the Cooking Fire Safety Info Sheet (French).
• Schedule What’s Cooking for Teens! (French) presentations in high schools.
• Tweet and post links to cooking video PSAs (French).

 

Lesson Plans for Fire Crews:

• These lesson plans (French) can be used by fire crews and/or public educators who are delivering fire safety lessons to kids in elementary schools, at the fire hall or at community events.

 

Change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries:

• Clocks will fall back one hour at 2am on November 3. Send the Change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries news release template (French) to local media to remind everyone to change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

 

On October 31, 2019 the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines sent the following communications regarding the Ontario Eelctricity Rebate. Read the letter here.

Make Your Plan

The following opportunities and resources can be included in your public fire safety education plans for October to support education efforts in your communities. A public education planning and tracking template is available to plan and track your activities for every month of the year. To download the template, click on the download arrow in the top right corner here. Using this planning and tracking template helps fire departments produce an annual report on public education activities. Click here to download a sample annual report template. Read the entire newsletter here.

In line with the government’s commitment to make Ontario more open for business, the Ministry of Labour’s Employment Standards Program is providing free online access to its Employment Standards Policy & Interpretation (P&I) Manual.

By posting the P&I Manual online, the ministry is providing a simple and convenient way for employers to access information they need to understand their obligations under the Employment Standards Act (ESA), making it easier to start, run and grow a business in Ontario. The P&I Manual explains how the Ministry of Labour interprets, administers and enforces the ESA, the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act, and their associated regulations.

The Manual is available at Ontario.ca/labour. Updates are made as required.

For more information on the Policy & Interpretation Manual, please call the Employment Standards Information Centre at: 416-326-7160 (GTA), 1-800-531-5551 (Toll-free) or 1-866-567-8893 (TTY).

To stay up-to-date on Ministry of Labour news, subscribe to our newsletters.

A recent Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS)-supported pilot study of heat stress in retail kitchens found that peak temperatures at some sites exceeded threshold limit values (TLVs) and workers showed heat-related symptoms even at temperatures within recommended limits. Could this be possible in your restaurant or hotel kitchen? Read the entire article here.

Do you know what the hours of work and overtime rules are in Ontario? What about how to calculate overtime pay? Join the Ministry of Labour for a one-hour overview on July 24, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. to learn more. This session is provided for your information only. It should not be used or considered legal advice. There is a registration limit of 95 participants for this webinar, register here to reserve your spot.

Click here to view a calendar of other information session events offered by the ministry and sign up for a session near you. This calendar will be updated on a regular basis as new events are added.

If you have a question about employment standards and would like to speak to one of the Ministry of Labour’s experts, call the Employment Standards Information Centre at: 416-326-7160 (Greater Toronto Area) | 1-800-531-5551 (Toll-free) | 1-866-567-8893 (TTY for the hearing impaired). Information is available in multiple languages.

To stay up-to-date on Ministry of Labour news, subscribe to our newsletters.

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