With our busy schedules, it's hard to find the time to exercise. Between juggling a career, a social life, and binge watching the latest Netflix marathon, it can be difficult to squeeze in workouts even though we know they're vital to our health and well-being.
Now is an ideal time to get yourself into a fitness groove with a workout schedule that fits your life now that the days are expanding with more sunlight.
Quote of the Month...
"The limits of the possible can only be defined by going beyond them into the impossible."
I
f you have any comments or concerns, do not hesitate to
email
me.
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UBCM Group Benefits Newsletter
April 2018
We Have a New Account Executive!
I am sure all of you know, or at least have communicated with Annie Ni. She had been our dedicated Account Executive for the last five years. She has always gone the extra mile and has taken the time to provide employers with explanations or alternatives to their benefit enquiries. Annie has not left PBC but has been re-assigned to a specific block of business. We wish Annie every success in her future endeavours!
Our new Account Executive is Nathan Roeters. Nathan has over ten years of experience in group benefits and has earned the CEBS designation. His background includes two tenures at Pacific Blue Cross, as well as time working for a national benefits consulting firm. Nathan brings valuable experience in assisting clients from a wide variety of sectors to his current role as an Account Executive. He has also served a six-year term as a public committee member at the College of Pharmacists of BC, and has been a panel speaker on Finance and Quantitative Analysis for UBC Graduate Management's Business Bootcamp program. The rest of our team at PBC has remained the same:
Nathan Roeters
Account Executive
604 419-2412
Kevin Ronahan
Account Manager
604 419-2147
Samantha Spalding
Service Representative
604 419-2775
The UPnGO with ParticipACTION's Workplace Wellness Scoop
What if there was something you could do everyday to
improve productivity, reduce absenteeism and improve the job satisfaction of your employees
- would you do it? As a leader in your organization you set that example that your employees follow. When you set an active example at work, others will follow suit. It's all about Modelling the behaviour and giving Permission for your employees to do the same. Find out how you can practice Modelling and Permissioning: read or watch now.
Find out why physical activity is the single best thing you can do for maximizing engagement, productivity and well-being at work: Sign up for an upcoming UPnGO webinar by contacting
[email protected] with subject line '
UBCM UPnGO Webinar Inquiry' or learn more at
UPnGO.
British Columbia - Employment Standards - Leaves of Absence
On April 9, 2018, Bill 6, Employment Standards Amendment Act, 2018 received first reading. The bill purports to make a number of changes to the leave of absence provisions under the Employment Standards Act, including among other matters to:
- allow pregnancy leave to commence earlier (13 weeks before the expected due date, up from the current 11 weeks)
- increase parental leave for consistency with the new extended federal Employment Insurance (EI) parental benefit (for a total possible leave of 78 weeks)
- increase compassionate care leave (from eight weeks to 27 weeks)
- add a new type of leave called child death leave, which is an unpaid, job-protected leave of up to 104 weeks (or two years) if a parent's child (under 19 years of age) has died under any circumstances
- add a new type of leave called crime-related child disappearance leave, which is an unpaid, job-protected leave of up to 52 weeks, if a parent's child (under 19 years of age) disappears as a result of a crime
Chronic Hepatitis C Medication Now Available For All
Any British Columbian living with chronic hepatitis C now is able to access treatment, regardless of the severity of their disease. Read more.
Strategy to Help More Get the Surgeries They Need
The Province is launching a new, four-part surgical strategy aimed at reducing wait times for the health care British Columbians need. Read more.
Support for Community-Based Projects that Address the Challenges of Dementia
More than 400,000 Canadian seniors live with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. Women are disproportionately affected, making up two-thirds of this population.
Budget 2018 proposes to provide $20 million over five years, starting in 2018-19, and $4 million per year ongoing, to the Public Health Agency of Canada to support community-based projects that address the challenges of dementia.
Projects could include programs that provide mental health supports and information about self-care for family caregivers, or initiatives that help Canadians locate resources in their communities quickly, including information about best practices for providing care for people living with dementia. This new funding will help to improve the quality of life of people living with dementia and ensure that caregivers-who are predominantly women-have access to the resources they need, including mental health supports.
The full budget is available
here
.
Mental Health Week: May 7-13, 2018
This year marks the 67th CMHA Mental Health Week. Since 1951, CMHA Mental Health Week has been raising awareness to end stigma associated with mental illness. Mental Health Week has become synonymous with CMHA's popular "Get Loud for Mental Health" campaign. Visit
Mental Health Week
for info and tools to #GetLoud for CMHA Mental Health Week!
Addressing Mental Health Can Reduce Benefit Costs
Source: Benefits & Pensions Monitor
Organizations can reduce benefits costs by enhancing the workplace environment and addressing mental health. The costs of providing health and disability benefits can become unmanageable if employers don't proactively manage the workplace and invest in prevention and wellness. The first step in good health is to address mental health. As an example, anxiety and burnout can lead to substance abuse and mental health problems can lead to employees not taking care of themselves, which all leads to more expensive health problems.
People who are anxious or stressed will also have an impact on the workplace environment causing productivity loss and absenteeism. Employers should start by reviewing the current situation and making a case to focus on a healthy environment.
Find National Standards Daunting?
Fret no more with the "Assembling the Pieces" Toolkit. This free online toolkit supports organizations working to implement the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (the Standard). As a companion to the "Assembling the Pieces Implementation Guide", it provides practical advice for implementing key elements and links to customizable tools that will help organizations take action. Get started here!
Stress - Let's Manage it!
Just the mention of the word stress gets people's attention pretty quickly. That's because stress affects everyone - it is universal. Stress cuts across every economic, social and cultural boundary, so learning to understand it and manage it is important for everyone. If stress is not managed properly, it can have serious negative health consequences - both physically and mentally. In the workplace, if employee stress is not managed properly, it's not only individual health that is jeopardized. Consistently high levels of employee stress in the workplace can also jeopardize an organization's bottom line.
The Psychology Foundation of Canada (PFC) has developed training programs to help better understand how to manage situations and relationships more effectively.
Emergency Preparedness Week: May 6-12, 2018
May 6 - 12 is Emergency Preparedness Week, and Public Safety Canada has many resources to help you know the risks and prepare for all emergencies. From family emergency plan templates and emergency kit checklists, to the new Alert Ready system designed to send critical messages direct to your cellphone, check out their resources for everything you need to be prepared!
Anna-Maria Wijesinghe
Nathan Roeters
Manager, Member & Association Services
Account Executive
Union of BC Municipalities
Pacific Blue Cross
Phone: 604.270.8226 (ext. 111) Phone: 604.419.2412
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