#18 – I have blog title writer’s block!
So I wrote this whole posting assuming that as I wrote a title would come to me (as they usual do). But no so much.
The BC Healthy Living Alliance, who you may remember from such blog postings as this one, tweeted about this article the other day:
Focus on people, firms told
Vital to invest in workers’ health, expert says
Basically, it’s talking about how companies should make small changes in the workplace to promote employee health because not only will it help people be healthier (which probably isn’t of concern to many companies), but it will also save them money (which is probably more what they care about).
In particular, I thought this was pretty interesting:
CIBC saved 2,500 days of employee absences and $1.5 million in productivity costs in its first year of introducing and funding its child-care centre for employees in 2002.
Despite the fact that I don’t have any kids myself, I’ve long lamented the lack of child care spaces in Canada. Just talk to anyone with small kids and they will tell you about how hard it is to find day care spaces (I’ve even heard of people being on day care wait lists *before* they get pregnant because the wait list is longer than the nine months of pregnancy + one year mat leave). And even if you are lucky enough to get a spot, it costs the lion share of your salary to pay for the daycare, making you start to wonder why you are working at all. Have a second or a third kid and you can conceivably be *losing* money by going to work!
I wonder if more companies would funding childcare centres if they heard about things like $1.5 million in savings!
Don’t forget to Read about the charity that I’m supporting, Options for Sexual Health!
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Tags: Blogathon, Blogathon 2009, Blogathon Vancouver 2009, day care, health care
You're not kidding about the daycare lists. My friend Tania, who lives in Wakefield, QC (eligible for the $7 provincial day care system) and works in Ottawa got on the list when she was 7 weeks pregnant. Claire turned one yesterday; Tania went back to work on Monday, and STILL NO SPOTS. They managed to find a full price, private daycare with a spot, but even that was touch and go.
I'm on the waiting list in Ottawa, but am not holding my breath. I am looking into in-home care in our neighbourhood right now (for January).
Maclean's had an interesting article on this during their '100 top employers' edition. Text can be found here: http://bit.ly/M4DJP They basically say that since the benefits of having childcare onsite are spread out (parents, the kids, society, the firm), it doesn't look great for bottom line. Plus, it's really expensive for good quality care, especially with liability issues.