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Learn about the growing impact of precarious employment in Canada and the implications for investors. Discover how prioritizing worker management and investment can enhance corporate performance, reputation, and long-term value creation.
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Good workplacesGood profits KEVIN THOMAS, DIRECTOR OF SHAREHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
I work for a manufacturing company for an hourly wage. I’m ‘on-call’. I don’t know from one week to the next how many hours I’ll be working. My wife and I find it very difficult to manage the budget and juggle the child care.
They only schedule you for three days, but they still want a four- to five-day commitment from you. It makes it hard on workers who get other jobs in retail, trying to juggle changing schedules. There’s no protection when problems come up in scheduling.
Changing Labour Markets in Canada Canada’s labour markets are increasingly characterized by non-standard forms of employment or “precarious employment.”
Implications for Investors ECONOMY WIDE IMPACTS • Growing inequality weakens consumer demand, is harmful to long-term economic growth, economic stability, and economic efficiency. • Precarious work increases the stress on households and on social structures. COMPANY LEVEL IMPACTS • Effects on productivity, operational efficiency, sales and customer service. • Reputational and social license risks of low wages and poor working conditions. • Correlation between human capital management and corporate performance.
The Sound of Silence • Investors aren’t asking: • Too few investors link HCM practices with value, and too few are asking companies about how they manage and invest in their workers. • Rarely considered in mainstream investment analysis and even in many cases in “responsible investment” analyses. • Companies aren’t telling: • “Our people are our greatest asset” and yet little evidence that companies prioritize this in business strategy, performance indicators, and reporting.
Valuing Workers: Role for Investors • Break the silence – investors need to demand better reporting from companies on their management of and investment in workers. • Change the narrative– investors should support decent work as an investment in the business as opposed to just a cost to the business. • Focus on the long-term –support company efforts to create long-term value including by supporting improvement in labour practices. • Identify the right metrics – those that reflect positive worker outcomes as well as better business results.