Career Trends

A very interesting article to read and reflect on prior to working as an employment counsellor, as many clients have worked, currently work, or will work in precarious employment relationships. The article defines precarious employment, gives a brief history, and provides great insight into why precarious employment is on the rise. It includes a study of about 400 workers in precarious employment in Ontario, and outlines the negative health benefits. Some of these include uncertainties in the following areas: uncertainty of future work, of level of income/ benefits, location of work, schedule, workload uncertainty, etc., which ultimately lead to negative effects in people's mental and physical health.

A recent survey on millenials - another name given to Generation Y - conducted by the Pew Research Center, explains how major events such as wars, social movements, economic downturns, and medical, scientific or technological breakthroughs affect all age groups simultaneously, but the degree of impact differs according to where people are located in their life cycle.

This article from the Economist published in 2012 discusses recent changes to the Swedish economy and the lessons that Anglo-Saxon economies such as the US can learn from their example.

In the first few chapters of Stanford's book - Economics is for Everyone - he speaks to how Economic Impact is measured in both the private and non-profit sectors in different ways. Having worked for non-profit organizations for a number of years, I was especially curious about how the economic impact of the non-profit sector is measured and found this great resource put together by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Especially enlightening is the PowerPoint presentation of International best practices for Tracking Economic Impact. Enjoy!

In this week's course notes the idea of the precarious worker caught my attention. Many health issues as well as discriminatory issues are seen while doing precarious work as it is not long term and there is constant change. This article outlines and defines what the precarious worker is and the gender differences in the precarious work environment. To give one example, the article states that women represent more precarious workers than men being 33%:12%. This automatically gives way to questions regarding sex discrimination in full time work and brings in the idea of women trying to have a work/life balance for their family.

Alternative Link: http://www.erudit.org/revue/ri/2010/v65/n1/039528ar.pdf

Now that we know what the "economy" is...what is Canada's Economic Action Plan all about? Small businesses across Canada are engines for job creation. They employ roughly half of the private sector labour force and represent about a third of Canada's gross domestic product. Economic Action Plan (EAP) includes many initiatives to help small businesses succeed including the Small Business Job Credit.

This is an extended excerpt from a book about the evolution of capitalism. I really liked how it got me thinking about the workings of capitalism and linked up with last week's readings about the future of work and the global market, and the need to look at things differently.

In a New York Times op-ed article, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz theorized that capitalism does not inevitably produce inequalities in wealth. The authors of this article challenge his theory by stating that capitalism is responsible for economic inequality.

This is a short, incredibly interesting and simple video about a different way to measure the "wealth" of a country. The idea was considered and put in place by the 4th Dragon King of Bhutan, who believed there was more than one way to measure a country's wealth than just its economic development. He believed the country should also be measured by its emotional and spiritual well-being: taking into account the people's community involvement, access to health care and education, and its celebration of religion or culture. While the concept has been subject to a lot of criticism (how do you actually quantify all of these factors?), it definitely gives us something to consider and echoes Stanford's assertion that GDP is not an adequate measure of human well-being. For more information, check out grossnationalhappiness.com.

This is an interesting article which introduces the reader to some of the pros and cons involved in job sharing.

Every dog has its day, and the same applies to economic theory. Today's dog is neo-liberalism, a policy framework developed by economists Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, which found political expression under Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

One of the main themes this week in the book "Economics For Everyone" is the term neoliberalism. Take a look at this article by the globe and mail. It talks extensively about how privatization, free trade and deregulation are changing society.

This article takes an interesting look at how Nordic countries are reshaping their economies after the economic lows in 2007-08. Interestingly enough, much has been changing since Economics for Everyone was published in 2008. Very interesting read!

The Globe and Mail has sought out columns from thought leaders in Western Canada, people whose influence is shaping debate, but whose names may not be widely recognized. There's a lot of talk of the need for a new economic system - capitalism 2.0 in shorthand - based on shared values, inclusive wealth accounting and social equity.

This is a resource from the Canada Revenue Agency about the underground economy, which was a term mentioned a couple of times in this week's notes. Though this document is skewed by the fact that it is produced by a government agency, it is still useful for getting more information and specifics.

"The trend toward "people without jobs, jobs without people" poses the single biggest long-term threat to Canadian economic growth, exacerbating Canada's already lagging productivity and innovation, according to one recent report. " Chris Sorensen; March 19, 2013

TORONTO, Aug. 25, 2014 /CNW/ - Ted Opitz, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke-Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Dr. K. Kellie Leitch, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women, spoke on Saturday about the importance of recruiting and advancing women in the skilled trades.

This article related to chapter 6 of the The Shift, where Gratton outlines how Gen Y-ers like John and Susan seek social engagement over personal financial success. It also discusses a recent rise in 'social entrepreneurship', where young graduates are creating their own social change start-ups as a way to fulfill both their need for employment and sense of social responsibility.

This resource is great for entrepreneurs. More specifically, check out the "Planning" section. Topics covered include: learning how to conduct market research, finding stats and analyses related to your chosen field, read up on economic trends in your industry, learn about where to find your target demographic audience across the country, and a site selection tool to help you find the best location for your business to start or grow.

In Gratton's chapters 5 through 7 this week I especially enjoyed the thoughts she expressed about innovation and how technology will facilitate creativity and innovation in and between workplaces. It reminded me of a Creativity/ Innovation conference that I attended for 2 years in 2011 & 2012 in Ontario. A group of over 100 creativity and innovation professionals from corporations like Disney, organizations like Facilitators without borders and entrepreneurs like those from FlipSkills & ThinkX come together for 4 days to share the latest and the greatest with each other. It's worth a look and I'd encourage you to register.

Assessing our mental health is not as simple to do as measuring our physical health. There are no scales or endurance tests that rate mental fitness. But with the help of the Canadian Mental Health Association's Mental Health Meter, you can reflect on your unique strengths and identify areas where your level of mental fitness could be improved to help you cope with all of life's up and downs.

As a volunteer for the CMHA, I am an advocate for their website and useful resources! As part of this week's readings on what we are looking for in our working lives and what trade offs we will need to make, I feel that these resources are a helpful read. Take the time to see where you can make improvements to your mental fitness! I like to schedule "Christina time" every week :)