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Balancing hurried families and the changing workplace

Traditional employment - the 40-hour ritual from Monday to Friday - is getting harder to find. Only 1/3 of the Canadian workforce today puts in what used to be considered standard hours.

The shift to a workweek that operates around the clock is just one example of the radical surgery that is reshaping Canada's employment market. In addition, as employment takes on new structures, working parents - many of whom are also in non-traditional family units - are feeling the pressure. For example, the once common sit down supper with home-cooked meals is falling by the wayside.

The ability of working parents to balance all the demands for their time and attention is wearing thin, according to a new report from HRDC Labour Program called Voices of Canadians: Seeking Work-Life Balance. Time stress, the report notes, is upsetting the work-life balance of two thirds of working parents.

The pressures are occurring in the home and the workplace.

• Families with two working parents are increasing. In fact, dual earners outnumber single-earner families more than 3 to 1 and 70 per cent of these families have both parents working full time
• The number of employees working 50 hours per week is more than twice what it was 10 years ago
• Even in 1996, it took 18 months of salary to cover a family's living expenses for a year
• Lone parent families represent 10 per cent of all families
• 25 per cent of workers provide some form of care or support for an elderly family member

The push and pull of these demands is translating into a major source of conflict as Canadians try to maintain some balance among their work, family and lifestyle. But there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. The federal government, through Health Canada and the Labour Program of Human Resources Development Canada, is undertaking a major initiative to come up with new coping strategies for employers and employees alike. A new website has been launched to profile innovations around work-life balance as well as discuss the benefits and costs of specific programs and make the business case for work-life balance. The latest report, Voices of Canadians: Seeking Work-Life Balance, is based on written comments collected during a survey of more than 31,000 Canadian workers. It comes with both an airing of the problems as well as possible solutions. Canadian workers told the researchers that they wanted flexibility or control over the organization of their working lives, in terms of how much work is expected and when, where and how this work is performed. They also asked for:

• Flexible work schedules
• Limits on overtime
• Opportunities for part-time work
• Telework
• Family care provisions

Meanwhile, the workplace is in a continual state of flux. Even as employers try to manage the human side of business, they are also grappling with new technologies, new work production, changing business structures and the constant call for new skills.

The upheaval leaves little question that a new equilibrium must be found. The question is how to find that balance. According to the report, the solution is to take the search beyond individuals and involve all concerned, including employees and their families, employers and unions, communities and governments.

Hazard Alerts

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New warnings from provincial governments

Prevention and information are the watchwords again this month as provincial governments attempt to save lives at work and home with Hazard Alerts and safety bulletins.

According to the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia, written demolition procedures must be available on construction sites following the death of a 58-year-old worker who was taking down a building.

The WCB says the worker was instructed to follow a demolition plan, but later changed his approach. While he was excavating a column, the concrete structure collapsed onto his excavator, crushing him inside the operator cab.

The WCB's safe work practices also call for workers to stick to demolition plans unless changes are discussed with and agreed upon with a supervisor or other qualified professionals. Find More BC Alerts

Nova Scotia's Fire Marshall is hoping to avoid a repeat of clothes dryer fires in homes and businesses this year with the release of a new warning.

"Many things such as chemicals, heat and lint can ignite a fire inside and outside dryers. People must be aware of the risks of fires caused by dryers," said provincial Fire Marshall Robert Cormier. He says clothes fires have started after hot, moist clothes have been removed from the dryer.

Cleaning solutions left on materials are a particular hazard in institutional dryers. The heat from the drying cycle may cause the materials to ignite and start a fire within the dryer. The Fire Marshall is urging institutions to thoroughly rinse materials before laundering. He also recommends that a staff person be present while the dryer is operating.

The warning is an attempt to avoid a spate of fires in 1998-99 when 18 clothes dryer fires caused more than $350,000 worth of damage. Read Full Alert Here

OSH Answers

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Let there be (proper) light

Eye fatigue and headaches from poor lighting can take a big bite out of worker productivity. Momentary blindness, from adjusting to brighter or darker surroundings, boosts chances of accident and injury. Improper illumination choices impair precision tasks and accurate colour recognition.

The best defence is to ensure proper lighting in the office and on the plant floor.

People receive about 85 percent of their information through their sense of sight. And lighting plays a key role in making that information as accurate as possible.

The most common complaints resulting from poor lighting are:

• eyestrain
• eye irritation
• blurred vision
• dry burning eyes
• headaches

It also contributes to stiff necks and shoulder aches, as people lapse into awkward postures to get better light to read.

In industrial situations, poor lighting can lead to misjudgment of the position, shape or speed of moving machinery, potentially resulting in accident and injury. Computers in the office present a different challenge because staff regularly work from a computer monitor and paper sources. Paper documents require a higher light level than the monitor.

There's a lot to consider and the solutions are more complex than installing brighter bulbs. Positioning and diffusing of overhead lights, contrast, glare, reflection, shadows and flickering from fluorescent bulbs all play a part in worker health and productivity.

The OSH Answers section of the CCOHS website has extensive information about lighting ergonomics, including a lighting checklist, solutions to common problems and formulas to measure illuminance, luminance, contrast and reflectance.

Here's a few quick tips to whet your interest to conduct a lighting audit at your place of business:

• Use filters to diffuse overhead lighting
• Cover windows with adjustable blinds
• Use matte finishes on walls, floors and furniture
• Adjust the brightness and contrast of computer monitors, instead of installing an anti-glare screen
• Use a light colour for the screen background
• Place the monitor parallel (not directly below) with overhead lights

Partner News

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Partnering to work safe in Saskatchewan

"The challenge for those of us with a stake in workplace injury prevention," says Saskatchewan WCB Chairman John Solomon, "is to transform the vast store of existing and emerging occupational health, safety and prevention research into practical and applicable tools and make them readily available."

A second great challenge is to deliver information about workplace illness and injury prevention in its most current form.

The Workers' Compensation Board is meeting this challenge head on. The WCB, backed by CCOHS and Saskatchewan Labour, is promoting WorkSafe Saskatchewan to better distribute new prevention material as well as the extensive library of existing promotion and education information. The WorkSafe program features a website, maintained by CCOHS, and an annually updated CD-ROM with more than 1,000 occupational health and safety resources within approximately 70 topics. WorkSafe Saskatchewan is also:

• Pursuing partnerships with Saskatchewan organizations and agencies to pool programming, education and training resources
• Conducting a campaign targeted to accident prevention in high-risk industries
• Developing and implementing a joint process for the periodic analysis of workplace injury data to target compliance programs
• Labeling Saskatchewan WCB and Saskatchewan Labour prevention publications and promotional and educational tools with the WorkSafe Saskatchewan logo

"Worksafe Saskatchewan's goal is to foster a culture of 'safety and prevention first in Saskatchewan workplaces'," Labour Minister and Minister Responsible for the WCB Deb Higgins said during the launch of the program.

CCOHS' role is to provide reliable content and expertise on disseminating the information. The web collection has grown almost two-fold since it went online in November 2001. Among the recent topic additions are agriculture, young workers, bullying and aging. The site draws about 4,000 visitors each month, viewing a total of 20,000 documents. The CD-ROM, last updated in January, was distributed to every Health and Safety Committee in the province. A second pressing was released earlier this year.

Another benefit of the WorkSafe initiative is the common look and wording of prevention messages, as opposed to the branding and individual messaging of the sponsoring agencies. This further supports the WorkSafe mission to focus on promoting a positive safety culture in Saskatchewan workplaces and motivating workplace parties to improve their occupational health and safety standards, attitudes and behaviour.

CCOHS News

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New Health & Safety for Libraries guide - coming soon!

Paper cuts come with the territory but they're not the only potential hazard for which library workers must keep watch.

Library and information centre employees perform a wide range of automated and manual tasks whether they work in large or small facilities. They must be vigilant to the concerns of:

• Psychological stress
• Slips, trips and falls
• Back injury
• Infringement upon personal safety
• Inadequate workstations or lighting
• Dusts, moulds and poor indoor air quality

To help improve the occupational health and safety of workers in this field, CCOHS has prepared a new guide specific to their concerns. The 184-page Health & Safety for Libraries guide is a comprehensive source of information and features easy-to-understand pictures, charts and diagrams depicting common workplace hazards.

In addition, this first edition of the guide enables workers to:

• Understand their duties and rights under occupational health and safety legislation
• Prevent accidents and injuries through safe work practices and use of personal protective equipment
• Respond to accidents and emergencies
• Recognize workplace hazards
• Contact government departments to find additional health and safety information

The Health & Safety for Libraries guide is the latest addition to the dozen titles in the CCOHS Pocket Guide series, which also includes the Violence in the Workplace Prevention Guide, Cold Weather Workers Safety Guide, Wellness in the Workplace and the Health and Safety Committees Reference Guide.

The cost of the Health & Safety for Libraries guide, and all Pocket Guides is $10 plus shipping and handling. To order, please contact CCOHS Client Services by e-mail at clientservices@ccohs.ca or by telephone at 1-800-668-4284.