| Conference Title | Plenary Session I - Managing a Changing Workforce |
| Moderator/Presenter | Presenter: Dr. Linda Duxbury, Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University Moderator: Angelique Saweczko, Associate Director, Scholarships and Bursaries, Student Financial Services, York University |
| Abstract | With Canadian corporations losing over $4 billion a year to employee absenteeism, the well-being and satisfaction of employees cannot be overlooked. Dr. Linda Duxbury, Canada's most accomplished researcher, writer and speaker on work-life balance, has influenced policy and attitudes to help create supportive work environments in both the private and public sectors. A professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, Dr. Duxbury has published widely in the areas of work-family conflict, supportive work environments, stress, telework, and supportive management. In this century we will see a fundamental shift in the change in the nature of the employer-employee relationship as organizations seek to attract and retain good employees in a declining labour market. This labour force shortage will arise as the massive baby boomer generation retires and companies compete to hire the small pool of “baby – bust” employees. Other factors that contribute to these changes include the following: birth rates are declining throughout the world, populations are aging, the age at which people are taking retirement has fallen, people are staying in school longer (or returning to school), and the skill-intensity of employment is increasing. These demographic changes will have profound impacts on employers as they enter a “sellers” market where there are fewer employees with the necessary skills than there are good jobs. Human resource management will become a critical success factor in the new millennium, as companies have to focus on recruitment, retention of employees of all ages, succession planning, work-life balance and career development. We are currently in an unusual position in Canada in that we have four generations in the workforce at the same time: the Veterans (59 +), the Baby Boom (1947 to 1964), the Baby Bust (Generation X) (1961 to 1972) and the Echo Boomers (Nexus) (1972 to 1990). Each of these generations has different attitudes and values with respect to work and life. Managers in organizations today need to understand key generational differences in order to attract, motivate and retain good employees. Dr. Duxbury’s talk will address these following issues. She will look at the formative influences shaping the different generations and look at possible sources of generational conflict within the workforce. She will also give information on how to adapt to meet the needs of these different groups of employees. |