Linda Duxbury

The upcoming century 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 retire 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 job.  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 have different attitudes and values with respect to work and life.  Managers in organizations today need to understand key generational differences in order to both 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 employers information on how to adapt to meet the needs of these different groups of employees

Many employers implement family friendly polices such as flextime and compressed work weeks – but do not get the desired results. This talk focuses on the reason why many of the family friendly practices just do not seem to work – they are implemented into a culture which focuses on hours of work not output: where "presenteeism" is equated with productivity. This talk begins with an examination of why employee workloads, especially at the managerial and professional level, have increased over the past several decades. It then presents evidence on why employers should care – the impact of high workloads on the employer's bottom line. The talk ends with a number of suggestions on how workloads can be decreased – without hiring more staff.

This talk is a follow up for the talk on "Managing a Changing Workforce." It provides a critical analysis and overview of key disconnects that may be contributing to a disengaged workforce and difficulties with respect to recruitment and retention. Issues covered in this talk include work-life balance, reward and recognition, respect, trust, communication, performance management, and talent management/succession planning and offers suggestions on how organizations can make positive changes in each of these areas. The talk ends with a summary of how the different generational cohorts view each of these issues and a number of suggestions on how employers and managers can use the information covered in the talk to adapt to meet the needs of employees today.

This talk uses data from Duxbury and Higgins' research on supportive management (n = 100,000) to discuss the role of the manager within the organization. The talk starts by outlining the behaviours associated with good and poor management and then looks at the difference having a supportive manager makes to key employee and organizational outcomes. The discussion then turns to why many managers are having difficulty with the "people part of the job" and outlines a number of solutions. The final section of the talk offers suggestions to managers on how to manage upwards and what kinds of things they personally can do within their own section.

This talk provides organizations who wish to increase the number of supportive managers in their organization with a concrete set of suggestions on how this can be accomplished.  Likewise, employees with direct reports can gain an increased understanding of what it is that employees want from them and how their own behaviour can impact those who report to them.

This talk draws on Duxbury's extensive research in the area of work-life balance, supportive managers, supportive work environments and managing change. It begins by providing evidence that work-life balance and stress have increased over the past 10 years while organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment have decreased and outcomes such as absence, intent to turnover and job stress have increased. The talk then turns to an examination of why such changes have occurred. The following factors are considered: demographic changes in the workforce, lack of action on the part of employers, increased workloads, office technology, downsizing and rightsizing, employee behaviour and organizational culture. The next section of the talk answers the question: "why do organizations need to make it easier for employees to balance work and life?" Key reasons discussed include impending labour shortages, the need to recruit and retain employees, and the costs of inaction. This is followed by the identification of specific  recommendations on how companies can increase balance. The following solutions are discussed: the development of supportive managers and creation of  supportive work environments. Finally, the case is then made that for any significant changes to occur in this area, the organization needs to change its culture. The talk concludes with a discussion of how cultural change can be acheived.

There are four stakeholders in the work-life arena:  the employer, the employee, their family and society. This talk uses the data from Duxbury and Higgin's 2001 work-life study involving 33,000 Canadians to answer the following questions: What are the options with respect to work life balance? What can the different stakeholders do? What are they doing? What works? What does not? The talk will end with a number of concrete recommendations on how employers, employees, their families and the government can reduce work-life conflict.

The children have left the nest and now life should get easier – but not so fast. Your parents and in-laws are getting older and now require your assistance. Using data from Duxbury and Higgins' 2008 study with the Victoria Order of Nurses, this talk explores the challenges faced by employed caregivers – individuals who combine paid employment and the care of one or more elderly dependents. More specifically this talk identifies the challenges faced by employed caregivers and examines how they cope. It also discusses how employers could facilitate the balance between work and care-giving and looks at the costs this form of work-life conflict has on the employer.  Finally, data is used to present a business case for change in this area.