|
Selling employers on the benefits of workplace accommodations
Editorial by Christian Saint Cyr
National Director / Canadian Job Development Network
.
As we meet today, millions of Canadians are impacted by the first day of school -- truly, the most magical day of the year. It's a day that brings into clear focus, one of the most valuable labour pools employers regularly fail to consider: stay-at-home parents without child care alternatives. Accommodating this group, could result in a vast, loyal group of employees that employers regularly ignore.
.
According to the July 2025 Labour Force Survey, there are 5.17 million working age adults who are not working, looking for work or going to school full-time. Of this number, 3.14 million are women or more than 60%.
.
When we talk about people who are not participating in the labour market, why do women out number men to such a great degree? Partially, because women are more often the caregivers of not only children but the elderly and those with disabilities. Women are also far more likely to not be able to participate in the labour market due to the unaffordability or unavailability of child care.
.
When I get to meet with employers, I often suggest they create their own internal program for stay-at-home parents. I suggest they provide employment that starts at 9:15am and concludes at 2:45pm, or slight variations of this based on the employee's child's school schedule. Build in opportunities to work from home on sick days, during winter and spring breaks, professional days and during the summer.
.
If an employer is looking for someone who must work full-time, they can provide the opportunity to work part of their day as flex-time, completing their hours each week in the evening or on the weekend.
.
The cost of child care is a major concern for many parents. “One-quarter of those with children at home (27%) say savings in childcare would be an important benefit,” according to a recent poll by the Angus Reid Institute.
.
When I was pitching this to employers prior to the pandemic, many would say this was absolutely impossible, but hybrid and remote employment are now so common, it's hard to make the argument it can't be accommodated.
.
Your first response might be this would never work for the employers I'm assisting. They need people in retail, hospitality, health care, child care and manufacturing. They need people who are on the floor and they don't have any flexibility in hours.
.
While it's true, many jobs require in-person work, I'm suggesting you tailor this option to employers who are having difficulty filling roles where this isn't a challenge.
.
Jobs in administration, marketing, accounting, engineering, tele-sales, web development, communications, social media, data analysis, software development and design can all function as hybrid employment, if not completely remote jobs.
.
Many employers who already accommodate hybrid employment, want employees to come in at least three days per week, or 60 per cent of the time. This approach of letting people work while their kids are at school has employees in the workplace almost 70 per cent of the time.
.
So, what do you say to the employer who says, “we offer people great salaries, a comprehensive benefits package and three weeks vacation a year. We don't need to create individualized plans for individual employees!”
.
First of all, you wouldn't even be talking to them if this strategy was working, but there is a problem with these approaches being an employer’s response to continued job vacancy. If you offer a good salary, employees will often leave for a better salary. If you offer a comprehensive benefits package or three weeks of vacation, it's easy to leave for better benefits and four weeks of vacation.
.
One of the best things we can advise employers to do is to create individualized plans for their individual employees.
.
If my employer allows me to drop-off my kids before work and leave to pick them up when their done, I might be tempted to apply for a job that pays five dollars more per hour but I have no idea whether the new employer will accommodate my kids’ school schedule. It's actually likely, they won't.
.
Our message as job developers and employer engagement professionals needs to be that workplace accommodations create loyal employees.
.
If an employer modifies a delivery van to support an employee with a disability, it will be extremely hard to find a delivery job elsewhere with that same accommodation.
.
The restaurant who pays their managers more to drive employees home after the buses have stopped running isn't likely to lose those employees to another restaurant.
.
By the way, I'm not saying that workplace accommodations trap workers in jobs. It is a reality that if you have a a tailored accommodation in one job you won't necessarily find a job with the same accommodation elsewhere, but it speaks to the integrity of an employer who is willing to make that accommodation in the first place.
.
There are lots of accommodations employers can make. One of the areas most often discussed in workplace accommodations are those for individuals with physical, visual, auditory, mental health, developmental and neurodiversity challenges.
.
According to the Canadian Association for Supported Employment, accommodations are as much about organizational culture and trust as they are about the policies that are created and the legal rules that are in place. An open and accepting culture towards accommodation will increase cooperation with employees and reduce conflict in the accommodation process—leading to more successful accommodation solutions in the future.
.
Success builds on success! This is why you find yourself working with the same employers again and again.
.
CASE suggests examples of accommodation could include:
- changes to organizational policies and practices,
- changes to a physical workspace,
- adaptations to the equipment, tools, or uniform used,
- flexible work hours or job sharing,
- relocation of the workspace within the workplace,
- the ability to work from home,
- reallocation or exchange of some non-essential tasks for others, and
- time off for medical appointments.
.
Whether it is in the form of workplace modifications, flexible scheduling, access to transportation, skills enhancement, mentorship or personalized plans for advancement, employers can demonstrate a commitment to being an ‘employer of preference’ through the care and attention it provides to individual employees.
.
Whenever you look at a list of prominent employers, they are usually evaluated on blanket supports they provide all employees such as retirement contributions, extended health, professional development funding, workplace perks and health and wellness programs. And while these are all great programs for attracting employees, all too often they are programs that can easily be quantified and evaluated to determine whether another employer is going to provide similar or better programs.
.
When an employer recognizes the individual supports they can provide to individual employees, it demonstrates they genuinely care for and wish to support these employees. It's about character and being able to look beyond the bottom line to see how they can support individuals in a meaningful way. Employers who embrace inclusive hiring and are willing to have genuine conversations about alternatives in this area, not only are far more likely to engage in job development supports, but also sustain employees in difficult times and contribute to long-term employment outcomes.
.
The use of workplace accommodations, is the focus of our #MotivatingMondays recording for the Canadian Job Development Network, typically meeting Mondays at 8:30am Pacific; 9:30am Mountain; 10:30am Central; 11:30am Eastern; 12:30pm Atlantic and at 1pm in Newfoundland.
.
On the morning of Tuesday September 2nd 'Click this Link' to watch the session on YoutTube.
.
'Developing a Comprehensive Approach to Effective Job Development'
WORKSHOP
.
Next week, we are offering our groundbreaking online workshop: ‘Developing a Comprehensive Approach to Job Development’, with separate sessions happening in each time zone. We have over 200 job developers and other employer engagement professionals currently registered to take this training. If you or your colleagues haven’t yet registered, we need to hear from you by the end of the week. Just visit: www.jobdevelopment.org/pro-d where you can register and learn everything you need to know.
.
.
'National Networking Day for Job Developers'
NETWORKING IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES
.
The National Networking Day for Job Developers, is nearly here and we hope you can join us in your community on September 19th. If there isn’t one in your community, We're also doing a modified version online for everyone regardless of where they work. If you haven’t yet registered or want to learn more, just visit: www.jobdevelopment.org/nnd
| 
