Economy

How to Grow Trust When Working in the Remote Economy – Inc.

Published

3 years ago

December 20, 2021

Prior to the pandemic, only 6% of employees worked from home, and about 3/4ths of workers had never worked from home according to data from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). But by May 2020, fully 35% of the U.S. workforce had been sent home because of Covid, driving the total remote workforce over 40% and exceeding McKinsey estimates from a year before regarding the max percentage of work which could be conducted remotely. In many cases, these transitions were made with very little communication and with almost no training for supervisors about the differences between managing remotely vs. in-person. These simple, unforced errors would turn out to be among the most significant contributors to what’s been dubbed the “Great Resignation,” a mass, voluntary exodus from the workforce of now 24.2 million employees between April and September of this year. And it’s a phenomenon that’s showing no sign of slowing down; September quits, preliminarily reported at 4.434 million were a record, beating the prior record of 4.270 million set just the month before. But for those who were already working remotely prior to the pandemic, like the folks at small enterprise, Kolabtree – a six year-old online marketplace that connects businesses and academics with more than 800 freelancing scientists and technologists around the globe – not only could they have seen this coming, but they could have helped many to avoid the critical errors that have led us to this point.

I had a chance to visit with Ashmita Das, CEO of Kolabtree, to speak about a range of topics from the future of work to the root causes of the “Great Resignation.” We spoke at length about remote work. It is, after all, a topic Ashmita knows a thing or two about. Not only have Kolabtree’s associates worked remotely from day-one, but their entire business model relies on connecting people with others – remotely.

She and her team were reminded early on that traditional in-person management relies heavily on visual inputs – things the leader can see and observe with their own two eyes – and that remote work largely removes the opportunity for visual observation. This reality required Kolabtree leaders to shift their entire thought process from inputs to outcomes. Ashmita warns that “for insecure people, it doesn’t translate well.” This has been true in the Covid economy where resigning workers have complained of an increasingly toxic management environment marked by heightened micromanagement and constant check-ins by suspicious bosses. But when pragmatic leaders successfully shift their focus from hours worked (inputs) to work completed/performed (outcomes), the result can be, as it has been for Kolabtree, quite remarkable in terms of increased productivity and improved associate engagement. Ashmita summed it up quite succinctly when she told me that at Kolabtree, “there’s no time tracking; what matters is what you produce.” But it’s also about flexibility.

Workers fleeing businesses today could not be clearer about their desire for greater flexibility. Ashmita, too, warns business leaders against rushing to implement historic extremes. Needlessly mandating rigid, traditional work hours or other practices in the midst of a pandemic has been a giant turn-off for many workers who have elected to seek other options, voting with their feet. Kolabtree recognized the value of flexibility and independence early on. Their associates work when they feel they are most productive. “If you’re a night-owl, work at night,” says Ashmita. It’s all a matter of trust.

That trust is the central feature to making remote work possible is, in fact, what Kolabtree figured out early and what so many in a worsening “Great Resignation” have yet to grasp. The entire Kolabtree enterprise whether from Kolabtree to its associates or vice versa, from their collaborators to them or vice versa, from them to their clients or vice versa and, finally, from their collaborators to their clients or vice versa, is built on and relies upon trust. Kolabtree must trust that their associates from many miles away will get their work done right, on time. Their clients must trust that a scientist they’ve never met in person will deliver critical work done to exacting specifications, when promised. And Kolabtree’s collaborators and associates must trust that the company will do right by them, every time. Without trust anywhere in the system, the whole works falls apart. With trust, things hold together, and risk is diminished across the entire works. Ashmita Das understands this implicitly and operates accordingly. It’s why she views what she and her team are doing as the future of work.

In speaking with her and thinking about all that I’ve seen change during that last 18 months of work, it occurred to me that what may have changed most about attitudes towards employment is a shift in the way that work impacts one’s identity. For virtually ever, who one works for has been the principal element of their work identity. Had you asked almost anyone a year or more ago about their work, they’d very likely have told you where they work. Alternatively, asking the same question today will increasingly result in people responding by telling you what they do. For people focused on outcomes rather than inputs and moreover those, like Kolabtree, who make a living connecting problems with solutions, this is a very welcome trend – particularly as the social contracts of the last century, one of the last tendons connecting workers to the brands that employ them, increasingly prove to hold empty promises for the employee of today.

So, for those looking to learn a thing or two from those who went remote before remote was even a thing, here’s the big takeaway: Shift from inputs to outputs; learn to be flexible; and build trust by the bucketful. Above all, remember that increasingly, workers derive greater psychological association from the work they do than from who they do it for. By making it more about them and less about you, they’ll stay happier and stay with you longer.

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Economy

Canada’s unemployment rate holds steady at 6.5% in October, economy adds 15,000 jobs

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.

Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.

Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.

Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.

Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.

Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.

Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.

According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.

That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.

People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.

That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.

Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.

That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Economy

Health-care spending expected to outpace economy and reach $372 billion in 2024: CIHI

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.

The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.

CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.

This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.

While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.

Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.

The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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Economy

Trump’s victory sparks concerns over ripple effect on Canadian economy

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.

Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.

A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.

More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.

Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.

“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.

“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”

American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.

It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.

“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.

“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”

A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.

Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.

“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.

Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.

With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”

“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.

“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

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