Future-proofing the health and wellbeing of Canadian workplaces

At an exclusive conference series in Halifax (April 19), Toronto (April 26) and Montreal (May 3), speakers and delegates came together to exchange thoughts, ideas and actionable strategies to support the health and wellbeing of today’s workforce.

Hosted by Medavie Blue Cross, Benefits Together put access to care, mental health and diversity and inclusion into focus, while exploring the urgent questions and transformational trends that are top of mind for employers in this ever-evolving world of work, including:

• How can employers ensure their employees have timely access to quality care?
• How can employers meet the diverse health and wellness needs of their employees?
• How can employers better support the mental health of their employees?

“The Canadian workforce consists of five generations and a variety of backgrounds working side-by-side,” says Alaina MacKenzie, Regional Vice President Business Development, Medavie Blue Cross. “The great variance in wellness needs across groups of employees illustrates the importance of companies being proactive and ensuring their employees can access different types of care at every stage of life. This includes ensuring their group benefit plans provide employees with flexibility and optionality to support their individual health journeys.”

As the manager and insurer of health benefits for one in ten Canadians, Medavie Blue Cross is committed to helping employers build healthy workplaces in Canada. To learn more, visit medaviebc.ca.

Additional Quotes:

Bernard Lord, CEO, Medavie & Chair of the Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association
"Access to appropriate care and the rising cost of health care are challenges we are all grappling with. As the needs and expectations of Canadians continue to change when it comes to receiving health care, the insurance sector, including Medavie, can adapt quickly to make services available to plan members, where and how they need them."

Dr. Chika Stacy Oriuwa, Physician, Changemaker and Advocate for Diversity and Inclusion
"You should dare to stand in your authenticity and occupy powerful spaces, or if you have had the historical privilege of doing so, I dare you to make room for those to step in from the margins. By doing this, you will not only empower yourself, but actually shift the culture of a collective and inspire a generation. It’s only when we do this that the gaps in equity begin to close, and opportunities for success are made available to all."

Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier, Expert in Manager Resilience and Burnout
"Neurodiversity replaces a deficit mentality with a strength and resilience mentality. For organizations, this broader, and frankly more realistic, perspective opens up an even greater and deeper opportunity to integrate high caliber contributors and leaders into their teams."

Jennifer Taylor, Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Medavie
"When it comes to the evolution of work, employees want to work for organizations that have values that align with their own. Employers should view this as an opportunity to rise to the occasion and recalibrate their workplaces, which includes a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. Workplaces that evolve to support social changes and expectations will set their employees – and ultimately the entire business – up for success. Similar, benefit offerings must continue to evolve to be as inclusive and accessible as possible so that we are meeting people where they are."