Increased worker stability boosts productivity, retention, and morale, which leads to greater profitability—but there are challenges to address.
According to Heather Murch, a job coach with the YMCA Simcoe-Muskoka in Parry Sound, employees that live in poverty, bring their own world view to the workplace which can often bring a communication divide between employers and employees, based on social class.
Murch says low-wage workers can experience personal instability that leads to absenteeism, health problems, and violations of workplace expectations, all of which decreases morale, attention to work, and job performance.
For these reasons, the YMCA of Simcoe-Muskoka Employment Services is offering a workplace stability program to assist employers to recognize the range of factors that create instability for employees.
“It’s really looking from a diversity standpoint – understanding that employers and employees are looking at the work through different lenses and a little more understanding on how to communicate across that, how to communicate expectations, rules in the workplace, how to work through any challenges that come up in order to lead to long term retention.
Workplace stability if a part on an international framework for understanding instability or poverty in the workplace. The YMCA offers a program to employees called “Getting ahead in the workplace” where employees can delve into a 45-hour workshop series offered through the YMCA.
Murch says the one day workshop for employers to understand what the YMCA has learned from employees and to help those employers understand the point of view that employees are bringing with them.
The workplace stability training happening at the Salvation Army on February 26th from 9:00am-4:00pm. Registration can be found here.