Author: Graham Lowe

The European Union’s goal of becoming the world’s most competitive knowledge-based economy by 2010 will depend, in part, on achieving its ambitious goals for improving the overall quality of jobs.
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City of Saskatoon, day-long Management Forum, Western Development Museum, Saskatoon., Sask. April 3, 2003.

This paper examines two health issues of crucial importance to practitioners and policy makers: the work environment and organizational factors that positively influence workers’ health and well-being, and the relationship between healthy workplaces and productivity. Research in diverse disciplines agrees on the importance of supporting employees to be effective in their jobs in ways that promote, not compromise, their health. The ingredients include leadership that values employees as key assets, supportive supervision at all levels, employee participation, job control, communication, opportunities to learn, and a culture that gives priority to work-life balance and individual wellness. There is also evidence of causal links between working conditions, interventions designed to create healthier workplaces, employee health, and firm-level productivity. Studies suggest that successful healthy workplace initiatives are comprehensive in scope, integrated with other human resource programs, and have well-designed implementation strategies based on strong leadership, good communication and extensive participation. While significant knowledge gaps remain, these should not deter employers, employees and policy makers from taking action now to create healthy organizations.
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Plenary presentation by Graham Lowe at the Alberta Chambers of
Commerce conference on “The Alberta Workforce: Explore the Opportunities.”
Edmonton, Alberta. March 26, 2003.
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Now is the time to rethink retirement, so that workforce renewal is orderly, planned and responsive to the needs of people and organizations.
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The old industrial era was stressful for workers. Factories churning out endless consumer products were built around assembly line jobs, which were physically taxing and mind-numbingly boring. In today’s global knowledge economy, robots or workers in developing countries do most of the factory work. The "blue-collar blues," as factory worker dissatisfaction was called in the sixties and seventies, no longer is a major threat to productivity. Originally published in the Globe and Mail, October 2002.
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Despite much debate and commentary on the emerging knowledge economy in Canada and other
industrialized countries, there has been little in-depth analysis of how gender issues are playing
out in the process of economic and workplace change. Women’s experiences on the job are
usually examined using a limited range of measures, and scant attention has been paid to the
expectations that women and men bring to the workplace. The purpose of this report is to
provide new evidence on what women and men want in a job, and how they are experiencing the
transition to a knowledge-based economy.
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Presenteeism hurts output, quality of work-life and employee health. Absenteeism has caught the attention of many employers. It’s on the rise, costly, and one of the most widely measured indicators of a healthy organization.
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Keynote presentation by Graham Lowe at the Health, Work & Wellness 2002 Conference. Lake Louise, Alberta. October 7, 2002
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Anecdotal evidence suggests that some injured workers do not file for workers’ compensation claims. This article provides evidence of this under-reporting, based on a national survey of Canadian workers. Forty percent of workers who had experienced an injury elibible for workers’ compensation had not filed a claim. Policy makers therefore need to do more to ensure that all relevant parties are aware of their obligations to report work injuries.