Layne’s energy was palpable through the screen and immediately kicked off the event on the right note, setting the expectations high and the vibe just right. Their keynote about authenticity and belonging was powerful, personal, and incredibly touching. The chat was blowing up with attendees agreeing with Layne’s messaging and supporting each other. This captured the spirit of International Women’s Day perfectly: lifting each other up, being present and there for each other, and erasing geographical boundaries by bonding over similar experiences and shared values.

Layne shared three simple yet influential daily decisions that each one of us can undertake to make an impact, better ourselves, and help those around us: Give Permission. Give Recognition. Give Example. By doing these consistently we can create space for others to shine and become inspiring leaders ourselves.

And speaking of inspiring leaders, from the very introduction of Sheena Russell, we, the attendees, knew we were in for a treat. A Nova Scotian entrepreneur; a woman who is passionate about communities; and the trailblazing founder of Made with Local: these descriptions were more than just words and titles to a name. Sheena was relatable, humble, with an amazing strong presence that drew everyone in from the beginning. She shared herself with the attendees fully, talked about her childhood, her dreams, and how hard she worked towards her goals. The most amazing thing about Sheena’s story is the impact it had on the people around her and how many lives she touched and changed for the better by staying true to herself and following her gut, almost literally, since the brand started as her personal favourite gym snacks.

Following Sheena’s uplifting story, Layne jumped in with some thoughtful and engaging questions, which turned to be one of the best fireside chats I’ve ever had the good fortune to witness. It was almost like eavesdropping on a conversation between two close friends. Layne and Sheena were open and compassionate with each other, sometimes even finishing each other’s sentences. They shared their experiences, personal struggles and how they overcame them, while all of us in the chat did the same with each other. It once again became pure magic of engaging with your community and finding yourself in other people’s stories and experiences.

I can’t imagine a better way of not just marking International Women’s Day on the calendar, but recognizing women, empowering them, inspiring them, and bringing them together for 90 minutes of insight, joy, and pride. This event started with a powerful message: be yourself, put courage over comfort, empower others by leading by example. It continued with introducing us all to that example – Sheena’s story and success, that she so generously shared with all of us. And it finished strongly with a wonderful moment of connection, candid conversation, and truly meaningful exchange that we all got a chance to participate in and experience. 

Alex Kogay, CPHR is the HR Manager of CPHR BC & Yukon.

“PeopleTalking” is new monthly column dedicated to covering key HR issues that matter to you, our members. The columns will be written in an op-ed style and will range between 500 and 750 words. Given today’s attention spans and bandwidths, we wanted to ensure the pieces were easily digestible and shareable.

And we want to hear from you! We always welcome feedback so do let us know your thoughts as each column appears. We also want to know if there are any particular topics you would like us to write about. After all, our aim is to help you in your role as an HR professional in your organization.

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Spark

The theme of this year’s conference is Spark. Attendees are invited to explore how imagination can illuminate transformation and envision how HR leaders can channel that energy into human-centred change that leaves a positive and lasting impact. Join us to discover how a single spark can transform workplaces and fuel growth.

Date:

Keynote Speakers

Breakout Sessions

In advance of HR Conference & Expo 2026, a few of the breakout session speakers have authored articles on their topics:

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“Those three breaths felt awful for me.”

When I asked her to say more, she explained that slowing down felt unfamiliar and unsettling. Her mind raced. The pause felt uncomfortable, even threatening.

She wasn’t alone in that experience.

Many leaders have become so accustomed to sustained urgency that stillness can feel unsafe. Fast pace becomes the norm. Pushing through becomes the strategy. Slowing down, even briefly, can feel like losing control.

When the pace finally eases, it often brings leaders face-to-face with what has been deferred for too long: exhaustion, emotional strain, unresolved tension, and deeper questions about sustainability. In that sense, speed can become both a coping mechanism and a risk factor.

The Hidden Burnout Crisis Among Leaders

The growing exhaustion among leaders is not simply a function of workload. It is the cumulative impact of sustained pressure, compressed timelines, and constant decision-making without sufficient recovery.

In 2024, leadership burnout continues to rise. Recent data indicates that approximately 60% of leaders report feeling physically and emotionally depleted at the end of the workday — a key indicator of burnout. This depletion is often experienced quietly, masked by competence and commitment.

Leaders are frequently deeply invested in supporting their teams while lacking space, structure, or permission to address their own stress. Many are unsure where to begin.

At the organizational level, this challenge is compounded by a perception gap. Research shows that while 96% of CEOs believe they are doing enough to support employee well-being, only 69% of employees agree. This disconnect suggests that well-intentioned efforts may be addressing surface-level symptoms rather than underlying systemic pressures.

If leaders are operating from chronic strain, it becomes difficult for them to meaningfully champion well-being initiatives or sustain healthy cultures over time.

Where to Start Supporting Leaders to Reduce Stress

Many leaders experience a one-directional flow of support. They hold responsibility, absorb pressure, and carry emotional weight, often without parallel systems that support their own regulation and recovery.

While executives may recognize the risks associated with burnout, few feel equipped with practical frameworks to address it. This points to the need for more intentional leadership development approaches that integrate stress literacy, self-awareness, and systemic responsibility.

Organizations can begin by focusing on a small number of foundational areas:

#1. Create Supportive Networks and Foster Open, Solution-Focused Conversations

Leadership teams have an opportunity to build trust through structured, honest dialogue. When leaders develop greater awareness of their own stress patterns, they are better able to engage in conversations that move beyond blame and toward shared responsibility.

In one organization, a senior leader recognized that her approach to timelines was unintentionally contributing to sustained stress for members of her team. Through reflection and feedback, she adjusted her planning process to include greater collaboration and realism. The shift reduced chronic pressure and improved trust.

When these insights were shared at the senior leadership level, they prompted broader conversations about pace, expectations, and decision-making norms across the organization.

#2. Invest in Ongoing Leadership Development and Executive Support

Training that helps leaders consistently identify and reduce chronic stressors should be considered essential, not optional. Leaders influence stress levels not only through policies and priorities, but through everyday behaviors, communication patterns, and expectations.

Effective development programs focus on practical application: helping leaders recognize early signs of overload, understand their role in shaping team capacity, and make adjustments that support sustainable performance.

When leaders are supported in building these skills, the impact extends beyond individual well-being. Teams experience greater clarity, reduced friction, and improved capacity to navigate complexity without constant urgency.

Closing Reflection

Burnout among leaders is rarely the result of personal weakness or lack of resilience. More often, it reflects systems that reward speed without accounting for human limits.

Addressing this challenge requires more than wellness initiatives. It requires supporting leaders in developing the awareness, skills, and structures needed to lead with clarity, sustainability, and shared accountability, even in high-pressure environments.

Shauna Moran is a fractional organizational strategy partner and keynote speaker working at the intersection of women’s leadership, burnout prevention, and organizational systems. She is the founder of the Impact Amplification Program and Leadership Systems Partnership, helping organizations build resilient leadership capacity at scale.

Shauna Moran will be presenting ‘Building Burnout-Resistant Leadership Systems: Strategies for Sustainable High Performance‘ at HR Conference & Expo 2026, which will take place from May 5-6 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Register now to join the session.

Performance feedback. Policy updates. Hiring delays. Budget constraints. Promotion decisions. Conflict resolution. It’s all happening in writing.

Now here’s a question to consider:
How much of communication is nonverbal?

Most people would agree… a lot.

Tone. Energy. Pace. Facial expression. Pauses. Body language. These elements carry meaning. They regulate conversations. They soften hard messages. They signal empathy.

But if most of our workplace communication is happening over email, what does that mean? It means we’re losing most of our communication.

• We’re losing tone.
• We’re losing energy.
• We’re losing the ability to immediately course-correct when something lands wrong.

So how do you replace nonverbal cues when you don’t have access to them? How do you elevate difficult conversations in a virtual world when you can’t rely on presence?

The answer sits at the intersection of neuroscience and psychology.

In moments of friction, what people need most is not necessarily resolution. It’s control.

Before we go further, consider this:

What’s more important: actual control, or a sense of control?

Ideally, we’d want both. But in the real world, especially in HR, that’s not always possible. You’re waiting on approvals. You’re bound by policy. You’re dependent on budget cycles, executive decisions, compliance reviews, or external vendors.

Sometimes neither you nor the employee has control over the outcome.

But research shows something powerful: one of the most effective ways to move someone from emotional decision-making to logical decision-making is by restoring their sense of control. This is not just about feelings. It’s neurological.

When people feel powerless, the brain shifts into threat mode. Stress responses increase. Reasoning narrows. Cooperation declines. Emails become sharper, longer, and less productive.

But when people believe they can meaningfully influence something (even a small next step) the brain reallocates resources to higher-order thinking. Emotional reactivity decreases. Problem-solving improves.

Control is not just a feeling. It functions as a regulation switch.

So, in virtual communication, where tone and nonverbal signals are absent, control becomes the replacement mechanism.

There are two primary ways to provide it: behavioral control and cognitive control.

Behavioral control answers one simple question:

What can this person do now?

In high-friction emails, restoring agency can be as straightforward as offering:

• A clear next step
• A meaningful choice
• Influence over a timeline

When someone feels that something is happening to them, stress increases. When they feel they can move something forward, stress becomes manageable.

For example, instead of ending a difficult message with:

“Unfortunately, we are unable to approve this request at this time.”

You might write:

“At this stage, we have two options. We can revisit this during the next review cycle in April, or we can outline a short-term development plan now and reassess in 60 days. Let me know which direction feels most helpful.”

The outcome hasn’t changed. But the dynamic has.

You’ve shifted the employee from passive recipient to active participant. That shift matters.

Because when people can take action, the brain moves away from threat processing and toward reasoning. They calm down. They think more clearly. They become more collaborative. Behavioral control restores agency. But agency alone isn’t enough.

Cognitive control focuses on how someone makes sense of the situation.

There are four powerful tools to create cognitive control in writing:

1. Process Framing

Uncertainty fuels anxiety. Clarity reduces it. Process framing simply explains what is happening now and what will happen next.

For example:

“Here’s where this currently stands. The request is under review by the compliance team. Once their assessment is complete, we’ll receive a recommendation and respond within two business days.”

You are organizing the experience. You are replacing ambiguity with sequence.

2. Respect Markers

Active listening must be visible in writing, and it must go beyond one sentence.

“I understand this is frustrating” can feel like lip service. Expanding that acknowledgment shows genuine understanding.

For example:

“I understand this delay is frustrating, especially given the preparation you’ve already completed. You’ve been proactive in following up and submitting documentation. It makes sense that you were expecting a quicker resolution.”

When people feel heard, they stop fighting to be understood.

3. Boundary Rationale

Sometimes the answer is no. That’s reality. But boundaries without explanation feel arbitrary. State what you cannot do and why.

“I’m not able to confirm the adjustment today because final budget approval is still pending. Until that authorization is secured, we aren’t permitted to implement changes.”

You are not just denying a request. You are explaining the system.

4. Effort Visibility

Passive language creates emotional distance.

“The matter is being reviewed.” By whom? Effort visibility means speaking in the first person when appropriate. “I’m reviewing this personally and coordinating with finance to clarify the remaining details.”

This signals ownership. It signals movement. It signals care.

When you can’t rely on tone, energy, or body language, you must rely on structure. Control becomes the substitute for nonverbal reassurance.

When you combine behavioral control (next steps, choices, timeline influence) with cognitive control (process clarity, respect markers, rationale, visible effort), you do something powerful:

• You move people from emotional reaction to higher-order thinking.
• You reduce escalation without over-apologizing.
• You create steadiness in writing.

In a virtual world, the most effective emails are not the longest. They are not the softest. They are the ones that restore agency.

Because when people feel they can influence what happens next, they stop reacting to what already happened. And they start engaging with what comes next.

Ivan Wanis Ruiz is what happens when a keynote speaker gets bored of keynotes. He is the founder of Public Speaking Lab and the author of End Boring, a manifesto disguised as a business book. He does not teach communication he teaches impact. Less podium. More pulse. He studies unlikely places for insight. Police interrogation rooms. Poker tables. Pro wrestling rings. Neuroscience labs. Then he smuggles those tactics into boardrooms and conferences.

Ivan Wanis Ruiz will be presenting ‘Connect, Captivate, Convince: Communication in a World of AI‘ at HR Conference & Expo 2026, which will take place from May 5-6 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Register now to join the session.

As a result, there is often a disconnect between the value organizations invest in compensation and benefits programs and how employees perceive that value. Research consistently shows that total rewards only create meaningful impact when employees understand them. When employees do not understand how their pay is determined and what their total rewards package includes, trust erodes, engagement declines, and retention becomes more difficult.

Why Total Rewards Communication Matters

Many employees still lack a basic understanding of how pay decisions are made. Studies indicate that less than 50 percent of employees understand how their pay is determined and only a small proportion can clearly explain how pay ranges work. When this understanding is missing, organizations often experience increased mistrust, disengagement, and frustration, especially when employees can see how much others get paid. Managers spend more time responding to repeated questions and HR teams face higher volumes of compensation-related inquiries and escalations.

These outcomes are not random. Confusion around total rewards is predictable and when the right approach is used, these negative perceptions are preventable.

Where Communication Commonly Breaks Down

HR teams frequently encounter similar challenges when they are communicating about total rewards. Some common reasons for communication breakdowns include information overload, inconsistent messaging across leaders, and the use of technical language that employees find difficult to interpret. In many cases, communication is delivered as one-way information sharing, without sufficient context or explanation of how and why decisions are made.

The questions employees are trying to answer are typically straightforward and consistent:

• Am I paid fairly?
• How are pay decisions made?
• What does growth look like for me?
• Which benefits are most relevant to my situation?
• Where can I find clear and reliable answers?

Effective communication begins by acknowledging these questions and addressing them directly.

Strategy #1 – Build a Clear Total Rewards Narrative

A strong total rewards communication strategy starts with a clear and cohesive narrative. Compensation, benefits, well-being, career development, and recognition should not be communicated as isolated programs. When presented as part of an integrated system that supports organizational goals and values, employees are more likely to understand how rewards fit together.

An effective total rewards narrative answers four key questions:

1. What do we offer?
2. Why do we offer it?
3. How are decisions made?
4. What can employees expect next?

Clarity should take priority over completeness. Plain language explanations, focused messages, and visual summaries are often more effective than lengthy policy documents. Anticipating common employee questions and addressing them through well-structured FAQs can also reduce confusion and repeat inquiries.

Strategy #2 – Tailor Messages to Different Audiences

Not all employees require the same level of detail or context. Information resonates differently, depending on an employee’s role, experience, and decision-making authority. Communication is most effective when it is tailored to the needs of distinct audiences, often grouped into categories like executives, people leaders, and individual contributors.

At the executive level, audiences are typically familiar with compensation frameworks and market concepts. Communication is most effective when it is concise and focused on principles, risks, trade-offs, and alignment to business strategy, rather than detailed mechanics. Overly detailed explanations can dilute the message and reduce engagement. People leaders play a critical role as translators of compensation programs. They need enough understanding to explain decisions credibly, answer common employee questions, and reinforce fairness and consistency, without being burdened by unnecessary technical detail. Effective communication for this audience focuses on how programs work in practice, what discretion managers do and do not have, how to discuss pay and rewards confidently, and when to escalate questions.

For employees earlier in their careers, or those with less exposure to total rewards concepts, a more foundational approach is often required. Clear explanations of how pay ranges work, how incentives are earned, and how benefits fit together help build understanding and confidence. A “total rewards 101” approach can be particularly effective in supporting engagement and reducing misconceptions.

Insights from employee feedback, participation patterns, and benefits usage can help organizations understand what different groups value most. While some employees may prioritize financial rewards, others place greater emphasis on flexibility, career progression, or recognition. Aligning communication to these priorities increases relevance and impact.

Strategy #3: Use the Right Mix of Channels and Technology

Effective total rewards communication relies on the right mix of channels and tools. No single channel can meet every need, and organizations are most successful when they are intentional about how information is delivered and where conversations take place.

Digital platforms (such as HRIS systems, total rewards hubs, and searchable FAQs) provide employees with reliable, on-demand access to information. These tools work well for sharing policies, pay ranges, benefits summaries, and eligibility guidelines, and they help establish a consistent source of truth that employees can reference as needed.

Human channels remain essential for topics that are personal, complex, or emotionally sensitive. Managers play a critical role in explaining performance outcomes, pay decisions, promotions, and career pathways. Town halls, short videos, and structured Q&A sessions can reinforce key messages, while one-on-one conversations create space for context, nuance, and trust-building.

Generative AI can enhance this communication system when used thoughtfully. AI tools can help translate complex information into plain language, generate FAQs, draft communications, and support personalized total rewards summaries. While these tools can improve efficiency and accessibility, they should complement (and not replace) human conversations about pay changes, performance feedback, or sensitive subjects.

When technology is used to provide personalized results and information, and human interaction is used to provide context and conversation, organizations are better positioned to communicate total rewards in a way that is consistent, credible, and trusted.

Measuring and Refining Communication Efforts

Total rewards communication should be treated as an ongoing process rather than a one-time event. Comparing employee perceptions before, and after, major communication initiatives can help identify gaps and guide future improvements. Often small, targeted refinements over time have a greater impact than large, infrequent overhauls.

Clear, consistent communication builds trust. When employees understand how rewards work and why decisions are made, organizations are better positioned to support engagement, fairness, and long-term success.

Hannah Wells is Vice President of Client Strategy & Consulting at White & Gale, where she partners with organizations to design equitable, business-aligned total rewards strategies. She specializes in compensation design, pay equity, incentive programs, and governance, and regularly speaks to HR leaders on modernizing rewards practices.

Hannah Wells will be presenting ‘Future-Proof Pay: Building Compensation Programs for a Multi-Generational Workforce‘ at HR Conference & Expo 2026, which will take place from May 5-6 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Register now to join the session.

To speak of Métis well-being, I must first situate myself within my own kinship networks. I am a Métis woman originally from Manitoba, with my Nault, Champagne, Vandal, and Desjarlais ancestors coming from the Red River Settlement. I spent the majority of my life in Alberta, where I continue to work with Métis communities and organizations. Now living in British Columbia, my professional and personal life spans the entire Métis Motherland, with ongoing work and relationships reaching from BC to Ontario.

This movement across the homeland is not just a career path; it is a map of my accountability. When I speak about “relational care,” I am drawing on the lived reality of maintaining deep, reciprocal bonds across borders—a reflection of wahkohtowin, which many Métis employees carry into their work.

The Problem with “Universal” Wellness

Most mainstream workplace well-being models are rooted in Western individualism. They emphasize personal coping strategies, such as mindfulness apps, or transactional benefits like Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). These programs often assume that stress is an individual burden and that “wellness” is achieved in isolation from the collective.

For HR professionals, the path toward true reconciliation and retention lies in a distinctions-based approach. This means moving beyond “one-size-fits-all” models and toward a strategy that honours the specific relational values of different communities. By shifting toward distinctions-based support, HR leaders move from performative reconciliation to authentic relationship-building.

Distinctions-Based Well-Being: A New Framework

For many Indigenous employees, wellness is not an individual pursuit—it is a collective experience. It is deeply tied to family, community, and land. When an HR policy ignores these connections, an employee might feel forced to choose between professional responsibilities and community obligations. This can lead to a specific type of burnout and work-life disconnect that traditional resilience training cannot fix.

This shift in approach acknowledges that, for example, a Métis employee’s connection to community through wahkohtowin may require different supports than an Inuit colleague’s focus on pijitsirniq—the value of serving and providing for family. Intentionality is vital for all Canadian organizations, which are situated on traditional territories, and even more critically for those with significant Indigenous representation within their teams, where the gap between “standard” policy and cultural need is most keenly felt.

A distinctions-based approach recognizes the distinct rights and cultural realities of First Nations, Métis Peoples, and Inuit. In an HR context, this requires us to ask, for example:

• Does our wellness strategy recognize the specific kinship structures of the Métis?
• Does it account for the different legal and historical contexts of First Nations employees, especially those on whose lands we are headquartered?
• Does it integrate Inuit societal values like inuuqatigiitsiarniq—respecting others, nurturing relationships, and caring for people?

Insights from the Métis Context: Leadership as Care

Early data from my recent survey of Métis business owners and people leaders highlights that this sense of responsibility is a defining feature of our professional identity. While analysis is ongoing, several emerging themes are clear:

• Trust Over Transaction: Building long-term, trust-based relationships is significantly more important than achieving the lowest short-term cost.
• The Importance of Reciprocity: Wellness means having the capacity to be a helper within our communities.

According to Rupertsland Institute (2022), Métis leadership is characterized by effective and accountable governance rooted in specific Ways of Knowing, Being, and Doing. This isn’t just a “nice” way to lead. Economic reconciliation is fundamentally about “rebuilding relationships, trust and equity” (CCIB, 2024, p. 3). This isn’t just a social goal; with the Indigenous population growing at nearly double the rate of the rest of Canada, a thriving economy depends on it. For the HR leader, this suggests that relational care is not just a wellness initiative—it is a tangible competitive advantage.

From Theory to Policy: Practical HR Strategies

How can HR leaders translate these insights into systems?

• Redefining Family in Benefits: Move beyond the nuclear definition of family. Many Indigenous kinship structures include chosen family, with a broader definition of roles like auntie or sister. Consider transitioning to “Kinship and Community Leave” to honour these bonds.
• Indigenous Values in Workplace Learning: When designing training, embed Indigenous values directly into learning objectives. For instance, work with Indigenous instructors to deliver workshops on the interconnectedness of emotional and spiritual health and the importance of supporting colleagues.
• Relational Performance Conversations: Move beyond the annual review. Use a coaching approach that prioritizes trust and safety. This includes acknowledging an employee’s leadership outside of work—such as being a youth mentor, hunter, or Knowledge Holder.
• Flexible Job Design: For many Indigenous professionals, the responsibility to serve community is a core value. Practices like job-sharing or cultural flex-time allow employees to rotate responsibilities, enabling them to fulfill land-based priorities like harvesting without sacrificing their careers.

The Path Forward: Weaving a Stronger Sash

Workplace well-being is never culturally neutral. Every policy we design reflects a set of values. The opportunity for HR leaders is to recognize that for many, success is not measured solely by individual growth, but by the health of the collective.

By integrating a distinctions-based approach, we stop trying to fit Indigenous professionals into Western wellness boxes. Instead, we begin to weave a new tapestry—much like the Métis sash—where different threads of cultural knowledge, kinship, and responsibility to one another come together to create a stronger, more resilient organization for everyone.

References

• Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB). (2024). A way forward: Ontario’s path towards economic reconciliation, equity and inclusive growth. CCIB. https://www.ccib.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/A-Way-Forward.pdf
• Rupertsland Institute. (2022). Métis culture & traditions: Foundational knowledge themes. Rupertsland Institute. https://www.rupertsland.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Metis-Culture-and-Traditions-Foundational-Knowledge-Themes-01.25.22.pdf

Alicia Hibbert is a Métis researcher and consultant whose work focuses on relational accountability, workplace well-being, and distinctions-based inclusion. She is coauthor of “Advancing Workplace Wellbeing within Higher Education Settings” (Health Promoting Universities, 2025) and develops culturally responsive HR toolkits that bridge Indigenous values with workplace systems.

Alicia will be presenting ‘Cultural Well-Being at Work: From Collective Care to Distinctions-Based Inclusion‘ at HR Conference & Expo 2026, which will take place from May 5-6 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Register now to join the session.

What often goes unexamined is the foundational assumption that well-being is universal, culturally neutral, and primarily an individual responsibility. In reality, how people experience stress, care, and support at work is deeply shaped by culture, community, and identity. When workplace well-being is designed without this context, even the most well-meaning initiatives can fall short.

The Limits of Individual-Focused Models

In many organizations, workplace well-being has come to mean a familiar set of supports: resilience workshops, employee assistance programs, mindfulness apps, flexible work arrangements, or wellness challenges. These initiatives can be valuable and for some employees, they genuinely help. However, challenge arises when these approaches are treated as universally designed for “everyone,” neglecting the fact that they are shaped by the dominant cultural norms in our society.

Most mainstream well-being models are rooted in individualism. They emphasize personal coping strategies, emotional self-regulation, and the ability to separate work from the rest of one’s life. They often assume employees have similar family structures, access to support outside of work, and cultural comfort with discussing mental health in certain ways. When well-being initiatives are extended to family, it is often for immediate family members only, potentially ignoring important people within the employee’s support network. When these assumptions go unexamined, well-being programs may inadvertently focus on some experiences while overlooking others.

Understanding Wellness as a Collective Experience

For employees whose identities, responsibilities, or cultural values do not align with these norms, workplace wellness can feel misaligned or even alienating. In these cases, the issue is not a lack of resilience, but a lack of cultural responsiveness in how wellness initiatives and supports are designed and offered.

Culture influences far more than communication styles or holidays. It shapes how people understand well-being itself and, in many communities, wellness is not an individual pursuit but a collective experience, deeply connected to family, community, land, spirituality, and shared responsibility. Care is relational, not transactional.

Moving Toward Distinctions-Based Support

For equity-deserving communities, well-being is often tied to interdependence and mutual support. Stress may be carried not only at the individual level, but across families and generations. Seeking help outside the community may feel unfamiliar or unsafe. Strength is expressed through contribution to the collective rather than self-focus.

When workplaces recognize only one model of well-being, they risk misunderstanding how employees experience stress. This leads to wellness programs that are ineffective, at best, and at worst, unused. A culturally responsive approach does not require HR leaders to become experts in every culture. Rather, it asks them to remain curious, reflective, and open to the idea that care can look different—and still be deeply effective.

Embedding Culturally Responsive Care

Integrating cultural well-being into the workplace is not about adding another program or awareness campaign. It requires a deeper examination of how care is embedded across HR systems and everyday practices.

This might include reflecting on questions, such as:

• Whose definitions of well-being are reflected in our policies and benefits?
• Where do employees have flexibility, and where do rigid norms persist?
• Have employees been consulted on potential programs that might be more appropriate for them?
• How are leaders supported to practice care in culturally responsive ways?

From Assumptions to Intentional Design

Small shifts, like expanding leave policies, can have meaningful impact when guided by cultural awareness. The goal is not perfection, but alignment: ensuring that well-being initiatives resonate with the lived realities of diverse teams.

Workplace well-being is never culturally neutral. Every policy, program, and expectation reflects values about work, care, and success. The opportunity for HR leaders lies in moving from unexamined assumptions toward intentional, culturally responsive design.

By broadening how well-being is understood, beyond individual resilience and toward collective care, organizations can create environments where more people can thrive. As conversations about equity, reconciliation, and mental health continue to evolve, cultural well-being offers a powerful lens for reimagining how care shows up at work—not as an add-on, but as a shared responsibility with the people that matter the most: our employees.

Lena BouSaleh is the Lead Equity Strategist at Edified Projects, where she partners with organizations to advance equity, inclusion, and culturally responsive leadership practices. Her work centres on collective care, reconciliation, and building workplace systems that honour diverse identities and ways of belonging.

Lena BouSaleh will be presenting ‘Cultural Well-Being at Work: From Collective Care to Distinctions-Based Inclusion‘ at HR Conference & Expo 2026, which will take place from May 5-6 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Register now to join the session.

Workplace climate is not about ping pong tables, free coffee, or engagement scores. It is the invisible blueprint that shapes every interaction, conversation, and collaboration. That blueprint is influenced less by policy or intention and more by leadership behaviour, communication patterns, and the cultural backgrounds people bring with them into work. Leaders who understand this realize that climate is not incidental; it is strategic.

Walk into any meeting and you will see it in action. Someone from a culture that values indirect communication may hint at their point rather than stating it outright. Another person who comes from a culture that values directness may interpret that subtlety as evasiveness. Leaders who assume everyone approaches communication the same way across cultures risk misunderstanding, tension, and disengagement. Designing climate as a social architect means intentionally creating space for these differences, structuring interactions so every style and perspective is heard, respected, and understood.

Global Differences and Remote Work

Global differences further complicate this work. Regional norms, societal expectations, and cultural backgrounds influence how people interpret language, authority, and intent. Leaders who ignore these realities risk recreating the very divisions they were hoping to avoid. Those who acknowledge differences and design climate with intention cultivate trust and enable collaboration, even as the world outside feels fractured. Curiosity, humility, and adaptability are no longer optional traits; they are levers that allow difference to become a strategic advantage rather than a fault line.

Hybrid and remote work amplify these challenges. Informal cues, such as tone, body language, and cultural context are muted or lost, making it harder to interpret meaning across regions. Without intentional design, digital environments elevate some voices while others fade. Effective leaders create structures that honour time zones, invite diverse perspectives, and recognize how cultural and geographic backgrounds shape communication. These are not minor considerations. They determine whether employees feel seen, included, and empowered to contribute.

Inclusive Climate Drives Performance

An inclusive climate is not a passive outcome. It is actively shaped by leaders who understand the subtle ways culture, background, and lived experience influence behaviour. By modeling respect, demonstrating curiosity, and acknowledging difference, leaders signal that diversity of experience is a resource to leverage, not a hurdle to overcome. Engagement rises, trust deepens, conflict becomes productive, and innovation follows.

The benefits extend beyond morale or feel-good culture. Organizations that recognize the social architecture of their teams gain access to broader perspectives, reduce friction, and strengthen their ability to adapt in uncertain times. Leaders who understand difference are better equipped to guide hybrid teams, bridge geographic and cultural divides, and cultivate workplaces where people do more than coexist, they connect.

Ultimately, workplace climate mirrors the world beyond the office walls. Designing for difference is not a luxury. It is central to strategy, performance, and leadership in a globally diverse world.

Neha Mohan, CPHR is the Director, Professional Development & Accreditation at CPHR BC & Yukon.

“PeopleTalking” is new monthly column dedicated to covering key HR issues that matter to you, our members. The columns will be written in an op-ed style and will range between 500 and 750 words. Given today’s attention spans and bandwidths, we wanted to ensure the pieces were easily digestible and shareable.

And we want to hear from you! We always welcome feedback so do let us know your thoughts as each column appears. We also want to know if there are any particular topics you would like us to write about. After all, our aim is to help you in your role as an HR professional in your organization.

A recent Robert Half Canada survey found that 47 per cent of professionals report feeling burned out, and 31 per cent say their burnout has increased over the past year. That figure has risen from 33 per cent in 2023 to 47 per cent in 2025. And according to Statistics Canada, more than one in five working Canadians (21.2 per cent) experience high or very high levels of work-related stress — climbing to 27.3 per cent in health and social services, the highest of any industry.

This is not just an individual problem; it’s an organizational and economic one. Persistent burnout drains engagement, spikes absenteeism, and fuels turnover — a trifecta that silently erodes Canada’s competitiveness at a time when talent is already scarce.

Shifting the burden

So, who bears responsibility for tackling burnout? Too often, the default answer is the employee. The advice columns tell us to meditate, take yoga, or “learn to say no.” But this places the burden squarely on workers who are already stretched thin.

While employees play a role in managing their well-being, employers must lead. Organizations shape the cultures and systems that either amplify or alleviate stress. When toxicity, unrealistic workloads, and poor communication go unaddressed, morale collapses and cynicism sets in. People stop believing their work matters.

The irony is that in many organizations, leaders respond to low morale by withdrawing further — retreating into budgets, meetings, and metrics — instead of asking their people what’s wrong. That silence deepens the spiral.

Leadership that listens

Breaking the burnout cycle requires introspection and courage from leadership. It means moving beyond slogans about resilience and toward genuine organizational change — listening to employees, re-examining workloads, and confronting the habits that no longer serve.

As Jennifer Moss, workplace expert and author, wrote in Harvard Business Review: “With burnout now officially recognized by the WHO, the responsibility for managing it has shifted away from employees and toward employers. Burnout is preventable. It requires good organizational hygiene, better data, asking more timely and relevant questions, smarter budgeting, and ensuring that wellness offerings are included as part of your well-being strategy.”

Not every solution demands a major investment. Sometimes it’s as simple as adjusting expectations, revisiting schedules, or creating more ergonomic workspaces. What matters most is intentionality — building systems that protect people, not deplete them.

The post-pandemic reckoning

The pandemic fundamentally reshaped work irrevocably. The world of work has changed. But this moment is not only defined by stress—it is also defined by possibility. HR leaders have the opportunity to reshape the workplace into something more human, more resilient, and more adaptive than anything that existed before.

The new workplace requires courage, creativity, and collaboration. It requires seeing HR not as a department, but as the strategic heart of the organization.

And if HR rises to this moment, Canada’s workforce and economy—will be stronger for it.

If nearly half of working Canadians are burned out, we have a national productivity crisis on our hands. The cost is measured not only in lost output, but in disengagement, health-care strain, and diminished innovation.

Flexibility, autonomy, and purpose now define what employees expect — and what high-performing organizations must deliver. Employers who ignore that shift risk losing their most valuable asset: trust.

While burnout may never vanish entirely, Canadian employers have a rare opportunity to rewrite the culture of work. By embedding well-being, empathy, and genuine leadership into their organizations, they won’t just reduce burnout — they’ll unlock resilience and loyalty at a time when the country needs both more than ever.

Anthony Ariganello, CM, FCPHR is the President and CEO of the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR British Columbia & Yukon & CPHR Canada).

The team at CPHR BC & Yukon is excited to launch this new monthly column dedicated to covering key HR issues that matter to you, our members. Titled, “PeopleTalking”, the columns will be shared with you in the third week of each month, starting with this first issue.

The columns will be written in an op-ed style and will range between 500 and 750 words. Given today’s attention spans and bandwidths, we wanted to ensure the pieces were easily digestible and shareable.

And we want to hear from you! We always welcome feedback so do let us know your thoughts as each column appears. We also want to know if there are any particular topics you would like us to write about. After all, our aim is to help you in your role as an HR professional in your organization.

Governance:

CPHR BC & Yukon’s Public Policy Committee (PPC) has made a significant submission to the Policy, Regulation and Research Department. It addresses the consultation feedback for revising policies in the Rehabilitation Services & Claims Manual, Volume II, concerning mental disorder claims under section 135 of the Workers’ Compensation Act. The submission has been reviewed and captured the attention of the Premier’s office.

The PPC delivered a presentation to the Labour Board, introducing CPHR BC & Yukon and outlining our mandate. The Board expressed strong interest and acknowledged our role as the voice of the HR profession.

Membership:

• We currently have 8,914 members of CPHR BC & Yukon.
• We have 4,487 members with the CPHR designation, including 532 who reached this achievement within the past year, and another 643 members who recently became CPHR Candidates.
• We had 750 mentors and protégés participate in the Professional Mentorship Program. Join the next cohort.

Jingle Mingle: Holiday HR Hoedown in Kamloops

CPHR Class of 2024 at the Member Recognition Gala 2025