Feb. 5, 2018 The Ladder: Alexandre Bilodeau: Today I found this article by Karl Moore and Maria Power in the Globe and Mail:
Alex Bilodeau, 30, of Montreal, is a chartered public accountant for KPMG. The now-retired Olympic freestyle skier became the first Canadian double gold-medal winner in moguls freestyle skiing, winning at Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014.
It is an honour for me and an achievement to have two different careers. From an early age, my parents taught me that even if I do become an Olympic champion, at the end of the day, I will still need to be working and I will need a career. I have always said, since I was young, "I am not only Alex-the-skier." I don't want to define Alex Bilodeau as an Olympic skier because I think there are so many things to be accomplished in life.
I am somebody who strives to set many objectives and goals. I am always looking for the next step and that is why I never really left school, always keeping one foot in the classroom. I finished school in June of last year with a master's degree in the CPA program.
You have all that stress and work that you have invested in and suddenly it is the due date and you need to perform. My skiing career brought me something very special that I can translate into various other skills. I want to share that with others, I think it's very important.
I don't ski much any more but I do ski with family a little. People are surprised by this because they think I must ski all the time on the weekends. For me, it's really about spending more time with people. I actually enjoy more the ride up than the ride down. This is because you are talking to people. I'm exchanging great moments with people, so that's the most important part for me.
It is my motto to not have any regrets. I try to make every decision in my life without regret and without lying to myself. After Vancouver 2010, I actually did a lot of thinking about whether or not I should go on for another four years. Looking in the mirror, I thought, "If I make the decision not to compete at Sochi, will I have regrets down the road?"
When I will be 65 with grandchildren, will I say to them that grandpa was once an Olympic champion and he could have won two gold medals, but he didn't try so he decided to become an accountant? They would never believe me. I also really felt that I was not the best skier that I could become. I still felt that I had more to give to the sport and felt that I could achieve more.
When I will be 65 with grandchildren, will I say to them that grandpa was once an Olympic champion and he could have won two gold medals, but he didn't try so he decided to become an accountant? They would never believe me. I also really felt that I was not the best skier that I could become. I still felt that I had more to give to the sport and felt that I could achieve more.
I wanted to compete in Sochi for the right reasons and I wanted to try something that never has been done before in my sport. I thought, whatever will happen in Sochi, whether I win or fail, I will not keep going afterward, even for a victory lap. Winning Sochi might mean signing bigger contracts, but I didn't want to do it for the money.
At the end of the day, I really felt that once I crossed that finish line in Sochi, it would be my best run I could offer to my sport, and even if I worked four more years, I would not have become a better athlete. I promised myself that I will try as hard as I can and then, at 26 years old, I can still turn around and manage another successful career.
I have always seen an athlete as an entrepreneur. It is literally a business as athletes surround themselves with the right trainers and specialists and manage their image and their marketing.
You can improve the sport and give back by having the right image for the next generation and being an inspiration for the young kids. It was very important that young athletes look at me and say, "Wow, that is so cool because that's an athlete that has a good work ethic and can translate it into something else." That is why I invest in many sports foundations that give bursaries to athletes who keep going with their studies.
You can improve the sport and give back by having the right image for the next generation and being an inspiration for the young kids. It was very important that young athletes look at me and say, "Wow, that is so cool because that's an athlete that has a good work ethic and can translate it into something else." That is why I invest in many sports foundations that give bursaries to athletes who keep going with their studies.
With everything in life, you need balance. It's very difficult after a long day of training to focus on school. When you have been up early training in altitude, gone to the gym, gone through physio analysis, video analysis, massage therapy and a meeting with all your coaches, by the time you get dinner and get to your bed, it's 8:30 or 9 p.m. and it's a lot easier to open up Netflix or play a video game then to open up an accounting book. But the challenge teaches you a lot about balance.
Athletes do have time to study; it's just demanding on the body. It is tough physically and mentally. This is why I still look up to [football player] Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, even though I am retired from sports. He has all my respect in the world for pursuing his studies in medicine. That's the role model beyond sport that I would like to portray.
Athletes do have time to study; it's just demanding on the body. It is tough physically and mentally. This is why I still look up to [football player] Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, even though I am retired from sports. He has all my respect in the world for pursuing his studies in medicine. That's the role model beyond sport that I would like to portray.
It is the best feeling in the world to go all the way to the end and say, "Check, I've done it." Millennials need to understand the importance of going all the way to the end of their goal, not just touching it, but owning it. They don't go in-depth in what they do. They want to touch a little bit of everything. I personally want to go all the way to the end of my goals.
There is a similarity between the presidents of companies and athletes at the top of their sport. The president of a company needs to stand alone as a leader and have that image, just like an athlete who is on top of that podium day in and day out.
Meanwhile, you need to surround yourself with the right people to allow you to succeed. It's the same thing with a CEO: he needs to surround himself with the right people. He can't do everything.
Meanwhile, you need to surround yourself with the right people to allow you to succeed. It's the same thing with a CEO: he needs to surround himself with the right people. He can't do everything.
It's all about having the right people around you. The people around me understand that I'm a Type A personality and I am someone that has an ego. I need to have the right people around me to tell me the real things.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
"Is one day off fair compensation for being on call for seven days?": Today I found this article in the Globe and Mail:
THE QUESTION
A hospital has informed a group of non-unionized managers that we will be on call from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. during a seven-day work period. It is expected to occur two to three times a year. This will be addition to working during the day. The compensation for on-call duty is one day off in lieu. Is the employer able to do this? How can we, as a group, approach this situation, in order to refuse or negotiate better compensation? Is there a separation recourse, such as arguing constructive dismissal?
THE FIRST ANSWER
Daniel A. Lublin
Partner at Whitten & Lublin Employment & Labour Lawyers
The first problem with your employer's new rule is that it could be illegal. In addition to potentially offending regulatory laws addressing hours of work and overtime, provincial employment standards codes across Canada require employers to pay employees for being on-call and do not permit trading on-call pay for time off in lieu.
For instance, in Ontario, there is a requirement to pay three hours of regular wages to an employee who is on-call and required to work, even if he or she does not work the full three hours.
Similarly, in Alberta, an employer is required to pay an employee three hours of minimum wage for each call-out or when the employee is required to wear a uniform and/or monitor radio calls, even if not called out. In British Columbia, an employee must be paid for being on-call, unless he or she remains at home while on-call.
Similarly, in Alberta, an employer is required to pay an employee three hours of minimum wage for each call-out or when the employee is required to wear a uniform and/or monitor radio calls, even if not called out. In British Columbia, an employee must be paid for being on-call, unless he or she remains at home while on-call.
The second problem with the proposed new rule is that, even if reworked to comply with all aspects of the relevant legislation, it could amount to a breach of contract, known as a constructive dismissal. Employers have the right to make tweaks or changes to employment terms and conditions so long as they are not fundamental alterations.
Significant workplace changes, such as reduced compensation, more hours of work, a different work location and different duties, could be viewed as a constructive dismissal, depending on the impact of the changes on the employee. If this is the case, employees may have the right to reject the changes and sue for a severance package while they look for other work.
Significant workplace changes, such as reduced compensation, more hours of work, a different work location and different duties, could be viewed as a constructive dismissal, depending on the impact of the changes on the employee. If this is the case, employees may have the right to reject the changes and sue for a severance package while they look for other work.
If all of your colleagues are opposed to the new proposal, you should stick together to put pressure on your employer to reconsider, or to try to negotiate better terms. If that does not result in anything positive, there is a legal claim to consider.
The Second Answer:
The Second Answer:
Kyle Couch
President & CEO, Spectrum Organizational Development Inc.
For many office workers, when the proverbial five o'clock whistle blows, the race is on to dash to the parking lot or train to head home. However, in industries such as health care, manufacturing, and customer service, some shifts are just getting started. In far too many cases, these employees conduct their work with very little management support. Many organizations are therefore altering managers' schedules to ensure adequate coverage for these off-hour shifts.
As a manager, your success is 100 per cent dependent upon the success of your team. Therefore, this move will give you a better ability to ensure they have what they need to be successful. While the idea of being on-call may seem unfair, you should consider the fact that your employees will have a greater level of support from you and your colleagues – and their productivity and effectiveness can increase dramatically – by having your support when on-site employees and supervision cannot overcome a challenge.
In hindsight, your hospital could have involved their managers in the process of coming to this conclusion and implementing this new process. While I believe the concept is progressive, simply informing you of the decision was a mistake.
The other thing to consider is that you will simply be "on-call," and you may find that over the course of the two or three weeks that you are responsible for support that you may not be disturbed at all. The more proactive you and your fellow managers are during the day to train your off-shift supervisors, and to identify potential issues, the less likely you are to be contacted.
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