While the rest of us sleep in …

There is something a little unfair about waking up early on a statutory holiday.

The alarm goes off. You briefly forget what day it is. Then it hits you. Everyone else is sleeping in, planning a barbecue, packing the kids into the car for a trip to the beach or deciding whether they should mow the lawn today or put it off until tomorrow.

You, on the other hand, are putting on a uniform and trying to convince yourself coffee really can solve anything.

If you’ve ever worked retail, health care, emergency services, hospitality, public transit, utilities, manufacturing, airports, long-term care, broadcasting, customer service or any of the countless jobs that keep our communities running, you know exactly what I mean.

Eight Winnipeg teens leave high school with hopes, dreams and an uncertain, AI-flavoured future

Same as the gen-Zers who came before them, this year’s Grade 12 graduates were raised online and offline.

What sets the Class of 2026 apart is how it has been forced to reckon with the post-pandemic panic about student screen time.

In middle school, these students were told they could socialize only on digital playgrounds. After COVID-19 restrictions eased, a school cellphone ban was brought in. On their way out, they were assured future Manitoba children wouldn’t be able to access the same social media and artificial intelligence-powered chatbots they grew up with.

This group, born into an era of tech optimism, is the first to have had access to AI chatbots in all four years of high school.

Versatile violinist goes with the bow, from Bach to the Beatles and beyond

Can you hear the drums Fernando? How about the violin?

It’s Friday night at the Stadium Kitchen + Bar, 2935 Pembina Hwy. After delivering spot-on renditions of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline and the Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody, solo violinist Allan Palmer polls a small yet enthusiastic audience, asking what they would like to hear next. A couple celebrating a birthday calls out for “some ABBA,” causing Palmer to launch into a medley of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) and Fernando, two of the Swedish pop group’s biggest hits.

Moving freely around the room, the 26-year-old, stylishly attired in a black buttoned shirt, dark trousers and polished leather shoes, follows that up with a hip-swaying version of Madonna’s La Isla Bonita before segueing into La Vie en Rose, a plaintive melody popularized 90 years ago by French singer Edith Piaf.

Later, during a short break, Palmer reports that his vast repertoire covers everything from Bach to the Beatles, a major reason why he gets booked regularly for gatherings such as weddings and charity events, not to mention the odd lounge date.

Questions about resume gaps are expected. Here’s how job seekers can address them

NEW YORK (AP) — When Monique Di Liberto began looking for a paying job after putting her career on pause to parent full-time, she felt paralyzed by self-doubt.

“Who do you think you are trying this after 17 years?" Di Liberto recalled asking herself. "You have no business doing this.”

The fear and uncertainty she felt is familiar to many people seeking work after an absence from the job market. Whether they lost a position during mass layoffs or needed to leave one to care for an ill loved one, job applicants can expect questions about employment history lapses to surface during screenings and interviews.

“You have to address it honestly and directly,” said Andy Decker, CEO of Goodwin Recruiting, a candidate recruitment and placement firm. “Make sure that you’ve included anything you did during that time. Did you get certifications? Did you volunteer?”

Eager to work, teens find a frustrating summer job search

NEW YORK (AP) — Jaelyn Chester will wait your tables or stock your shelves. She’ll wash your dishes or scrub your toilets. If only someone would give the 17-year-old a chance.

“I’ve been looking everywhere,” says Chester, an A+ student, high school basketball star and aspiring engineer who has blanketed her community with dozens of applications. “I’m not unemployed because I’m incompetent. I’m unemployed because nobody’s hiring.”

The summer job, a rite-of-passage for generations of American teenagers, isn’t so easy to come by.

About one-third of 16- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. were employed last summer, federal data show, down from a peak of about 60% in the late 1970s. Experts’ pessimistic forecasts are combining with reports from frustrated jobless young people around the country to form a seasonal outlook far from bathed in sunshine.

Directors Desk enters child care HR spotlight

A Manitoba company has released what is believed to be the first sector-specific human resources software for early learning centres and child care operations in Canada.

Province tabs $4.3M for programs to boost employment strategies for young Manitobans

It’s an ongoing cycle in Tasnim Aljoumah’s orbit: submit a stack of resumés, get a sprinkle of responses.

The 16-year-old hasn’t started job hunting yet, but she’s watched her friends’ disheartening results.

“It’s not as fun as it seems, and it’s definitely not as easy,” Tasnim, who’s finishing Grade 11, said Tuesday outside University of Winnipeg Collegiate.

She pondered the job market hours after Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced $4.3 million for two initiatives to boost youth employment.

Return to office mandate keys: clarity, consistency, consideration

A recent British Columbia Court of Appeal decision is prompting renewed conversation across Canada about remote work, employer authority and what happens when expectations about where work is performed are not clearly set out.

While the case itself is rooted in B.C., the implications are relevant for employers in Manitoba and elsewhere who are continuing to refine their return to office strategies in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world.

At the heart of the discussion is a simple but important question: if an employee was hired during a period when remote work was widely accepted or even standard, can an employer later require that employee to return to the workplace full time?

The court’s message, in essence, reinforces something many employment lawyers have been emphasizing since pandemic restrictions eased: remote work is not automatically a permanent entitlement.

SCO-led app Miikahnah Connect links Indigenous workers to labour demand

As Jay Sanderson turned to face his job site, evidence of his work stared back — plywood replacing windows at the former Hudson’s Bay Co. flagship store downtown.

Lately, he’s been in the basement.

He’s working with several First Nations members on the construction of Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization’s revamp of the old Bay site.

Construction on the facility — which will include housing and a childcare centre, among other things— is slated for another two-and-a-half years, according to SCO’s grand chief.

Manitoba makes strides on poverty, but EIA rates must increase: report

When Jayline Bursey gets her monthly Employment and Income Assistance cheque, it’s gone almost immediately.

Overcoming workplace conflicts, setting boundaries can create professional resilience

One of the clearest signs of professional maturity is the ability to continue working effectively with someone after a disagreement, misunderstanding or difficult chapter in the relationship.

Youth unemployment more than just an economic statistic

For many young Canadians, getting a first job is no longer a simple rite of passage. It has become a source of stress, frustration and uncertainty about the future.

Across Canada, teenagers and young adults are sending out resumés, applying online for hours at a time and following up with employers, only to hear nothing back. For students trying to save for tuition, get experience or simply gain independence, the struggle to find work is becoming increasingly discouraging.

Statistics Canada reported the national unemployment rate for youth ages 15 to 24 reached 14.3 per cent in April, far above the overall unemployment rate of 6.9 per cent. The youth unemployment rate remains significantly higher than the pre-COVID-19 pandemic average of 10.8 per cent.

Behind those numbers are young people who are eager to work but unable to gain a foothold in the labour market. Many employers continue to ask for experience even for entry-level positions, leaving students and recent grads trapped in a cycle where they cannot gain experience because nobody will hire them.

Small businesses’ capacity to hire youth being constrained: CFIB survey

TORONTO - A weaker economy and rising costs are leaving little room for small businesses to hire and train inexperienced youth, a new report suggests.

While small businesses remain the "training ground" for many young people entering the workforce, a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says small businesses are facing challenges from weak demand and rising payroll costs.

That's leaving many business owners with fewer resources to hire and train young workers.

"For many small businesses, taking a chance on someone with no experience, especially when training requires considerable time and effort, is simply not feasible in the current climate," the report said.

More time at work is not always more productive work

Canada’s productivity conversation has increasingly focused on a simple but important measure: output per hour worked. In other words, what are we actually producing for the time we are putting in?

Dozens protest outside legislature over expiring federal work permits

For three days, Harpreet Singh Sandhu has stood outside the Manitoba Legislative Building, calling for an extension of soon-to-expire federal work permits.

On schedule: provincial minimum wage to rise to $16.40/hr in October

Manitoba’s minimum wage is set to rise 40 cents in October, leaving labour and business advocates split on the benefit of continuing to tie the baseline to the rate of inflation as the cost of living grows.

The minimum wage will rise to $16.40 per hour from $16/hr on Oct. 1. (The provincial government is required to announce the incoming minimum wage by April 1 each year.)

Provincial legislation ties the mark to inflation — the 40-cent increase is in line with Manitoba’s 2.7 per cent inflation rate in 2025 — and in 2022, the former Progressive Conservative government amended the rules to allow minimum wage be boosted beyond inflation, but only if inflation exceeds five per cent.

However, that same legislation prevents the province from closing the gap between the minimum wage and the cost of living, said Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck.

Provincial budget includes free transit passes for youths in Winnipeg, three other cities

Manitoba’s NDP government will make it more affordable for youths as young as 12 to get to school, jobs and activities with free transit passes.

Leadership advantage starts with listening

Leadership often involves making decisions with incomplete information, balancing operational demands with the needs of the people doing the work.

One of the most valuable skills a leader can develop is the ability to listen well and notice patterns in how employees are experiencing their work. Many leaders believe they are already doing this, but it is surprisingly easy for important signals to go unnoticed. Employees may be talking among themselves about frustrations, inefficiencies or small problems that slowly grow larger over time.

When leaders take the time to notice trends in employee satisfaction and respond thoughtfully, they make their own jobs easier in the long run.

The first step is simply paying attention to patterns rather than isolated comments.

‘A life-or-death program’: non-profit’s successful at-risk youth training awaits Ottawa funding decision

An inner-city non-profit that helps at-risk youth in Winnipeg has warned it will be forced to end an employment and training program March 31 unless government funding comes through.

A year of federal funding is set to run out for Resource Assistance for Youth’s Level Up! program, which has educated and secured work experience for more than 350 young people since 2020.

“We’re in that moment where no level of government has said, ‘We want to continue to support this going forward,’” said Kate Sjoberg, RaY’s executive director.

The paid training program involves six weeks of in-class learning and 12 weeks of work experience with a local employer. Participants also receive housing and mental-health and other supports.

International Women’s Day spotlight on invisible work

As I watch my daughter celebrate another birthday, I find myself thinking about work in a different way.

Not the headlines about promotions, pay gaps or glass ceilings (although those still matter), but about the quiet work that keeps organizations running. The work that rarely shows up on a resumé, that does not earn awards or headlines, but without which everything else starts to crumble.

In HR, I see it all the time. There are women in every organization who keep the gears turning, often without recognition. They remember everyone’s birthdays and make sure the new hire feels welcomed. They notice when tensions are brewing between colleagues and take small steps to prevent confrontation. They keep institutional memory alive, quietly teaching the new generation how things work, sharing lessons learned. They fix problems before anyone even notices there was an issue.

This is invisible labour, and it is work. Emotional labour, relational labour, the work that goes into making a workplace humane, functional, and often even enjoyable. It does not show up in org charts. It is rarely celebrated at awards banquets. And yet, it is the glue that keeps workplaces together.