Your Digest

Summer wellness strategies  

Along with the anticipation and excitement of summer and vacations, it’s important to acknowledge the parts of this experience that can create additional stress, anxiety and worry for employees, managers and teams. Pre-vacation anxiety can arise as you prepare for your absence. It’s sometimes hard to think about totally disconnecting from your work on vacation and trusting others to fill in when needed — especially when worries arise about increasing their workload. Visit Connect to find strategies to be better prepared to manage these stressors and explore ways to reduce their impact.

Townhall taking a pause in July  

Based on feedback received through the town hall survey, we will take a pause in July. Details of the next town hall will be circulated as soon as dates are confirmed. In the meantime, employees are reminded they can submit their questions, comments or feedback anytime to communications@blood.ca with the subject line “TOWNHALL”.  

Quality Mindset employee survey extended to August 19 

The quality mindset survey which was originally set to close in mid-July will now remain open until August 19 to give more employees the opportunity to participate. The results from this 10–15-minute, anonymous survey will provide valuable insights into what we are doing well to instill an understanding and drive for quality in all that we do, and how we can do better. If you haven’t done so already, please click here to participate in the Quality Mindset employee survey. 

Question of the day

If I’m unable to book vacation time this summer or fall due to either personal or work-related issues, can I carry over my unused vacation into next fiscal year?  

The health and well-being of our employees is a priority for Canadian Blood Services. Taking a break is important for both mental and physical well-being, which is why we encourage you to use your allotted vacation time to rest and recharge away from your work.  

We understand that it may feel difficult for some of you to take your well-deserved vacation time when you are faced with high workloads, many competing priorities and/or illness on your team. As well, some of you may be uncomfortable traveling for vacation due to the ongoing restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.    

Employees and their managers are encouraged to have open and honest conversations about workloads and competing priorities. Employees should make every reasonable effort to book vacation time prior to March 31, 2023, as per their applicable collective agreement or the updated vacation carry-over policy. 

That said, there are circumstances that exist where an employee may not be able to use all accrued vacation before the end of the fiscal year. Non-union employees can carry over one week of vacation time without approval, and up to two weeks with your director’s approval.  If you think vacation carry-over may apply to you, please speak with your manager or supervisor as soon as possible. Unionized employees should refer to their collective agreements for any specifics related to the carry-over of unused vacation. 

Most importantly, please review what work can wait while you take a well-deserved break.