Linda Duxbury
With Canadian corporations losing over $4 billion a year to employee absenteeism, the well-being and satisfaction of employees cannot be overlooked. Dr. Linda Duxbury, Canada’s most accomplished researcher, writer and speaker on work-life balance, has influenced policy and attitudes to help create supportive work environments in both the private and public sectors.
She has influenced government policy-making and significantly advanced the practices and attitudes toward work-life balance, technology, flexible work arrangements, generational differences, the development of supportive managers and work environments in Canada.
Dr. Duxbury has written hundreds of papers, journals, and books, and is the co-author of a series of Health Canada reports about work-life balance in Canada. She has published widely in both the academic and practitioner literatures in the area of work-family conflict, change management, supportive work environments, stress, telework, the use and impact of office technology, managing the new workforce and supportive management. Her work shows that work-life strategies benefit the business bottom-line, by gaining a competitive advantage in a marketplace that will become increasingly driven by worker needs and wants.
Speaking topics
- Resilient Leadership and Management: Leading and Managing in Times of Disruptive Change
In this keynote, Dr. Linda Duxbury defines disruptive change and challenges leaders to think about what major disruptions they are likely to face over the next several years. She’ll ask leaders to explore what challenges may arise from managing disruptive change, the link between disruptive change and a crisis, and what changes in leadership style are needed during chaos in order to focus your attention where it’s most needed.
- Organizational Resilience: What Is it and How Do We Nurture It?
What does a resilient workplace look like? How does it work and how do you lead with resilience? In this keynote, Dr. Linda Duxbury will share insight into how leaders can create an environment of readiness for change and manage resistance to change. She will also explore the types of strategies available to leaders depending on the type of change occurring, and underline the dangers of high levels of organizational inertia and how to overcome it.
- Moving Forward Post-Pandemic: Pay Attention to Your Organizational Culture
An expert in human resources, Dr. Linda Duxbury shares information about the importance of organizational culture and discusses the characteristics of an organizational culture that is resilient and adaptive to change
- Ambidexterity: The Key to Managing Change and Organizational Resilience
How can leaders manage evolutionary and revolutionary changes at the same time (i.e. exploit while also exploring; keep the company running while also changing a strategic direction?) In this keynote, Dr. Linda Duxbury shares what ambidexterity means as it relates to managing change and creating resilience, and helps organizations determine if they and their leaders are ambidextrous.
- A Best Practice Guide to Hybrid Work
The media is full of stories about how employees are now looking for more hybrid work arrangements and to be able to work remotely — but what does that mean exactly? Making hybrid work situations a success requires careful thought and planning. This talk focuses on what organizations need to consider in order to make the successful transition to a hybrid work model.
- Preparing for the Fourth Wave: Mental Health Issues Caused by COVID-19
As the country begins to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is speculation that employers and employees alike will need to deal with a “fourth wave” of poor mental health and well-being. This talk uses data from the research study “2020-21 Employee Wellbeing in Times of COVID-19” to help explain why many Canadians are reporting higher levels of stress, work-life conflict, and burnout, and shares ways to support Canadian workers moving forward.
- Work Life Balance: Rhetoric VS Reality
This talk draws on Linda’s extensive research in the area of work life balance, supportive managers, supportive work environments and managing change. The talk then turns to an examination of why changes have occurred. The following factors are considered: demographic changes in the workforce, lack of action on the part of employers, increased workloads, office technology, downsizing and rightsizing, employee behaviour and organizational culture. The next section of the talk answers the question: “why do organizations need to make it easier for employees to balance work and life?” Key reasons discussed include impending labour shortages, the need to recruit and retain employees, and the costs of inaction. This is followed by the identification of specific recommendations on how companies can increase balance. The following solutions are discussed: the development of supportive managers and creation of supportive work environments. Finally, the case is then made that for any significant changes to occur in this area, the organization needs to change its culture. The talk concludes with a discussion of how cultural change can be achieved.