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Absenteeism has received increasing attention in public sectors across the world. In Canada's federal public service, absenteeism cost the government approximately $871 million in lost wages in 2013 alone (Barkel 2014a). Current and previous Canadian governments have attempted to reform sick-leave policy to reduce absenteeism, but simple solutions to a complex problem will likely result in negative and unforeseen consequences. This article conceptualizes absenteeism as a "wicked problem" to explore its complexity. Addressing absenteeism requires a deeper understanding of issues and factors by government representatives, unions, NGOs, and policy experts, which can lead to multifaceted solutions.Sommaire : L'absent eisme a fait l'objet d'une attention croissante dans les secteurs publics du monde entier. Dans la fonction publique f ed erale canadienne, l'absent eisme a coût e au gouvernement environ 871 millions $ en salaires perdus en 2013 seulement (Barkel 2014a). Les gouvernements canadiens actuels et pr ec edents ont tent e de r eformer la politique des cong es de maladie pour r eduire l'absent eisme, mais de simples solutions pour faire face a un problème complexe auront vraisemblablement des cons equences n egatives et impr evues. Cet article conçoit l'absent eisme comme un « problème pernicieux » pour etudier sa complexit e. Pour s'attaquer a l'absent eisme, il faut que les repr esentants gouvernementaux, les syndicats, les ONG et les experts en politique aient une compr ehension plus approfondie des questions et des facteurs en jeu, et cela pourra conduire a des solutions multiformes. Jocelyn McGrandle is a PhD candidate in

Diversity management (DM) has become one of the critical aspects of public sector reforms in recent times because of population dynamics and demographic shifts in society. The idea is that DM can help public organizations achieve their objectives effectively, especially service delivery. In 2008, the Ontario government made DM a core part of its public sector modernization agenda, and launched its first comprehensive diversity strategy that viewed diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion as fundamental to a modern, progressive civil service. This paper aims at understanding the challenges in the implementation of diversity and inclusiveness in the Ontario public service.

Inclusion has moved to the forefront of human resource management in both public and private sector organizations around the world. A fractured research literature has arisen from a succession of diversity policies, contradictory findings, competing goals, contested definitions, and varying institutional factors and organizational cultures. This article seeks to examine the level of inclusion and the connection between inclusion and effort in the Ontario Public Service (OPS). Our findings show that increased feelings of inclusion are positively related with employee efforts in their job.

During the 2015 Canadian federal election, political parties were polarized over the issue of job satisfaction in the public service. Critics and public service unions argued that there was a toxic environment under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau promised, if elected, to remedy this toxicity. Therefore, the job satisfaction of federal employees was a campaign promise of the now elected Liberals. Improving job satisfaction is not simple, as there are many competing factors impacting it. This study measures job satisfaction of Canadian public servants in 2014 and concludes that job satisfaction remained fairly high across the board, even under Stephen Harper, and that by far the strongest predictor of job satisfaction is how well employees’ interests match their job, followed by the relationship with their immediate supervisor, relationships with colleagues, and skills. Thus, human resource management policies are essential in improving job satisfaction.