Caring for Your Organization

“Caring for Your Organization” reflects the vital role that we all play in creating a healthy workplace environment that supports the wellbeing of everyone. By establishing clear policies, guidelines, and spaces that promote psychological safety and a culture of wellbeing, health-care organizations can foster an atmosphere where staff feel valued, supported, and empowered.

This section provides tools and resources to help leaders and teams build a strong foundation for workplace wellbeing, ensuring that every member of the health-care system has the support needed to thrive both personally and professionally.

Workplace Strategies for Mental Health

Workplaces can play an essential part in maintaining positive mental health. They can give people the opportunity to feel productive and be a strong contributor to employee wellbeing. Yet it can also be a stressful environment that contributes to the rise of mental health problems and illnesses. No workplace is immune from these risks and we cannot afford to limit our definition of occupational health and safety to only the physical.

With most adults spending more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else, addressing issues of mental health at work is vitally important for all people in Canada. About 70% of Canadian employees are concerned about the psychological health and safety of their workplace, and 14% don’t think theirs is healthy or safe at all. Such workplaces can take a detrimental personal toll, as well as contribute to staggering economic costs.

About 30% of short and long-term disability claims in Canada are attributed to mental health problems and illnesses. The total cost from mental health problems to the Canadian economy exceeds $50 billion annually. In 2011, mental health problems and illnesses among working adults in Canada cost employers more than $6 billion in lost productivity from absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover.

The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is committed to helping employers create and maintain mentally healthy workplaces by providing the tools, information, and support needed to ensure that every person in Canada can go to work knowing their organization recognizes the importance of psychological health and safety in the workplace.

The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace

A voluntary set of guidelines, tools, and resources to guide organizations in promoting mental health and preventing psychological harm at work. The National Standards from the MHCC are available here.

The MHCC also has tools and resources available to support mental health in the workplace, for employers and employees. There are trainings and resources to help your own mental health and support a positive environment in the workplace.

Additional Resources:

Canada Life’s website – Workplace Strategies for Mental Health – contains assessment tools and resources for employees and employers. Their Resources for Employees page covers topics ranging from coping with change, dealing with a stressful boss, and healthy break ideas.

Workplace Health and Safety Committees

Workplace safety and health legislation is based on the simple idea that everyone in the workplace shares the responsibility for safety and health. Under The Workplace Safety and Health Act (the Act), employers, supervisors and workers all have duties to help keep the workplace safe. Everyone in the workplace shares responsibility for safety and health. Under the Act, safety and health committees and representatives have a number of duties to help keep the workplace safe. These duties include:

• Receive and follow-up concerns and complaints regarding the safety and health of workers
• Help identify safety and health risks in the workplace
• Help the employers develop and promote measures to protect workers and check on the effectiveness of those measures
• Co-operate with workplace safety and health officers
• Help develop programs, provide education or prime contractors regarding the safety and health of workers
• Inspect the workplace at regular intervals (inspections must take place before each regularly scheduled meeting)
• Participate in investigations of incidents and dangerous occurrences
• Maintain records regarding concerns, complaints and other matters regarding safety and heath
• Other duties as specified in the Act or Workplace Safety and Health Regulation.

The best way to involve workers in safety and health matters is to have a workplace safety and health committee. This provides a formal system of involving workers in identifying hazards in the workplace, investigating incidents, resolving complaints and more. A safety and health committee is required in all workplaces that have 20 or more workers. In all workplaces that have between five and 19 workers, a worker representative must be designated. In order to carry out its duties, a committee must have meetings at least once every three months.

For more information about Workplace Health and Safety Committees and available training, please see the following link: Section 6 – Workplace Safety & Health Committees – WRHA Professionals