Improving Mental Health at Work: The National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace

Name: Improving Mental Health at Work: The National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace
SKU: 7161-0405-WEB
Availability: InStock

Human Resources

June 25, 2015

People and Culture

Author: Karla Thorpe

$199.00

In this webinar, Karla Thorpe, Director of Prevention and Promotion Initiatives at the Mental Health Commission of Canada, will explain how to implement the Standard in your workplace, with a specific focus on the key steps you’ll need to ensure success. Join Karla as she shares insights on how you can use these invaluable tools and resources to help your organization provide a healthier workplace for all. Following Karla’s overview, Jim Alton and Anita Harvey will share how Enbridge Gas Distribution, with support from the MHCC, is working to implement the Standard in their workplace, and the best practices you can use to get started.

About Karla

Karla Thorpe is the Director of Prevention and Promotion Initiatives at the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Her role for the past year has been to guide the Commission efforts in workplace mental health promotion. This includes encouraging organizations to drive culture change to better support employees’ mental health, to help reduce stigma and increase employees’ resiliency skills through training programs like The Working Mind, and to train managers and employees on how to respond effectively to emerging mental health problems and crises through Mental Health First Aid Training. Promotion efforts have also focused on supporting individuals with serious mental illness to join or return to the workforce.

About Jim

Jim Alton is Director of Safety and Reliability at Enbridge Gas Distribution. In his role Jim is accountable for Environment, Health and Safety. Data at Enbridge recently showed that Mental Health is the number one contributor of lost time, surpassing Musculoskeletal Disorders. In addition to the impact of lost time on productivity, Jim is interested in the impact of Mental Health on Safety in the workplace where employees manage to make it to work but are distracted by Mental Health issues.

About Anita

Anita Harvey is Health Service Manager at Enbridge Gas Distribution. During the past 26 years her role has focused on early intervention strategies for safe, timely and sustainable return to work following illness or injury. Enbridge Gas Distribution recognizes the importance mental health plays in creating a safe and healthy workplace. Senior management embraced the opportunity to partner with the Mental Health Commission of Canada to implement the Standard.

Want a discount? Become a member by purchasing a subscription! Learn More

Without a doubt, mental health is a significant business issue that requires attention. Organizations have an important role to play in creating the conditions in which employees experiencing mental health issues can work more productively — having a positive impact on the employee, other staff, and the business as a whole.

In an effort to build mentally health workplaces, The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has developed the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. The Standard is a voluntary set of guidelines, tools and resources focused on promoting employees’ mental health and preventing potential harm. While the response to this initiative has been positive, some organizations are still unsure as to what steps they need to take in order to implement these standards in their workplace.

To provide guidance, the MHCC, along with the Canadian Standards Association and the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace, have developed Assembling the Pieces: An Implementation Guide to the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. This practical, hands-on guide has been created to assist organizations in navigating the wealth of information the Standard has to offer, and is designed to support organizations from the planning stages through to full implementation.