Tools and Resources for Employers

Approaches to addressing psychological health and safety (PH&S) can vary significantly across organizations, industries, and teams. While some prioritize financial considerations, others focus on productivity, growth, or fostering a positive workplace culture. Regardless of the specific motivations, investing in workplace mental health benefits both employees and the organization.

Employers can customize their approach by identifying areas of strength and areas that require improvement as they relate to the psychosocial factors outlined in theNational Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. Consider using Guarding Minds at Work or other workplace assessment tools to help you identify these areas. Using resources like these can also allow your organization to measure the success of any actions you take on. When approaching workplace mental health, take measurable steps that are attainable.

When making a business case, ensure you underscore the following areas impacted by investing in PH&S:

• Workplace absences

• Costs of benefit plans

• Financial impact of employee turnover

• Frequency and impact of incidents and injuries

• WCB premiums together with indirect costs of workplace injury

• Productivity and revenue losses

Addressing psychological health and safety is a group effort. Doing nothing is costly, so advancing PH&S and involving both leaders and workers in this journey improves the likelihood of your organization’s success.

Where to start? You can start today by assessing how psychologically healthy and safe your organization is. The Guarding Minds organizational review provides the materials and steps to assess the psychological factors in your workplace. The process will help you identify areas to start with.

The following tools and resources are available for employers.

• A guide to healthy recovery from psychological injury

  This guide to healthy recovery from psychological injury helps employers recognize mental health signs and symptoms in the workplace, assess and develop accommodation strategies, and develop return-to-work approaches when needed.

Workplace Assessment Questionnaire

• Deloitte Insights: The ROI in workplace mental health programs: Good for people, good for business

  In this report, Deloitte takes a look at historical data from seven Canadian companies at various stages of their mental health investment journey to better understand common challenges and enablers of program success.

• The Evolution of Workplace Mental Health in Canada: Research Report (2007-2017)

  In this research report, Dr. Samra examines the evolution of Canadian workplace mental health policies and strategies from 2007 to 2017. Evolution was examined across several key thematic domains: legal and standards, business, education and training, media, research and sector-specific evolution. These research findings were also incorporated into a book titled The Evolution of Workplace Mental Health in Canada: Toward a standard for psychological health and safety, authored by MyWorkplaceHealth consultant, Mary Ann Baynton, and her colleague, Leanne Fournier.

Violence risk assessment: Nova Scotia Government

Workplace Violence Risk Assessment

Safety Manual for Businesses

Safety Inspection Checklist for Small Businesses

JOHSC – Practical Guide

Workplace First Aid – A Guide for Employers and First Aiders

Featured Resources