JUMP START GUIDE | JUNE 2021 1
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How concerned is
your organization
about psychological
health and safety in
the workplace?
With changes in legislation, an increase in worker
compensation claims, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,
remote workers, and growing concerns about the mental
health of the Canadian workforce, attraction and retention
of healthy employees is becoming top of mind for many
senior leaders.
Mental health in the workplace requires two-way
accountability. There is no single program or policy that will
fix the current trends with respect to short-term mental health
disability claims or the percent of worker compensation claims
that now have psychological elements. What is required is the employer
working with the employees in a joint partnership to reduce mental harm
and promote mental health.
Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS) in Ontario is committed
to assisting the employer to evolve the conversation past the traditional
occupational health and safety (OHS) paradigm that focused solely on
prevention of physical harm in the workplace. The evolution of OHS will
be to include both physical and psychological safety in the workplace.
This Jump Start Guide is intended to help psychological health and safety
champions make decisions on where to focus, as well as provide concrete
action steps.
The Jump Start Guide is based on the
Mental Harm Prevention
Roadmap
that was published by the Conference Board of Canada
(CBoC). The Roadmap was created to be a user-friendly interface for
the CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013 National Standard for
Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (
National Standard).
It is aligned with its three tenets: to prevent mental harm, promote mental
health, and resolve incidents or conflicts in the workplace. The Roadmap
is a flexible framework that any organization can use in initiating or
facilitating a psychologically healthy and safe (PHS) workplace.
"Psychological safety is a belief that one will not be
punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas,
questions, concerns or mistakes."
Amy Edmondson
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR
