Implementing the entire National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace is an ideal approach, but there are many other options available. You can effectively begin improving psychological health and safety in your workplace, even if you have limited resources and budget.
Learn how to Implementing the standard step by step, or follow this guideline. The following may help you avoid potential problems associated with managing these changes. Start by getting commitment from all workplace stakeholders. Do this through thoughtful preparation, assessment and a plan for acting on the results.
Get buy-in
Each of the following points can help you prepare to respond to questions and concerns from senior leaders. Some found that no prior approval, halts the process due to leaders who aren’t clear on risks and benefits.
Consider the costs and benefits of addressing psychological health and safety in your workplace.
- Sustaining an engaged workforce and a healthy bottom line are among the economic and social benefits.
- For help in establishing costs see Psychological health and safety cost benefits.
- A SWOT (strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis can help with decision-making. Businessballs Free Work and Life Learning.offers free information for conducting a SWOT analysis.
- Many organizations or departments may believe they don’t have enough time or resources to invest in psychological health and safety (PHS).
- Something as simple as starting a conversation about psychological health and safety may bring positive changes. You don’t always need larger initiatives and programs.
Be prepared to respond to any concerns that psychological health and safety will open a "can of worms". If this is the case, share these facts:
- Avoiding or denying psychological health and safety issues at work might mean that problems worsen and become a crisis.
- Considering psychological health and safety issues can help prevent time-consuming and morale-dampening situations.
- The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace provides an evidence-based framework to support psychological safety.
Estimate the time and effort required to:
- do the psychological health and safety assessment
- analyze the results
- implement the changes
Note that the size and scope of your plan will depend on the complexity of your organization and the initiatives you choose to put in place. Some organizations may take a few weeks while others may need several months.
Estimate the time your organization may need for the following tasks:
- Develop the business case, including baseline measurements.
- Secure senior leadership commitment, from labour and management.
- Create a communication plan addressing potential concerns.
- Set up the assessment process, choosing how and what will be measured.
- Conduct an assessment such as Guarding Minds at Work. (This may be the easiest part).
- Analyze the results of any assessment.
- Communicate results, celebrate successes and identify areas for improvement.
- Engage the workforce in developing action plans. This participation is critical to success.
- Engage the workforce in implementing the plans. This needs to become part of the day-to-day routine.
- Measure outcomes. Did the plans achieve the goals you set?
- Take corrective action including extra plans or modifications.
- Establish a process of continual improvement. Consider re-administering the assessment every couple of years.
- Consider allotting time – even one hour every 2 weeks per team – to allow for a sustainability.
Consider competing demands and priorities. Addressing psychological health and safety is always important. Like other health and safety approaches, it’s an ongoing process. If this is a new approach in your organization, you may wish to consider the following:
- Start with only looking at one of the factors identified in the Standard. One example is workload management, which isn’t about doing less work – it’s about doing work with less stress. A conversation about workload management can:
- Open dialogue
- Identify solutions
- Reduce stress-related absenteeism
- Help create an atmosphere for continued improvement
- Organizations that conscientiously choose best practices for continual improvement can add Psychological health and safety to existing policies and processes.
- If you have a poisoned or toxic workplace, it’s important to put safeguards in place to help ensure no further harm is done. If your organization is trying to manage the following issues, these resources can help you address them immediately:
- Be transparent about accepting responsibility for the current situation and the need to make changes. You'll then reduce the need for others to justify or defend their current situations. You can also open the door to a new way of doing business.
- Employers recognized for their healthy workplaces, can deepen their focus on continuing to motivate the workforce.
- If there’s been a recent traumatic incident at work, acknowledging the trauma and providing the right supports could be a first response. This could also be an opportunity to engage staff in protecting psychological health and safety at work. You'll need to be sensitive to the current ability of those who affected before starting the process. This could be helpful in the recovery process. See also:
- Consider organizational readiness for change. Internal or external factors may enhance or impede action. For example, a pending merger or major reorganization.
- If there are current labour disputes this may not be the ideal time to begin this process. This is because it's expected that management and the union work together.
- If there are impending business issues, you should focus on limiting the risk related to the potential impact. Such issues include shutdowns, layoffs, terminations or deployments. In these situations, employees who left in at work may face increased demands. This can make it more difficult for employees to become involved in the development of new processes. But, this shouldn’t prevent you from figuring out the impacts of psychological health and safety issues. Issues might include change management, grief at the loss of co-workers or increased workload pressures.
- Engage external experts, if appropriate. Assessments such as Guarding Minds at Work are free, self-serve resources. Some organizations prefer the support of an external consultant.
- Show that PHS is a priority to the organization by obtaining a written commitment from senior leadership (labour and management), it should show support for addressing psychological health and safety.
Develop and communicate the plan
- Identify one or more champions in senior leadership to bring resources and encourage commitment.
- Establish a psychological health and safety working group. This group should include key stakeholders who will help drive the process.
- These stakeholders should come from all levels of management. It should also include employees and employee representatives.
- If possible, involve someone from each department. For example, human resources, occupational health and safety or finance.
- Include someone with communication skills in the working group.
- Include someone with authority to access organizational data to help inform decisions.
- The mandate of the working group is to plan the assessment, analysis and communication of the process. They would help steer the planning, implementation, evaluation and continual improvement stages.
- Decide on a timeframe and budget for the planning, implementation and evaluation of the initiative.
- Involve key stakeholders in discussion about the working group’s approach. Get critical feedback from employees, union and management before communicating the plan to the rest of the workforce.
- Clearly communicate your plan. Explicitly state potential concerns and explain how your approach will address these. For messaging ideas, see Commitment, leadership and participation for psychological health and safety. Getting everyone on the same page in this way helps support the process even before taking any other actions.
- Determine who needs to receive the communication and how best to deliver it.
- Ensure you communicate with all workplace stakeholders including:
- Senior management
- Union representatives
- Line managers
- Occupational health and safety representatives
- Human resource professionals
- Employees
- Any individuals who play a role in the workplace
- Provide written communication to those without access to a computer.
- Consider holding meetings to discuss the process in person. You could also instruct each department or team leader to hold a discussion after being briefed.
- Consider any other challenges or limitations. This may include employees who are working offsite, on vacation, on leave, or who have impairments.
- Ensure you communicate with all workplace stakeholders including:
- Address employee privacy concerns. Employees should understand:
- Participation in this data collection project is voluntary.
- The choice not to take part will have no adverse effects on employment.
- They’ll have anonymity when completing and returning their submission.
- You won't gather any personal or identifying information. Ask survey respondents about their experiences and perceptions only from the perspective of their current position.
- Any information obtained during this data collection project should be kept strictly confidential.
There are many considerations that can help you decide where to start taking action. When reviewing the results, immediately identify any pressing safety concerns. For example, issues like bullying, harassment, violence or discrimination.
The next step may be to identify whether there are any issues relating to human rights, health or safety. You could also start by identifying psychosocial factors as potential areas of strength. This can allow you to build on good work already done in those areas. Each psychosocial factor can be protective when supported in a positive manner.. Enhancing the protective nature of psychosocial factors can help even in the face of other unavoidable work stressors.
Finally, ask employees for feedback and guidance on the psychosocial factor(s) that they believe are most important. You can invite them to focus groups, staff meetings or to use suggestion boxes. You can share the results with short descriptions, as provided below. You could also provide a select number you want to focus on and have the employees prioritize.
Share results
Many organizations will find they have assessment results indicating potential areas of strength. Celebrating these areas reinforces the employee contributions toward an improved workplace.
It’s important to show organizational commitment by sharing the plan soon after you have the results. If you can, start acting on improving workplace mental health before you have the results. You can develop more complex actions over time.
Some examples of quick and cost-effective actions include:
- Hosting a guest speaker
- Sending out awareness emails such as those found in Mental health awareness weekly emails
- Implementing new team activities such as those found in Building stronger teams.
The point is to take action as soon as possible after you have employee input. This should help avoid cynicism about employer intentions.
Any communication should include intended outcomes and planned improvements for the future. Clearly communicate that the workplace won’t become ideal overnight. Also commit to a continued focus on improving psychological health and safety.
- Engage all staff and stakeholders in helping to determine how to make positive impacts at work. Each employee has a responsibility to contribute. This is because the way they interact with others, affects psychological health and safety.
- Engage work teams in discussing and developing their own unique plans of action. Ensure these plans include a method to evaluate results.
- Some level of communication and facilitation skills is useful for those who will lead these discussions. Even those who don’t feel competent in these areas can use the information and tools found in On the agenda workshop series to their advantage.
- For additional ideas on approaches, read Psychological Health and Safety: An Action Guide for Employers .
Consider a range of appropriate actions
This can help guide teams that will engage in developing and implementing action plans. Choose a range of appropriate actions that meet both the organization's needs and the employee's needs to ensure the results will be mutually beneficial.
- Appropriateness: Is the action or response appropriate given the needs and resources specific to your organization?
- Acceptability: Is the action or response acceptable to all relevant workplace stakeholders, including management, employees, union and clients?
- Accessibility: Is the action or response available and accessible to all relevant workplace stakeholders? For example, have you addressed language and geographic location?
- Effectiveness: Is the action or response consistent with evidence that indicates the intended consequence is what your organization requires?
- Efficiency: Can the action or response be implemented in a cost-effective and timely fashion?
- Safety: Could the action or response present an unintended health or safety risk?
Consider a policy review
Your analysis of the results may indicate the necessity to develop or refine policies within the organization. This relates to organizational practices and processes that are part of the day-to-day experience in the workplace.
- Create a high-level strategy for what your organization can practically focus on soon. Examples:
- "To address psychological health and safety we’ll begin by focusing on management training."
- "To address psychological health and safety we’ll begin by raising mental health awareness."
- "To address psychological health and safety we’ll begin with a policy review."
- "To address psychological health and safety we’ll begin by holding focus groups."
Evidence-based actions by factor
Below are links to evidence-based actions as developed by Guarding Minds at Work for each psychosocial factor identified in the Standard. You’ll find actions and responses you can implement with a minimal investment of resources or cost to the organization. Lack of budgetary funds doesn’t have to prevent you from moving forward with meaningful actions and responses.
Evidence-based actions for balance
A work environment where there is recognition of the need for balance between the demands of work, family and personal life.
Evidence-based actions for civility and respect
A work environment where employees are respectful and considerate in their interactions with one another, as well as with customers, clients and the public.
Evidence-based actions for clear leadership and expectations
A work environment where there is effective leadership and support that helps employees know what they need to do, how their work contributes to the organization, and whether there are impending changes.
Evidence-based actions for engagement
A work environment where employees feel connected to their work and are motivated to do their job well.
Evidence-based actions for growth and development
A work environment where employees receive encouragement and support in the development of their interpersonal, emotional and job skills.
Evidence-based actions for involvement and influence
A work environment where employees are included in discussions about how their work is done and how important decisions are made.
Evidence-based actions for organizational culture
A work environment characterized by trust, honesty and fairness.
Evidence-based actions for protection of physical safety
A work environment where management takes appropriate action to protect the physical safety of employees.
Evidence-based actions for psychological and social support
A work environment where co-workers and supervisors are supportive of employees' psychological and mental health concerns, and respond appropriately as needed.
Evidence-based actions for psychological competencies and demands
A work environment where there is a good fit between employees' interpersonal and emotional competencies and the requirements of the position they hold.
Evidence-based actions for psychological protection
A work environment where employees' psychological safety is ensured.
Evidence-based actions for recognition and reward
A work environment where there is appropriate acknowledgement and appreciation of employees' efforts in a fair and timely manner.
Evidence-based actions for workload management
A work environment where tasks and responsibilities can be accomplished successfully within the time available.
Plan for continual improvement
- Consider including this question in all business discussions about new or revised policies, procedures, programs and interactions:
- "How might this impact psychological health and safety?"
- Asking this question may allow you to permanently embed psychological health and safety considerations into your workplace without devoting a lot of time to an add-on program.
- Execute the plans developed by work teams.
- Measure results and look for opportunities for corrective action or improvement. See Evaluation and corrective action.
- Continue the cycle for a method of continual improvement. See Management review and continual improvement for psychological health and safety.