The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has launched a new guide to help employers protect the mental health of employees. The guide, Psychological Health & Safety: An Action Guide for Employers, provides employers with steps and 24 actions to help them develop a more psychologically healthy workplace.
“The MHCC and our partners who are working to promote mental health in Canada recognize the critical role our workplaces play in the psychological health of Canadians,” said Louise Bradley, president and CEO of MHCC. “The Action Guide offers immediate actions that employers can take to enhance the positive role that the workplace has in recovery and prevention.”
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Handling mental illness in the workplaceThe guide was co-authored by Merv Gilbert, PhD, and Dan Bilsker, PhD, both from the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction at Simon Fraser University with support from MHCC’s Workforce Advisory Committee.
“We have made significant progress in addressing the impact of physical health and safety in the workplace, now we need to put a similar focus on psychological health,” said Gilbert. “Psychological health concerns have an expanding impact on the safety, productivity and effectiveness of the workplace.”
The guide will also inform the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, a voluntary standard for workplace mental health to be released later this year by the MHCC in collaboration with the Bureau de normalisation du Quebec and the CSA Standards.