Mental Health Works has developed a free resource that is now available to help employers and managers of Ontario businesses looking for ways to address mental health in the workplace.
“As public awareness of mental health increases, more and more employers have a desire to provide mental-health support to their employees,” said Jim Harris, director of operations for the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario, in a press release. “By looking at accommodation specifically through a mental-health lens with our guide, employers are starting to prioritize mental health on the same level as physical health.”
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The resource outlines the key skills employers and managers in Ontario workplaces should have when an employee presents a mental-health concern. Divided into three parts, it’s intended to build awareness around mental-health concerns and mental illnesses, as well as teach appropriate responding skills and ways to collaborate with employees to make the workplace more accessible.
Employers and supervisors have responsibilities under Ontario’s Accessible Employment Standard, noted the press release, and the guide aims at helping them better understand those responsibilities and provide employees in Ontario with practical techniques on how to request accommodation.