Mercer is joining forces with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), through its Mental Health Works program, to launch an education program designed to help employers implement the new National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.
The program, called Meet the Standard, consists of facilitated workshops that offer employers an in-depth look at the new standard, released this week, and to determine how they can use it to reduce psychological risk among employees and promote a mentally healthier workplace.
“We need to get as many organizations on the road to improvement in the area of psychological health and safety in the workplace as possible. Mercer can help CMHA reach this goal by joining forces. Over time, the benefits will be far-reaching for both corporate Canada and our society in general,” said Kathy Jurgens, national program manager of Mental Health Works.
The new standard (CSA Z1003-12/BNQ 9700-803/2012 – Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace) is voluntary and intended to provide systematic guidelines for Canadian employers to develop and continuously improve psychologically safe and healthy work environments for their employees. Its development was a collaborative effort between the Bureau de Normalisation du Québec and CSA Group.
“Organizations must have a strategy to address employee health as well as the mental health-related issues that affect productivity and competitiveness,” says Sue Brown, a principal and central region leader of Mercer’s health and productivity team.
“Employers need to understand the implications of a claim of a psychologically unsafe workplace by an employee, but the bottom line is that a psychologically safe and healthy organization will be more productive, improve employee engagement and attendance, reduce and prevent mental health disability claims, attract and retain the best employees, and better service their clients.”