Workplace mental-health programs can demonstrate a huge return on investment for an organization’s bottom line, as well as reducing absenteeism and presenteeism, said Nir Yahav, mental-health specialist on the national disability best practices team at Manulife, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Vancouver Mental Health Summit on Dec. 12. There are huge costs associated with presenteeism, […]
People don’t often make the association between nutrition and long-term mood, as well as how diet can impact the brain’s function and its structure, according to Charmaine Alexander, senior advisor on Desjardins Insurance’s disability management team. “We know that between the rise of mental illness in our current lifestyle, just as with obesity, maybe what we’re […]
While insomnia is a disorder, it’s just as commonly a symptom, which most people and physicians don’t grasp, said Dr. Atul Khullar, medical director at the Northern Alberta Sleep Clinic. A lot of times, not sleeping is essentially the body breaking down because of a separate disorder, risk factor or residual symptom of a mental-health […]
Mental health isn’t fight club — it can be talked about, said Sean Raible, principal consultant at Game Plan Total Rewards, during Benefits Canada’s 2019 Vancouver Mental Health Summit on Dec. 12. “As a total rewards person, we don’t talk about compensation because it’s under lock and key. But mental health is a community where […]
The bleakness and winter chill coupled with post-holiday blues can make January a particularly challenging month. With that in mind, many Canadian employers are using the month to talk about mental health with their employees. Dalhousie University is focusing its workplace wellness strategy on mental health in January. Throughout the month, the university has been hosting […]
Telemedicine provider Dialogue is expanding into Europe with the acquisition of Argumed Consulting Group, a German occupational health and safety company. Argumed provides workplace health and safety services, such as psychological and other risk assessments and hazardous substances management, for multiple industries in Germany. The company also has an expansion strategy around digitizing its services. The deal […]
About three-quarters (72 per cent) of working Canadians said they’d perceive their employer in a more positive light if it offered virtual care or telemedicine, according to a new survey by RBC Insurance Services Inc. This view is most prevalent (78 per cent) among younger Canadians, between the ages of 18 and 34. The survey […]
The third Monday of January, known as Blue Monday, is considered the saddest day of the year, but some Canadian employers are trying to make it a little happier for their employees. At CAA Club Group, Blue Monday will kick off a week of events dedicated to mental-health awareness. “We have a mixture of fun things, educational things and […]
Starbucks Canada is giving its more than 23,000 employees a free subscription to meditation app Headspace. In total, more than 200,000 employees across North America are receiving access to the app, which offers guided meditations and videos, articles and animations around mental-health topics. “By arming [employees] with resources and support, they will be better able to curb and cope […]
Between 2017 and 2019, the number of individuals reporting mental-health issues has risen by seven per cent, according to Dr. Sam Mikail, psychologist and senior mental-health consultant at Sun Life. “We haven’t seen an improvement,” he said during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Toronto Mental Health Summit on Nov. 29. “If anything, we’ve seen […]