WORKPLACE FACTORS:A HAZARD IS A HAZARD

March 12, 2018

Emma Ashurst, Senior Occupational Health and Safety Specialist, CCOHS

Jordan Friesen, National Director, Workplace Mental Health, CMHA

INTRODUCTIONS

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WORK CAN IMPACT OUR HEALTH

•Psychosocial risk factors are linked to employee health

•Spectrum – positive and negative experiences (perception)

•Psychological and physiological impact

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MOVING BEYOND TRADITIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAMS

MOVING BEYOND THE PHYSICAL…

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Safety Hazards

Health Hazards

Healthy

and safe

workplace

Equipment

Biological

Materials

Physical

Environment

Musculoskeletal

Disorders (MSDs)

Process

Chemical

People

Psychological

WHAT IS…

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A workplace that promotes

workers' psychological

well-being and actively

works to prevent harm to

worker psychological health,

including in negligent,

reckless or intentional

ways

A Psychologically

healthy

workplace?

EVOLUTION – TWO CONCEPTS

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Psychologically

HealthyIndividual

Psychologically

SafeOrganization

Protection Promotion

WHAT CAN EMPLOYERS DO?

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Source: Great-West Life Centre – Workplace Strategies for Mental Health

Collaborate Strive

Assume

Require

Maintain

ActRespect

IncorporateRespond

Ensure

Pay

PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK FACTORS

Workplace Factors

•Identified by researchers at Simon Fraser University

•Based on extensive research and review of empirical data

•Derived from national and international best practices

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PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK FACTORS

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Workplace factors impact

Organizational health

Individual health

Organizational financial health

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Psychological Support

Organizational Culture

Clear Leadership and Expectations

Civility and Respect

Psychological Job Fit

Growth and Development

Recognition and Reward

Involvement and Influence

Workload Management

Engagement

Balance

Psychological Protection

Protection of Physical Safety

Other

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PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK FACTORS

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES?

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Resources

Change

Knowledge

Competing priorities

What about in your workplace?

REFLECTION AND ACTIVITY:RISK FACTORS / YOUR WORKPLACE

•Do you recognize these factors in your workplace / work environment?

•What mental health issues may your workplace be witnessing?

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IMPLEMENTATION STEPS / RACE MODEL

LET’S RUN THROUGH THE RACE

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RECOGNIZE

•Light-bulb moment

•Building the business case

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RECOGNIZE

•Take ownership and leadership

•Get support from the "top“

•Then…get support from everyone

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ASSESS

•Review/analyzing data

•Establish baseline data

•Policies and procedures

•Workplace audits

•Survey tools

•Discussion Groups

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ASSESS

•Behaviour Changes (Individual Level)

•Changes in typical/usual behaviour/emotions

•Poor performance

• Increased absences

•What is already in place?

•Identify the key needs and expectations of the workplace

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CONTROL

•Use hierarchy of control

•Develop a detailed plan

• Item, Responsible Person/Group, Due Dates

•Communicate!!!

•Link initiatives

•Put your plan into action!

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CONTROL

•Job Design

•Work planning

•Project and change management

•Leadership

•Comprehensive policy/procedure

•Training

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EVALUATE

•Monitor, evaluate and maintain the program

•What did you learn?

•What would you change?

•What would you stop doing?

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EVALUATE

•Implementation follow-up

•Make adjustments

•Re-survey

•Analyze data

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COMMUNICATE AND RECOGNIZE

•Important to communicate throughout the process

•Patience, Persistence, Perseverance

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THE NATIONAL STANDARD

PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013

For the workplace

Workplace factors

Free until 2018

English and French

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NATIONAL STANDARD CONTENTS

Enlisting leadership/participation of all

Planning

Implementation

Annexes

Implementation guide

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NINE PROMISING PRACTICES

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Business case1

Commitment

Communicate

Embed

Resources

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Policies, procedures and

practices6

Change management

Measure

Beyond initial implementation

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Mental Health Commission of Canada Case Study Research Project

CANADIAN MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION

Source: CMHA Takeaways https://cmha.ca/takeaways

ASSESSMENT TOOLS - EXAMPLES

GUARDING MINDS AT WORK

•Created by the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction

•Funded by the Great-West Life Assurance Company

•Operationally supported by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

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STRESSASSESS OPTIONS

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HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE

Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/ and http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg424.pdf

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HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE

Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/assets/docs/stress-talking-toolkit.pdf

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EU-OHSA

Source: https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/psychosocial-risks-and-stress

ANOTHER OPTION … ABC

•Discussion groups

•Appreciate, better, change

•By department or unit

•Report back to organization

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MORE EMPLOYER ACTIVITIES

•Policy development

•Psychological lens

•Education and awareness training

•Integration into your ‘traditional’ health and safety program

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HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE

•Support workplace initiatives

•Participate in training

•Support workers

•Help assess using the Standard

•Support respectful behaviours

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ADDRESSING CONCERNS AND ISSUES

KEEP IT SIMPLE

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Be

kind

Be

authentic

Show

compassion

Build

trust

You don’t need to be a counsellor to ask “are you okay today?”

INTENTIONAL NOTICING

Changes in...

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BehaviourPatterns and

activities

OVERCOMING BARRIERS

Recognize potential workplace issues relating to mental health issues:

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ConcentrationOrganization/

DeadlinesWorking

relationships

MAINTAINING STAMINA

•Vary tasks

•Provide opportunities to learn

•Work from home – whole or part

•Consider job-sharing

•Shorter, more frequent breaks

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CONCENTRATION

•Personal headphones

•Series of smaller tasks

•Take concentration breaks when needed

•Increase natural lighting

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MEMORY/ORGANIZATION

•Use recording devices

•Write down issues

•Ask for instructions in writing

•Ask for additional training time

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•Define what constitutes positive working relationships

•Develop measurement criteria

•Use strategies to mitigate issues

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

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PROVIDING SUPPORT

•Encourage help from counsellors or EAP

•Support use of medical appointments

•Provide awareness training for all workplace participants regarding mental illness

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BE AN ACTIVE LISTENER

•Ask questions

•Repeat back for confirmation

•Reduce confusion

•Give opportunity for person to provide clarity or corrections

•Be genuine, sincere, compassionate, empathetic

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EMPATHY

The ability to accurately recognize the immediate

emotional perspective of another person while

maintaining one’s own perspective

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BASIC EMPATHIC STATEMENTS

•“It sounds like you are saying…”

•Most effective to use in the workplace

•Shows observant and caring behavior

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ACCOMMODATE STRESS

•Duty to accommodate

•Request note and functional abilities

•Same approach as visible disabilities

•Examples:

•Reassignment

• Flexible hours

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REMAIN AT WORK/RETURN TO WORK

•Work can be a place of support and healing

•Must be a safe space

•Program should be in place before its actually needed

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RETURN TO WORK

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•Same principles

•Focus on functionality

•Engage stakeholders

•Remember the rest of team

SUGGESTIONS AND FINAL THOUGHTS

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Engage all

stakeholders

Patience:

Change takes timePerseverance

Help people see

the value

Celebrate

success

We are all in

it together

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

CCOHS

Healthy Minds Portal www.ccohs.ca/healthyminds

Healthy Workplaces Portal www.ccohs.ca/healthyworkplaces

Mental Health Fact Sheetswww.ccohs.ca/topics/wellness/mentalhealth/

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TOOLS AND RESOURCES

CSA Group

Assembling the Pieces: An Implementation Guide to the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplacewww.csagroup.org/documents/codes-and-standards/publications/SPE-Z1003-Guidebook.pdf

CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700 – 803/2013- Psychological health and safety in the workplacehttp://shop.csa.ca/en/canada/occupational-health-and-safety-management/cancsa-z1003-13bnq-9700-8032013/invt/z10032013

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TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Great West Life Centre for Mental Health

Workplace Strategies for Mental Healthwww.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/

Guarding Minds @ Work www.guardingmindsatwork.ca

Psychologically Safe Leaderwww.psychologicallysafeleader.com

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TOOLS AND RESOURCES

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Mental Health Commission of Canada

An Action Guide for Employershttp://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/media/3050

Mental Health First Aidhttp://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.ca/EN/Pages/default.aspx

Healthcare Assessment Tools – Coming Soon!

www.caringforhealthcareworkers.com

www.caringforparamedics.com

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

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Health and Safety Executive – United Kingdom

Management Standards – Stresshttp://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/

Go Home Healthy – Work-Related Stresshttp://www.hse.gov.uk/gohomehealthy/stress.htm

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW)

Mental Injury Prevention Tools – Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ)http://www.ohcow.on.ca/edit/files/mip/UsingCOPSOQ.pdf

StressAssess.ca - Workplace and Personal Editions(COPSOQ III, Canadian data)

https://stressassess.ca

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THANK YOU!

Emma Ashurst, Senior Occupational Health and Safety Specialist, CCOHS

emma.ashurst@ccohs.ca

Jordan Friesen, National Director, Workplace Mental Health, CMHA

jfriesen@cmha.ca