The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace launched in January 2013, four short years ago. Since that time the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace has been downloaded well over 30,000 times since it was launched in 2013. Its objective is to prevent psychological harm to employees, by providing a framework to assess and address the psychological health and safety of their workplaces.
The introduction to the Standard states: “This voluntary Standard has been developed to help organizations strive towards this vision as part of an ongoing process of continual improvement.” It needs to work with the way unique organizations operate and it needs to be adapted to evolving workplace demands and limitations.
Research has shown that organizations that implement psychologically healthy and safe workplace strategies are, on average, better performers in all key performance categories from health and safety to key human resource measures to shareholder returns. So on the occasion of the 4th anniversary of the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, we can say definitively that it has made a positive difference in some Canadian workplaces. We have a long way to go, but we now have a Standard for continual improvement that will help light the way.
Factors Affecting Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace
Think of a typical workplace hazard – perhaps some kind of chemical exposure or maybe an electrical or a machine-based threat. A psychological workplace hazard can also influence the health and safety of your workers every day. These types of hazards can take many forms including trauma, chronic stress, emotional abuse, bullying, or harassment.
We don’t always think of these types of hazards as a workplace situation to be assessed, but why not?
Mental Health Facts provided by Mental Commission of Canada
Mental health problems and illnesses affect more people in Canada than some of the major physical disorders.
Together, we accelerate change to transform Canada’s mental health system.
One in five people in Canada will experience a mental health problem or illness in any given year, with a cost of over $50 billion to our economy.
70% of adults living with a mental health problem or illness say their symptoms started in childhood.
60% of people with a mental health problem or illness won’t seek help for fear of being labeled.
500,000 Canadians, in any given week, are unable to work due to mental health problems or illnesses.
One in three workplace disability claims are related to mental health problems or illnesses.
But is it actually making a difference?
Here are some comments for companies across Canada with video testimonials Learn how champion organizations are promoting workplace wellness and improving PH&S in their workplace.
University of Waterloo | watch video
Toronto Eastern General Hospital | watch video
GE Canada | watch video
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety | watch video
University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus | watch video
NSTSA has been actively following this standard and in the coming weeks we will make further announcements with regards to workplace programs based on the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the workplace. If you would like to download the Standard to read, here is a link to the CSA website. The Standard is available free of charge.