7/29/2019 Psychological Health & Safety

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Psychologically healthy workers are better work

It is not uncommon for the workplace environment

to be characterized by volatile economic

conditions and repeated organizational change

to adapt to frequently changing technologies and

increased global competition. Workers are exposed

to stress and anxiety when trying to cope with

increased workloads and time pressures resulting

from this complex environment. Organizations

experience many negative consequences arising

from psychologically unhealthy workers. These

consequences include turnover, absenteeism,

performance issues, decreased morale, high

disability claims and the risk of increased injury

rates.To address this reality, a new voluntary Canadian

standard on psychological health and safety was released

in January 2013. The goal of this standard is to prevent

psychological harm and promote psychological health and

safety in the workplace. While this standard is voluntary,

experts predict it will become incorporated into occupational

health and safety laws and workers compensation. The standard

provides tools and information on developing and maintaininga psychologically healthy and safe workplace.

Companies that provide a psychologically healthy and safe

workplace benet from enhanced productivity, decreased costs

related to ill health, improved employee engagement, and are

better able to attract and retain talent. These

can have a signicant impact on the bottom

What can business owners do to pr

psychologically healthy and safe workplace

employees?

Promote a workplace culture characte

support, respect and belongingness

Enhance mental health knowledge i

warning signs and misconceptions

Provide resilience or stress managemen

to workers particularly to those in manage

as they are at a higher risk for psychologic

issues due to work/life imbalance

Provide staff with an Employee AProgram to assist in nding resolutions for

or incidents these programs have become increasin

affordable for small business owners

Support work/life balance for example, by impl

exible schedule arrangements

Provide accommodations to support individuals wi

health issues at work

Stay tuned for information sessions Beyond Rewbe holding on this topic in April locations TBD. To

Psychological Health and Safety Toolkit or bring an a

Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) i

workplace, contact Beyond Rewards Inc. at 519-821-7

AliciA

Rogowski