Fseap - mental health in the workplace presentation

Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace:
Addressing and Managing Mental Health and
Stress-Related Issues
Gregg Taylor, President, FSEAP Vancouver

Addressing Mental Health and Stress-Related Issues in the Workplace
Session Outline
• Mental Health & Stress Defined
• Why Invest in Health & Wellness?
• Effects of Unhealthy Workplaces
• Elements of a Psychologically Healthy
Workplace
• Promoting Positive Psychological Health in
the Workplace
• Identifying Key Factors for Psychological
safety at work

World Health Organization

Definition of Mental Health
Mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual
realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal
stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is
able to make a contribution to her or his own community.
Mental Health Commission of
Canada (2012)

Definition of Psychological Safety
Psychologically healthy and safe
workplace — 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.

Definition of Stress
• "Workplace stress” is the harmful physical and emotional
responses that can happen when there is a conflict
between job demands on the employee and the amount
of control an employee has over meeting these demands.
In general, the combination of high demands in a job and
a low amount of control over the situation can lead to
stress.”
CCOHS 2012

Current Facts: Mental Health and Work
1. 20% of all absences and 30% of all disability claims
2. Workplace mental health risks are more pervasive than
physical
3. Workplace mental health promotion still in early stages of
development—i.e. stress reduction and coping skills
4. Most effective combine diagnosis with education and
training i.e. stress inoculation programs
5. Cdn employers rank workplace stress as their top health
concern (2011 Buffett National Survey)
6. Depression and De-stigmatization needs to be focus
Graham Lowe: October 2013 The Wellness Dividend

Top 5 Most Frequent Disabling Conditions
(percentage of respondents)
source: Conference Board of Canada June 2012 report

Organizational Health Risk Concerns
(National Results)
56%
35%
35%
35%
31%
29%
29%
29%
28%
28%
24%
14%
13%
13%
5%
5%
0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
work related stress
mental health issues
high blood pressure
smoking
diabetes
sedentary lifestyle
back ailments
high cholesterol
obeisity
non work-related stress
poor nutrition
migraine and cluster headaches
drug or alcohol abuse
arthritis
asthma
pain management
unsure
Source: Sun Life Wellness Institute: Buffett National Wellness
Survey 2011

Effects of an Unhealthy Workplace
An unhealthy work environment poses many risks to
employees’ health. These include:
•a fivefold increase in the risk of certain cancers;
•a threefold increase in the risk of heart problems;
•a threefold increase in the risk of back pain;
•a two- to threefold increase in the risk of on-the-job
injuries
•a two- to threefold increase in the risk of infection;
•a two- to threefold increase in the risk of conflicts;
•a two- to threefold increase in the risk of mental health
issues; and
•a twofold increase in the risk of substance abuse.
source: Conference Board of Canada June 2012 report

Organizations Taking a Strategic Approach to
Wellness
National Results
yes……….
…no
74%
26%
Source: Sun Life Wellness Institute: Buffett National Wellness
Survey 2011

Sources: Shain/NQI, 2000; Duxbury et al, 2003/4;
Staying@Work, 2005 Watson Wyatt
High Demand
•Workload
•Challenge
Low Support
•Supervision
•Teamwork
•Resources
Low Control
•Involvement
•Change
Workplace Accidents
Turnover
Absenteeism
Benefit costs
(disability, drug, EHC)
Productivity
Job Commitment &
Satisfaction
Impact of Stress

Risks to mental health / psychologically unsafe
workplace:
A. Job demands and requirements of effort: Job demands
consistently and chronically exceed worker skill levels or
exploit them beyond what would be considered
reasonable for a particular type of undertaking, or where
work is distributed inequitably.
B. Job control or influence: Discretion over the means,
manner, and methods of their work (including “voice” or
the perceived freedom to express views or feelings
appropriate to the situation or context) is withheld from
workers by choice rather than because of the intrinsic
nature of the work.

C. Reward: Praise, recognition, acknowledgement, and
credit are withheld from workers for no good business
reasons.
D. Fairness: There is consistent failure or refusal to
recognize and accommodate the reasonable needs,
rights, and claims of workers. Perceptions of such failure
can arise from feelings that decisions are made without
attention to due process.
E. Support: Support with regard to advice, direction,
planning, and provision of technical and practical
resources and information (to the extent that they are
available within the organization) is withheld from
workers by choice rather than because of some
systematic constraint within the organization.

Stress and Mental Health Concerns in the
Workplace
What kinds of stressors in
one’s personal life affect
performance or relationships
at work?
What symptoms of stress or
mental health concerns might
appear in the workplace?

Identifying When Support is Needed
What you see
What you don’t see
Troubled employee
in the workplace
•Over-Tired
•Withdrawn/Isolated
•Lack of Focus
•Less Responsible
•Emotional Outbursts/Mood
Swings
Life Issues:
•Relationship Concerns
•Stress
•Financial/Legal Problems
•Addictions
Health Issues:
•Sleep
•Nutrition
•Depression
•Illness /Chronic Pain
Work Issues:
•Environmental
•Interpersonal
•Job-Related
Knowing the source of the
problem allows the
manager/supervisor to determine
a course of action
Sources of the Problem

On the other side of this equation, we find the
building blocks of a psychologically health
workplace:
1. Organizational objectives are well
understood by employees.
2. Employees have a clear picture of what
is expected of them.
3. Employees have the discretion and
needed tools to do their job.

4. Cultures of resilience replace cultures of
angst and tension.
5. Job fulfillment for employees is
recognized by employers as part of the
employment deal.
6. Corporate values put a premium on trust
and fairness.
7. Employees are encouraged, even trained
to ‘peer support’ their co-workers.

Psychological Health & Safety:
Psychosocial Factors
Psychosocial factors are elements that impact
employees’ psychological responses to work and
work conditions, potentially causing psychological
health problems. Psychosocial factors include the
way work is carried out (deadlines, workload,
work methods) and the context in which work
occurs (including relationships and interactions
with managers and supervisors, colleagues and
coworkers, and clients or customers).

Call to action…..
• Use the information to inform and
coach your leaders on the value of a
Healthy Workplace, including
improved bottom line
• Build a plan and seek input and
assistance from your partners (i.e.
insurers, advisors, providers, etc)

“Employees who believe that
management is concerned about
them as a whole person - not just
an employee - are more
productive, more satisfied, more
fulfilled.”
Anne M. Mulcahy

Promoting Psychological Health
• “The aim of psychological health
promotion is to increase the capacity
of employees to manage stress and
emotional challenges in a way that
reduces the likelihood of onset of
mental disorders.” Psychological Health & Safety-
Action Guide for Employers

Positive Psychological Health
“A complete state of well-being
consists of more than an absence
of specific problems, risk or need
areas, but also the presence of
positive factors that exist within
the individuals and their social
environments that contribute to
their psychological wellness.”
Dr’s Morrison, Kirby & Losier

Promoting Psychological Health
• National Standard of
Canada for Psychological
Health and Safety in the
Workplace (Implemented
January 2013)
States that businesses
and organizations have a
corporate and social
responsibility to ensure
that the mental health of
their employees is
protected.
Policy
Planning
Promotion
Prevention
Process
Persistence
P6 Framework

Prevention – Primary Level
•Support Work/Life Balance
•Training and Skill Development
Individual Level
• Job design takes into consideration
psychological impact of the job
• Building supportive cultures
Organizational
Level
Focus: Change conditions that contribute to health problems
Psychological Health and Safety – An Action Guide for Employers (January 2012)

Prevention – Secondary Level
• Provide tools to teach individuals how to
manage psychological well-beingProvide Self Care
Tools
• Build manager’s skills to respond
appropriately
Manager
Training
• Early intervention - pre psychological
disorder
• Assessment and referral
Early Referral to
EFAP
Focus: Identify and address problems when still mild or in early stage

Prevention – Tertiary Level
• Provide accommodation
• Provide Information to support decisions to take
health related leave
• Maintain support after return to work
Support Staying At Work
• Add behavioural treatment to the roster of service
covered by extended health plans
• Ensure EFAP providers have adequate training,
credentials, awareness of workplace issues
Ensure Access to
Specialized Treatment
• Ensure effective communication
• Increase access to psychological treatment
• Ensure assessments cover a wide range of
problems and solutions
Provide Coordinated
Disability Management
Focus: Reduce the distress and dysfunction associated with mental disorder

How you can help?
What you need to know?
• Resources your organization
offers an employee who is in
distress
• Accommodation policies and
process
Talking to the employee?
• Think about how you can
make an employee feel safe
and comfortable in the
meeting
• Start with reflecting the
employee’s strengths and
contributions
• In addressing performance
issues, be honest, upfront,
professional and caring
• Remember – its not your job
to probe or diagnose an illness
• Ask open-ended questions

What You Can Do
• When possible, reduce situational stress.
• Provide supportive guidance or mentorship.
• Ensure timely access to needed counselling, support or
treatment services.
• Provide opportunities for small-step successes.
• Explore areas of strength, interest and preference to
encourage engagement in work-related tasks.

Resources
• National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety
(Mental Health Commission of Canada)
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/node/5346
• WorkSafe BC – Mental Health in the Workplace
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/workplacementalhealth/introdu
ction.asp?reportID=36882
• Healthy Minds @ Work (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and
Safety)
http://www.ccohs.ca/healthyminds
• Managing Mental Health in the Workplace—How to talk to employees,
deal with problems, as assess risks (Mental Health Works)
• fseap a Canadian, not for profit, social enterprise, EAP provider
offering a full suite of EFAP and workplace mental health supports and
services www.fseap.bc.ca 1-800-667-0993

Fseap - mental health in the workplace presentation

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