On the agenda workshop series

Balance

In a work environment with positive balance, employees are supported to manage the demands of work, family and personal life.

Civility and respect

In a work environment with civility and respect, all stakeholders are considerate and fair in their interactions with each other.

Clear leadership and expectations

In a work environment with clear leadership and expectations, employees know what they need to do, have confidence in their leaders and understand impending changes.

Engagement

In a work environment with positive engagement, employees are motivated to do their job well and feel connected to their work, co-workers, and organization.

Growth and development

In a work environment with positive growth and development, employees receive ongoing encouragement and support to enhance interpersonal, emotional and job-related skills.

Involvement and influence

In a work environment with positive involvement and influence, employees are included in discussions and have input into decisions that impact their respective jobs.

Organizational culture

In a work environment with positive organizational culture, there are shared values of trust, honesty, fairness and accountability.

Protection of physical safety

In a work environment with positive protection of physical safety, management takes appropriate action to protect all employees against injury and illness and ensures they have what they need to do their jobs safely.

Psychological and social support

In a work environment with positive psychological and social support, all employees feel a sense of belonging and contribution.

Psychological competencies and demands

In a work environment where psychological competencies and demands are not a health risk, employees are continually supported to meet the psychological demands of their position.

Psychological protection

In a work environment with adequate psychological protection, employees are free from bullying, harassment, stigma and discrimination.

Recognition and reward

In a work environment with positive recognition and reward, there is appropriate acknowledgement and appreciation of employees’ efforts in a fair and timely manner.

Workload management

In a work environment where there is positive workload management, employees feel supported to complete their assigned tasks and responsibilities successfully. Other chronic stressors as identified by employees.

Other chronic stressors as identified by employees 

The National Standard lists “other chronic stressors as identified by employees” as one of the psychosocial factors that employers need to assess and address. Find out what these chronic stressors are by asking your employees, because every work situation is unique. This can be as simple as sending out an email or survey. Include the following questions with room for employees to fill in their responses:

• What are the stressors at work that you are experiencing? Please include both significant stressors and more minor, but ongoing stressors.
• What changes could we make that would have a positive or protective effect on your level of work stress?

You can also read more about Sector specific stressors for psychological health and safety. It includes potential approaches for first responders, human services professionals, call centre workers, educators, dangerous industry workers, high-tech workers, shift workers and remote workers.

Creating awareness workshop outline

These presentation slides, facilitator guides and participant guides are for trainers, team leaders, managers or others. Use them to pave the way for discussions and action aimed at developing a psychologically healthy and safe workspace.

Each presentation focuses on one of the factors from Guarding Minds at Work, known to impact PHS at work. These factors have also been adapted for the National Standard. Discuss these issues with your team and develop plans of action to contribute to improved PHS.

1. Choose one of the factors. Then, use the Creating awareness facilitator guide, presentation slides, and participant handout to help facilitate the discussion. These factors have been identified through a large body of research as the main areas of concern related to PHS at work. The Creating awareness workshop engages your employees in recommending potential strategies for improvement.
   
   • The facilitator guide for each factor includes slide-by-slide suggested wording.
   • The presentation slides and participant handout help support productive and positive discussions.
2. Review the entire facilitator guide before you begin. You’ll get facilitation tips to help you and employees develop strategies to improve PHS for your team. And, you can customize the language for your audience.
3. Book a minimum of one hour with your entire team to go through the presentation together and gather employee feedback. There’s sample invitation wording in the facilitator guide.
4. Facilitate the meeting. The facilitator guide has information about preparation, materials you might need and other approaches to facilitating in specific situations. Facilitation tips for leaders is a separate resource with suggestions for dealing with challenges and engaging team members.
5. Create a report from the feedback gathered in the Creating awareness workshop. Include the comments and ideas employees provided. Have the senior leadership identify the ideas they approve so they can be applied.
6. For simple ideas, begin applying them and measurements to consider the impact.
7. For more complex ideas, develop a detailed implementation plan and timeline. You can use the Creating change workshop and approve the results of the Creating awareness workshop. Invite decision makers and those who'll be responsible to execute the plan to take part in this session.
8. Apply the plan.
9. Consider your results. Some measures might include:
   
   • Achievements
   • Challenges
   • Quality of work
   • Productivity
   • Employee satisfaction
   • Customer or client satisfaction
   • Input
   • Feedback and engagement
   • Accountability measures
   • Potential for long-term outcomes
10. Bring your team together to discuss the results. You can also make updates and celebrate wins.
11. Repeat! Choose the next factor to work on and make On the agenda part of your team's ongoing improvement process.

Note: If you’re using On the agenda along with Guarding Minds at Work, have the discussions after getting the Guarding Minds at Work survey results or organizational review. These are good opportunities to engage staff in developing solutions to identified concerns.