You’ll find Workplace Strategies resources throughout this website. Most strategies and tools are the result of joint initiatives where Workplace Strategies:
- Commissioned development of a resource
- Partnered with other organizations
- Collaborated with third-party experts
Over the years, many people have contributed generously to the quality and usefulness of our resources, including:
- Subject matter experts
- Researchers
- Academics
- Workplace stakeholders
- People with lived experience from across Canada and beyond
Meet some of these contributors. All Workplace Strategies resources are available to anyone at no cost, compliments of Canada Life.
Workplace Strategies has worked with various experts to develop practical Assessments, tools and workshops to help with the prevention, intervention, and management of workplace mental health issues. Here are a few examples:
- Guarding Minds at Work
- Psychologically Safe Leader Assessment
- On the agenda workshop series
- Mental health awareness videos
- A tool to support employee success
Collaborating with experts
Workplace Strategies has always collaborated with experts and thought leaders that range from those with the experience of living with a mental illness to clinicians, researchers and academics. We also leverage the expertise in organizations such as Public Services Health and Safety Association, Workplace Safety and Prevention Services, WorkSafeBC, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and the Human Resources Professionals Association.
Our projects have ranged from the creation of resources, tools and workshops used by thousands of employers across Canada to the development of a national standard on psychological health and safety.
Learning from others
Workplace Strategies, with funding from Canada Life, regularly learns from thought leaders across Canada. Together they grapple with psychological health and safety and mental health issues at work. The aim is to refine or create resources, tools or workshops that will be made available on the Workplace Strategies website, free of charge to the public. Some examples of resources that were developed or refined from these collaborations include:
- Plan for resilience
- From surviving to thriving
- Name, claim, reframe: Personal stress tools
- Prevent and managing burnout workshop
- Supporting employee success
- Psychologically safe interactions workshop
Guarding Minds and the national standard
In 2009, Workplace Strategies engaged industry experts and researchers to launch Guarding Minds at Work (Guarding Minds). Guarding Minds was and still is today, an industry-leading, comprehensive set of tools to help assess and address psychological health and safety at work.
Having this tool available at no cost to all employers helped inspire the concept of a national standard on psychological health and safety in the workplace. A consensus conference was held to consider how and if a standard would be helpful. After the unanimous decision to move forward, the development of The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace began. The Standard, released January 16, 2013, was the first of its kind in the world.
Download a free copy of the standard at http://www.csa.ca/z1003/
Preparing future leaders
From 2015 to present, Workplace Strategies, with funding from Canada Life, has helped host annual forums of the Canadian Post-Secondary Community of Practice for Workplace Wellness. The members are workplace wellness professionals from Canadian universities and colleges. Their area of expertise includes health, wellness and disability management for staff, students and faculty.
These experts helped inform the development and refinement of resources such as:
- From surviving to thriving
- The historical account called The Evolution of workplace mental health in Canada: Towards a standard on psychological health and safety
- Healthy break activities
- On the agenda workshop series
Supporting inclusion
In 2019 and again in 2022, Workplace Strategies focused on issues related to inclusion. They brought together thought leaders and experts to explore:
- Leader strategies to build inclusive teams
- Inclusive policies and procedures
- How to help someone who is feeling excluded, isolated or stigmatized at work
The outcome of these important conversations include the development of the following resources:
- Implicit bias
- Discrimination, prevention and inclusion
- Inclusion strategies for leaders
- Psychologically Safe Team Assessment
- Team agreement process
Another important project related to inclusion is the ongoing collaboration between Workplace Strategies and the Indigenous community. In the spirit of learning from and supporting our Indigenous community, we have an annual commitment to the Mike S. Shwartz Indigenous Collaboration that has been named Miinosewin. Miinosewin is Ojibway for “to set it right properly”.
Topics of conversation have ranged from how to integrate the Seven Sacred teachings at work to how to support Indigenous employees at work.
The outcome of the Miinosewin initiative includes the development of the following resources:
- Indigenous teachings for leaders
- Indigenous engagement planning
- Activities to build your teen’s resilience
Workplace Strategies supports innovation
Canadian Workplace Well-Being Awards
2021 to Present: Workplace Strategies, with financial support from Canada Life, has been the Hallmark sponsor of the awards since their inception. The awards recognize organizations that show leadership in implementing positive psychology initiatives and protecting psychological health and safety. This initiative also inspires and motivates other organizations to take positive action. For more information on this initiative, contact The Canadian Positive Psychology Association.
Mental Health Research Canada research and datahub
2021 to present: Workplace Strategies, with funding from Canada Life, has commissioned numerous national surveys with Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) on various topics impacting psychological health and safety and mental health in the workplace. An example research project was a survey of 5,500+ working Canadians using Workplace Strategies’ own Guarding Minds at Work survey. One of the outputs of the study is a datahub available free to the public, where organizations can analyze the survey data by various demographic and industry segments.
MHRC is dedicated to improving the lives of Canadians by advancing mental health knowledge. They engage people with lived experience throughout the entire research process. By working with MHRC, Workplace Strategies can help turn the knowledge gained from research into practical resources for employers.
Inner circle – Psychological Health and Safety Community of Practice
2022 to present: Collaboration with psychological health and safety advisors including human resource professionals and independent consultants. Workplace Strategies, with funding from Canada Life, and Mindful Employer Canada host annual roundtables where the community of practice collaborates on solutions related to psychological health and safety issues impacting organizations, leaders and their employees. All items created are made available to the public, free of charge.
Mindful campuses grant program
2019 to present: Workplace Strategies and Mindful Employer Canada, with financial support from Canada Life, started the Mindful campuses grant program. Universities and colleges are invited to apply for grants of up to $2,000 to fund activities aimed at protecting psychological health and safety and building resilience. For more information on this initiative, contact Mindful Employer Canada.
Institute for Work and Health: Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED)
2018 to present: Workplace Strategies, compliments of Canada Life, participated in this project to create resources to help people with episodic mental and physical health conditions sustain employment. A follow-up project to the accommodation tool that was developed is a process to help an employee decide whether, and how, to disclose an episodic illness at work. For more information on these tools, check out the Institute for Work and Health’s website.
Mindset Award for Workplace Mental Health Reporting
2016 to 2023: These awards are presented by the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma, and honour excellence in incisive or investigative mental health reporting in Canada. We believe stories told by journalists can motivate and inspire us – by teaching us how to make the best out of difficult situations, telling the stories of unsung heroes, addressing needs and gaps, and shining a light on organizations that have prioritized the mental health of their employees. Learn more at http://www.mindset-mediaguide.ca/..
Canadian Mental Health Association certificate training
Workplace Strategies helped the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) establish their Psychological Health and Safety Professional certificate training program. Contact the CMHA for information on upcoming certificate training opportunities.
Mindful Employer Canada
2016: Canada Life sponsored the development of programs like In-House and Psychologically Safe Leader Method to help organizations and individuals build their skills and abilities to reduce psychological harm and support positive workplace mental health for staff.