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Addressing issues of mental health at work is vitally important for Canadians, including employees or employers and regardless of the type or size of organization.
Mental Health Commission of Canada
July 7, 2014
Join the conversation on Twitter: #workplaceMH
What is the issue?
The workplace can be a strong contributor to mental wellbeing, giving people the opportunity to feel productive and achieve their potential. Yet it can also be a stressful environment that contributes to the rise of mental health problems and illnesses such as depression and anxiety. With most adults spending more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else—and with many youth holding at least part-time jobs—addressing issues of mental health at work is vitally important for Canadians.
A massive impact
In any given year, one in five Canadians will experience a mental health problem or illness. Nearly a quarter of the country’s working population is currently affected by mental health problems or illnesses leading to absenteeism, "presenteeism" (coming to work but being less than fully productive) and turnover. Adults in their early and prime working years are among the hardest hit.
Approximately 30 per cent of short- and long-term disability claims in Canada are attributed to mental health problems and illnesses. Of the total economic burden caused by mental illness in Canada—about $51 billion per year—a staggering $20 billion stems from workplace losses. Read more: Making the Case for Investing in Mental Health in Canada.
The need to take action
No workplace is immune from the risk of mental health problems, regardless of size, sector or specialization. Yet a 2008 Canadian Medical Association study cited in the Mental Health Strategy for Canada found that only 23 per cent of Canadians would feel comfortable talking to their employer about a mental illness. This suggests that the number of people affected by mental health issues is likely even higher than official tallies show due to a significant proportion of silent suffering. Creating mentally healthy workplaces in large part includes comprehensive, well-informed approaches to prevention, promotion and anti-stigma initiatives.
Helping ensure that people can enjoy good mental health at work is beneficial to all Canadians—workers, their families and their employers—and contributes to the country’s economic prosperity overall.
What Are We Doing?
One-Page Summary
The Mental Health Strategy for Canada proposed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) notes that workplaces need more capacity to support people experiencing mental health problems on the job. Mental health promotion, illness prevention and anti-stigma initiatives, as well as management training and employee assistance programs, all contribute to mentally healthy workplaces. The MHCC is currently engaged in a number of activities to advance workplace mental health.
Addressing mental health at work differently
The MHCC is helping employers improve how they protect employee mental health in their workplaces to better prevent mental health problems and illnesses. The MHCC has led the development of a voluntary National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace and developed recommendations to support increased employment among people living with a mental health problem or illness. It released an action guide to help employers improve the psychological health of their organization and provided guidelines that encourage executive leadership to commit to making mental health in their workplace a priority.
Providing mental health first aid training
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Canada is an evidence-based two-day course that teaches people how to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. It aims to improve mental health literacy, reduce stigma, and support people with the skills and knowledge to respond confidently and proactively when others experience mental health issues. By 2013, more than 85,000 Canadians had received MHFA Canada training. More than 200 companies, organizations, and government departments have reached out to receive MHFA training in their workplace. MHFA and the Standard fact sheet
Reducing stigma in the workplace
Opening Minds is the largest systematic effort in Canadian history focused on reducing stigma related to mental illness. Established by the MHCC in 2009, it seeks to change behaviours and attitudes toward people living with mental illness in all corners of society. The ultimate goal of Opening Minds is to create an environment where those with mental illnesses feel comfortable seeking help, treatment, and support for recovery.
Specifically in the workplace, Opening Minds has partnered with various companies and organizations to conduct scientific evaluations of anti-stigma programs to determine their effectiveness and potential to be rolled out. Opening Minds has identified several promising programs and have been evaluating them at various sites across Canada. Our partners include small and large private companies to municipal, provincial, and national public organizations.
Dealing with workplace psychological health and safety
A Leadership Framework for Advancing Workplace Mental Health was published in 2010 in partnership with the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace. It is an online resource for business leaders which lays out the business case for sustaining a mentally healthy workplace.
The Shain Reports on mental health in the workplace
The MHCC commissioned and disseminated a series of four reports by Martin Shain, S.J.D. that focused on the provision and maintenance of a psychologically safe workplace. This has been recognized as a legal duty, similar to the duty to provide a physically safe workplace. In both realms, the employer must take every reasonable precaution to protect employee safety and show that they have done so.
Assisting the aspiring workforce
Canadians with mental health challenges who are trying to enter the workforce or to retain their employment are considered “the aspiring workforce”. MHCC, working with three research institutions, developed The Aspiring Workforce: Employment and Income for People with Serious Mental Illness report focusing on:
Video testimonials showcasing efforts for workplace wellness
The MHCC is showcasing how champion organizations are promoting workplace wellness and improving PH&S in their workplace through a series of short videos. These videos will be promoted on the MHCC website to help inform and support other organizations who are beginning their journey to promote wellbeing in the workplace. Canadians will hear directly from organizations that are addressing mental health at work. Connect with us for more information on this exciting and engaging project.
Free monthly webinars
Join the conversation. The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is offering free webinars on workplace wellness on the last Wednesday of every month at 12:00 p.m. E.S.T. Learn techniques for integrating psychological health and safety at work, with topics ranging from building a business case to evaluating your workplace. Visit here for more details.
Share your story
Become a Canadian leader of change and showcase your journey as you address Psychological Health and Safety (PH&S) in your workplace, including workplace wellness. What motivated your organization to consider improving PH&S in your workplace? What has been your progress to-date? What successes have you achieved and what challenges have you encountered? MHCC wants to showcase leaders and identify champions of workplace wellness. Sharing experiences helps connect organizations undergoing similar processes allowing us all to learn and progress. We invite you to take five minutes to complete this online form and share your experience.
What We've Learned
Mental health problems related to the workplace include anxiety, depression and burnout. All of these take a significant toll on workers—and have a deep economic impact as well. Over the next 30 years, the cost of lost productivity due to absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover is estimated to reach $198 billion in current dollars.
Addressing stigma is key
Today, stigma—the negative attitudes and behaviours that surround mental illness—prevents many employers from understanding how to deal with mental health issues in the workplace. It can cause coworkers to isolate someone with a problem, and cause those living with mental illnesses to hide their condition. Breaking the silence around mental illness is an essential step we have to take as a country.
Awareness of mental health needs to increase
Canadian employers acknowledge workplace health and safety as one of their top priorities. The task now is to embed mental health within that "health and safety" mix—putting physical and psychological health on an equal footing. Building the capacity of Canadian organizations to respond to mental health emergencies is critical, and so is building their capacity to respond to non-emergency situations. Welcoming a colleague back to work after a mental health-related absence can be a challenge in many workplaces—in contrast, for example, to welcoming back someone who has received treatment for cancer.
Employers need the right tools
A mentally healthy workplace is one where all employees enjoy work-life balance, clearly understand their roles, and have the opportunity to contribute to decisions about how work gets done. The MHCC has developed several resources to help employers cultivate these kinds of workplaces and respond to mental health issues, including Minds@Work, CEO Leadership Guidelines, the Shain reports on Psychological Safety and the Law in the Canadian Workplace, the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, Psychological Health and Safety: An Action Guide for Employers and the Mental Health First Aid Canada program.
Official MHCC reports produced for/by the MHCC
The Aspiring Workforce: Employment and Income for People with Serious Mental Illness
3.65 MB
CHANGING DIRECTIONS, CHANGING LIVES: The Mental Health Strategy for Canada
11.47 MB
Making the Case for Investing in Mental Health in Canada
1.72 MB
Psychological Health and Safety: An Action Guide For Employers
773.55 KB
Psychological Safety and the Law in the Canadian Workplace - The Shain Reports - One Page Overview
142.29 KB
The Shain Reports on Psychological Safety in the Workplace – A Summary
305.25 KB
Improving Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace: Critical Analysis and Pragmatic Options
1004.41 KB
Tracking the Perfect Legal Storm: Converging Systems Create Mounting Pressure to Create the Psychologically Safe Workplace
3.62 MB
Stress at Work, Mental Injury and the Law in Canada: A Discussion Paper for the Mental Health Commission of Canada
1.61 MB
The Road to Psychological Safety: Legal, Scientific and Social Foundations for a National Standard for Psychological Safety in the Workplace
1.24 MB
Mental Health Commission of Canada
July 7, 2014
Join the conversation on Twitter: #workplaceMH
What is the issue?
The workplace can be a strong contributor to mental wellbeing, giving people the opportunity to feel productive and achieve their potential. Yet it can also be a stressful environment that contributes to the rise of mental health problems and illnesses such as depression and anxiety. With most adults spending more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else—and with many youth holding at least part-time jobs—addressing issues of mental health at work is vitally important for Canadians.
A massive impact
In any given year, one in five Canadians will experience a mental health problem or illness. Nearly a quarter of the country’s working population is currently affected by mental health problems or illnesses leading to absenteeism, "presenteeism" (coming to work but being less than fully productive) and turnover. Adults in their early and prime working years are among the hardest hit.
Approximately 30 per cent of short- and long-term disability claims in Canada are attributed to mental health problems and illnesses. Of the total economic burden caused by mental illness in Canada—about $51 billion per year—a staggering $20 billion stems from workplace losses. Read more: Making the Case for Investing in Mental Health in Canada.
The need to take action
No workplace is immune from the risk of mental health problems, regardless of size, sector or specialization. Yet a 2008 Canadian Medical Association study cited in the Mental Health Strategy for Canada found that only 23 per cent of Canadians would feel comfortable talking to their employer about a mental illness. This suggests that the number of people affected by mental health issues is likely even higher than official tallies show due to a significant proportion of silent suffering. Creating mentally healthy workplaces in large part includes comprehensive, well-informed approaches to prevention, promotion and anti-stigma initiatives.
Helping ensure that people can enjoy good mental health at work is beneficial to all Canadians—workers, their families and their employers—and contributes to the country’s economic prosperity overall.
What Are We Doing?
One-Page Summary
The Mental Health Strategy for Canada proposed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) notes that workplaces need more capacity to support people experiencing mental health problems on the job. Mental health promotion, illness prevention and anti-stigma initiatives, as well as management training and employee assistance programs, all contribute to mentally healthy workplaces. The MHCC is currently engaged in a number of activities to advance workplace mental health.
Addressing mental health at work differently
The MHCC is helping employers improve how they protect employee mental health in their workplaces to better prevent mental health problems and illnesses. The MHCC has led the development of a voluntary National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace and developed recommendations to support increased employment among people living with a mental health problem or illness. It released an action guide to help employers improve the psychological health of their organization and provided guidelines that encourage executive leadership to commit to making mental health in their workplace a priority.
Providing mental health first aid training
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Canada is an evidence-based two-day course that teaches people how to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. It aims to improve mental health literacy, reduce stigma, and support people with the skills and knowledge to respond confidently and proactively when others experience mental health issues. By 2013, more than 85,000 Canadians had received MHFA Canada training. More than 200 companies, organizations, and government departments have reached out to receive MHFA training in their workplace. MHFA and the Standard fact sheet
Reducing stigma in the workplace
Opening Minds is the largest systematic effort in Canadian history focused on reducing stigma related to mental illness. Established by the MHCC in 2009, it seeks to change behaviours and attitudes toward people living with mental illness in all corners of society. The ultimate goal of Opening Minds is to create an environment where those with mental illnesses feel comfortable seeking help, treatment, and support for recovery.
Specifically in the workplace, Opening Minds has partnered with various companies and organizations to conduct scientific evaluations of anti-stigma programs to determine their effectiveness and potential to be rolled out. Opening Minds has identified several promising programs and have been evaluating them at various sites across Canada. Our partners include small and large private companies to municipal, provincial, and national public organizations.
Dealing with workplace psychological health and safety
A Leadership Framework for Advancing Workplace Mental Health was published in 2010 in partnership with the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace. It is an online resource for business leaders which lays out the business case for sustaining a mentally healthy workplace.
The Shain Reports on mental health in the workplace
The MHCC commissioned and disseminated a series of four reports by Martin Shain, S.J.D. that focused on the provision and maintenance of a psychologically safe workplace. This has been recognized as a legal duty, similar to the duty to provide a physically safe workplace. In both realms, the employer must take every reasonable precaution to protect employee safety and show that they have done so.
Assisting the aspiring workforce
Canadians with mental health challenges who are trying to enter the workforce or to retain their employment are considered “the aspiring workforce”. MHCC, working with three research institutions, developed The Aspiring Workforce: Employment and Income for People with Serious Mental Illness report focusing on:
- promising and best practices/approaches to provide services to people who want to work;
- identifying what systemic incentives and disincentives exist related to returning to work;
- how to develop social enterprises that as part of their mission provide jobs to people with mental illness;
- how to provide disability supports that also focus on a person’s capacities and ability to work; and
- the key things people need to know about succeeding at work.
Video testimonials showcasing efforts for workplace wellness
The MHCC is showcasing how champion organizations are promoting workplace wellness and improving PH&S in their workplace through a series of short videos. These videos will be promoted on the MHCC website to help inform and support other organizations who are beginning their journey to promote wellbeing in the workplace. Canadians will hear directly from organizations that are addressing mental health at work. Connect with us for more information on this exciting and engaging project.
Free monthly webinars
Join the conversation. The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is offering free webinars on workplace wellness on the last Wednesday of every month at 12:00 p.m. E.S.T. Learn techniques for integrating psychological health and safety at work, with topics ranging from building a business case to evaluating your workplace. Visit here for more details.
Share your story
Become a Canadian leader of change and showcase your journey as you address Psychological Health and Safety (PH&S) in your workplace, including workplace wellness. What motivated your organization to consider improving PH&S in your workplace? What has been your progress to-date? What successes have you achieved and what challenges have you encountered? MHCC wants to showcase leaders and identify champions of workplace wellness. Sharing experiences helps connect organizations undergoing similar processes allowing us all to learn and progress. We invite you to take five minutes to complete this online form and share your experience.
What We've Learned
Mental health problems related to the workplace include anxiety, depression and burnout. All of these take a significant toll on workers—and have a deep economic impact as well. Over the next 30 years, the cost of lost productivity due to absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover is estimated to reach $198 billion in current dollars.
Addressing stigma is key
Today, stigma—the negative attitudes and behaviours that surround mental illness—prevents many employers from understanding how to deal with mental health issues in the workplace. It can cause coworkers to isolate someone with a problem, and cause those living with mental illnesses to hide their condition. Breaking the silence around mental illness is an essential step we have to take as a country.
Awareness of mental health needs to increase
Canadian employers acknowledge workplace health and safety as one of their top priorities. The task now is to embed mental health within that "health and safety" mix—putting physical and psychological health on an equal footing. Building the capacity of Canadian organizations to respond to mental health emergencies is critical, and so is building their capacity to respond to non-emergency situations. Welcoming a colleague back to work after a mental health-related absence can be a challenge in many workplaces—in contrast, for example, to welcoming back someone who has received treatment for cancer.
Employers need the right tools
A mentally healthy workplace is one where all employees enjoy work-life balance, clearly understand their roles, and have the opportunity to contribute to decisions about how work gets done. The MHCC has developed several resources to help employers cultivate these kinds of workplaces and respond to mental health issues, including Minds@Work, CEO Leadership Guidelines, the Shain reports on Psychological Safety and the Law in the Canadian Workplace, the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, Psychological Health and Safety: An Action Guide for Employers and the Mental Health First Aid Canada program.
Official MHCC reports produced for/by the MHCC
The Aspiring Workforce: Employment and Income for People with Serious Mental Illness
3.65 MB
CHANGING DIRECTIONS, CHANGING LIVES: The Mental Health Strategy for Canada
11.47 MB
Making the Case for Investing in Mental Health in Canada
1.72 MB
Psychological Health and Safety: An Action Guide For Employers
773.55 KB
Psychological Safety and the Law in the Canadian Workplace - The Shain Reports - One Page Overview
142.29 KB
The Shain Reports on Psychological Safety in the Workplace – A Summary
305.25 KB
Improving Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace: Critical Analysis and Pragmatic Options
1004.41 KB
Tracking the Perfect Legal Storm: Converging Systems Create Mounting Pressure to Create the Psychologically Safe Workplace
3.62 MB
Stress at Work, Mental Injury and the Law in Canada: A Discussion Paper for the Mental Health Commission of Canada
1.61 MB
The Road to Psychological Safety: Legal, Scientific and Social Foundations for a National Standard for Psychological Safety in the Workplace
1.24 MB
