Post on 16-Aug-2020
Taking Action: A Proactive Guide to Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace
Merv Gilbert, PhD
Dan Bilsker, PhD
Psychological Health Consultants
BC HRMA | May 2, 2013
Objectives
• Increased awareness of the legal, financial and ethical case for addressing psychological health and safety
• Increased knowledge of a logical framework for creation of a psychological health and safety strategy within any organization
• Increased understanding of practical, effective actions that can be taken to improve employee psychological health and safety
HR: communicating the change
HR
Union
Executive Team
Occ Health
Managers
Employees
Employers have questions about PH&S
Is it affordable? Where do
we start?
Is it important?
And did we mention
we’re busy?
If we want employers to act, we must make it easier
What is PH&S?
What is PH&S?
•OH&S movement triggered improvement in physical domain •PH&S aims to trigger action in psychological domain
Occupational Health & Safety
Psychological H&S
Physical H&S
No other technique for the conduct of life attaches the individual so firmly to reality as laying emphasis on work; for his work at least gives him a secure place in a portion of reality, in the human community.
Why is PH&S
important?
Regulation • Provincial/Federal
legislation (e.g. Bill 168 in Ontario, Bill 14 in BC)
• Court Rulings (e.g. Duty to accommodate)
• National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.
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Safety
An organization is responsible for preventing injuries, whether physical or psychological
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The choice:
Do nothing: Outcome is increased costs, decreased productivity/morale, loss of skilled workforce
Act: Outcome is decreased costs, increased productivity/morale, recruitment/retention of skilled workers
What actions are available effective, and affordable?
SEARCH: CARMHA Action Guide
Free Evidence-Based
Accessible Supports Implementation
SEARCH: CARMHA Action Guide
24 employer actions to protect PH&S
• Evidence-consistent • Practical • Stand-alone Includes stories, resources, references and topics of
special interest (e.g. PH&S for small business)
For Each Action…
What Why
How
Obtain endorsement
from organizational
leaders
Support from senior organizational leaders
underlines the importance of
psychological health
Might take the form of a statement expressing the priority of PH&S or
a comprehensive strategy for
organizational change
Survey employees
Your employees know a lot about PH&S
risks and protective factors in your organization.
Guarding Minds@Work examines 13 psychosocial risk factors: free & easy-
to-use
www.guardingmindsatwork.ca
Build Psychological Safety Skills
PS Training gives resiliency skills to cope with the challenges of everyday life -- whether work or personal.
Training is given through workshops that teach skills for managing negative emotions and stress, solving difficult problems and working well with colleagues.
Ensure access to psychological
treatment
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, CBT, is effective in treating common depression/anxiety and fostering work return
Canadian health system basically does not provide CBT. Consider coverage of CBT psychologists via Extended Health
Provide self-care tools
Individuals with psychological distress are more able to cope with
their problems if they get training in psychological
safety skills
Tools include workbooks & websites that teach skills for managing psychological difficulties and preventing harm Search: Antidepressant Skills at Work
Provide coordinated
disability management
Coordinating among employees, care
providers, HR, managers & insurance companies is critical to effective and
timely RTW
Assign RTW coordinator to
facilitate conversation among the key players.
In smaller organizations, this
would be a part-time consultant.
Plan your evaluation
The action team should identify purposes of the evaluation before initiating the action plan. This way, your team will have a useful answer when asked, ‘Did it work?’
Make a list of short-term and long-term outcomes
Identify evaluation methods that will help you demonstrate change
Where do we start?
(someday will be) Free Evidence-Based
Accessible Implementation Tool
MORPH
Talk to us!
Incorporates quantitative scores (measuring relative readiness for various actions) and qualitative information from comments and focus
groups (why one action would be embraced and another resisted).
Actions are rated online by the workforce according to key dimensions of readiness
Potential Actions are selected by leaders
PH&S: Strategic Planning
Aim: to help employers determine which PH&S actions are acceptable and feasible.
Let’s say Company X had these results:
What are key insights derived from this session and how can you
implement them in your workplace?
Thank you
Merv Gilbert: mervgilbert@gilbertacton.com
Dan Bilsker: dbilsker@sfu.ca
SEARCH: CARMHA Action Guide