Canadian Occupational Safety

APRIL/MAY 2017 7 Workplace attitudes toward mental health improving M ore than three- quarters (77 per cent) of working Canadians believe attitudes toward workplace mental health issues are better than they were one decade ago, according to the Great- West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace. Additionally, those reporting a psychologically unhealthy or unsafe workplace have been cut in half — down from 20 per cent in 2009 to 10 per cent in 2016, according to a survey of more than 5,000 Canadians by Ipsos. "It's so encouraging to see the tre- mendous improvements in Canada's workplaces," said Joti Samra, lead researcher at the centre. "We've found many employers now see protect- ing psychological health and safety in the workplace as a core business consideration." The survey also found 79 per cent of working Canadians know about mental health conditions like depres- sion, up from 66 per cent in 2007. Since 2009, fewer workers describe a workplace that has serious or sig- nifi cant psychosocial concerns. Most signifi cant improvements have been made in the areas of civility and respect (27 per cent are concerned, down from 33 per cent) and balance (30 per cent, down from 35 per cent). Employees have more concerns than managers. For example, employees (38 per cent) were more concerned with growth and development than man- agers (26 per cent). Additionally, a number of Cana- dian workplaces are now following best practices based on the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, released in 2013. In organizations implementing the standard, only fi ve per cent of employees said their workplace is psychologically unhealthy or unsafe, versus 13 per cent in organizations that are not implement- ing t he standard. Employees who are or have experienced depression are miss- ing less time (7.4 days per year) at organizations with the standard in place, compared to the average employee with depression (12.5 days). However, one of the standard's founders said much more needs to be done to ensure the document incurs the success desired upon its inception. "I understand the need to be cel- ebratory about the standard but, at the same time, I think we need to be a little bit more dispassionate about it," said Martin Shain, a workplace mental health expert in Caledon, Ont. "We better give it a bit more teeth, which it doesn't have. We need to make it a higher priority. If this issue is as seri- ous as everybody says it is, then we need to allocate more resources to it and think about regulation." The survey also found just six per cent of respondents said they are aware their organization is imple- menting the standard, and only 12 per cent know the standard exists. That's a concern, said Shain, espe- cially since it was intended to be a participatory philosophy. "If people don't know that the standard is being implemented, it probably isn't being," he said. "In order for the standard to be imple- mented fully, ever ybody in the workplace has to understand what's being done and why it's being done." With fi les from Marcel Vander Wier, news editor for Canadian HR Reporter. Companies doing poor job dealing with families following tragedy I n the aftermath of either a workplace fatality or a life- altering injury, employers across Canada are not doing enough to support those most affected, found a survey by Threads of Life, a Canadian association that supports families of workplace tragedies. Two-thirds of the association's members who responded to the survey said a representative of the employer did not come to their home to tell them about the death or injury. While the association acknowledges it will may be the most diffi cult thing a senior manager, CEO or human resources professional ever has to do, Threads of Life recommends a senior representative of the company visit the family as soon as possible after the devastating incident. More than one-half of the respondents (56 per cent), who are all family mem- bers of an individual who died at work or suffered a life-altering injury, were not given any information about what happened. "We needed to hear 'I'm sorry.' Nobody ever said 'I'm sorry,'" one survey respon- dent said. "The incident report had discrepancies and much was blacked out. I needed to know exactly what had happened." In the report that revealed the survey results, Workplace Tragedy: Employer Com- munication and Crisis Response, Threads of Life acknowledged companies may feel constrained by both legal concerns and their lack of complete knowledge around the incident, but they must tell the family whatever information they can. The employer should also advise them about the process of reporting, investigation and compensation. Less than one-half of employers did something to honour an employee who had been injured or killed. Examples included sending fl owers to the funeral, planting a tree, sponsoring a memorial bench on a trail or donating for a scholarship. One-half of employers provided some sort of support to the family following a death or serious injury, often fi nancial. The employer should ask the family what it can do to help. In some cases, employers have driven relatives to the hospital, made calls to clergy and cleaned out the deceased worker's apartment, said the report. More than one-half of employers attended the funeral. "The employer closed down the (work site) for the funeral so that all employ- ees could attend. I felt they did the right thing and it showed respect by doing so," one respondent said. For 65 per cent of respondents, the employer did not sustain a long-term relationship with the family, found the survey. Threads of Life recommends employers maintain contact with the family following a fatality. "My spouse's boss touched base by phone with me every couple of days while (my spouse) was in hospital, and then once he died, the boss contacted me approximately once a month for a year," said one respondent. "This helped me to feel they, his work, had not forgotten about (my spouse) and his family. This really helped to console us and made us feel like they actually cared." For injured workers, employers should keep them in the loop and connected to colleagues at work. Threads of Life said this helps with the worker's mental health and it could make for a smoother return to work down the road. WORK SAFELY. Protecting Generations of Workers since 1896 ECLIPSE TM QUAD-HAZARD ® Chemical Resistant - HiViz - Arc Flash - Flash Fire Come and see us at Booth # 405 | www.tingleyrubber.com Tingley_Pub_8,625x3,33_v4.pdf 1 2017-03-15 4:18 PM

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