The HR Role in Psychologically
Healthy Workplaces
REDUCING THE IMPACT OF STRESS ON INJURIES AND
RELATED WORKPLACE COSTS
Workplace stress, including fatigue and anger emerg-ing
from labour-management disputes, can be
concerns for all employers. Such stresses have been
identified as contributing factors to incidents such
as the April 2014 workplace shootings in Nanaimo, B.C., and the
Lac Mégantic train derailment in Quebec last year..
Canada’s Voluntary National Standard for Psychological Health
and Safety (the Standard), released in 2012, provided a re-sponse
to such issues, changing the landscape of occupational
health and safety (OHS). What progress has been made since its
introduction?
In mid-2014, SPR Associates began a review of the impact of
the new Standard. The organization consulted with over 100 key
health & safety
individuals from business and unions in all regions and industries,
governments, academics and mental health practitioners. They
also examined best practices to improve the psychological health
of workplaces, and reviewed Canadian and international research.
The goal was to assess progress with the Standard and iden-tify
future directions – including how HR managers can lead in
building psychologically healthy workplaces. In particular, the re-searchers
became interested in workplace stress as a significant
factor in OHS injuries and costs.
Since 2012, thousands of organizations have downloaded the
Standard. There have also been increasing demands for workplace
mental health training programs, and growing media attention to
these topics.
By Ted Harvey and Neil Gavigan, with assistance from Holly Bennett
Baranq/Shutterstock
LAWS ARE ESSENTIAL
– BUT NOT ENOUGH. OHS
LOSSES REMAIN UNCHANGED
LARGELY BECAUSE LAWS AND
POLICIES HAVE NOT AFFECTED
THE CULTURE OF WORK.
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ OCTOBER 2014 ❚ 47
