Prevention, promotion and guidance for your workplace

Today in Canada one in five people are living with a mental health problem or illness.  The accommodation and food services, government services, and information and culture industries have the highest prevalence of mental illness.  Specifically, the accommodation and food services industry is one of the top three highest for generalized anxiety disorder and has the second-highest prevalence of mood disorders.  Overall, rates of depression are highest in industries that have the most interaction with the public or with clients.

“It is not unreasonable to predict that in 10 years from now, 40% of all Workers’ Compensation Board costs could come from psychological injuries. Those who are proactive in this issue will continue to succeed, whereas those who are not will be in real trouble.”

~ George Marshall, CEO, Service Hospitality

Although mental health problems are not necessarily the fault of the workplace, the workplace can always be part of the solution.  Protecting your workers’ health and safety, which includes their psychological health and safety, is the employer’s responsibility, and that isn’t going away. The impact of the legislation changes has already been felt. Physical injuries with a psychological component have tripled in cost in the service and hospitality industries. 

500,000 Canadians, in any given week, are unable to work due to mental health problems or Illnesses.

What is a Psychologically Healthy & Safe Workplace? 

“a workplace that promoted workers’ psychological well-being and actively works to prevent harm to worker psychological health including in negligent, reckless, or intentional ways” CSA standard, Psychological health and safety in the workplace 

The Saskatchewan Story 

In 2016, the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board changed their stance on the acceptance of psychological injury claims.  A rebuttable presumption was added to make it easier for workers to prove their psychological injury occurred at work.  This presumption also allows for a simpler connection between physical injuries and their psychological component. 

Below is a collection of resources to help build, support, and improve your psychological health and safety program. For more information about any of these topics, please contact Service Hospitality.

What You Can Do:

Connect:

Service Hospitality has assembled a working group with a mission to work together to implement best practices and positive change for mental health, safety, and claims management.  This group collectively discusses practices and policies and offers training and resources to help promote psychological health and prevent psychological harm due to workplace factors. Join our Mental Health Best Practice Group

• The gold standard for psychological health and safety in Saskatchewan
• Sit at a table with 100 leaders from across the province (made up of Saskatchewan organizations from service, hospitality, government, education, safety, construction, and more)!
• 3 meetings per year that include cutting-edge speakers from across Canada.
• No cost to join or attend!

To Watch:

For a great introduction of the employer’s responsibilities, start off with our feature video, “The First Steps to Mental Health in the Workplace”.

To Train:

Already have a Safety Management System, but want to make sure it covers psychological health and safety as well? We can help you take your health and safety management system to the NEXT level!

Contact us to learn more about our training program, Integrating Mental Health into your Safety Management System.

CSA Standard on Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace

• Compliance with this standard is voluntary and can be done incrementally. Choose which pieces are important for your business to succeed.

Service Hospitality Audit

• Compare what you have in place with the CSA Standard through Service Hospitality’s audit.

• Audits result in an individualized action plan with clearly outlined “next steps” for your business.

To Teach:

We are pleased to announce our partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association -Saskatchewan Division.  Working together, we have created a presentation for Grade 7 & 8 students to bring awareness to youth about anxiety, how it can affect their (and others’) mental health, and the resources available to help.  For more information or to book a presentation, visit the webpage here.

Now Available: Your Mental Health & Well-Being Online Course

This course was designed to help students develop mental health coping skills. Upon completion of this one-hour online course, students should be able to: 

• Understand and define mental health, mental illness, and anxiety 

• Describe some of the common causes and symptoms of anxiety 

• Analyze and establish effective strategies for dealing with stress, anxiety and change, and for helping others manage their stress and anxiety

• Understand the benefits of helping themselves and others manage stress, anxiety and change

• Understand when and how to seek support for their mental health

Your Mental Health & Well-Being is available to students in any school in any province through the Safety in School’s online library. All you need is a Safety in Schools student or teacher account: 

1. Email us here to register for a teacher account

2. Access your account through the Safety in Schools website

3. Enroll your students in the course

To Read:

For an outline of the Workers’ Compensation Board’s legislation and policies on psychological injury claims, we have put together some information.  For more information on the law, the WCB process, or claims management, please contact us.

Our Valued Partners: 

Additional Resources:

Crisis Text Line powered by Kids Help Phone – by texting CONNECT to 686868, you can chat confidentially with a trained, volunteer Crisis Responder for support with any issue – big or small. 

Canadian Mental Health Association – Saskatchewan Division – includes downloadable resources as well as contact information for a local perspective.

Mobile Crisis Regina or Mobile Crisis Saskatoon – The Mobile Crisis website has links and phone numbers to many helplines, including the crisis suicide line and the rural support line.

Accommodating Mental Injuries/Illnesses – information on the legal duty to accommodate, as well as strategies to help with successful accommodation for all involved parties.

Guarding Minds at Work – this site has access to a baseline assessment survey, but also a ton of great resources.  Simply look through the workplace factors and click which PDFs you would like to download.

Bridges Health – a local organization that offers consulting and programs for employers regarding psychological health and safety

Saskatchewan Health Care Facilities Search – Government of Saskatchewan website that allows a quick location search to find health centers close to your location.  This includes addictions and mental health resource centers.

Online Therapy Unit – Provides individuals with online services regarding mental health, the option to enroll for courses as an educator, and to find other relevant resources.

WorkSafe Saskatchewan – Online training options about mental health that include awareness, communication strategies, and health and wellness strategies.  Free posters are also available for order (or to print).