More than 60 per cent of missed workdays are attributed to poor mental health, according to the inaugural Health Outcomes Report published by GreenShield in June 2024.
This same report suggests an alarming 12 days of absenteeism is related to poor mental health for each Canadian employee annually. Research also suggests poor mental health leads to turnover and for those suffering who still come to work, many function at less than maximum capacity—commonly referred to as presenteeism. The impacts on the bottom line of affected businesses can be significant.
Though, workers suffer too. According to an April 2023 Statistics Canada survey, for instance, more than one in five Canadians indicated they experienced high or very high levels of work-related stress. Over the short-term, health impacts can range from irritability and sleep disruption to headache and lack of focus. Over time, stress left unaddressed can lead to many chronic health effects ranging from burnout and depression to high blood pressure and heart disease.
DON’T DELAY…REGISTER FOR WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING
Legal obligations to address stress
Research and our lived experiences tell us individual coping strategies and support from employee assistance programs (EAP) are not enough. In fact, they fail to assist Ontario employers and supervisors in meeting their significant legal obligations to protect workers. To assist with compliance, greater attention must be paid to psychosocial hazards at work – factors such as excessive work hours, unreasonable job demands, lack of control over work and worker engagement, along with violence, and harassment.
Ontario employers, in addition to their general duty to protect workers from psychosocial hazards, have specific legal obligations to develop and implement workplace violence and harassment policies and program(s) and must provide their workers with information and training on the content of both.
WHSC training can help
Consider quality training your next step towards compliance and prevention. As Ontario’s only government-designated occupational health and safety training centre, Workers Health & Safety Centre (WHSC) offers a suite of workplace mental health training programs to meet legal obligations and in support of creating psychologically safe and healthy workplaces. The following are scheduled this fall in WHSC virtual classrooms:
- Critical Incident and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Psychosocial Hazards and Workplace Mental Health
- Stress in the Workplace
- Workplace Violence and Harassment.
REGISTER TODAY FOR MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING. Space is limited for each of these programs*
*Don’t see a date that works for you, contact a WHSC training service representative to inquire about additional training options, including onsite training at your workplace.
Employers are also required to ensure supervisors complete training and are competent to carry out their significant obligations to protect workers, including protection from psychosocial hazards. This training must be completed within one week of performing work as a supervisor. WHSC Supervisor Training can help workplaces comply.
Joint health and safety committees (JHSCs) and worker health and safety representatives (HSRs) in smaller workplaces have a legal right to participate in efforts to create mentally safe workplaces. To ensure JHSCs can effectively act on this right, employers must provide JHSC members in Ontario-regulated workplaces with Certification training. Many smaller workplaces also choose to partner with the WHSC to ensure HSRs get the training they need. WHSC is a leading provider of JHSC Certification Training and HSRs training.
Related resources
GreenShield’s 2024 Health Outcomes Report
Work-related stress most often caused by heavy workloads and work-life balance (Statistics Canada)
Workplace violence resources (WHSC)
Need more information?
Contact a WHSC training services representative in your area.
Email: contactus@whsc.on.ca
Visit: whsc.on.ca
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