Psychological Health in the Workplace

On this page

• Introduction
• Definitions
• Risk Factors for Poor Workplace Psychological Health
• Practical Strategies for Improving Psychological Health and Safety at Work: A Checklist
• Legislative Requirements
• Useful Resources
• References
• Footnotes

Introduction

Psychological health is a continuum that everyone experiences and is affected by. Having good psychological health is crucial to achieving overall health and well-being. The work environment is one of many settings that have an impact on psychological health. Given that an average Canadian worker spends 30-40 hours per week at work, it is important to maintain a psychologically healthy and safe workplace. The Mental Health Commission of Canada found that in any given week, 500,000 Canadians do not go to work due to a psychological health issue. Some causes of poor psychological health are directly attributable to factors in the workplace, including, for instance, harassment or excessive workload. A wide body of evidence suggests that poor workplace psychological health negatively affects performance at both the individual and organizational level. Among other outcomes, improving workplace psychological health can boost employee satisfaction, engagement, and productivity; it can also reduce health costs, employee turnover, and lost work time.

Below are some quick facts about psychological health and the workplace provided by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, as well as the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety:

• 1 in 5 Canadians experience a psychological health problem or illness in any given year.^{Footnote 1}
• Psychological health problems and illnesses are the number one cause of disability in Canada.^{Footnote 1}
• Psychological health problems cost the Canadian economy ~$51 billion per year, $20 billion of which results from work-related causes.^{Footnote 1}
• 47% of working Canadians consider their work to be the most stressful part of daily life.^{Footnote 1}
• Psychological health problems affect mid-career workers the most, lowering the productivity of the Canadian workforce.^{Footnote 1}
• Only 23% of Canadian workers would feel comfortable talking to their employer about a psychological health issue.^{Footnote 2}

It is clear that psychological health in the workplace impacts many Canadians. Certainly, the workplace should be a safe space for employees. Employers must, under the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, take all reasonable actions in creating and maintaining psychologically healthy and safe workplaces. Good communication and an understanding relationship are found to be two key elements of all problem solving. This Guideline provides relevant definitions, identifies risk factors for poor workplace psychological health, and provides practical strategies for different levels of an organization to improve workplace psychological health. The Guideline is meant to be a concise introduction to the topic of workplace psychological health. For further information on this subject, consult the resources listed in Section 6. Importantly, this Guideline is meant to supplement the more comprehensive National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (CSA Z1003).

Definitions

Good stress (Eustress) – beneficial stress that makes an employee feel positively challenged in his/her work environment.

Bad stress (Distress) – harmful stress that causes undue burden to the subjected employee, resulting in perceived or actual negative health effects.

Psychologically healthy and safe workplace – a workplace that promotes employees’ psychological well-being and actively works to prevent harm to worker psychological health, including in negligent, reckless, or intentional ways. (Canadian Standards Association)

Risk Factors for Poor Workplace Psychological Health

Practical Strategies for Improving Psychological Health and Safety at Work: A Checklist

Legislative Requirements

As per the Canadian Standard Association (CSA),CSA Z795-03 Coding of Work Injury or Disease Information, occupational disease is defined as a disease associated with exposure to a chemical, physical, biological, ergonomic, or psychosocial hazard in a work place.

The Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (COHSR) Part XIX, “Hazard Prevention Program” (HPP) requires employers to identify specific hazards present in their work places – including all five (5) types of hazards – and to develop a plan to mitigate those hazards.

• Part XIX Section 19.1 requires employers to “develop, implement and monitor a program for the prevention of hazards” that includes the following components:
  • An implementation plan
  • A hazard identification and assessment methodology
  • Hazard identification and assessment
  • Preventative measures
  • Employee education
  • A program evaluation.

COHSR Part XX, “Violence Prevention in the Work Place”, requires employers to take measures in preventing violence in the workplace and in ensuring that employees are protected against workplace violence.

• Part XX Section 20.2 defines work place violence as “any action, conduct, threat or gesture of a person towards an employee in their work place that can reasonably be expected to cause harm, injury or illness to that employee.” This definition encompasses violence of a physical and/or psychological nature.
• Part XX Section 20.3 obliges employers “to dedicate sufficient attention, resources and time to address factors that contribute to work place violence including, but not limited to, bullying, teasing, and abusive and other aggressive behaviour and to prevent and protect against it”.

Useful Resources

• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety: Healthy Minds @ Work
• Labour Program: Mental Health in the Workplace
• Guarding Minds @ Work: A Workplace Guide to Psychological Health & Safety
• European Newtwork for Health Promotion: A Guide to the business case for Mental health
• Mental Health Commission of Canada: A Leadership Framework for Advancing Workplace Mental Health – The Business Case
• Government of Canada: Mental Health in the Workplace

References

1. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Mental Health. 2016.
2. Canadian Standards Association. Psychological health and safety in the workplace - Prevention, promotion, and guidance to staged implementation 2013.
3. National Center for Biotechnology Information. The Temporal Dynamics Model of Emotional Memory Processing: A Synthesis on the Neurobiological Basis of Stress-Induced Amnesia, Flashbulb and Traumatic Memories, and the Yerkes-Dodson Law - Neural Plasticity. Diamond, DM., Campbell, AM., Park, CR., Halonen, J., & Zoladz, PR. 2007.
4. Mental Health Commission of Canada. National Standard. 2016.
5. Statistics Canada. Weekly hours of hourly paid employees, average, by province and territory. 2016.
6. World Health Organization. Mental health: a state of well-being. 2014.
   Public Health Agency of Canada. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice. Volume 36, Number 1, January 2016. Monitoring positive mental health and its determinants in Canada: the development of the Positive Mental Health Surveillance Indicator Framework. H. Orpana, Ph. D.; J. Vachon, M. Sc.; J. Dykxhoorn, M. Sc.; L. McRae, B. Sc.; G. Jayaraman, Ph. D.