Safety and Health Week brings awareness to physical and psychological injuries
May 5 to 11 is Safety and Health Week, formerly known as North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week.
Organizations across Canada will be celebrating this week with activities that raise awareness of creating safe workplaces and preventing physical and psychological injuries.
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has many free resources available to employers to help them promote mental health at work.
1. Assembling the Pieces Toolkit provides practical advice for implementing key elements of the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, as well as links to tools that will assist organizations in taking action towards implementation. This course was developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
2. Being a Mindful Employee: An Orientation to Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace guides users through the 13 psychosocial workplace factors from the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace and what participants can do to help both themselves and others in the workplace. This course was developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
3. Mental Health: Awareness provides an introduction to the complex issue of psychological health in the workplace, and explains why it is so important. Participants will learn the difference between mental well-being and mental illness, factors that put people at risk, and the roles of early intervention and promotion of mental well-being at work.
4. Mental Health in the Canadian Workplace Infographic features information about the state of workplace mental health in Canada and includes tips for both employers and workers on how to improve psychological health and safety on the job. CCOHS’ infographics can be shared to social networks and via email.
5. Mental or Physical, Illness is Illness poster is available as a free download.
6. 10 Healthy Habits for Mental Fitness poster is available as a free download.
7. Healthy Minds at Work Portal offers a collection of online resources for workers and employers. There is information to help workers understand their own abilities, to cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully and make a contribution to their community. There is also guidance aimed at providing workplaces with assistance in developing strategies to promote mental health at work as well as successfully handling existing mental health issues.
8. Day of Mourning: Lisa Kadosa’s Story: Threads of Life speaker Lisa Kadosa shares her family’s story of how a workplace tragedy impacted their lives and what she is doing now to spread awareness about prevention in this podcast.
9. Peer-to-Peer Support and Mental Health in the Workplace: In this podcast episode, Steve Tizzard, radio operator on the Hibernia Platform in the North Atlantic Ocean shares his experience working in isolation, away from family and friends, and what catapulted him to champion a mental health peer-to-peer support program in his workplace.
