National developments in workplace mental health over the last fifteen years has culminated in the 2013 release of the CSA/BNQ National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health & Safety (PH&S) in the Workplace. This Standard (which is the first of its kind in the world, and is now informing the development of an international ISO Standard) comprises a set of voluntary guidelines, tools, and resources focused on promoting employees’ psychological health, and preventing psychological harm due to workplace factors. This session will address the legal, business and health cases for why all workplaces need to dedicate efforts to creating psychologically healthy and safe work environments. An overview will be provided of each of the 13 Psychosocial Factors in the National Standard, along with guidance on how to undertake a work environment assessment or organizational review to gauge organizational strengths and areas for improvement.

Course Objectives:

• Defend the need to improve PH&S
• Describe a PH&S workplace
• Define the National Standard
• Relay organizational imperatives
• Outline the 13 Factors