Canadian HR Reporter

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"We have absolute evidence now of the value of using the stan- dard as a framework," said Mary Ann Baynton, program director at the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace in Waterdown, Ont. "Implementing psychological health and safety initiatives are not something that's 'nice to do.' Now, if you're a smart business- person, you're going to do this. If you can maximize your employee energy, then you can maximize your organizational success." Many companies used to think — and some still do — that mental health in the workplace is a "nice- to-have," that there isn't really a business case that's strong enough for the employer being involved in the mental health space, said Sha- rone Bar-David, a Toronto-based respectful workplace expert. "But I think what these results prove unequivocally is that it pays off on the business side," she said. Additionally, even the language choice around the standard has helped move mental health pre- vention, care and awareness into the occupational health and safety realm, said Diana Vissers, an oc- cupational health consultant in Maple Ridge, B.C. "To me, that is the biggest im- pact of the standard," she said. "It's a really important tool and something Canada should be really proud of. We're the first country to produce it, so we are setting, literally, the standard for the world." It appears the standard is hav- ing a positive impact in the work- place, said Sean Simpson, vice- president of Ipsos Public Affairs in Toronto, "with employees in or- ganizations who are implement- ing the standard being much less likely to describe their workplace as one that is concerning from a psychological health and safety standpoint." And while the standard could be simply one of many factors at work within individual organiza- tions, the statistical evidence re- mains "significant," according to Simpson. Workers at organizations im- plementing the standard missed five fewer days on average per year due to depression, said Baynton. Alongside that, all 13 psycho- social factors identified in the standard — from psychological support to protection of physical safety — also score higher in orga- nizations attempting to adhere to the standard. "It's actually really encourag- ing," said Bar-David. "(But) it's way too early to rest on our laurels. e trend is moving nicely, but there's still a lot of work to be done." Areas of concern However, one of the standard's founders said much more needs to be done to ensure the docu- ment incurs the success desired upon its inception. "I understand the need to be celebratory about the standard but, at the same time, I think we need to be a little bit more dis- passionate about it," said Martin Shain, a workplace mental health expert in Caledon, Ont. "We bet- ter give it a bit more teeth, which it doesn't have." "We need to make it a higher priority. If this issue is as serious as everybody says it is, then we need to allocate more resources to it and think about regulation." e survey also found just six per cent of respondents said they are aware their organization is implementing the standard, and only 12 per cent know the stan- dard exists. at's a concern, said Shain, es- pecially since it was intended to be a participatory philosophy. "If people don't know that the standard is being implemented, it probably isn't being," he said. "In order for the standard to be implemented fully, everybody in the workplace has to understand what's being done and why it's be- ing done. e future of this stan- dard depends on it being seen and implemented as an occupational health and safety standard with full HR collaboration, of course." People seem to know more about this topic than they used to but it's still a relatively small proportion who are aware of the standard at all, said Simpson, "so there's obviously work to be done in ensuring that the awareness of the standard is widespread." But Bar-David dismissed the idea employees need to be aware of the standard's implementation. "What's relevant to the em- ployees is what they are seeing in terms of programs and support in the workplace," she said. "e standard is more a tool for the professionals behind the scenes." Advice for HR HR need not feel overwhelmed at the perceived complexity or enormity of the standard, said Bar-David, noting the document can be implemented in portions, and at any pace desired. "e standard offers a very co- herent and cohesive framework, but you can also do piecemeal," she said. "When you take action on mental health, you will see results." Because the standard pushes philosophies designed to overhaul corporate strategy and mental health management, employers may be intimidated initially. "Many employers see it as a bit unwieldy," said Vissers. "It can appear at first to be quite technical. It can feel like a big project. (But) the research and evidence is clear that the stan- dard is a way to put mental health care right into everyday practices in your workplace. Mental health care makes good business sense." HR practitioners under the pressure of budgetary constraints may need to convince senior lead- ership of the standard's value, she said. "It's not legislated right now," said Vissers. "Adopting occupa- tional health and safety-legislated requirements is a bit more of a stick approach. is is more of a carrot." Psychological health and safety is basically the way people inter- act on a daily basis so it involves management at a significantly greater level than physical health and safety in terms of their behav- iour, said Baynton. "Management is often in the office, not on the shop floor." Going forward Still, to push the urgency of the mental health conversation even further, legislation of at least the assessment portion of the stan- dard may be required, according to Shain. "It is a major step forward in the evolution of relationships in the workplace, in terms of how people treat one another," he said. "But the problem is that for all the downloads and publicity about it, it's not being implemented in enough organizations." "We really need to move the agenda ahead in terms of thinking about regulation of at least part of the standard." 'We need to make it a higher priority' STANDARD < pg. 1

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