Psychological health and safety policy recommendations

A group of executives, labour leaders, health and safety professionals, government agency representatives and experts in law and policy came together to look at the implications of Dr. Martin Shain's paper entitled Tracking the Perfect Legal Storm: Converging systems create mounting pressure to create the psychologically safe workplace. The group was tasked with considering what employers need to know and access to provide a psychologically safe workplace in today's economic environment.

The following adaptation takes the five elements of a standard management approach (policy, planning, implementation, evaluation and review) and applies it against different employment life cycle stages.

Use this to help guide your own policy planning and review.

In addition, the On the agenda creating change workshop series provides you with a format and materials to facilitate a policy planning session with your decision makers. Each of the sessions in the series covers one of the psychosocial factors named in the National standard.

Recruiting and hiring

The hiring procedure is the first impression of your organization and its leadership – what it's like to work with you, how your organization values its employees, and the workplace culture a new recruit can expect.

Policy and commitment

• Articulate the values of the organization and how they will be upheld or measured
• Define psychological health and safety for new recruits
• Define psychologically safe leadership for new recruits
• State that no negligent, reckless or intentional injury to employee mental health is tolerated or condoned
• State the organization’s commitment to supporting employees who may have mental or physical disabilities, who are part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, or from any racialized or marginalized group.
• Communicate consequences for violations

Planning

• In the hiring process, consider the psychological demands of the role being hired for, as well as the required emotional and social skills
• Consider leadership skills in selection and promotion of those whose roles involve supervision or support of employees
• Where permitted by law, ensure your organizations uses inclusive hiring practices | PDF, such as the 40% rule where there is a mandate of a minimum requirement of 40% women and 30% racial minority candidates at the first stage of every interview process  
• Ensure the hiring process includes consideration of psychological safety for interviewees 

Implementation

• Discuss your process for accommodation and any organizational supports as well as the process to obtain assistance in the workplace
• Define the cultural and social expectations or norms of your organization 
• Increase psychological comfort by considering recruiting options such as:
  
  • Sharing the interview process in advance
  • Providing written questions at the time of the interview
  • Offering a choice of sequential versus panel interviews, and ensuring the interview panel is diverse | PDF
  • Offering the option of in-person or virtual interviews to provide flexibility for the interviewee’s current personal and professional obligations

Evaluation and correction actions

• Provide a review of job-fit within 3 to 6 months of hiring to assess the effectiveness of your recruiting practices
  • Measure job satisfaction and engagement, as well as performance
  • If necessary, provide additional relevant training and support
  • If changes are needed, review again in another 3 to 6 months as necessary
• Survey all recent hires about their experience with the recruiting and hiring process, and use their feedback as part of continual improvement.

Review

• Conduct an annual review of recruiting and hiring practices overall and an analysis of the outcomes

Orientation and training

Integrate psychological health and safety principles into all orientation and training protocols, especially for leaders, to support continual improvement.

Policy and commitment

• Require that the organization’s values be embedded in the orientation and all training approaches
• For each value, share examples of the behaviours, words and actions that could support it
• Ensure the principles of psychological health and safety, including psychologically safe leadership, discrimination prevention and inclusion, are embedded in training, policies, strategies, changes, and processes

Planning

• Consider how all orientation and training processes (or their absence) may impact psychological health and safety
• Ensure psychologically safe leadership strategies are embedded in training for both potential and existing leaders
• Ensure discrimination prevention and inclusivity strategies are embedded in training for employees at all levels 

Implementation

• Develop an orientation program that takes into account psychological safety on the job, the culture, rates of change within the organization, application of organizational values, and how to access support or accommodation
• Ensure your orientation program includes information that clearly defines what discrimination is, what it can look like, next steps if an employee experiences discrimination in the workplace and what to do if they witness another employee experiencing discrimination at work
• Review all current and future orientation and employee training programs to make sure they include inclusive language, practices, and policies
• Adjust orientation and training curriculum for newcomers who may require English as a second language support, orientation to workplace jargon and terminology, or ongoing training and mentorship
• Set up a leadership development process that includes:
  
  • Awareness of what mental health and mental illness is, and a process they would use to support employees experiencing mental illness 
  • Development of interpersonal competence like emotional intelligence
  • Strategies to prevent discrimination and create an inclusive work environment
  • Access to just-in-time resources so they can support employees experiencing physical injury or illness, mental illness, grief and loss, financial stress, or another crisis
  • Psychologically safe leadership strategies and frameworks 
  • Ongoing coaching and mentoring
• Set up a shorter orientation process for job changes within the organization

Evaluation and correction actions

• Require all training and orientation to be assessed for impact on behavior of the trainee and others, as well as outcomes
• Ask what challenges there were in new job placements to learn how to improve orientation and training approaches
• Ask about training requirements and training refreshers to understand the needs
• Consider the use of the Psychologically safe leader assessment for continual improvement

Review

• Do scheduled reviews of organization-wide, department, and job-specific orientation and training approaches and compare to other measures of psychological safety and engagement
• Review the impact individual leaders have on the psychological health and safety of their direct reports

Evaluation, performance management, discipline and promotion

It’s important to evaluate both individual employees and management strategies to ensure the optimization of productivity. 

Policy and commitment

• Require senior leaders and those responsible for governance to model organizational values and best practices 
• Ensure all leaders express their understanding and commitment to psychologically safe leadership including discrimination prevention and inclusion
• Support psychologically safe leadership through policies and processes that recognize and reward safe leadership practices 

Planning

• Develop a system that supports psychological safety in the approach to management, evaluation, discipline and promotion
• Engage leaders in developing solutions that allow them to balance psychologically safe leadership with meeting organizational objectives

Implementation

• Ensure those in leadership positions are competent to manage in a psychologically safe way or develop this skill
• Create a Performance management system that rules out health problems, implicit bias, and discrimination before beginning discipline
• Engage employees in developing solutions that allow them to accomplish the tasks assigned
• Help supervisors and managers to Identify employee issues for leaders promptly
• Have leaders embed solution-focused approaches in Employee concerns

Evaluation and correction actions

• Take regular account of productivity by measuring both outcomes and outputs. You can do this by measuring results of tasks and projects as well as the effort made to achieve the desired outcome like the amount of hours put in, new skills learned and applied, resources used, etc. 
• Consider external influences on performance, such as economic pressures, family or health issues, disasters or traumatic events within the employee’s community, as well as leadership approaches, employee conflict, and organizational pressures

Review

• Consider the impact of the various management strategies and whether they result in desired outcomes
• Consider pilot projects to test out alternative approaches

Grief, loss and crisis response

This is a critical time to ensure psychologically safe approaches and the availability of supports for all concerned. 

Policy and commitment

• Require clear standards of response for each job role in the event an employee experiences a loss or there is a crisis in the work environment

Planning

• Ensure crisis response actions include aspects related to those who:
  
  • Have mental or physical disabilities
  • Are part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community
  • Are from a racialized or marginalized group that may be more likely to experience painful events within their community that require support at work  
• Ensure that grief, loss and bereavement policies consider:
  
  • Actions that can support an employee whose ability to meet their job role requirements is impacted because they are caring for someone who is terminally ill 
  • Different types of loss that employees can experience, including but not limited to the loss of a relative, miscarriage, fertility loss, loss of a pet, loss of a friend, loss of a community member, or different types of family structures 
  • The different customs and traditions practiced within an employee’s community, culture, or background that may require support or time off not recognized in current policies 
  • The physical distance an employee may have to travel to attend a funeral or ceremony and whether that will require additional paid or unpaid leave
  • What supports are in place for the employee when they return. This could include access to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), grief and loss counselling, community support groups, and accommodations like reduced job requirements, hours, or tasks.

Implementation

• Develop actions for proactive crisis prevention
• Create bereavement policies to support employees experiencing grief and loss and include how it will support employees who have lost someone outside of the stereotypical family structure. For example in Indigenous or other communities, someone may be as attached to an aunt, uncle or grandparent as others might be to a biological parent
• Create action plans to support employees whose community has experienced a traumatic event. Ensure the plan engages people from that community to support the affected employees
• Develop intervention programs to assist troubled employees
• Ensure Employee assistance programs (EAP) are relevant to your organization

Evaluation and correction actions

• Assess each program’s efficacy and relevance to need

Review

• Review all programs, look for synergies, and consider gaps

Accommodation and return to work

Although every situation must be treated as unique, following best practices that align with human rights legislation will support success.

Policy and commitment

• Ensure leaders are physically present and communicate effectively during accommodation and return to work
• Ensure that leaders have the necessary skills and resources to support the success of employees being accommodated or returning to work whether due to a physical health issue, a mental health illness, or having experienced a loss 
• Consider use of the tool Supporting employee success

Planning

• Define accommodation opportunities that address issues related to communication, feedback, directions, relationships, triggers and stressors in the workplace as well as task-oriented approaches
• Consider the impact on others during accommodation and return to work planning
• Proactively remove or reduce barriers to work-related psychological safety and support

Implementation

• Create a return-to-work process that includes consideration of psychological impacts  for physical injuries, illness, and loss
• Consider refresher or new training for anyone who has been away for 2 months or more, or during a time of change in processes or procedures
• Develop an accommodation approach that engages the employee fully in finding solutions that allow them to be successful at their job
• Support supervisors in understanding and sustaining all aspects of a successful return to work including changes in communication and feedback

Evaluation and correction action

• Follow up regularly for at least the first 6 months of a return to work
• Follow up at least annually for accommodation to ensure it is still the most effective solution
• Make sure all needs are being met

Review

• Review the plan annually against changes in human rights or disability legislation and for effectiveness from the perspective of employee and supervisor
• Make changes as needed

Redeployment and termination

Consider the impact on all stakeholders including managers, human resources, union reps and workers.

Policy and commitment

• Mandate leaders to be physically present and communicate effectively, in a psychologically safe manner, during times of layoff or redeployment
• Review Termination and layoff planning

Planning

• Explore community resources, organizational or benefit provider resources and external providers for approaches and supports available to those who are losing their jobs
• Consider the psychological impact on employees who remain at the organization, as well as those who must facilitate downsizing, layoffs or redeployments
• In times of significant change consider the psychological impact of job insecurity, lack of role clarity, competition or collaboration with new employees or replacements, and changing or unclear expectations or values

Implementation

• Provide targeted training programs and ongoing support for those managing organizational change, those who are involved with the termination process, and those responsible for delivering the termination message to employees
• Ensure the availability of resources to support the employee in dealing with the emotional fallout and subsequent job search
• Consider the needs of those who may have mental health issues at the time of termination and the psychological safety of those who are terminating

Evaluation and correction action

• Interview both those employees who are let go and those who remain about the perception of the company and leadership response to layoff or redeployment to gather feedback

Review

• Prepare for possible future situations by having plans in place or consider next steps if the event has already occurred

Organizational structure

Policy and commitment

• Consider the potential psychological impact from governance, new developments and existing organizational structures
• Require integration of psychological safety in existing and future programs

Planning

• Collect data that will help guide the development or evolution of the organizational structure and include a focus on psychological impact
• Analyze data and involve stakeholders in developing alternative approaches
• Consider the psychological impact of communication and feedback loops, job security, role clarity, levels of competition and collaboration, clarity of expectations, values and policies

Implementation

• Ensure psychological safety for all positions including those that utilize non-standard approaches such as telecommuting, working alone and other flexible work arrangements

Evaluation and correction action

• Audit programs to ensure that psychological factors are measured and addressed at regular intervals

Review

• Review results using continuous improvement framework

Job design

Policy and commitment

• Organizational policy should include a process to assess healthy and safe job design. For example, a job risk assessment and cognitive demands analysis

Planning

• Plan and review jobs to ensure psychological demands are assessed and psychological safety is addressed

Implementation

• Ensure job design for those in supervisory or management positions includes adequate time to provide a psychologically safe work environment

Evaluation and correction action

• Seek feedback from those in the jobs to assess if the design is psychologically safe and clearly defined
• Make adjustments as necessary

Review

• Review job design when new jobs are developed or when there are significant changes to jobs