Facilitate an effective team discussion about addressing and improving psychological and social support in your workplace. The intended outcome is to create a practical and cost-effective action plan that works for your team.
Psychological and social support
In a work environment with positive psychological and social support, all employees feel a sense of belonging and contribution.
In an organization with positive psychological and social support, employees might say:
- When psychological hazards are identified, my employer responds effectively.
- People in my workplace understand the importance of protecting employee psychological safety.
- People with mental health issues are supported to do their jobs effectively.
- People with physical health issues are supported to do their jobs effectively.
- My employer helps employees cope with workplace stress.
In an organization with positive psychological and social support, employees might NOT say:
- I feel lonely when working.
Creating awareness: A team discussion
Engage your entire team in reviewing the factors that impact psychological health and safety in your workplace. This approach is recommended by the National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. By doing this, you build awareness of the responsibility of each employee to contribute to a positive workplace culture. You also get their involvement in developing and being part of the solution.
Creating change: Facilitating policy development
This session builds on employee ideas developed in the Creating awareness workshop. The next step is to engage decision makers in reviewing employee suggestions against evidence- or practice-based approaches. The objective is to modify or create policies and procedures that improve psychological and social support for your organization.
Evidence-based actions for Psychological and social support
Suggested actions are based on research or practice that can improve each psychosocial factor shown. In most cases, free resources are provided to help you move forward, with or without additional funding.
Each of the psychosocial factors identified in Guarding Minds at Work and the National Standard on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace have similar resources that can be found in the On the agenda workshop series.