Psychological Health & Safety

Program planning resources to support worker well-being and decrease the risk of work-related psychological injury or illness.

Now more than ever, workers in the broader Public Service in Ontario are at risk for work-related mental injuries due to the frequency and severity of direct and indirect exposure to psychological hazards and psychosocial factors in the workplace.

 

Psychologically healthy and safe workplaces contribute significantly to worker well-being, engagement and performance as well as lower rates of absenteeism, conflict and disability claims. These resources are intended to help workplaces navigate through the development and implementation of a psychological health and safety program regardless of size, complexity or need.   

A guide to support worker well-being

 

A psychological health and safety program supports worker well-being and mitigates risk of work-related psychological injury and illness.

 

PSHSA’s psychological health and safety program guide is designed to provide information, tools and resources to workplaces to support the creation and maintenance of a psychologically healthy and safe workplace. The guide can be used to build a new psychological health and safety program or to identify program gaps in an existing one by offering innovative tools and solutions to enhance or augment your program development and implementation journey.

 

 

Use the program guide to:

  • Learn about related provincial legislation and national/international standards.
  • Familiarize yourself with workplace psychological health and safety and psychosocial factors (as well as additional factors for healthcare).
  • Understand occupational health and safety hazard mitigation concepts at the organizational level and individual job levels.
  • Get informed on psychological health and safety program development and implementation using systematic occupational health and safety and continuous improvement processes.
  • Access resources, tools and checklists to support program development and successful implementation.

phs integrated approach

Not Sure Where to Begin?

 

The PHS Program Checklist is used as an initial gap analysis or needs assessment to determine what the organization currently has in place, whether current-state meets organizational need, and to assist in future program planning.

 

rocket icon

phs checklist image

Psychological Health & Safety Program Components

 

An effective psychological health and safety program designed to mitigate risk of work-related psychological injury or illness requires a focused approach to Prevention, Intervention and Recovery. Each component is equally important and encompasses corresponding elements to support the development and implementation of a comprehensive program.

 

Our program summary provides an overview of the main components and their respective elements that may be included in your psychological health and safety program.

 

programsummary graphic

prevention banner

Prevention

 

The basic elements, such as understanding legal responsibilities, recognizing, assessing and controlling the hazard, developing policies and procedures, outlining roles and responsibilities and incident reporting procedures.

intervention banner

Intervention

 

Actions that can be taken to improve a situation, including ensuring workers know how to respond to and manage psychological events or report psychological injuries when they occur and are supported in doing so.

recovery banner

Recovery/Return to Work

 

Recovery ensures that managers understand how to accommodate a worker who is suffering from a concern or issue, and that there are clearly established roles and responsibilities for supporting workers through this process.

Where Are You on Your PHS Journey?

 

Building a psychological health and safety program may seem like a momentous task. However, in most cases, workplaces already have many program elements in place, perhaps linked to existing programs such as workplace violence prevention.    

 

Recognizing that it may not be feasible to develop and implement a full program all at once, PSHSA’s approach allows workplaces to evaluate readiness, assess current state and approach program development one piece at a time, based on current need. Each program component (Prevention, Intervention, Recovery/Return to Work) is broken down into supporting resources to support workplaces who are Getting Started, Moving Forward or implementing Promising Practices. 

readinesscircles text

Need Help with Your PHS Program?

Contact a PSHSA Health & Safety Consultant in your area for personalized support with building or improving your organization’s Psychological Health and Safety Program and navigating these resources.

CSA Z1003-13 Psychological health and safety in the workplace
The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace is a set of voluntary guidelines, tools and resources intended to guide organizations in promoting mental health and preventing psychological harm at work.
Implementing the Standard for Psychological Health and Safety
Michael Garron Hospital has long championed the implementation of the Standard. This long-standing commitment to a culture shift focused on physical and psychological safety as a strategic priority.
Mental Health
In some occupations, the rate of mental illness or injury is higher because of exposures to traumatic events, cumulative or vicarious trauma. This page explores a wide array of mental health topics including signs and symptoms, the mental health continuum, stigma, and self-care.
Find Your Consultant
For questions regarding training, products or specialized services, contact a PSHSA consultant near you.
eConsulting
Online support you can trust. Get direct access to health and safety expertise via live chat, email or phone.
On-Demand Training. Anytime, Anywhere.
PSHSA offers more than 100 different training courses on a full range of topics, including health and safety certification.