July 16, 2020
- Adoption of the agenda
The agenda was adopted. - Presentation: Workplace Well-Being Project (Dr. Michael Harber, Policy and Program Entrepreneur, HC)
The Deputy Ministers Task Force on Public Sector Innovation, mandated to play an action-oriented role in experimenting with emerging tools and approaches, has identified workplace well-being as a key priority. With the support of the task force, a team of Government of Canada Entrepreneurs have been exploring how technology-based solutions can be used to better understand and promote workplace well-being in the Public Service. Dr. M. Harber introduced the Workplace Well-Being Project, which is a pilot project aimed at using gamification app-based technologies to promote healthy lifestyle choices and collect real-time data on employees’ workplace well-being.
Although the annual Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) provides valuable information on a number of areas including workplace well-being, it is only administered once a year and results are often dependent on employees’ feelings at the time. The PSES also has limited ability to measure the performance of wellness initiatives at various organizations.
Through the use of a smartphone application called Carrot Rewards, the project aims to use incentives/rewards to encourage employees to adopt healthy lifestyle choices as well providing real-time information on workplace wellness beyond what is collected in the PSES. It is hoped that through the use of this application, employees will be more engaged, more likely to share real-time information about their workplace well-being, as well as offering a better way to assess the performance of wellness initiatives in the workplace (e.g. yoga).
The application will start with an on-boarding survey to establish baselines. Users will then earn rewards for activities such as step challenges (individual and team) and taking short quizzes about important wellness topics. Finally, there will be a follow-up survey to measure changes over the duration of the project. The pilot seeks to engage approximately 1,000 employees across three departments, for period of three months and to monitor the usage rate of the application and data collected.
The Committee acknowledged the value that incentives and rewards have in promoting behavioural change, but had concerns regarding public perception and the Government’s affiliation with rewarding companies. The Committee would be interested to see what the cost per employee would be.
Although the pilot is primarily focused on well-being, a Committee member suggested that its scope could be broadened to address issues related to mental health and that the pilot would benefit from connecting with other health and well-being initiatives currently underway in the Public Service.
Finally, data collection, ownership, privacy and confidentiality were concerns that the Committee felt would need to be addressed. In particular, in situations where self-harm may be evident, the employer’s duty to investigate would need to be clarified. The presenter indicated that this will be an issue that will have to be explored and that they are seeking assistance from others departments to clarify the legalities. - Update from the Sub-Committees:
- Competent Persons
C. Seeton and A. Peart, Co-Chairs of the Competent Persons sub-committee, provided an overview of the work currently underway. A. Peart provided a report on the results of the Competent Persons Selection Process Survey which was sent to OHS Policy Co-Chairs over the summer. It was indicated that the results of the survey will assist the sub-committee in developing resources and materials to guide departments/agencies and address apparent knowledge gaps. The sub-committee is also compiling a list of experience/knowledge requirements to aid in the assessment of competent investigators.
Finally, a communiqué was developed by the sub-committee to assist departments/agencies and policy committees regarding the use of the National Master Standing Offer (NMSO) for appointing an external Competent Person. The draft communiqué was explained and distributed to the Committee and members were asked to provide feedback by November 21, 2018.
It was noted that previous SWOHS communiqués sent to OHS Policy Co-Chairs were not being widely distributed and as such, this communiqué will also be shared with the OHS Community of Practice and should complement TBS’ previous message to departments on the NMSO. - Guarding Minds at Work Survey (GM@W)
A. Peart advised that although the tool is complete, members of the sub-committee are discussing issues regarding tabulation but more importantly, factors associated with roll out and implementation. Discussions will take place with the proprietors of GM@W prior to launching the pilot with two volunteering organizations. - OHS Learning Sub-Committee
B. Christianson and F. Murphy, Co-Chairs of the OHS Learning sub-committee advised that the first meeting is scheduled for November 26, 2018. The sub-committee intends to discuss its mandate, scope, as well as reviewing a previous report on the topic of introductory Health and Safety (H&S) training offered to workplace committee members in departments and agencies.
- Competent Persons
- National Master Standing Offer (NMSO)
F. Murphy raised concerns regarding the current NMSO for appointing external Competent Persons as the list only contains 8 companies with a total of 13 investigators. Departments/agencies are struggling with the limited number of competent investigators and the lack of diversity available. Furthermore, it was indicated that investigators on the NMSO were only subject to initial screening and never thoroughly vetted on their experience and qualifications. Although the NMSO is valid for a period of 5 years, with the impending changes resulting from Bill C-65, it was expressed that the list will need to be revisited. A Committee member had suggested the possibility of considering regional standing offers as opposed to national standing offers as a means to addressing diversity issues and regional/workplace specific problems.
It was agreed that the sub-committee on competent persons would speak to PSPC and the Labour Program about development of any future list. - Nametags at Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
The Committee received a Referral from the Policy Co-Chairs at the CBSA regarding the use of full surnames on CBSA Officers’ name tags. After receiving an overview of the issues at hand, the Committee had a discussion regarding the jurisdiction of the SWOHS to pronounce on the subject given that there are other avenues of recourse to address the current situation. From a SWOHS perspective and to assist departments in meeting their requirements under the Code, there was agreement that the Regulations require employers to review their Hazard Prevention Program every three years and a recommendation to this effect should be made to the Co-Chairs. - Standing Items:
- Bill C-65
The Bill’s progress was discussed during the course of the other agenda items. The Bill has received Royal Assent and the Committee continues to monitor regulatory developments. - Asbestos
J.R. Tourigny, PSPC representative, advised that the Regulations concerning asbestos will come into force December 2018. - Legionella
J.R. Tourigny, PSPC representative, advised that there have been recent cases of legionella reported originating from cooling towers. Further updates will be provided at future meetings.
Committee members agreed that SWOHS should develop a communiqué on legionella which should be distributed in the spring and prior to air conditioning season.
- Bill C-65
- Round table
N/A - Next Meeting
- January 17, 2019
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 p.m.