May 21, 2021
- Adoption of the agenda
The agenda was adopted. - Presentation:Guarding Minds at Work 4.0 – Updates to Reflect Psychosocial Health and Safety
Mary Ann Baynton, Director of Collaboration and Strategy, Workplace Strategies for Mental Health, and Emma Ashurst, Manager Inquiries and Technical Services, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), provided an overview of the updated Guarding Minds at Work The project began in 2009 to address the question: how do you decide where to start and where to spend limited resources when approaching psychological health and safety. In the early stages of the project, the focus was to help employees who already were diagnosed with a mental illness. It was noted that this has evolved to protect the psychological safety of every employee, similar to protecting the physical safety of every employee.
In 2020, it was noted that a literature review was conducted by graduate students who researched every psychosocial factor by: reviewing peer-reviewed articles from the last five (5) years; identifying valid and generalizable conclusions that added to existing knowledge; suggesting descriptions that led to less overlap among the factors; and statements were reorganized by factor to support this distinction. It was also noted that there were statements that were modified and statements that were added to address inclusivity, exposure to trauma in the workplace, stress, and sexual harassment. Ultimately, the goal of the revised Guarding Minds at Work tool was to become more effective. The suggested changes were reviewed by three (3) groups: the technical committee for the National Standard on psychological health and safety, the experts from the ISO 45003 committee for psychological health and safety, and the Workplace Safety and Prevention Services.
M. Baynton shared the new and modified statements found in the tool. It was noted that the term “burnout” was new language that was included because certain individuals will not state that they have a mental illness, but will indicate they are experiencing burnout, which can lead to mental illness and less productivity. M. Baynton noted that engagement was an area that was expanded on, and the statements ask “Are you committed to your team?” rather than “Are you committed to doing good work?” The reason for this was to address whether an individual feels included and a part of a team. It was further noted that the tool asks a question on whether employees are offered training and if they are given adequate time to complete this training. M. Baynton explained that they included a question that asks whether the employer makes an effort to prevent harm to employees from unsafe behaviors by clients, customers or patients. It was also noted that there are statements that address psychological safety, persons with disabilities, and coping with workplace stress.
The presenter went through the specific areas of concern statements, which are answered “yes/no”. It was noted that if one individual answers “yes” to these statements, the organization should investigate and act. These questions addressed topics such as trauma, psychological health, and discrimination.
Following the survey, there are resources and tools to help guide managers once they receive the survey results. M. Baynton explained that each statement has an action attached to it in order to support the team, and an action to address the broader policies and processes that the organization can take. It was noted that there are two series that are being developed; the awareness series and the change series. The awareness series focuses on the frontline employees to ask what each of the Guarding Minds at Work factors mean to them and what the employer could to imbed these factors into the employees’ environment. The change series focuses on policies and processes.
E. Ashurst provided a summary of the changes made to the Guarding Minds at Work website. It was also noted that the report has been simplified with new calculations, the breakdown of the factors, and the new results display. For those interested, it was recommended to download a sample report to view these changes. It was noted that if you had an account for the previous version of the Guarding Minds at Work tool, you would be able to access this information until the end of this year.
The Committee was pleased with the presentation and the evolution of the Guarding Minds at Work tool. A question was asked as to whether previous survey results would be valid to use as a benchmark for future surveys. M. Baynton noted that the names of the psychosocial factors did not change, however, it is not recommended to do a direct comparison except for when the statements from the old version have remained the same. J. Ryan questioned how the data was being used once collected and whether areas of concern are dealt with. It was noted that there is a step in the process to engage employees in the solutions; however, Workplace Strategies for Mental Health is a free resource for organizations to use and it is not within their authority to hold organizations accountable for what they do with this data from the tool. Following a question about privacy concerns with the tool, it was explained that individuals who complete the survey cannot be identified.
It was explained that the presentation was given to the Joint Employment Equity Committee (JEEC) and that the members had indicated the importance of including demographic questions in the survey. It was further noted that it would be beneficial to conduct a national survey to include demographic questions in order to produce the data at a national level. A. Peart noted that examining how to overlap the data from this tool and that of the Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) is critical in order for departments to understand how to use this information. E. Ashurst noted that the PSES questions have adapted a number of their questions to the Guarding Minds at Work survey questions. - Discussion: Development of training materials on the upcoming Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations
Julie Richer Gobuyan, Director, Learning, Respectful and Inclusive Workplace / Learning Programs Branch and Guy Filteau, Health and Safety and Mental Health Learning and Development Specialist, Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) discussed the upcoming learning modules that will address the new Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations coming into effect January 1, 2021. It was explained that there have been consultations with various public servant groups to develop this training, one of these being the SWOHS OHS Learning sub-committee and the CSPS.
G. Filteau explained that an environmental scan has been completed to examine the various options currently available to develop this training and it was decided to work in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). The CCOHS had developed three (3) online modules to meet Bill C-65 training obligations with respect to the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations. It was explained that Module 1 was developed to train all employees and discusses the legislative requirements, risk factors, domestic violence, identifying and reporting occurrences, and supportive measures. Module 2 will focus on training for supervisors, managers, workplace committee members and representatives to discuss the responsibilities of the employer representatives, the legislative requirements for managers, workplace assessments, implementing recommendations from investigation reports, the resolution process, and reporting. Lastly, Module 3 will focus on training for the designated recipient and other specialists.
The online modules are intended to be provided to departments prior to the new Regulations coming into effect. At the moment, the CSPS has ten (10) courses that will be updated to reflect the new Regulations. It was mentioned that a corporation, the Respect Group, provides training that incorporates Bill C-65 and the changes to the Regulations. It was asked if any members on the SWOHS Committee would be interested in examining the Respect Group training to provide input on the material and provide feedback as to whether the CSPS should incorporate this material into their training.
The CSPS plans to host an event on Bill C-65 in November to explain the changes that will come from the new Regulations and the tools that will available for this. It was noted that it would be beneficial to inform the OHS community that this training is being developed and was suggested that the SWOHS Committee develop a communiqué to address this. It was noted from the Committee that the module for the designated recipient is important to be released earlier than the other modules as it is the designated recipient who must be trained prior to January 1, 2021. - Update from the Sub-Committees:
- Competent Persons
The Competent Persons sub-committee met prior to the meeting to adjust the Assessment Tool and the Statement of Work documents to reflect the new Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations. These documents were circulated to the Committee prior to the meeting and it was requested that members review these documents and provide their feedback. - OHS Training/Learning Sub-Committee
Nil report.
- Competent Persons
- Standing Items
- Asbestos
Nil report. - Legionella
A. Peart noted that there had been a discussion about the applicability of Part X of the Regulations and the current pandemic, to which the Labour Program had advised against the use of Part X and instead apply Part XIX. While it was noted that this perspective likely relates to COVID-19 and not to biological hazards, the Committee should consider this challenge in the upcoming months with respect to legionella.
- Asbestos
- Round table
C. Zovatto thanked the Committee for providing the feedback on the draft Directive on the Prevention and Resolution of Workplace Harassment and Violence as well as the draft Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Policy Template. These documents will be shared with the Committee once more to review. It was noted that many departments have indicated a need for a policy template and therefore, the Policy Template may be released prior to the Directive. - Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled on November 19, 2020.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m.