Mental Wellness at Work

Mental wellness isn’t a checkbox, it’s a culture. This intermediate-level program explores how leaders and colleagues can promote wellness by focusing on recognition, influence, involvement, work-life balance, clear expectations, and other psychological health and safety factors identified by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

TOPIC: COLLABORATION

LEVEL: Intermediate

Core Skills & Behaviours

Combat mental health stigma: Recognize personal biases regarding mental health and challenge sanist assumptions in oneself and others. Directly address bullying and harassment.
Prevent burnout: Rather than reward unhealthy overwork and toxic competition, model healthy work habits and the appropriate use of accommodations.
Support self-expression and belonging: Invite individual self-expression to reduce the need for “masking” identities (e.g. race, religion, or neurodivergence) at work and deepen belonging.
Maximize participation: Look for ways to enhance the influence, involvement, and recognition of team members, especially those in lower-status roles. Use direct consultation and clear feedback mechanisms to encourage participation.
Prioritize physical health and safety: Challenge unsafe policies or practices and appropriately escalate health and safety issues.

	Snippet title	Topic covered
1	Where Should I Pray?	Illustrates the importance of religious inclusion to mental wellness in the workplace. Suggests seeking company-wide solutions when policies and practices are not religiously and culturally inclusive.
2	A Bit Jumpy	Demonstrates the appropriate response to behaviours that are consistent with PTSD, a common and serious mental health condition. Equips learners to support colleagues from a trauma-informed perspective.
3	Who Gets the Glory?	Demonstrates the importance of recognition for everyone, not just high-status employees. Suggests that every person should contribute to a culture of recognition.
4	The Surprise Announcement	Shows that influence and involvement are key to mental wellness in the workplace, particularly for people whose identities are already marginalized. Suggests consultation and feedback mechanisms and Employee Resource Groups as solutions.
5	Katie’s Kids	Demonstrates the value of work-life balance and strong boundaries for mental wellness. Suggests that colleagues with caretaking responsibilities benefit from planning and flexibility rather than a culture of overwork.
6	The Offset	Highlights the importance of alignment between work and values with emphasis on the experience of Millennial and GenZ workers.
7	She’s Unpredictable	Demonstrates how stigma in the workplace negatively impacts people who have or who develop mental health challenges. Suggests supportive actions colleagues can take when someone’s struggle becomes apparent.
8	The Headache	Highlights the impact of workplace health and safety on employees’ mental wellness. Encourages appropriate levels of concern and escalation for health and safety issues.
9	The Indian Guys	Demonstrates how casual or subtle acts of racism can be compounded, affecting mental wellbeing. Suggests developing clear standards of conduct instead of minimizing missteps.
10	The Deadline	Shows how to respond to colleagues’ shortcomings while maintaining psychological safety. Emphasizes the role of leaders in modeling mental health awareness.

What learners are saying

“As a younger person without dependents, it’s important for me to think about accommodations for some of my coworkers who do have others relying on them for care. At some point in my life I might need accommodations in my workplace, but even if I don’t, I want to try to be aware of their needs and try to help however I can.”

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