Mental Health Voices
Well it is that time of year again! I am gearing up for the Mental Health Voices breakfast with the Canadian Mental Health Association, Kelowna branch. This is an exciting event where two businesses from the local community are awarded with Mentally Healthy Workplace Awards. These awards recognize businesses who demonstrate leadership in promoting mental health in their workplaces and in our community.
This year the committee received numerous nominations and it was challenging to pick the finalists in both the small and large business categories! Congratulations to The Women’s Place Fitness Centre, Intraline, Paradigm Mortgage Corporation, MNP, QHR Technologies, and Central Okanagan Public Schools (SD 23)!
As mentioned in a previous post, the Mental Health Commission of Canada launched the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace in 2013. The Standard is a voluntary tool to guide organizations across all sizes and sectors to improve workplace psychological health and safety. It identified 13 factors as being crucial for ensuring a mentally healthy workplace. Each award finalist was evaluated with these factors in mind. They include:
1. Psychological Support
2. Organizational Culture
3. Clear Leadership
4. Civility and Respect
5. Psychological Competence
6. Growth and Development
7. Recognition and Reward
8. Involvement
9. Workload
10. Engagement
11. Balance
12. Psychological Protection
13. Physical Safety
On a personal note, I was really inspired by each of these finalists. Each had considered and implemented some positive workplace practices for mental health. And doing so just makes good sense in terms of demonstrating commitment to employee health, boosting recruitment and retention efforts, enhancing productivity, and minimizing costs tied to disability and other benefits. Join us for the breakfast to learn more about what these businesses have done.
In addition to the awards presentation, we have a fantastic keynote speaker, Brian Scudamore. Starting with just one truck and a great idea, Brian Scudamore grew 1-800-GOT-JUNK? into one of North America’s most successful companies. He’s poised to do the same with ventures WOW 1 DAY PAINTING, You Move Me, and the most recent addition to his home service-based empire, Shack Shine. His inspiring talk is entitled "WTF Culture: Let Your Employees Dream Big." He will talk about how in his businesses, failure isn’t the end of the road; in fact, it’s encouraged.
The breakfast is scheduled for November 30, 2016, 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort. Please click here for more information and to purchase tickets.