MONTREAL – Bell says its supporting the new national Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace standard, developed by CSA Group and Bureau de normalisation du Québec in collaboration with the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Development of the voluntary standard was supported by funding from Bell, the Government of Canada, and the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace.
The first of its kind in the world, the standard offers guidance to Canadian businesses and other organizations in addressing mental health and mental illness in the workplace. With 500,000 Canadians missing work each day because of a mental illness, the impact in lost labour-market participation was an estimated $20.7 billion in 2012 alone.
"A cooperative effort between health care experts, government, labour and corporations, this unique new standard will support and promote mental health in the workplace and the broader community," said George Cope, President and CEO of Bell Canada and BCE. "As part of the Bell Let's Talk mental health initiative, we are dedicated to implementing programs and practices that support the mental health of all Bell team members, and to working with other Canadian organizations in the development of their own mental health programs."
Bell has undertaken a number of initiatives to foster a psychologically healthy and safe work environment, including mental health training for all Bell managers and an innovative return-to-work program for team members affected by mental illness.
"Bell looks forward to integrating the national standard for psychological health and safety into our extensive workplace mental health approach," said Mary Deacon, Chair of the Bell Let's Talk mental health initiative. "Workplace support is essential to good mental health, and we encourage all Canadian corporations to embrace this voluntary standard as part of their own mental health initiatives."
Bell Let's Talk is a 5-year, $50-million program to promote Canadian mental health based on 4 action pillars: anti-stigma, care and access, research, and workplace best practices. With Bell Let's Talk Day as its anti-stigma centrepiece, Bell's initiative provides significant funding for leading mental health hospitals and grassroots organizations, driving new workplace initiatives across corporate Canada, and supporting new research.
