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Workplace Mental Health Certification | OHSA & AODA Compliance Training Ontario | Diversity Equity & Inclusion Training
Unity in Diversity:
Achieving Mental Health, Safety
and Performance in Today’s Workplace
Do you feel psychologically safe in your workplace today? Do others in your workplace feel safe? Do you feel depressed or anxious? Do others?
The National Safety Council (NSC) conducted a survey of 1,001 workers in the US aged 20-65 from March 23-28, 2022, regarding Workplace Safety Issues and the Correlation with Depression and Anxiety.
Survey results found that respondents who felt unsafe psychologically and physically were three times as likely to have symptoms of depression.
Nearly 25 percent of those who said they are “very unsafe” have symptoms of anxiety “all or most days.”
In 2014 Workright founders Dr. Stephanie Bot and Donna Marshall, MA, conceived and built the Human Rights/Harassment Education Advisory Team (HEART) program based on the premise that
“No One Should Be Afraid To Go To Work.”
We also developed Harassment, DEI and Accessibility courses to support this vision of a workplace safe from discrimination, violence and harassment/sexual harassment…and as a result, free from mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
With a nod to Martin Luther King,
we wrote our vision for safe workplaces
We have a dream…
That every person works in a place where they feel safe,
Where every worker is respected and valued for their contribution,
Where they have the opportunity to grow and reach their potential if they so choose.
We have a dream…
That in these workplaces there is no applause for a person who achieves results through tactics of bullying, harassment, violence and discrimination,
There is no tolerance for people who don’t respect others,
Where workers who mistreat one another are held accountable to the highest standards of respect, and not promoted,
Where whistleblowers are acknowledged for their courage instead of putting their jobs in jeopardy for speaking up.
We have a dream…
Where all workers are protected from risks to their mental health due to psychologically unsafe work conditions,
Where the workplace is founded on respect, encouragement and support with a common goal for organizational success.
We have a dream…
that together we can make a difference.
Dedication
We dedicated the program to Dr. Bot’s extraordinary father:
“This manual is dedicated to the memory of William Bot. An extraordinary gentleman who treated everyone who knew him and worked with him with the utmost dignity and respect. He was a strong model of ethical, responsible and gracious behaviour.
A man with the wonderful gift of making everyone in his midst feel safe and secure. May his legacy be an inspiration to others that all conflicts, disagreements and disappointments can be responded to with reasonable, thoughtful and civilized resolutions.”
Workplace Culture Regression
Leaders today are required to navigate some of the most complicated challenges of our time, often without a comprehensive road map to guide them. DEI, Accessibility, Harassment training is intended to bring people together around mutual understanding and respect for each other. Instead, in some cases the effects of training have morphed into employees feeling confusion, distrust, fear, anger, retribution and lack of psychological and physical safety. Sadly, the impact is sometimes just the opposite of the intended outcome.
People come to work to feel respected and have an equal opportunity to do their jobs with pride and accomplishment and without fear for their psychological safety and mental health. Everyone who interacted with William Bot felt safe, respected and valued. He is a model for all leaders.
To address these complex issues and create psychologically safe workplaces, Workright has developed an approach that serves as a roadmap for leaders and organizations,
including how to:
- Develop a culture of safety and respect
- Train employees and leaders on their rights and responsibilities under mandatory legislative requirements (OHSA & AODA, DEI)
- Hold leaders and employees accountable for disrespectful, threatening or divisive actions and language
- Integrate empathy, self-awareness and accountability-based training into workplace culture
Training alone does not necessarily lead to meaningful change. To transform a toxic work culture, people’s perspectives must change. Workright has a proven approach that is often referred to as “the gold standard” for creating psychological and physical safety in the workplace.
Here is our 3-part solution:
- Create a culture of sensitivity, accountability, consequences and respect
The comprehensive HEART program seamlessly integrates into any workplace, that, if implemented creates a culture of physical and psychological safety.
- Clearly Articulated Standards of Conduct
Through Workright’s compliance and DEI training programs, employees identify the markers of safe conduct and specifically how to communicate and implement these standards throughout the organization. Consequences focus on rehabilitation, not punishment.
- Provide Empathy and Accountability-Based DEI, AODA and Harassment Training
Training that changes hearts and minds first compels learners to examine themselves, their prejudices, biases, language and behaviour. It then provides specific examples and scripts of what to say, what to do, what not to say, and what not to do. Many learners have commented on how the training opened their minds to their own language and biases, and inspired them to change.
Wab Kinew, Canada’s first First Nations premier
(NDP, Manitoba) captured the spirit of unity in diversity when he said in his victory speech (excerpted):
This is a great day for all of us. We reject divisive messages. There is no challenge we cannot meet when we unite…The road ahead is not easy, but we can do amazing things when we stand together. We can accomplish awesome tasks when we stand together. Let us embrace the power of this message, and seek to put respect for all, a focus on our work mission, and the commitment to unity, ahead of division and place it at the forefront of our workplace objectives and culture.
By Donna Marshall, M.A., Counselling Psychology, RP, CEO and Co-Founder
and Dr. Stephanie Bot, C. Psych., Psychoanalyst, President and Co-Founder
BE A LEADER IN WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH
& PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY
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Endorsed by
Donna Marshall
M.A., Counselling Psychology, RP
CEO and Co-Founder
Dr. Stephanie Bot,
C. Psych., Psychoanalyst
President and Co-Founder
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