What are ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPORTS?

Both physical and social environments at a workplace can have an effect on an employee’s health. Considering that many employees spend a significant number of their waking hours at work, the factors and conditions of an employee’s work life have a great impact upon their overall health and well-being. Increasing knowledge and helping employees build skills are necessary steps in promoting health. Supportive environments that facilitate and encourage healthy living at work help employees sustain those healthy behaviours.  

Physical Environment

There are obvious ways that the physical environment can affect health, such as noise level, lighting, air quality and workstation design. The physical environment can also include tangible services that are made available to employees such as healthy food choices in vending machines or the cafeteria. The presence or absence of these types of tangible services may have a positive or negative effect on an employee’s health and well-being.

Social Environment

There are many ways that the social environment may impact employees’ health: work schedules, balancing work and home responsibilities, work organization, the quality of interpersonal relationships at work and the availability of training and support. Also, how an employee perceives the quality of their social environment at work can have either a positive or negative effect on their health.

Benefits of Environmental Supports

Environmental Supports help to:

• Motivate employees to start or continue with positive health behaviours;
• Stimulate employees who have not been involved in changing their health to consider adopting positive health behaviours; and,
• Reduce employee health risk at the workplace by providing a safe working environment.

What Does ‘Keep Health In Mind’ Mean?

Mental illness is on the rise in Canada, with 1 in 5 Canadians expected to experience a mental illness in their lifetime. While better screening and more effective treatments are required, there is also a need for strategies to reduce the likelihood of developing a mental illness. One key area of concern is employees who experience chronically high stress levels. This is significant as many mental health problems may be related, in part, to high stress levels.

The purpose of this initiative is to raise awareness about the importance of achieving and maintaining positive mental health. In the same way that physical health is important, our mental health is also important to our overall health and well-being.

 In additon to considering the “prevention” side of mental illness, it is also important to consider how to effectively support those people who have a mental illness. This includes supporting those people who return to work after an acute episode of their mental illness.

To help reduce the likelihood of developing a mental illness, there are several approaches to take in developing positive mental health, including reducing high stress levels, building good coping skills, and having supportive networks. In addition, getting regular physical activity and eating a healthy diet can help improve or maintain a sense of mental well-being.

Supportive Environments and Policies that Promote and Support Mental Health

The following suggestions show how a workplace can encourage and support employees in their efforts to develop and maintain positive mental health. In addition, suggestions are provided on how to support employees who have a mental illness. We recognize that all workplaces are unique and that not all suggestions will apply to all workplaces. Consider those that may be suitable to your workplace environment.

Mental Health Promotion

Flexible Work Schedules    

Consider offering alternative work arrangements or flexible work schedules such as compressed work weeks, working from home, modified or reduced work weeks, part-time, or job sharing. This goes a long way in helping employees balance their personal and work lives.

Improving Workplace Communication

Consider ways that channels of communication between employees and management can be improved. This may help solve problems and address issues regarding unclear job roles and responsibilities before they escalate to cause chronically high stress levels for employees as well as managers.
Walking GroupsEncourage the development of walking groups at your workplace by obtaining copies of the “Windsor-Essex Walks at Work” resource, available from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, 258-2146 ext. 3109.

Bike-friendly Workplace

Support the development of a “bike-friendly” workplace by considering the following:

• Provide bike racks for employees to use when commuting to and from work;

• Assist in organizing a workplace bike social club in which employees commute to work together on their bikes or plan recreational bike rides on their days off.

• Offer subsidies for bike safety equipment such as helmets, lights, or locks.      

Work-Life Balance Survey

Implement a work-life balance survey with employees to identify specific needs and how you can address them at your workplace. For more information on work-life balance, visit: http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/worklife_balance.html

Stretch Breaks

Offer 10-minute group stretch breaks during work time. Invite a Certified Fitness Professional to train a number of employees who can then organize group stretch breaks in their own work area.

Massage Therapy

Consider offering massage therapy sessions by a Registered Massage Therapist on a monthly basis during employee break times. Or, organize a monthly raffle for a number of gift certificates to a local massage clinic or spa.
Employee Assistance ProgramProvide an Employee Assistance Program to assist employees who are at risk of or currently managing a mental illness by providing counselling and referral services. In addition to assisting the employee with the mental illness, EAP programs should also assist employees who are spouses, partners or parents of those who have a mental illness.

Support for Employees with Mental Illness

Comprehensive Mental Health Policy

Consider developing a comprehensive mental health policy that addresses mental health promotion as well as mental illness treatment and management. This may include:

• Support for assisting employees to stay mentally fit (see suggestions above).

• Staff training about mental illnesses to help reduce the stigma and discrimination. This will help encourage employees to seek treatment, as opposed to trying to conceal their symptoms while at work.

• Management training on the warning signs of mental health problems in the workplace.

• How to effectively approach an employee who might have a mental health problem.

• How to accommodate employees who have a mental illness fulfill their job responsibilities successfully.

For more information on mental health workplace issues and policies, visit these websites: 

Conference Board of Canada http://www.conferenceboard.ca/: Offers a 15-page booklet that provides advice on preventing and recognizing mental health problems, getting employees the help they need, and planning for an employee's return to work.

Mental Health Works http://www.mentalhealthworks.ca/employers/index.asp:  Offers online resources, workshops and consulting services, including an online guide called, “Working It Out: A Manager’s Guide to Mental Health and Accommodation in the Workplace”.

Workplace Health Promotion Wellness Program Award

Apply for a Working Toward Wellness Workplace Wellness Award. To receive this award, a workplace must meet criterion that includes having health and wellness policies and environmental supports in place. For more information contact the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit at 258-2146 ext. 3100.

For a list of Supportive Environments suggestions on a variety of wellness topics, go to www.wechealthunit.org. Click on Workplace Wellness Program and follow the links to the various health topics.

Key Reference:
Health Canada. (2002). A report on mental illness in Canada. (Catalogue No. 0-662-32817-5). Ottawa, Canada: Health Canada Editorial Board Mental Illness in Canada.