Regina, Sask., April 14, 2021 – In the past five years, psychological health claims have been on the rise across the province. To address these issues in the province, WorkSafe Saskatchewan (the partnership between the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) and the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety) has launched a comprehensive online psychological health and safety resource centre. The centre provides employers and workers with resources to help develop psychologically healthy and safe workplaces.
“We’re very excited to launch the Psychological Health and Safety Resource Centre in partnership with Dr. Joti Samra,” said Kevin Mooney, the WCB’s vice-president of prevention and employer services. “Over the past several years, we’ve seen Saskatchewan workplaces dealing with unique psychological health and safety challenges. That reinforces the importance of providing Saskatchewan employers and workers with the tools they need to support mental health and safety in their workplaces.”
The resource centre is part of a long-term strategy developed in partnership with Samra, one of Canada’s foremost psychological health and wellness experts. Dr. Joti Samra is a national expert on issues relating to psychological health, wellness and resilience. Her research has contributed significantly to the evolution and development of a national standard for psychological health and safety in the workplace. She is also the CEO and Founder of MyWorkplaceHealth, a full-suite national workplace consulting firm and Clinic Founder of Dr. Joti Samra, Psych. & Associates, a clinical counselling practice.
Psychological health claims still only account for a small percentage of the workplace claims submitted in Saskatchewan, but in recent years, those numbers are on the rise. From 2016 to 2020, the WCB has accepted 1,128 psychological injury claims. The number of accepted psychological injury claims has increased to 274 in 2020 from 109 in 2016.
The resource centre offers a variety of tools and resources to help Saskatchewan employers and workers develop psychological health and safety programs in their workplaces or enhance their existing efforts. In addition to tools for leaders and workers, the resource centre has a comprehensive list of provincial mental health resources, as well as webinars and workshops.
The centre also provides answers to some commonly asked questions about psychological health and safety and lists contact information for community mental health resources in Saskatchewan.
“Our team is very honoured to be working with WorkSafe Saskatchewan towards creating this publicly available resource centre on Psychological Health and Safety (PH&S) that organizations are able to freely access to help them through their journey. Research statistics don’t lie – conservatively, one out of five of us will experience a psychological or mental health issue or illness every single year. Over the past year, we have witnessed increased rates of alcohol use, rates of depression have doubled, and rates of anxiety have quadrupled. Now, more than ever, we have a critical imperative to take action towards enhancing our psychological health, wellness and resilience – as individuals, and as organizations. Ultimately, healthy, resilient and thriving organizations and teams are comprised of healthy, resilient and thriving workers – both physically and psychologically,” says Dr. Samra.
The resource centre is located on the WorkSafe website, under the “Resources” tab.