Over the next six months I am going to learn about mental health and the workplace. It will be a learning journey for me, but also a job (I’m getting paid to do this). I was approached to help with a project that would connect all of the good research being done by the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s (MHCC) Workplace Advisory Committee with leaders in the Canadian workplace. The focus is particularly on medium to large-sized organisations, both public and private. The original idea was to create an interactive multimedia training program that executives could take to get an understanding of mental health issues. Given the limited budget, I suggested that it would not be possible to produce much of quality. I also felt that this was more of a marketing and communication issue – trying to get the attention of busy executives. Perhaps a social networking approach would be more effective and so here we are. I am working on this project in collaboration with the Canadian Society for Training and Development, as we share a vision of learning by doing.
I have now set up this website as my first point of contact as a learning reporter on workplace mental health. I have a bit of a background in health care, as I was a hospital administrator for a period, but this is really a new field to me. I will start by reading and accessing reports from MRCC and writing my observations here. I will also connect with other individuals and organisations who are interested or working in the field. My main question is, “How can we engage senior leadership in organisations to take mental health seriously and adapt their workplaces appropriately?” I am certain that the answers lie in the community, so this is my first foray. I’m sure I’ll make mistakes, but I intend to learn and I will share my learning. Feel free to join me.
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