Workplace Psychological Health and Safety Policy

Effective Date: May 27, 2024

Purpose

The Toronto Public Library recognizes the importance of psychological health and safety in the workplace. The Library will promote a positive working environment where management and employees collaborate to achieve the Library’s goals while promoting the physical and mental health of all employees.

The Library is further committed to promoting mental health and psychological well-being and to actions that prevent harm to worker psychological health through appropriate policies, programs and services.

Scope

This policy applies to all Library employees.

Underlying Principles

The Library recognizes that workplace factors can contribute to psychological health. While it is understood that a certain amount of stress is inherent in work, the Library aspires to a work environment where continuous improvement in work practices and processes address psychological safety and support mental health.

Policy Statement

The Library will achieve its objective of continuously improving psychological safety and supporting mental health in Library workplaces by building on its current actions and strengths in each of the following areas:

  • Actions to promote and enhance the general psychological health of the workforce (e.g. efforts to build employee resilience, create a respectful workplace, enhance mental health knowledge at all levels and eliminate stigma)
  • Actions to prevent the onset or reduce the severity of psychological health issues in the workplace, such as improvements in:
    • Primary prevention in which changes are made in workplace conditions that may contribute to psychological health issues (e.g. considering the psychological characteristics of work tasks and individual workers to ensure good job-person fit, providing stress management training, supporting work-home balance)
    • Secondary prevention in which psychological health issues are identified and addressed while at an early stage (e.g. providing self-care tools, providing supervisor/manager training, providing early intervention through EAP and HR)
    • Tertiary prevention to reduce life challenges associated with an identified mental health condition (e.g. providing support to stay at work, providing coordinated disability management, supporting access to psychological treatment)

Accountability

Under the leadership of the Human Resources Division, the Library will:

  • Communicate this policy to management, workers and joint health and safety committees/health and safety representatives
  • Assess particular issues or risk factors of greatest relevance to mental health and psychological safety within the division (consulting with employees and joint health and safety committees/health and safety representatives in this process). Determine whether improvements are needed
  • Identify opportunities for change and/or current strengths on which to build and record the findings
  • Undertake promotion/prevention actions to initiate change and/or build on strengths
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of actions undertaken
  • Re-assess regularly with the goal of continuously improving mental health and psychological safety

Related Legislation

Related Library Policies

  • Occupational Health and Safety Policy
  • Human Rights and Anti-Harassment Discrimination Policy

Definition of Terms

Psychological/Mental Health: a state of well-being in which the individual realizes their abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to their community

Psychological safety: the absence of harm and/or threat of harm to mental well-being that a worker may experience

Note: Definitions in this document are taken from the CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700- 803/2013 National Standard of Canada: Psychological health and safety in the workplace – Prevention, promotion, and guidance to staged implementation.

Contact

Director, Human Resources

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