Up to 45% of Canadians have experienced bullying or harassment in the workplace.
That’s a statistic Ruthann Weeks is working on changing. Ruthann is the leading force behind Harmony Training & Development, a psychological health and safety consultancy that helps businesses address psychological issues in the workplace.
Ruthann has over a decade of human resources training and human services experience, but she was interested in how she could bring her knowledge to a greater set of organizations. After creating Harmony Training & Development, she became certified as a Psychological Health & Safety Advisor through CMHA, so she could help more businesses in Alberta create healthy, profitable, and socially responsible workplaces through education, advocacy, and empowerment.
Ruthann is leading the charge for creating psychologically healthy environments in the workplace, but she’s also had her own experience in dealing with workplace bullying and harassment. Ultimately, the psychological trauma took its toll on her physical health. While she was able to recover and find a purpose beyond the pain, it doesn’t happen that way for everyone.
“People are suffering,” Ruthann says. “No one should have to sacrifice physical or mental health to earn a living.”
Why is Psychological Health & Safety Top of Mind for Businesses Right Now?
Workplace safety has been a priority for decades, but the way we understand “safety” has undeniably changed over the last twenty years. Safety evaluations have just as much to do with psychological assessments as they do with proper PPE, and now, significant changes have even been written into the law.
In June of 2018, the Occupational Health & Safety Act in Alberta was overhauled for the first time in forty years. Workplace physical violence was expanded to include domestic and sexual violence, bullying, sexual harassment, psychological safety and social wellbeing. Moreover, a reporting method and investigation procedure are required for incidents, prevention plans have to be in place and reviewed with every incident or every three years, and employers have to support workers through their treatment programs. The changes go a long way toward making harassment, bullying, and workplace violence a priority in businesses, rather than a box to check in a policy manual.
The legislation is a step in the right direction, says Ruthann, but implementation can be challenging for businesses – even for those that already place a high value on psychological wellbeing in the workplace. Harmony Training & Development is designed to help businesses become compliant, but the programs Ruthann offers go well beyond compliance. She wants more businesses to understand and enjoy the impact of a well-adjusted, healthy workplace where employees can take interpersonal risks.
Benefits for Employees, Benefits for Employer, Benefits for the Community
Ruthann has seen how these changes can work up from a micro to a macro level in an organization, and even a community. Many employers already understand the benefits gained in terms of productivity, cost-savings, retention, and attracting next-generation talent. Often, it’s not a lack of understanding or care on the part of employers, but an inability to handle distinct situations as they arise. When there aren’t procedures in place to handle an issue like domestic abuse, there can be a knee jerk reaction to help protect the employee that is ineffective or even damaging. In other cases, the “band-aid” solution used to address issues of abuse reactively are costly, ineffective, or some combination of both.
Integrating psychological health & safety into a workplace doesn’t happen overnight with the creation of procedures, though. It’s about creating culture shifts and top-down buy-in at a management level. This is why the work Harmony Training & Development does take place at several levels in an organization, including:
- Workplace assessments, which take 13 psychological factors into account and provide insight into potential cultural changes that could make a major impact
- Customized policy and procedure development that accounts for specific issues or risks
- Training and resource allocation for HR and management staff
- Workshops, presentations, and training for all levels of employees in a business
Ruthann says it’s an exciting time to be in the business for a few reasons. First, the global consciousness surrounding this issue is already rising, resulting in a larger conversation that’s transforming culture from outside organizations. Second, many companies have already experienced incidents and are actively looking for prevention and follow-up procedures to protect their workforce and business. And finally, governments have realized the long-term physical and emotional risks to entire communities, which has led to new legislation and an increased focus on workplace wellness designed to spur companies into positive action.
The question Ruthann has for businesses is simple: what would it look like to move forward with a new emphasis on workforce wellness? Productivity and profitability have been proven to go hand in hand with psychological health and happiness, so for most organizations, moving purposefully in this new direction is a no-brainer.
If you’re interested in learning how psychological health & safety is impacting your organization, you can get in touch with Ruthann for a complimentary policy review.
rweeks@harmonytraining.ca | 780-460-1019
