Sask. employers should offer clarity on return to work plans, experts say
With pandemic restrictions lifted in Saskatchewan, many people are starting to return to the workplace — a process mental health experts say should be done in a clear and flexible way.
“I think we just have to kind of throw out our former ideas about what the workplace looks like and be open to doing things in new and different ways that are supportive of our staff and that are supportive of our business,” said Faith Bodnar, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Saskatoon.
Bodnar said the last year and a half has brought on a lot of anxiety and concern for not only people’s own health but the health of their family, friends and co-workers.
She said the constant change in restrictions and information has also affected people’s wellbeing and anxiety levels.
“It’s a very fluid, evolving situation and that creates uncertainty,” Bodnar said.
According to the LifeWorks’ monthly Mental Health Index, many Canadians are still uncertain of what to expect when they return to the workplace, contributing to a decline in their mental health.
The report found that 25 per cent of Canadians surveyed are “unclear” of their employer’s plan to returning to the workplace, while another 12 per cent don’t believe their employer has a plan.
These respondents also reported the lowest mental health scores when compared to employees who said their employer has already communicated a “clear” return-to-the workplace strategy.
Bodnar said it is important for employers to be aware that people have different comfort levels and to collaborate with employees on back-to-work plans.
“I would encourage employers to do is be open, be transparent about what your workplace and your business needs are, but allow people to find their safe place within that, and if that means being able to wear masks, without any concerns that people should be able to do that,” she said.
Federated Co-operatives Limited, which has 3,200 employees across western Canada, is taking a gradual approach to allowing employees back into its offices, according to Cameron Zimmer, the company’s communications and public relations manager.
“Starting right now, so in the summer, employees can come back to the office if it works for them and their roles, but we’re not seeing a whole lot of people do that — maybe a quarter less of our employees who work from the office. And then we’re gradually sort of relaxing some of the restrictions that we’ve had in place because of COVID,” he said, adding that 1,200 of their employees work in offices.
Zimmer said people’s mental health is the main reason for the gradual approach, as they’ve learned from the early stages of the pandemic how long it took people to adjust to working from home.
“It took people, you know, a while sometimes to catch up and to figure out what life looked like for them, what their work life looked like and we know it’s the same, and we’ve heard that from our employees coming back.”
Zimmer said in October, the company will be moving to a long-term flexible work arrangement for people who are eligible.
“We’re going to each create a plan with our supervisors, a one-on-one plan of what works best for us as a business and what works best for each employee. It’ll probably look different for each person, but I know a lot of people are looking forward to that,” he said.
“We’ve given as much time and space as we can, but we’re also wanting to be really transparent and open and give people a clear picture as much as we can of what work is going to look like come
October once we hopefully are past the pandemic.”
Zimmer said they will continue to check in with employees throughout the year to see if there needs to be change as the COVID-19 situation develops.
Terri Peterson, practice leader and counsellor at the Student Wellness Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, said there are many things employees can do to manage anxiety they have about returning to work.
“Uncertainty creates activation in our system. It’s just now we are, a bit of a threat right, like what’s happening here in my life or other people’s lives? And so then we have to do more support for our nervous systems, our mental well-being. Those self-care activities, the ways that we already kind of bring our stress cycle down becomes even more important.”
Peterson said for some people that might look like getting extra sleep, going for a run, doing breathing work or connecting with loved ones.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.