Special Promotional Feature

By Merv Gilbert

My closest supermarket is part of a chain, which will remain unnamed. It has been there for years…and it shows. It is a bit run down and frequently low on stock. But that is only part of the problem. The staff are clearly miserable and don’t want to be there. Nor do I; now I take the extra time to go to another store. This is not a psychologically healthy workplace.

The American Psychological Association (APA) has determined five areas where employers can demonstrate that their workplaces are psychologically healthy:

• Employee involvement
• Work-family-life balance
• Employee recognition
• Employee growth and development, and
• Health and safety.

In 2004, APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award (PHWA) program was brought to BC and 18 BC organizations — small and large, public and private — have been recipients since then. Four of our provincial winners have gone on to receive international recognition by APA.

Receiving an award is great but the real proof is on the shop floor. We all know a psychologically healthy workplace when we see it, whether we work there or visit there as a customer, client or member of the public. PHWA winners certainly demonstrate this; it was obvious when conducting site visits.

It was there when visiting Brookhaven Care Centre where, as part of the ‘Little Brooks’ program, staff bring their kids to work where they are paired up with a senior. It was there at Tourism Whistler where we heard a staff member describe his employer as “pretty chill” for holding a job opening for him until after he returned to school to complete an IT program. It was there at Back in Motion Rehabilitation where staff boasted of their flexible working arrangement and generous benefits (including psychological services). And it was there at Westminster Savings Credit Union where, when the tellers ask how they can help, you know they really mean it. As Barry Forbes, President and CEO of Westminster noted “We recognize the vital link between the well-being of our employees and the success of the credit union”.

BC Organizations that want to learn more should considering registering for the upcoming British Columbia Psychological Association workshop by Dr. David Ballard of APA: Competitive advantage: A strategic approach to employee well-being and organizational performance. And those organizations that are interested in applying for the upcoming awards should visit www.phwa.ca. Act now, the applications are closing soon.

Merv Gilbert is a registered psychologist, Principal with Gilbert Acton Ltd., SFU Adjunct Professor and member of the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards Committee