Mental Health Initiative

Building a healthy, respectful, and supportive work environment is a priority for CSC. As part of this, CSC Commissioner Don Head recently announced the formation of the Steering Committee for Workplace Mental Health Injuries. The goal of this committee is to examine a way forward to support any employees who may develop mental health injuries at CSC, and their families as well. The committee also wants to help strengthen and sustain everyone’s mental readiness and resilience as they navigate the rigors of work (and life) every day.

The committee has already launched one initiative as a pilot project with Pacific Region employees. It is an adapted mental health education module that was first pioneered by the Department of National Defence for its staff called The Road to Mental Readiness. This is leading-edge training that has a solid foundation in the concepts related to resilience skill building.

Resilience is the capacity of people to recover quickly, resist and possibly even thrive in the face of direct or indirect traumatic events and prolonged operational or organizational stressors. We know that recovery from physical and mental hardships is required throughout the careers of CSC personnel, which is why this training is so important. It has already been delivered with success by various municipal police forces across Canada, and Commissioner Don Head wants CSC employees to be equipped with the same tools and knowledge as other first-responders. Remaining regions will soon receive this training as well.

Looking ahead, additional tools and resources will be developed to help CSC employees. They include a comprehensive InfoNet page for staff who experience a mental health injury at work to know exactly where to go and what to do. A website with similar information for their families will also be developed. 

This is just the beginning of the Committee’s work. Research suggests that workplace mental health injuries in Canada have been on the rise for some time now, and as our leader, Commissioner Don Head has made it clear that our organization will be at the forefront of a proactive, positive response to the health and well-being of our staff.