'Prioritizing mental health is simply non-negotiable and many employees in the coming weeks may experience unanticipated mental health consequences from mandated remote work'
Medtronic Canada, 7shifts and Rome Logistics are among the Best Workplaces for Mental Wellness 2020 according to Great Place to Work.
To be eligibleTo win a spot on the list, organizations must be Great Place to Work–certified in the past yearsurvey their employees and receive and at l at least 75 per cent of their employees must agreeagreement that their workplace is psychologically and emotionally healthy. Employers must also provide details on their organization’s programs and practices to be certified.
“The Best Workplaces for Mental WellnessThe winning employers put employee well-being at the forefrontforefront, says Great Place to Work.
“They know that building a healthy company for their customers starts with building a healthy company from within,” says Great Place to Work.… “ With the pandemic creating a tumultuous environment, prioritizing mental health is simply non-negotiable and many employees in the coming weeks may experience unanticipated mental health consequences from mandated remote work.”
Winning programs
In response to COVID-19, Medtronic Canada implemented a mandatory work-from-home policy and has been hosting weekly all-employee calls to ensure everyone has a chance to voice their concerns and ask questions.
Last year, Medtronic Canada – in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association – launched the "Not Myself Today" series and has been running the program with the help of several staff members as program ambassadors. During mental health awareness month in May, the company also hosted an hour-long webinar dedicated to the subject and continues to promote its extensive Employee Assistance Program and other online resources and strategies to help employees manage their mental health.
"Ensuring our employees' safety and wellbeing – both physical and mental – has always been paramount," says Neil Fraser, president of Medtronic Canada. "However, especially during these challenging times, we have prioritized staying connected with our teams to ensure they have the resources they need."
Also staying connected are employees at employee scheduling company 7shifts, which gathers all workers at its headquarters in Saskatoon each year as a a show of appreciation for all of the hard work they do. The office shuts down for the entire day and all staff are bussed to an off-site destination for a day of fun and team-building.
In addition, all 7shifts employees have the option to work from home as needed “because flexibility helps facilitate better work-life balance, parenting, reduced commute times, unexpected deliveries or repairs,” it says.
The full list of winners can be found here.
Other top employer competitions have also named Travel Alberta, Google, Samsung, Statistics Canada, Irving Oil, Provincial Aerospace, Norton Rose Fulbright, Mohawk College, SAP Canada, Novartis and Canada Revenue Agency for 2020.
