Healthy Workplace Bulletin September 2015
R e d u c e S t r e s s a n d B o o s t P r o d u c t i v i t y i n Yo u r Wo r k p l a c e : A h a l f - d a y f o r u m Inside this issue: Reduce Stress & Boost Productivity ...1
City of Hamilton Public Health Services is excited to present a morning of workshops for those leading workplace health and wellness initiatives. You will learn how to:
Healthy Workplace Policies and Environments Survey ...3
Address workplace incivility and turn it around to create respectful workplace environments Survey your workplace for organizational sources of stress and use the results to reduce stress in employees Date: Thursday, November 12, 2015 Time: 7:45am to 11:45am (Breakfast served at 8:00am)
New and Improved City of Hamilton Website ...3
Smart Commute Week ...4
Cost: Free Location: The Waterfront Banquet & Convention Centre 555 Bay Street North, Hamilton, ON Registration Required: Send your name, position, and workplace name to workplace@hamilton.ca by October 16, 2015 Featured Speakers:
Bicycle Friendly Business Application ...4
Sharone Bar-David, LLB, MSW, Canada’s leading expert on workplace incivility and the president of Bar-David Consulting
Contact Information
Martin Cowie, CDS, Safety & Compliance Manager, Fleetway Transport Inc.
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John Oudyk, MSc, ROH, CIH Occupational Hygienist, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers
See next page for detailed session descriptions!
Trust Your Canary! Tackling the Incivility Challenge You’ve seen it many times: rude or disrespectful behaviour such as skipping basic acknowledgements, eye rolling, sarcasm, gossip, social exclusion, belittling, and various forms of dismissive body language. If left unchecked, workplace incivility has surprisingly far -reaching effects on motivation, engagement, productivity, psychological health, talent retention, teamwork, and organizational reputation. Sharone’s interactive, entertaining, and thought provoking session inspires participants to feel, think and act differently with regards to workplace incivility. It offers cutting edge information that helps attendees grasp key issues and leaves them equipped with practical strategies for maintaining civil work environments that result in exemplary performance. It inspires participants to take an honest look at their own behaviour and to become true models of civility. Participants will:
Connect the crucial dots between incivility and productivity, team culture, and service
Leave the session able to constructively address others’ incivility (and motivated to act in a more civil fashion)
Acquire strategies for personally stepping up to boost civility in their work environment.
Workplace Sources of Stress – A tool to address psychosocial issues in the workplace Within workplaces, stress is a common issue identified by employees. Psychosocial hazards are workplace factors that have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm if not adequately eliminated or controlled. John will present a survey that identifies the sources of organizational stress and makes recommendations for improving these conditions. You will learn how you can implement this survey within your own organization, along with the supports available to make this a successful initiative.
Implementing the Psychosocial Factors at Work Survey at a Transport Company Traffic conditions and route concerns, finances, regulations, rules and workplace communication all lead to daily stress for transport drivers (BMC Research Notes 2014). Martin will explain how Fleetway Transport Inc. surveyed its drivers about workplace sources of stress and the actions taken based upon the survey results.
Register by sending your name, position, and organization to workplace@hamilton.ca by October 16, 2015. Space is limited! Page 2
Healthy Workplace Policies and Environments Survey We want to hear from you! Hamilton Public Health Services invites you to complete a survey asking about your experiences in healthy workplace policies and environments. There are many ways for employers to help employees make healthy choices. One approach is to develop and implement policies and/or environments that support health and wellness in the workplace. We know that developing and implementing policies and/or environments that support employee health and wellness can be challenging, but it is a wise investment. By taking a few minutes to complete this survey, you will provide valuable information on how Hamilton Public Health Services can best meet the needs of workplaces in Hamilton. With thanks, please click here to complete this.
New and Improved City of Hamilton We b s i t e : W o r k p l a c e P o l i c i e s a n d Programs Pages Click here to see the new workplace health and wellness pages! Information is organized in ways to make it easy for citizens to find, access, and use the City’s online information and services with a design that works well on all devices. After visiting the workplace pages, have a look at all of the other features to see what new and exciting things you can discover about the City of Hamilton.
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S m a r t C o m m u t e We e k : S e p t e m b e r 2 1 - 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 Rethink Your Commute. Explore Options. Win Prizes. www.smartcommuteweek.ca During Smart Commute Week, use the Smart Commute tool to explore and track your transportation options for a chance to win 1 of 4 VIA Rail vouchers, each worth $500! Smart Commute supports employers and commuters to try alternative modes of transportation to work such as walking, cycling, transit, carpooling and teleworking. Smart Commute services include:
Site assessments and surveys to understand employee commute behaviour Customized action plans to encourage employees to try smart travel options Tools to facilitate change including: • Exclusive carpool ride matching programs • Emergency Ride Home programs • Discounted transit pass programs • Telework programs and flexible work arrangements • Walking and cycling programs
See how companies in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area are taking advantage of Smart Commute services at https://www.youtube.com/watch? feature=player_embedded&v=CN8k1R_lSPk
Bicycle Friendly Business Application Looking for an opportunity to promote your organization, support the health of your employees and help the community? You could do all three by becoming a Bicycle Friendly Business. This program recognizes employers who support their employees, customers, and the community by promoting bicycling. Some examples of how a business can support bicycling include bike parking, programs that encourage cycling, communications that focus on bike and road safety, and programs to monitor progress and work towards new goals. Awarded businesses are recognized at four different levels including Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. All applicants receive valuable feedback and assistance in becoming more welcoming to bicyclists. Keep an eye out for the next application period at http://www.sharetheroad.ca/bicyclefriendly-businesses-p157963 Page 4
For more information, contact a Workplace Health Promotion Specialist with the City of Hamilton Public Health Services: Phone: 905-546-2424 x3634 Email: workplace@hamilton.ca
Having previously signed up to receive electronic communications from the City of Hamilton Public Health Services Workplace Health Promotion Program, we are pleased to share with you the latest edition of the Healthy Workplace Bulletin. If you wish to be removed from the distribution list, please send an email to workplace@hamilton.ca with your name and “unsubscribe� in the subject line. The Healthy Workplace Bulletin (HWB), published by the City of Hamilton Public Health Services, is a source of ideas for planning and sharing workplace health in Hamilton. Contents of the HWB can be forwarded, posted on intranets, included in newsletters, memoranda and other communications within an organization, provided the contents are not changed and the source is identified. Some content may be subject to additional conditions set by other parties claiming intellectual property rights relating to the contents. The City of Hamilton Public Health Services will try to disclose these additional conditions in the relevant sections of the HWB, but it is ultimately your responsibility for ensuring that your use of the contents is authorized. The HWB provides general information and is not intended as a substitute for professional advice. If you need medical or other professional advice, consult with a qualified health care professional. The City of Hamilton Public Health Services puts considerable effort into ensuring the quality of the contents of the HWB. However, it provides no warranty and makes no claims as to the reliability and accuracy of the contents. The City of Hamilton assumes no liability or responsibility for any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information in the HWB. The HWB provides links to external organizations’ websites for information purposes only. These websites contain information created, published and maintained by or for those organizations, independent of the City of Hamilton. The City of Hamilton does not necessarily guarantee or endorse the organizations or the information, views or advice found on their respective websites. The City of Hamilton assumes no liability or responsibility for the linking of any of these websites, the operation or content of any of these websites, or for the information, views or advice found on them. Page 5