Leadership & Management

The Union's Role in Workplace Mental Health

Unions are increasingly aware of the issue of workplace mental health issues and their role in helping workers address stress and conflict. In addition, psychological safety is becoming an item on the agenda of many labour organizations. In the resource A Leadership Framework for Advancing Mental Health in the Workplace, you can view videos by Ken Lewenza and Don MacKinnon who are respectively leaders of the Canadian Auto Workers Union and the Power Workers Union. These leaders inform and inspire union members to work with management to address and improve workplace mental health for the benefit of all workers.

Helping an individual worker identify and address a mental health issue can be one of the most difficult tasks a union representative may face. Being skilled and informed about mental health issues may put them in a better position to assist in the development of an approach for the workers with less risk of significant personal cost. The union representative may have the opportunity to gain the trust and cooperation of the worker and his or her coworkers and can therefore play an invaluable role in assisting workers in these matters, including a successful return-to-work or accommodation. A word of caution, however, that this position can be emotionally draining for the union representatives, so both training and support are especially important.

The action plans in each section below outline strategies for union representatives and employers in unionized workplaces to help address situations where mental health is a factor in a professional and effective manner.

For Union Representatives
For Employers in Unionized Workplaces
20 Questions For Unions About Workplace Mental Health and Psychological Safety

Refer to the section Prevention & Promotion for other tools and resources to help in the development of action plans for a mentally healthier workplace.

Also see Occupation-Specific Mental Health Issues for strategies on managing mental health in different sectors such as Shift Workers, Educators, Dangerous Industry Workers, etc.

Resources

The following are links to resources that may be of interest to you. If you click on a link you may be entering a third-party website not maintained or controlled by Great-West Life.