From May 6 to 12, the Canadian Mental Health Association - Quebec Division is leading Canadian Mental Health Week for the 73rd year. The organization notes that stress, anxiety and loneliness are reaching worrying levels in Quebec, a situation exacerbated by social inequalities, the housing affordability crisis, political divides and persistent concerns about climate change. This year, the organization is launching a "call to kindness", inviting the public to show more compassion in their daily lives.
"In today's world, small acts of compassion can rekindle a little hope in humanity for others and for ourselves".
- Marc-André Dufour, psychologist and campaign spokesman.
Bleak figures, even today
The Canadian Mental Health Association recently commissioned a survey of 1,057 Canadians by the Maru/Matchbox and Maru Public Opinion agencies to obtain some data on the state of compassion across the country. Firstly, 92% of Canadians surveyed say they are compassionate in their daily lives, and even more (94%) say their family and friends are. Equally, almost half of Canadians surveyed (48%) say they simply don't have the time or resources to act and help others, given all that's going on in their lives.
Mental health in the workplace
According to Alain Marchand, Director of the Observatoire sur la santé et le mieux-être au travail (OSMET), mental health is much more of a topic today than it was a few years ago. This is a sign that things are improving, and that employees are becoming more open about what they are experiencing. Employers are also doing their bit on the issue. Promoting physical activity, yoga sessions, stress management workshops and work-life balance initiatives are just a few examples of what we're seeing emerging within organizations.
Mélanie Dufour-Poirier, Associate Professor at the Université de Montréal's School of Industrial Relations, is still surprised to find that too many employers still question the causes of employees' psychological fragility. In her view, while some mental disorders are related to the private sphere, the fact remains that these problems are often linked to working life.
Employers and entrepreneurs also targeted
According to a study by the University of California at Berkeley, 72% of entrepreneurs reported having mental health problems. This is revealed in the book "Et si l'entrepreneuriat rendait fou?" by Dominic Gagnon and Isabelle Naessens, full of testimonials to this effect.
"Burnout is thus becoming a common phenomenon, almost an obligation, rather than a serious warning that something needs to change."
- Simon Litalien, president and founder of the Kabane agency
Are there any possible solutions?
For researcher Dufour-Poirier, there's a lot of educational work to be done in the workplace, since performance stereotypes are still very much with us. "There's a paradigm of productivity and hyper-performance in the workplace that carries extremely high human and social costs. Addressing the issue of mental health will help to break down the taboos that persist, and get people used to new models of performance. In short, the solution? Simply talk about it, as openly as possible, creating a culture of dialogue and non-judgment within the company.
What if investing in mental health made us more productive? This is the positive note on which Pierre Graff, President of the Regroupement des jeunes chambres de commerce du Québec, began his open letter to Les Affaires in October 2023. For him, if left unchecked, the deteriorating mental health of employees has a major financial impact on companies... and on their performance. Moreover, according to the RJCCQ's Léger study, 89% of young professionals are positive about the psychological well-being support initiatives put in place by their employers when they have access to them.
In conclusion
For employers, the first action to take is to engage in discussion and pursue efforts to destigmatize mental health issues. Online tools enable an organization's human resources to self-assess its psychological and overall health. Finally, employers have support resources at their disposal which they can promote. Solutions do exist, and their benefits are great for both the company and the employee.
To find out more :
