Tools and Toolkits for Employers

This is your section for practical “how-to” information related to assessing, developing, implementing, managing, maintaining, and evaluating healthy workplace initiatives. The toolkit information below is selected to help and support you in creating your own healthy workplace initiatives.

Provides advice and tools for improving workplace well-being. Aims to help managers improve their own well-being and the well-being of their staff. Covers topics such as work-life balance, time and workload management, the physical work environment, alternative office designs, and stress management.

Source: Canada School of Public Service

Outlines a seven-step process for organizations to develop and implement workplace health promotion.

Source: Health Canada

Contains guidelines for employers to prevent hantavirus infections and to put in place a risk control program to minimize potential worker exposure to hantavirus. Includes recommended work procedures. Link requires PDF reader.

Source: Workers' Compensation Board of BC (WCB)

Includes model anti-harassment policies, guidelines, and checklists to assist federally regulated employers meet legislative requirements. Describes workplace harassment, and how to eliminate or minimize it in the workplace.

Source: Canadian Human Rights Commission

Outlines the benefits of family-supportive workplaces for employers and employees. Suggests how employers can create these environments. Helps employees identify causes of stress in their lives and offers tips to balance work and home.

Source: City of Ottawa

Offers workplaces information to help them in the active living policy-building process - starting out, writing a policy statement, and evaluation. Includes "how-to" tips and suggestions for ensuring long-term organizational commitment to active living, as well as sample active living policy statements.

Source: Leisure Information Network

Illustrates relationship between employee health and safety and improved business operations and profits. Provides information to help organizations develop business cases through assessment of their health and safety systems and outlines steps to improve health and safety for reduced costs and enhanced business results.

Source: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)

Explains how critical incidents, such as an on-the-job accident that injures or kills a worker, can affect the emotional well being of workers and their job performance. Explains what critical incident stress is, how employers can help workers suffering from this stress, and lists resources. Link requires PDF reader.

Source: Workers' Compensation Board of BC (WCB)

Provides useful ideas, resources and tools to implement healthy workplace activity programs.

Source: ActNowBC

Makes recommendations and outlines a plan of action for developing a scent-free policy for the workplace. Includes a sample employee survey and policies.

Source: Canadian Lung Association

Provides ideas for making healthy food choices and adding physical activities that will help in the planning of meetings, events and conferences that are healthy for participants.

Source: ActNowBC

Provides information and resources for employers, unions and employees for recognizing and responding to family violence situations that enter the workplace. Includes messages, sample policies and safety plans, and a directory of services available to residents of New Brunswick.

Defines what is meant by 'flexible work'. Discusses the benefits of offering alternative arrangements or schedules from the traditional working day and week. Outlines issues that should be considered when designing a flexible work policy, and also presents examples of common arrangements, such as job sharing.

Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Describes a reference guide about the formation and functioning of workplace health and safety committees. The guide outlines accident investigation, workplace inspections, and identification and control of workplace hazards. Includes ordering information.

Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Offers a series of information on workplace health issues including stress, work-life balance, violence in the workplace, substance abuse and bullying.

Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Provides information for workplaces to implement healthy living programs and policies. Focuses on four common preventable risk factors for chronic disease: tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy eating and stress. Offers programming examples.

Source: County of Lambton, Community Health Services Department

Provides guidance for building healthy workplaces. Includes ideas for getting buy-in, forming a health and wellness committee, conducting a needs assessment, creating an action plan, implementing programs, developing policies, and evaluating initiatives.

Source: Heart Health Hamilton-Wentworth

Describes a guide on the health and safety issues related to indoor air quality. The guide discusses symptoms and causes of poor indoor air quality and recommends preventive action such as how to select furnishings and equipment to prevent indoor air contaminant buildup. Includes ordering information.

Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Explains how the WSIB helps Ontario workers return to work following a work-related injury, and outlines key benefits and services available through Ontario's workplace safety and insurance system.

Source: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)

Answers questions on what job design is, how it can help with the organization of work, features of a good job design, common approaches workplaces can take, and steps to carry out on a job design project. Provides an example of a job design checklist.

Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Offers information and data on the quality of work and working conditions in Canada. Describes indicators of job quality and explains why they're important to employers, employees and policy makers. Includes tables and charts, statistics, surveys and news.

Source: Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN)

Le présent article vise à comparer la prévalence des blessures au travail selon le groupe professionnel et à examiner la relation entre cette prévalence et certains facteurs reflétant l’organisation du travail etl’environnement. Les associations entre les blessures au travail et les variables sociodémographiques ainsi que d'autres variables liées à la santé sont également prises en considération.Les données proviennent de l’Enquête sur la santé dans les collectivités canadiennes de 2003 (cycle 2.1).Des estimations transversales de la proportion de travailleurs blessés au travail ont été calculées selon legroupe professionnel et certaines caractéristiques professionnelles, personnelles et sociodémographiques.Des analyses multivariées ont servi à l’étude des associations entre les blessures au travail et les facteursliés à l’emploi, en neutralisant d’autres influences.En 2003, environ 630 000 travailleurs canadiens ont subi au moins une blessure au travail limitant leurs activités. Dans les métiers, le transport et la machinerie, 9 % des travailleurs ont subi une blessure au travail comparativement à 2 % chez les cols blancs. Les blessures au travail ont été plus fréquentes chez les hommes (5 %) que chez les femmes (2 %). Dans l’analyse multivariée, certaines variables liées au travail étaient associées aux blessures au travail chez les deux sexes, dont l’emploi dans les métiers, le transport et la machinerie, dans les industries primaires et dans la transformation, la fabrication et les services d’utilité publique; le travail par quarts; et le travail éreintant. Un revenu inférieur à 60 000 $ et de longues heures de travail étaient associés aux blessures chez les hommes, mais non chez les femmes. Chez celles-ci, le risque de blessure était plus élevé pour celles déclarant que leur emploi était stressant; chez les hommes, il ne se dégage aucune association avec le stress au travail.

Source: Health Canada

This is a practical guide to policy development for employers, employees and other concerned about health, safety and liability.

Source: Alcohol Policy Network

Discusses methods of dispute resolution helpful for employees and employers of large, medium, and small organizations. Covers how to handle situations internally and how to identify appropriate providers for external help.

Offers a prevention tool kit to help employers and employees understand mental health issues and provide guidance on policies and programs to address mental health issues in the workplace. The first booklet defines occupational stress and describes the extent of the problem and its consequences for individuals and organizations. The second booklet discusses sources of occupational stress and propses methods to help reduce the negative impacts. The third volume describes the three possible levels of prevention and presents a strategic process for effectively preventing work-related mental health problems and practical tools for facilitating the initiation of action. Link requires pdf reader.

Source: Université Laval, Chair in Corporate Occupational Health and Safety Management

Answers questions on the health and safety issues related to working from a home office environment. Offers tips for employees on scheduling work, ergonomics, working alone, and creating a safety checklist. Discusses issues for workplaces to consider when developing a teleworking arrangement.

Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Le RCS est un service d'information-santé bilingue et pancanadien. Offert par l'entremise d'Internet, il vise essentiellement à aider les Canadiennes et Canadiens à trouver l'information dont ils ont besoin pour rester en santé et prévenir la maladie. Comprend de l'information détaillée concernant 27 principaux groupes et sujets de santé.

Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Presents best practices from Manitoba employers for developing a safety culture in the workplace. Focuses on areas of senior leadership, communications, education and training, formal health and safety committees, monitoring of internal incidents, risk control, disability management, and return to work planning.

Source: Workers' Compensation Board of Manitoba

Suggests how workplaces may create scent-free work environments. Lists possible scented products in the workplace and offers sample policy statements, notices and employee survey questions.

Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Outlines how to write and develop an occupational health and safety program which covers the identification and control of hazards, and emergency response. Includes a discussion of related issues such as return to work programs.

Source: Saskatchewan Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour

Offers guidance to employers on how to develop and implement a program to prevent violence in the workplace. Contains an overview of regulation, how to conduct a risk assessment, basic elements of a violence prevention program and procedures for preventing violence. Includes five sample documents: a risk assessment summary report, a policy statement, a record of instruction of workers, a violent incident report form, and a suspect and vehicle identification sheet. Link requires PDF reader.

Source: Workers' Compensation Board of BC (WCB)

Outlines the benefits of workplace physical activity programs and suggests how workplaces can create environments that foster employee participation.

Source: Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute (CFLRI)

Describes a seven-step, community-based approach to workplace health promotion in the farming industry, for both farm owners and employees.

Source: Health Canada

Describes a pocket-size guide about violence in the workplace and its prevention. The guide advises how to develop a workplace violence prevention program and presents specific prevention tips on workplace and work-related travel situations. Includes ordering information

Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Offers guidance to setting up and running a six-week walking program in the workplace. Provides background information, tools, posters, and tips.

Source: Elgin St. Thomas Health Unit

Provides steps and program suggestions for the initiation, development, and implementation of a workplace health and wellness program.

Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Builds a business case for workplace health promotion. Shows relationship between workplace health initiatives, the pursuit of organizational excellence, and positive outcomes for employees, customers, and stakeholders.

Source: National Quality Institute (NQI)

Offers information, resources and tools to help organizations design and implement supportive programs and policies facilitating work-life balance. Includes case studies, programs, policies, evaluation tools, and best practices.

Source: Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC)

Provides a background on workplace health promotion and current trends. Outlines steps to develop a workplace health promotion program including a needs assessment. Includes references and an inventory of workplace needs assessment tools.

Source: Elgin St. Thomas Health Unit

Describes a seven-step, community-based approach for small businesses to get involved in workplace health promotion.

Source: Health Canada