Remember decades ago when canadians were promised more leisure time, more control over work and a better balance between work and home life?

Part of the better life was to be delivered thanks to New technology. Today’s reality is that for many people, that promise has not been fulfilled. Instead, many of us lead time-starved lives in the “struggle to juggle” child care, elder care, and work. This article originally appeared in the December issue of Canada Post Performance Magazine.

Policy makers at the highest levels are paying attention as surveys of Canadians show that workplace stress has increased dramatically in just the last 10 years. According to Linda Duxbury, professor of Business at Carleton University, for example, more than 60 per cent of Canadian workers say technology has increased stress for them, and 70 per cent say technology has increased, not decreased their workload. Canadians also identify job restructuring, being in the “sandwich” between caring for children and older relatives, lower job security and increased competitiveness as causes of stress in their lives.

So, when Canada’s ministers of health requested a report on the health of Canadians in 1999, the report’s opening statement was that all Canadians should have “positive, supportive living and working conditions in all communities.”

Creating that environment is a challenge Canada’s business community, including Canada Post, has taken up. Encouraged by the work of the National Quality Institute (NQI), many Canadian companies are actively striving to create workplaces where employees’ overall health is valued and actively promoted.

It’s more than a concern about safety: today’s healthy workplace is broadly defined as one in which the physical environment is free from hazards, healthful lifestyle practices are supported, and the social environment offers support and resources to help employees build and maintain wellbeing, at work, at home, and in the community.

“My personal goal is to have all employees agree with me that Canada Post is a great place to work,” says Mary Traversy, Canada Post’s new vice-president of Human Resources. “I know many already do. Now we have a strategy to systematically build a healthy workplace for all.”

“Our concept of a healthy workplace is very broad,” explains Nicole Goodfellow, general manager, Human Performance Excellence, and a champion of the Healthy Workplace initiative. “Health used to be seen as the absence of sickness and disease, but in reality, health has a mental and social dimension, and is affected by a number of factors such as stress, lack of balance between work and home life, and the pressures of family commitments.” Canada Post officially launched the corporation’s national healthy workplace initiative by acting as one of the lead corporate sponsors for Canada’s Healthy Workplace Week, October 21 to 27, but work has been going on behind the scenes for months. A cross-functional steering committee of 30 people from all regions started work last April to identify the corporation’s strengths and opportunities in providing a healthy workplace.

“The special week is just one of 52,” says Goodfellow. “Our aim is to turn this initiative into a living breathing business strategy that underlies everything we do. It’s definitely not a ‘flavour of the month.’ ” For example, job design is a key factor in Canada Post’s healthy workplace initiative. For letter carriers and postal clerks, designing how they do their jobs is going to be critical to allowing employees control over the work environment. Delivery pilot projects in Burlington, Ont. and Kelowna, B.C. are already giving us a look at the future of job design.

Baseline Assessment

The corporation recently completed a baseline assessment of workplace characteristics against the NQI principles that identified many positive trends and showed that Canada Post is off to a good start.

For example, the corporation already has a host of programs that meet or exceed legal requirements in such areas as return-to-work and accommodation of disabled employees, the Workplace Hazard Prevention Program, fitness facilities, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Official Languages and Employment Equity, and policies and training on workplace violence prevention. Instead of being available as a “patchwork” selection of programs and services, now everything will be linked to the overall Healthy Workplace strategy.

“Essentially, we are looking at what makes a good job,” says Goodfellow. “And we have to do this in order to keep and attract talented workers. A good job in a healthy workplace features trust, where the employee feels respected and informed; commitment, which means shared values; influence that the employee has on decisions, scheduling and other aspects of work; and last, communication in which there is clarity, recognition and responsiveness. We want Canada Post to be a workplace of choice.”