Jan. 31, 2018 "Businesses must help break the silence on mental health": Today I found this article by Elio Luongo in the Globe and Mail:
Chief executive officer and senior partner, KPMG in Canada
While Canadian workplaces have seen some progress in the understanding of mental health issues, a large stigma still remains. This stigma sees many Canadians suffer in silence for fear they will be judged for talking about their mental health.
This has to change.
Recent statistics show that one in five Canadians will experience a mental health concern at some point in their lifetime. In our business environment today, pressures are abundant and can escalate at the busiest times of the year.
Long hours and the need to be accessible via mobile devices – all while balancing the needs of busy personal and family lives – are significant stresses affecting employees and can be particularly challenging for those already struggling with mental health issues.
Long hours and the need to be accessible via mobile devices – all while balancing the needs of busy personal and family lives – are significant stresses affecting employees and can be particularly challenging for those already struggling with mental health issues.
As business leaders, we need to create and drive cultures that recognize the challenges our workers face and provide an environment that supports them every day. This means being proactive and building resilience in our people throughout the year and ensuring they have the right resources and supports when they need them.
While Corporate Canada has made strides toward being increasingly supportive around issues of mental health and well-being, we can do more. Resources such as 24-hour employee hotlines and expanded health benefits that cover supplemental treatments are important tools that go a long way in support of those struggling with mental illness.
But many of these tools offer intervention only when our people are near crisis. We must support them every day so they can recognize and respond when help is first needed – for themselves or a colleague.
But many of these tools offer intervention only when our people are near crisis. We must support them every day so they can recognize and respond when help is first needed – for themselves or a colleague.
At KPMG in Canada, we've had a formal mental health strategy in place since 2014, the focus of which is raising awareness, providing training and building supports – though we're careful not to take a blanket approach to the issue.
Key in all of this is open dialogue – to break down the stigma and support our employees. We are committed to raising mental health and well-being at town halls, events and through communications with our people. We care about our staff, and we are invested in their ability to be and stay well.
Key in all of this is open dialogue – to break down the stigma and support our employees. We are committed to raising mental health and well-being at town halls, events and through communications with our people. We care about our staff, and we are invested in their ability to be and stay well.
In 2017, we also created the role of chief mental health officer (CMHO), a unique position in Corporate Canada. Denis Trottier is an audit partner and has lived through clinical depression while maintaining a successful career. Denis has inspired many at our firm and beyond by opening up dialogue and reducing stigma.
Having an individual leader be the "face" of mental health in our firm means that we walk the talk, right from the C-suite level, so that our people can be comfortable sharing their stories and talking openly about mental health at the firm.
Having an individual leader be the "face" of mental health in our firm means that we walk the talk, right from the C-suite level, so that our people can be comfortable sharing their stories and talking openly about mental health at the firm.
These are important steps in the right direction, but we know that stigma around mental illness in the workplace persists. Far too many people are still not comfortable asking for help. As leaders, we have a responsibility to change this.
But change doesn't happen just because the CEO talks about it. Organizations need to embed mental well-being into the fabric of their human resources strategies.
And they must also empower their managers to take action to talk to their teams about mental health and support an open dialogue that will remove the stigma and barriers that our workers face both inside and outside of the business. We need to be more proactive and help build resilience, which is key to prevention. Providing the right supports and resources to our people early can go a long way.
And they must also empower their managers to take action to talk to their teams about mental health and support an open dialogue that will remove the stigma and barriers that our workers face both inside and outside of the business. We need to be more proactive and help build resilience, which is key to prevention. Providing the right supports and resources to our people early can go a long way.
Only then will we create a safe and supportive environment that will break the silence on mental health.
"To foster workplace wellbeing, ensure support is accessible": Today I found this article by Bill Howatt in the Globe and Mail:
Chief research and development officer of work force productivity, Morneau Shepell, Toronto.
How committed is your organization to reducing mental health injuries or mental health issues in the workplace?
Most of us, without realizing it, will answer this question based on our degree of awareness and personal experience with our organization's policies, procedures and programming that have been developed and implemented to prevent and protect the workforce from mental health injuries (e.g., exposure to bullies) and work-related factors (e.g., workload) that negatively impact employees' mental health.
Organizations, as well as their commitment to preventing mental injuries and mental health issues, can be classified as small, medium or large. But an organization's size doesn't determine its commitment.
Its readiness and its senior leadership's understanding of the business case as to why making this investment is good for business does. This includes cost saving and increases in productivity and workforce sustainability. Often, decision makers need more reason to act than that it's the right thing to do. Dollars and cents matter.
Its readiness and its senior leadership's understanding of the business case as to why making this investment is good for business does. This includes cost saving and increases in productivity and workforce sustainability. Often, decision makers need more reason to act than that it's the right thing to do. Dollars and cents matter.
I'm starting to notice in organizations that have stepped up and made this investment that some are experiencing challenges getting most of their workforce fully engaged. There can be different reasons why.
One reason is the organization's lack of preparation around the concept of accessibility. For example, having the best burger in town is of little value if only
a few people know about it,
know how to find it,
know why it's the best,
and have time to eat it.
a few people know about it,
know how to find it,
know why it's the best,
and have time to eat it.
The dictionary definition for accessibility includes: the quality of being easy to use and the quality of being easily understood.
When I mention accessibility I'm referring to the above and the specific kinds of communications strategy and time allotment for accessing and participation.
As well, the degree employees understand the value and are prioritizing the importance of accessing and engaging in the policies, procedures and programs are important factors.
Within the context of facilitating mental health and safety in the workplace, accessibility success is dependent on both employer and employee commitment.
As well, the degree employees understand the value and are prioritizing the importance of accessing and engaging in the policies, procedures and programs are important factors.
Within the context of facilitating mental health and safety in the workplace, accessibility success is dependent on both employer and employee commitment.
From the employer side, one way in the early days, before metrics, audits and results, to test the degree of accessibility for its policies, procedures and programs aligned to mental health is to:
1. List all the policies (e.g., mental health and bullying policies), procedures (e.g., adopting the "Standard" to facilitate a psychologically healthy and safe management system needed for annual internal audit and management review) and programs (e.g., EFAP, training for managers) available and active in the workplace.
2. Through one-on-one interviews with 10 to 15 employees randomly selected or with a focus group, explore what each policy, procedure and program means to them, where they can find it, why the organization is doing it, and the value to them.
3. Listen closely to ascertain how accessible each is to them.
Exploring accessibility through the above lens can help to uncover employees' engagement and concern with respect to current policies, procedures and programs to reduce mental injuries and mental health issues.
Employers must understand that having policies, procedures and programs in place doesn't necessarily mean that most employees understand or are accessing them. Also, not every employee is at the same level and ready to engage and access programs.
The workforce can be put into three buckets:
green – motivated to engage;
yellow – interested but have some perceived barrier preventing them from fully engaging;
and red – don't buy in, believe or trust, or are distracted.
The workforce can be put into three buckets:
green – motivated to engage;
yellow – interested but have some perceived barrier preventing them from fully engaging;
and red – don't buy in, believe or trust, or are distracted.
Tips for facilitating accessibility:
1. Never assume – Expect that it will always take a minimum of three separate communications and follow-up from employees and frontline leaders for most of the workforce to become aware of any new concept or initiative with respect to what it is, how it can be accessed, and the expectations for when employees are permitted to access it (e.g., during or after work hours).
2. Expect resistance – Because not everyone is at the same level of readiness, not every idea will be of interest or anticipated. Some employees may even push back. For accessibility, it's important to be clear on what rules are not negotiable, and that all employees are accountable, regardless of their interest.
As well, make it clear for all what is optional, and why it's being offered with respect to value and the benefit for both employee and employer.
As well, make it clear for all what is optional, and why it's being offered with respect to value and the benefit for both employee and employer.
3. Build an accessibility map – This provides a visual overview of all the organizational policies, procedures and programs for mental health, where each fits in the following three categories, and where they can be found:
- Primary prevention – objective is to prevent harm (e.g., anti-stigma campaigns).
- Secondary prevention – objective is to support people when a risk is identified to get information or skills to reduce their risk level (e.g., provide coping skills training to employees struggling to cope).
- Tertiary prevention – objective is to provide support (e.g., provide access to treatment for depression through EFAP or paramedical).
4. Monitor access – By using Google analytics you can flag different URLs to track and monitor what policies, procedures and programs are being successfully accessed. This can be an early indicator as to what future results can be expected.
When it comes to accessibility, sometimes organizations with fewer things working well have more success than those that keep adding programs without paying attention to who is accessing what. There can be wisdom in the phrase from a Robert Browning poem: "Less is more."
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/how-to-ensure-mental-health-support-in-the-workplace-is-accessible/article37617551/
This week's theme is about mental health:
http://badcb.blogspot.com/2020/07/its-time-to-invest-in-student-mental.html
This week's theme is about mental health:
"It's time to invest in student mental health"/ "End of summer a great time for a mental health check-in"
http://badcb.blogspot.com/2020/07/its-time-to-invest-in-student-mental.html
"Why everyone needs to take care of their mental health"/ "Why every organization should have a mental-health strategy"
http://badcb.blogspot.com/2020/07/why-everyone-needs-to-take-care-of.html
My personal experience. This is an email, and my friend says I could publish this on my blog because there's no name to protect her identity. You should all email and call and check up on your friends.
Jun. 3, 2020:
Friend: Sorry yeah I’m always bored and lonely at home I need to find activities to do when this pandemic is over
My week: My personal experience. This is an email, and my friend says I could publish this on my blog because there's no name to protect her identity. You should all email and call and check up on your friends.
May 30, 2020:
Friend: Do you want to go to the Waterpark at WEM?
Tracy: I don't like swimming.
Friend: Of course but you’ll always be into staying home and doing nothing with your life
Friend: Do you want to go to the Waterpark at WEM?
Tracy: I don't like swimming.
Friend: Of course but you’ll always be into staying home and doing nothing with your life
Tracy: That sounds kind of mean. However, I am interested in mini golfing in wem. Doing nothing with my life? You don't read my blog, and even if you do, I don't write down everything that I do. It's like I don't write this down or tell people unless it's for sure.
Friend: Ok I’m sorry yes mini golfing will be fun
Jun. 3, 2020:
Tracy: I was thinking about that mean comment you sent me. Did something happen to you prior to you emailing that? Then you get angry and decide to take it out on me? I have done that before.
Friend: Sorry yeah I’m always bored and lonely at home I need to find activities to do when this pandemic is over
Watts was working full-time in a Salvation Army thrift store. When COVID-19 invaded, she was laid off March 15. Rather than applying for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit, she was approved for employment insurance.
She wanted to be completely transparent. But Watts’ honesty and integrity backfired with such impact that it, frankly, defies logic.
When Watts told Goodhope’s AISH caseworker she had gone on EI, she was told AISH would take back whatever she received, dollar for dollar. And then the kicker: Goodhope will not get another AISH cheque until Watts returns to work.
But for now? Watts had to “beg” for $83 to cover a month’s rent from AISH, which has to be paid back.
Watts opened a letter — just last week — from the federal government saying she would not be getting an EI cheque this past week because of the volume of CERB cheques mailed out.
Jackie Barfett
I am confused. So she could work before COVID, receive a salary, and his AISH payments stayed the same.
But when she got laid off she couldn't collect EI without his AISH being reduced for the income she got from EI?
And, he won't get another cheque until she goes back to work which is difficult with COVID right now?
That is ridiculous!!!!!! Can she not apply for CERB instead of EI. She was laid off because of COVID. Many people who did not qualify for EI qualified for CERB. It is worth a try, right?
My opinion: Jackie summed it up well.
The Compound Effect: This book by Darren Hardy. I read 45 pgs.
As I'm reading this book, I already know the stuff like:
Finances: Save 10% of your money and you will have this amount of my money by this time.
Health: Cut down on eating this junk food, and you will have lost this much weight.
Watching TV: If you watch this amount of TV a day, you will watch this amount of TV in a week.
Jul. 7, 2020 Theodore Bhat: I was watching In the Dark and I saw this actor. He has a British accent.
Jamie Dornan: Bhat reminds me of Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey). I never seen those movies, but I do remember him from Once Upon a Time.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1946193/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
"Chuck E. Cheese, Beloved Rat-Themed Children's Casino, Has Filed For Bankruptcy": I read about this before, but my friend Dan N. found this article with a funny headline on Facebook: I remember going there for a classmate's 7 yr old birthday party. His name was Spencer Jongkind. Then he transferred schools after gr. 2 and I met him again in jr. high school. I'm sure some of you guys are like: "I can't believe you remembered that."
"MEC fighting to 'keep the lights on'": This article was a couple of months ago, but I never wrote about it. I never applied there.
https://www.citynews1130.com/2020/04/17/mec-coronavirus-struggle/
"Aurora Cannabis to lay off 700 staff, close five sites, take impairment charges": I never applied there. Cannabis is legal in Canada, but the industry isn't going very well.
Lift & Co. not going very well: This is a cannabis company.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/04/24/2021656/0/en/Lift-Co-Pursues-an-Asset-light-Strategic-Plan-in-Response-to-Economic-Conditions.html
"Teens, filming a TikTok, find dead body in suitcase after using popular exploring app Randonautica":
A group of teenagers in Seattle found a suitcase containing human remains near a shoreline after a popular smartphone app, Randonautica, prompted them to explore the area.
The group had been filming their explorations and posted a video to TikTok, a social media platform. User @ughhenry posted the TikTok on June 20 and it shows the group stumbling upon a small, black suitcase.
They then called the police, the video shows. The next clip shows police and fire trucks surrounding the beach.
Seattle police later confirmed the contents inside the suitcase were human remains and said investigators had found several other bags in the area, also body parts.
KING 5, a local news outlet, reported the remains belonged to 53-year-old Jessica Lewis and 27-year-old Austin Wenner. Both died on June 16 from multiple gunshot wounds. Seattle police said the case is still an open homicide investigation.
They then called the police, the video shows. The next clip shows police and fire trucks surrounding the beach.
Seattle police later confirmed the contents inside the suitcase were human remains and said investigators had found several other bags in the area, also body parts.
KING 5, a local news outlet, reported the remains belonged to 53-year-old Jessica Lewis and 27-year-old Austin Wenner. Both died on June 16 from multiple gunshot wounds. Seattle police said the case is still an open homicide investigation.
Jul. 8, 2020 David's Tea closing down:
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/davids-tea-seeks-creditor-protection-and-smaller-store-footprint-155849748.html
Mary Kay Letourneau dies of cancer:
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/davids-tea-seeks-creditor-protection-and-smaller-store-footprint-155849748.html
3 hours ago
I love tea, but seriously can't imagine why an entire store of overpriced tea was even necessary. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.
4 hours ago
That's what you get for charging $5.00 for a tea.
3 hours ago
Its not my cup of tea.
3 hours ago
Maybe it's my taste buds but tea (all tea, not just David's) smells great but tastes...meh. Certainly not worth $5 a cup. And their iced brews taste like watered down fruit juice.
My opinion: I have tried their tea samples, and it does taste like watered down fruit juice.
Mary Kay Letourneau dies of cancer:
Mary Kay Letourneau—who gained tabloid infamy for raping her 12-year-old former student, having children with him, and later marrying him—has died of cancer, her attorneys said.
She maintained that she didn’t know that having sex with a boy was illegal.
“If someone had told me, if anyone had told me, there is a specific law that says this is a crime,” she told Australian TV in 2018. “I did not know. I’ve said this over and over again. Had I known, if anyone knows my personality. Just the idea, this would count as a crime.”
- Kates 11 hrs ago
- Racin 12 hrs ago
My opinion: I saw one interview with her on 20/20 years ago. She was talking in a calm manner. I did remember watching one MADtv sketch.
Once again, I'm going to quote from Angela when she was talking about Justin Berry doing sexual things on webcam for money.
Angela: Are people really this dumb? By the time you get to this age (Latourneua was in her 30s), don't you kind of know what's right and wrong by then? I think he knew what he was doing was kind of wrong.
I don't know if Laterneau is really this dumb after one interview and this one article. I am not going to go and look for more interviews to watch and read about her to see if she really is that dumb. I have spent a lot of time writing about Justin Berry in 2006 (and there has been a few blog posts here). There are a lot of Dateline: To Catch a Predator blog posts from 2011-2012.
Jul. 9, 2020 Actress Naya Rivera feared dead: She was on Glee. She went on a boat with her 4 yr old son, and may have drowned. A comment was about the importance of wearing life jackets. I don't know if Naya was wearing one or not, or if it came off.
Jul. 9, 2020 Actress Naya Rivera feared dead: She was on Glee. She went on a boat with her 4 yr old son, and may have drowned. A comment was about the importance of wearing life jackets. I don't know if Naya was wearing one or not, or if it came off.
On Thursday, Officer Chris Dyer of the Ventura County Sheriff's office said that authorities would be "switching efforts" to a search and recovery operation.
"We're presuming that an accident happened, we're presuming that she drowned in the lake," he said. "There are no signs of foul play, no signs that anything went wrong, besides a tragic accident."
Jul. 9, 2020 Javicia Leslie Cast as Batwoman After Ruby Rose Exit, Becoming the First Black Actress to Play the Role:
The newest Batwoman is here!
Javicia Leslie has been cast in the role for The CW's Batwoman series — making her the first Black actress to step into the iconic role for a live-action TV show or movie.
"I am extremely proud to be the first Black actress to play the iconic role of Batwoman on television, and as a bisexual woman, I am honored to join this groundbreaking show which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community," Leslie, 33, said in a press release Wednesday.
Leslie will make her debut as the superhero in January 2021, when the series is set to return to The CW for season 2.
My opinion: She was a regular on God Friended Me. That's good to have her on the show. I saw the Batwoman pilot and thought it was mediocre, and never watched it again.
12-Year-Old Girl Wins $20K After Creating Car Seat Device That Helps Prevent Hot Car Deaths:
Lydia Denton might be young, but that's not stopping her from saving lives and making an impact in the world.
The 12-year-old girl from North Carolina was recently named the winner of CITGO's Fueling Education Student Challenge, where she earned $20,000 after creating the winning invention of a car seat device that detects when babies have been left in a hot car and can prevent them from dying.
"Winning the money was cool, but I really care about saving lives," Lydia tells PEOPLE. "My first thought was, 'Maybe no babies will die this summer!'"
"At first, I thought about raising money for the families, but that wouldn't fix the problem. I wanted to invent something that could prevent the deaths from happening," she adds. "My mom has a saying: 'Stop complaining and do something about it.' Complaining or being sad doesn't solve the problem, we have to take action to make a change."
Lydia did exactly that. She began researching what was already on the market, before figuring out what the problem was and how she could fix it.
"What I wanted was a device that had the ability to get 911 there to save the baby if a parent didn't respond," she shares. "I also wanted something everyone could afford."
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/12-old-girl-wins-20k-204054467.html
Trina McGee confronts the racism she experienced on the set of 'Boy Meets World': 'I didn't say it 20 years ago, but I'm saying it now':
In January, McGee, who played Angela Moore, tweeted about a racially insensitive comment she received from one of her co-stars on the set of the family sitcom. She revealed Will Friedle (Eric Matthews) had called her “Aunt Jemima” while she was getting hair and makeup ready backstage.
Even though the comment was made more than 20 years ago, it stuck with her for years, and now McGee says she is done being silent. “I feel like I’m always the one who had to squelch it and move on,” she says. “What about me? What about all this stuff I’m taking and ingesting in me, and not really totally realizing how much it’s lowering my vibration, my self-esteem.”
Looking back on the experience, McGee believes that at the time Friedle didn’t grasp the severity of the situation. “I don’t think he understood how I had to deal with it,” she explains. “I didn’t have a hairdresser. All those little micro braids you see, I stayed up all night doing them right before I went on national television for myself.” Friedle did end up apologizing to her after the incident, though she didn’t feel it was “completely sincere.”
When McGee reunited with the cast on the Disney Channel spinoff Girl Meets World, her co-star Rider Strong (Shawn Hunter) brought up the racially insensitive moment and tried to explain Friedle’s actions as playful joking and prodding to get a rise out of her. “When I walked away from that experience, I got pissed again because I was like, What the hell?,” she says. “Years later, this is the explanation for it?”
After posting the tweets and publicly voicing her pain, McGee was able to have a healing conversation with Friedle. Because of that, she encourages this kind of dialogue to move away from cancel culture and to create teachable moments instead.
“He wrote a long email to me,” she says of Friedle’s recent apology. “He said that it was a journey for him since that day that he had called me Aunt Jemima. And it was a journey of thinking about himself, thinking about what he’s been taught as acceptable to other cultures ... what might hurt people.”
My opinion: That's good that Friedle apologized. I was a casual watcher of that show. When they were in college (the last 2 seasons) I started watching it and liking it more. I was in jr. high school.
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