In HRchat 170, we hear from Mario Baril, Ombudsman of Mental Health and Employee Well-Being at the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, a Canadian federal public service that embraces authentic, open and stigma-free dialogue on mental health issues based on compassion.
Mario will also be a panelist at the April 29 InnovateWork Online Summit.
The Centre of Expertise on Mental Health in the Workplace’s Response to COVID-19
In response to COVID-19, the Centre of Expertise on Mental Health in the Workplace, at the Treasury Board Secretariat, launched new information on mental health and COVID-19 for public servants. The aim is to provide employees, managers, and executives with the tools to manage their mental health during the pandemic.
It includes tips and tactics for self-care and building resilience to better cope with the psychological impacts of involuntary telework and isolation over an extended period of time. This also includes the Wellness Together Canada portal that connects Canadians to peer support workers, social workers, psychologists, and other professionals for confidential chat sessions or phone calls.
About the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development
ISED is the first federal government department with a Canadian Innovation Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace offering workshops to over 18,000 employees over the past 18 months.
These workshops are delivered by experts on mental health and aim to equip employees and managers across the Canadian federal public service with best practices on how to detect and address issues of mental health in the workplace, how to cope with stress, anxiety, how to take care of your wellness through yoga and mindfulness activities.
ISED has a team of dedicated practitioners who offer consulting and coaching sessions, mediations, and workplace restoration. One of their signature initiatives is the Emotional Intelligence coaching to support highly productive workplaces.
What is the Role of an ISED Ombudsman?
As a result of COVID-19 employees are understandably feeling a wide range of emotions. ISED was one of the early adopters of the Ombudsman model back in 2018. The department strongly believes in creating a space for employees to be able to discuss confidentially any workplace issues they are facing.
Mario Basil explains “The Ombudsman offers this safe space, in a confidential and impartial environment, in order to listen to employees’ concerns and develop options to solve them in an informal way. While this is relatively new at ISED, the Ombudsman has already met with more than 150 employees offering help and support”.
“During the COVID-19 crisis, the Ombudsman has seen a substantial increase in cases where employees feel isolated and distressed. Before their issues may have been more related to the interpersonal working relationships between colleagues, or employees and management, but now we observe that the current COVID-19 crisis has been a trigger for employees to reach out to the Ombudsman. Previously, some employees were more likely to suffer in silence”.
In addition, the role of the Ombudsman is to provide recommendations to senior management through the Ombudsman Annual Report. Mario and his team are in frequent contact with Deputy Ministers, particularly during this time, and am continually recommending ways we can continue to equip our employees with resources to address their well-being.
“My recommendations also support our departmental and government-wide commitment to renewal initiatives that support a more agile, inclusive and equipped workforce”, explains Mario. “In fact, my first Annual Report back in December 2019 recommended to senior officials to be agile in offering opportunities to telework. This vision has proven to be effective, as we have on a daily basis more than 4,800 employees (close to 80%) connecting to the network and using a variety of tools to communicate with other team members. In line with the recognition of being one of the 100 top employers in Canada for the second year in a row, our department is very agile through this current crisis.”
About Mario Basil
Mario Baril joined ISED in October 2018. He has held several executive positions over the past 13 years in the areas of strategic and business communications at Public Service and Procurement Canada, as Chief of Staff to a Deputy Minister at the Treasury Board Secretariat, and as Executive Director for the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada.