New CMHA toolkit supports employees, employers with planning psychologically-safe return to the workplace
As Ontario’s economy gradually re-opens during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new toolkit is now
available to support employers and employees in navigating the mental health implications of
returning to physical workplaces.
Developed by Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario Division, in partnership
with Mental Health Works and BounceBack Ontario, Return to the workplace: A psychological
toolkit for heading back to work aims to serve employees and employers across a variety of
sectors. This toolkit provides guidance on how to support the mental health of individuals as
they plan safe transitions back into their workplaces and to help employers as they develop
policies and procedures for supporting staff returning to the work environment.
For employees, anxiety about returning to the previous ways of working and engaging with
others is natural and expected. This toolkit aims to support employees currently working from
home and struggling with thoughts about returning to the workplace. It contains information
about the common emotions people may be feeling as they think about returning to their
workplace and guides readers through coping strategies.
Just as employees may be struggling with thoughts about returning to the workplace, employers
are having to consider several elements that need to be addressed as part of return-to-work
planning. This may range from creating physical safety and infection control in the physical
workspace, to considering possible risks as employees enter and leave their offices, to the
impact on productivity. This toolkit takes the employer perspective into consideration with
guidelines that may help them take their employees’ mental health into consideration as they
plan for a safe return to the workplace.
Read the Return to the workplace toolkit here.