News & Developments

Mental Health Week at McGill

Healthier Together Challenge: Mood Booster Edition. Back by popular demand, the Healthier Together Challenge is back, but with an emphasis on mood boosting! Brought to you by the Health and Wellbeing Program, HR, the challenge starts February 20 and runs for 8-weeks.

Shaping the Future of Healthy Hybrid @ McGill. Focus groups with multiple stakeholders from across the community are providing feedback based on their experiences with hybrid work, and helping to identify and address important questions that emerge in our highly diverse environment.

The 12^th annual Health & Well-Being Fair took place the week of November 21, 2022. The fair was in a hybrid format, with a one day on-campus event and virtual sessions throughout the rest of the week. Exhibitors offered information, tips, ideas, and solutions to help improve and maintain overall health and wellness. Overall, 640 employees registered for the fair.

The purpose of the fair is to cover different aspects of Health and Well-being including: Financial, Mental, Physical, Nutritional, and Community Wellness for McGill Faculty & Staff.

Under the umbrella of My Healthy Workplace, this self-directed attestation aims to fully equip McGill’s Administrative & Support Staff, as well as Supervisors, with the skills needed to transition to a healthy and productive hybrid workplace. This initiative allows participants to personalize their learning experience by selecting from a variety of relevant hybrid-focused workshops. Check out the Healthy Hybrid Attestation webpage for more information.

September: Launch of the Second Online Essential Skills for New Supervisors Program

On November 4, McGill University earned a Silver certification in the Healthy Workplace category as part of the 37th Canada Awards for Excellence. Excellence Canada hands out the annual awards to Canadian organizations in recognition of their commitment to continual improvement and pursuit of excellence. Check out the McGill Reporter article to learn more.

This summer challenge invites McGill Staff, Faculty, Alumni and their families to Push Past the Pandemic and compete against McMaster University and each other! Organized into teams of 4 or more, participants track their physical activity to help their team advance along a virtual racecourse. For this challenge, you can create your own team and invite family, friends and colleagues to join the fun. This summer challenge offers weekly mini challenges to support your overall well-being such as getting creative, spending time outside, practicing relaxation techniques, and more. For more information view the Push Past the Pandemic Challenge video. 

In preparation for the Return to Campus, My Healthy Workplace worked closely with the Office of the Associate Vice-Principal in Human Resources (Diana Dutton), the Emergency Operations Centre (Sarah Delisle), Integrated Strategy and Planning (Susan Murley), and the New Model of Work Project Office (Lisa Boyle) to present sessions on the resumption of in-person activities in order to ensure a healthy return to the workplace and to share resources for supporting staff mental health. 

On May 12, members of the My Healthy Workplace team were invited to present a session called "Partnering for a Healthier Workplace" to the members of the McGill University Non-Academic Staff Association (MUNASA). A copy of the presentation can be found here. 

In May, My Healthy Workplace launched the My Healthy Workplace Quiz to further heighten community awareness of the initiative. Take the quiz here. 

This year's theme for Mental Health Week is to "Name it, Don't Numb It". Under the umbrella of My Healthy Workplace, Organizational Development and the Health and Well-Being Program are partnering to bring you the activities listed below to support you and your teams towards improved mental health:

Monday, May 3rd

Just Breathe McGill

Tuesday, May 4th

Anxiety Busters! Tips and Techniques to Support you

Wednesday, May 5th

• Food and Mood
• Coaching Ourselves: Hope at Work
• Boundary Bootcamp

Thursday, May 6th

• Changing How We See Mental Illness
• Just Breathe McGill
• Crafting Resilience

Friday, May 7th

• LinkedIn Learning Course Club: Well-Being in the Workplace
• Burnout Prevention

On April 26, members of the My Healthy Workplace team delivered a session about the importance of psychological safety and its relationship to a healthy and safe workplace to the University Health and Safety Committee.

On April 1, My Healthy Workplace invited new McGill supervisors to participate in the first online cohort for the Essential Skills for New McGill Supervisors Program.

From February to April 2021, McGill's Health and Well-Being Program (HR Benefits) partnered with the Comprehensive Health Improvement Program (CHIP) to launch the "Healthier Together Challenge", where more than 400 McGill Staff and Faculty challenged each other to learn healthier habits and increase their physical activity. Read more about the challenge and the testimonies here.

My Healthy Workplace celebrates the holiday and end of the year by launching its Care Calendar.

On October 29, McGill's Health and Well-Being Team from Benefits launched its 10th annual health fair virtually for staff and faculty. Read more about the virtual health fair here.

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As part of My Healthy Workplace's journey towards Excellence Canada's Silver Certification, My Healthy Workplace invited the My Healthy Workplace Working Group to participate in a self-assessment.

My Healthy Workplace is excited to announce that it is launching LinkedIn Learning to all Administrative and Support Staff.

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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, My Healthy Workplace is offering online sessions to support the health and well-being of the McGill community. 

A My Healthy Workplace Ambassador organizes a fundraiser for the CURE Foundation.

A spin bike garden is approved for 680/688 Sherbrooke.

McGill University becomes a member of the Conference Board of Canada's Council on Workplace Health and Wellness, a network of medium- and large-sized Canadian public and private sector organizations that are currently involved in the development, implementation and monitoring of internal workplace health and wellness strategies.

My Wellness-centered Workplace and My Quality Workplace went to bat with Yves Beauchamp, pitching the Sponsor of MHW and VP A&F on important projects involving continuous improvement and psychological safety in the workplace. According to participants, “it was like preaching to the converted. Professor Beauchamp unquestionably believes in the value of these developments and wants to see concrete next steps realized in the New Year. “What an amazing and highly stimulating journey for all of us”, said one participant. “We are grateful to have been pioneers in these learning communities, and really want to encourage others to apply next spring.” The plan is to retain approximately half of the volunteers in the five learning communities in 2020/21, and to recruit new members to ensure continuity and new opportunities for employees and for the University.

Learning Community members were on fire on November 27^th when three teams presented to VP Yves Beauchamp the current state of their proposals and sought his input. The climate was engaging, forward looking - with a shared understanding of what matters to employees and to the senior administration. Themes related to learning & development (My Engaged Workplace), to paperless offices (My Sustainable Workplace), and to client service standards and practices (My Service-Oriented Workplace). Participants were delighted by the level of engagement displayed by the VP and the action oriented questions and suggestions he put forth. Exclaimed one participant, “The VP’s interest and engagement during our meetings was evident and appreciated by all of us! His expressed commitment to help us promote our Learning Communities has encouraged us to move forward with continued purpose and enthusiasm!"

On May 7^th, My Healthy Workplace (MHW) learning community (LC) members participated in an official launch with Sponsor VP Yves Beauchamp. Three MHW Working Group members – Francois Miller, Susan Murley and Anna Vrontakis acted as a Dragons’ Den Panel. Each of the 5 Learning Communities pitched MHW Sponsor and inspiring Dragons on workplace improvement initiatives that they would like to help develop and implement in the coming year. Substantive and exciting ideas were presented and valuable feedback was provided to help inform the next steps. Learning Communities will continue to meet monthly to advance proposals for working meetings in late Fall with MHW Sponsor.

This year's Mental Health Week at McGill featured thirteen events to raise awareness about mental health and provide employees with knowledge and tools to support their own and their colleagues’ mental health. Organizational Development and the Health and Well-being team organized the following events:

Monday, May 6th

CoachingOurselves: Beyond Bullying

Tuesday, May 7th

Boost your Health Series: Find Balance from Within

Wednesday, May 8th

Mental Health Matters;

Lunch & Learn: Prevention - Avoiding Burnout;

Boost your Health Series: Human Nature 101 - What the science of psychology has taught us about everyday life;

Lunch & Learn: Self-care - Your First Priority

Thursday, May 9th

Mental Health Matters

Boost your Health Series: Mental Health in the Workplace

Friday, May 10th

Lunch & Learn: Self-care - Your First Priority

Boost your Health Series: Clearing your Debt

CoachingOurselves: Managing Time and Energy (Macdonald Campus)

Lunch & Learn: Self-care - Your First Priority

Mental Health First Aid (2-day workshop: May 10th & May 13th)

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On February 5th, 2019, members of the My Healthy Workplace team visited Macdonald Campus to participate in the Employee Service Fair.

My Healthy Workplace joined other exhibitors at the annual employee service fair held at Le James Bookstore on January 31, 2019. Members of the My Healthy Workplace team were on hand to answer questions and to explain the many ways employees can get involved in supporting a Healthy Workplace at McGill.  

Members of the My Healthy Workplace team presented to McGill’s Advisory Council on Sustainability. The presentation included specific information on one of the MHW Learning Communities, My Sustainable Workplace. This group of McGill employees is forming and will focus on issues related to supporting greater sustainability at McGill, and finding solutions to inefficient and unsustainable processes and practices here at McGill. The learning communities proposals are expected to be presented to the MHW Sponsor, Vice-Principal, Administration and Finance, Yves Beauchamp by the end of 2019.

Approximately 100 Leadership Development Program grads attended a session to network and explore ways to get involved to support the My Healthy Workplace initiative in order to improve the workplace for all McGill employees.

Dear colleagues,
 
It has been a few months since my last note regarding My Workplace. As we begin the new academic year, it is my great pleasure to share some significant updates about the next phase of this important initiative, and to invite you to get involved.
 
This initiative is one of the Principal’s five priorities: enhancing the quality of work life through employee engagement and learning, supported by meaningful programs, policies and processes that make McGill a thriving Learning Organization.
 
To guide us in this journey, we are now working with Excellence Canada, a non-profit group, to assess ourselves against a rigorous scorecard and see how we measure up with respect to people management, employee engagement, process and risk management. They will also help us build new concrete initiatives to address any gaps, and their strict methodology will ensure that we are held accountable for becoming the healthy workplace that we aspire to be.
 
We renamed the initiative “My Healthy Workplace” (MHW) to more fully reflect its holistic approach to enhancing our workplace. MHW is McGill’s active commitment to providing a healthy, safe and productive environment for employees, based on respect, inclusivity, continuous learning and appreciation – the values we have heard are most important to you.
 
MHW, while located within HR’s Organizational Development function, is in fact a grouping of partners from across McGill with learning communities where we can learn together, refine programs and services and partner for a healthy workplace. Its success will hinge upon broad employee participation, consultation and feedback. I urge you to find out more and get involved in some of the initiatives below:  
 
• Join one of the learning communities that will chart MHW’s way forward.  
• Sign up to become an MHW ambassador in your faculty or unit.  
• Volunteer as a peer coach or facilitator.  
• Invite MHW to your faculty or unit to engage with your teams around learning and wellness in your work environment.  
• If you have a proposal that could help make McGill a better place to work or study, share it with us via the Great Ideas Pipeline. • Send us a transformational question that gets to the heart of how we can best work together.  
 
This integrated and sustainable approach to a healthy workplace engages employees from across the University. So please, take advantage of one or more of these opportunities. Let us show our enthusiasm, commitment to a healthy community, and our unique talents and perspectives!  
 
Many thanks,  
 
Yves Beauchamp Vice-Principal, Administration and Finance

Becoming a learning organization includes being a healthy workplace and it is linked to one of the Principal’s top five priorities. Our transformational journey is well underway, and we want to hear from you! What does a healthy workplace look like to you? What have you or your unit done to encourage a healthy workplace? Our interactive roadshows are in full swing, and we’ve learned so much from them already. Contact your Human Resources Advisor and find out when our roadshow will stop at your location! Come and ask us questions, give us your ideas and get involved! 

HR’s Health & Well-being Program presents three Boost Your Health Events:

Yoga in the Park: Tuesday, May 8, 2018 (12:15 - 1:15). HR’s Organizational Development and Health & Well-being Program for Faculty & Staff invites you to an open-air yoga class on the lower main campus. Nature and yoga go hand in hand; it’s all about disconnecting from the distractions of daily life. So, why not take a mental health lunch break and let some sunshine in. Grab your yoga mat and join us as we practice balancing body, mind and spirit. 

Why Can’t We All Just Get Along? Wednesday, May 9, 2018 (12:15 - 1:15). Conflict is inevitable and handling difficult situations in everyday life can be tough. How well do you cope? Clinical psychologist, Dr. Camillo Zacchia presents an informative and entertaining discussion on the causes of anger and frustration and how to deal with them. 

Sleep & Stress: The Importance of Sleep for Mental and Physical Health: Friday, May 11, 2018 (12:15 - 1:15). Are you sleep-deprived? Burning the candle at both ends? Join Dr. Norbert Schmitz discusses how lack of sleep can affect you and shows why good sleep habits are necessary for improving your health. 

Organizational Development, HR presents two Lunch & Learn Sessions:

Mental Health Matters: Monday, May 7, 2018 (12:00 - 1:15). One in five Canadians will experience mental health concerns at some point during their working years. A healthy workplace starts with increasing awareness – and reducing the stigma around mental health matters. This session provides an introduction to the complex issue of mental health in the workplace. Come learn about mental well-being, mental illness and stress, risk factors, behaviours to look out for, and the importance of early intervention. 

Mindfulness in the Workplace: Thursday, May 10, 2018 (12:00 - 1:15). Simple changes in lifestyle can lead to improved mental health and wellbeing. Mindfulness is one such practice—with strong research supporting its usefulness for those suffering from anxiety, depression, or even just daily stress. Come find out more during this lunch hour session.