Relief Research Chair in Mental Health, Self-Management and Work Nurturing a healthy work environment

Did you know that mental health issues, whether work-related or personal, have a significant impact on workplace wellness. Our commitment to scientific research and practical interventions aims to promote the overall well-being of Canadian workers.

We’re taking action
Mental health comes first

Mental health challenges can affect each of us at any time. At Beneva, we’re committed to supporting our members and our community. We believe in the importance of fostering a healthy workplace culture and putting the well-being of the community at the heart of our mutualist values.

That’s why we are proud to have financially contributed to the creation of the Relief Research Chair in Mental Health, Self-Management and Work, powered by Beneva.

Breaking taboos

Did you know?

  • +64%
    increase in anxiety cases in Canada: going from 7% before the pandemic to 23% during and 11% after1
  • 22.5%
    of adults and 76.7% of young Canadians ages 16 to 35 have an anxiety disorder2
  • 500,000
    people in Canada miss work each week due to health problems or mental health issues3

Why is it important for you?

    Employee well-being

    Knowing that 50% of workers in small businesses face mental health issues makes it imperative to promote a healthy work environment. And offering support such as an employee assistance program starts to make a lot of sense.4

    Psychosocial safety

    Only 25% of employees report feeling a high level of psychosocial safety in their company. Yet that’s the environment needed to ensure a healthy psychosocial balance.

    Supporting leaders too

    More than half of managers are also affected by stress, anxiety, insomnia and professional burnout, and have more and more trouble signing off from work.5 Recognizing their vulnerability is the first step to finding impactful solutions.

We invest seriously We make solid commitments to deal with major challenges

Our investment

Aware of mental health needs and our role in the community, we have invested 1 million dollars over 5 years.

This massive investment in research shows our commitment to finding effective data-driven solutions. Through the Chair, we engage in research, networking and knowledge-sharing activities aimed at developing practical solutions to promote self-management and mental health, for the benefit of workers, their families and their companies.

Our partners

The Mental Health Research Chair is the result of a unique collaboration between Université Laval, a renowned academic institution, and Beneva.

Simon Coulombe, Ph.D., holds the Relief Research Chair and is an associate professor in the Department of Industrial Relations at Université Laval. With a doctorate in community psychology and a career devoted to the study of well-being and mental health, he contributes invaluable expertise and brings immense credibility to this partnership.

Areas of research

The Research Chair focuses on four key interconnected areas to improve mental health in the working world.

  1. The individual and self-management
  2. Work and its meaning
  3. Technology and mental health
  4. Interventions and training

More about areas of research

Our potential impact

By relying on data from specific Canadian research, we have an unprecedented opportunity to identify the key challenges facing workers. The goal is to develop solutions to support mental health in the companies where they work.

By collecting previously unpublished data from a large portion of Canadian workers, we show our commitment to providing organizations with personalized service.

Together, we’re leading the way to concrete solutions, putting mental health in the workplace at the forefront of our shared concerns.

We’re talking about it The employees of a globally-expanding SME

In this episode of our web series on mental health in the workplace, we look at the challenges facing an SME with offices in several countries. We examine the strategies used to ensure mental wellness in an international, remote and multicultural work environment.

1
00:00:00,009 --> 00:00:04,975
In a post-pandemic context, there have
been important changes to work organization.

2
00:00:04,975 --> 00:00:09,370
What we need to know is how those changes
influenced psychology health at work

3
00:00:09,370 --> 00:00:13,231
and what can we do in order to help
organizations to deal with that.

4
00:00:22,639 --> 00:00:23,282
- For Beneva,

5
00:00:23,282 --> 00:00:27,412
it's natural that we want to take care
of our customers but also of the community.

6
00:00:27,412 --> 00:00:30,430
Beneva decided to invest
one million dollars over five years

7
00:00:30,430 --> 00:00:32,777
in this brand new research chair.

8
00:00:32,777 --> 00:00:35,000
It would allow us, as well, to develop tools

9
00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:38,744
that would be useful
for our group insurance customers

10
00:00:38,744 --> 00:00:44,408
and be able to provide
more psychological support to the community

11
00:00:44,408 --> 00:00:45,614
and our clients as well.

12
00:00:50,926 --> 00:00:52,029
- Before Covid,

13
00:00:52,029 --> 00:00:54,397
everybody was more
in the workplace.

14
00:00:54,397 --> 00:00:56,291
But I believe with the pandemic,

15
00:00:56,291 --> 00:01:00,355
there has been a change where people
sometimes have developed isolation,

16
00:01:00,355 --> 00:01:03,080
they feel that it was
a different way of working.

17
00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:05,608
- When it comes to well-being
of the employees,

18
00:01:05,608 --> 00:01:08,024
remote work poses
a bit of an extra challenge.

19
00:01:08,024 --> 00:01:10,691
You can't see five days a week
your employees anymore.

20
00:01:10,691 --> 00:01:11,613
You see them on cameras.

21
00:01:11,613 --> 00:01:14,216
There are somedays that
you don' t even speak to them at all.

22
00:01:14,216 --> 00:01:18,670
And what happens is that you can lose
touch of their typical behaviors.

23
00:01:18,670 --> 00:01:21,283
So observing if something
can actually be wrong.

24
00:01:21,283 --> 00:01:23,880
And it makes it more difficult
when you don't actually get to see them

25
00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:25,576
and speak to them on a daily basis.

26
00:01:25,576 --> 00:01:27,747
- About half of SME employees,

27
00:01:27,747 --> 00:01:31,960
reported feeling either psychological health
difficulties or addiction.

28
00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:35,602
One in five reported anxiety level
at a clinical level

29
00:01:35,602 --> 00:01:38,632
and one in five, depression symptoms
at a clinical level.

30
00:01:38,632 --> 00:01:41,848
This is about twice as much as pre-pandemic.

31
00:01:41,848 --> 00:01:46,126
According to our data, younger employees
report higher workloads

32
00:01:46,126 --> 00:01:48,530
which might explain at least in part

33
00:01:48,530 --> 00:01:51,026
the higher depression and anxiety sypmtoms.

34
00:01:51,026 --> 00:01:55,352
- We look at mental health
on an overall perspective

35
00:01:55,352 --> 00:01:57,880
and taking it into consideration
into wellness.

36
00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,861
If we take care of the mental health
of our employees,

37
00:02:00,861 --> 00:02:03,293
it contributes in increasing
the productivity.

38
00:02:03,837 --> 00:02:07,608
It contributes in maintaining a healthy
work life balance for them.

39
00:02:07,608 --> 00:02:11,800
- I think XN is very good with creating
healthy balance to work environment

40
00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:13,064
for its employees.

41
00:02:13,064 --> 00:02:15,058
We have a very flexible work schedule.

42
00:02:15,058 --> 00:02:16,733
For example, I have a colleague in Singapour.

43
00:02:17,155 --> 00:02:21,027
If I work on her schedule that one night
and I'm working at 9 p.m,

44
00:02:21,486 --> 00:02:24,626
the next day, I can kinda take an hour
for myseff in the morning,

45
00:02:24,626 --> 00:02:25,746
sleeping a little bit.

46
00:02:25,746 --> 00:02:29,422
So, there is a nice distinction
between work and private life.

47
00:02:29,422 --> 00:02:34,872
- Our stastistical analysis show that
employees who use self-management strategies

48
00:02:34,872 --> 00:02:37,085
maintain better psychological health.

49
00:02:37,085 --> 00:02:40,381
They also have less absenteeism
and less presenteeism,

50
00:02:40,381 --> 00:02:43,057
so being at work even if you have symptoms.

51
00:02:43,057 --> 00:02:44,675
Our results also show though

52
00:02:44,675 --> 00:02:49,376
that having a workplace environment
with less psychosocial risk factors

53
00:02:49,376 --> 00:02:51,229
is also very important.

54
00:02:51,229 --> 00:02:54,787
- There are many psychological risks
in an organization.

55
00:02:54,787 --> 00:02:56,675
We usually look at absenteeism,

56
00:02:56,675 --> 00:02:59,698
we also look at social isolation,

57
00:02:59,698 --> 00:03:06,280
we also ensure that the workload is managed
properly to ensure that there is no burnout.

58
00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:07,939
- To support my employees
mental health,

59
00:03:07,939 --> 00:03:10,972
I make sure that I don't put
too much pressure on them.

60
00:03:10,972 --> 00:03:15,634
I would rather communicate early about
what expectations are for their deadlines,

61
00:03:15,634 --> 00:03:18,461
rather than micro-managing on a daily basis.

62
00:03:18,461 --> 00:03:20,590
- We have created a small social committee.

63
00:03:20,590 --> 00:03:22,339
Some of our employees work remotely,

64
00:03:22,339 --> 00:03:26,962
And it's very important to make sure
that they feel they belong to a community.

65
00:03:26,962 --> 00:03:28,861
- We try to get people
out of their shell a little bit

66
00:03:28,861 --> 00:03:31,843
to bring people together
with different things like…

67
00:03:31,843 --> 00:03:33,838
You know, we are doing
our cooking class soon.

68
00:03:33,838 --> 00:03:37,298
Anything to foster a little bit of
collaboration team spirit

69
00:03:37,298 --> 00:03:39,592
and to get to know the people
you work with better.

70
00:03:39,592 --> 00:03:44,398
- In our study, about one third of employees
report having access to an EAP

71
00:03:44,398 --> 00:03:46,446
or Employee Assistance Program.

72
00:03:46,446 --> 00:03:50,642
However, 50% of employees say
that they don't have access to one.

73
00:03:50,642 --> 00:03:54,568
And 20% aren't sure whether or not
the organization offers an EAP.

74
00:03:55,229 --> 00:03:57,294
- To make sure that my employees are aware

75
00:03:57,294 --> 00:04:00,046
that the Employee Assistance Program
is available,

76
00:04:00,046 --> 00:04:02,642
we try on an annual visit
to do a communication

77
00:04:02,642 --> 00:04:06,935
in the month of January to make sure that
they are aware of the tools and ressources

78
00:04:06,935 --> 00:04:08,300
that are avalaible for them.

79
00:04:11,304 --> 00:04:13,821
- Our recommandations
in terms of step by step

80
00:04:13,821 --> 00:04:17,256
to be able to implement
a psychological health support,

81
00:04:17,256 --> 00:04:21,032
the first step would be to have
an organizational health assessment.

82
00:04:21,032 --> 00:04:23,619
The second step would be
to survey your employees.

83
00:04:23,619 --> 00:04:26,467
And then,
from there you'll be able to put in place

84
00:04:26,467 --> 00:04:30,894
an action plan that's custom to the needs
and the interest of your employees

85
00:04:30,894 --> 00:04:34,264
but also to the numbers
that talk louder than others

86
00:04:34,264 --> 00:04:36,756
and that would be the priorities to adress in

87
00:04:36,756 --> 00:04:38,505
initiatives that you want to put in place.

88
00:04:38,505 --> 00:04:40,478
- At XN, we try as much as possible

89
00:04:40,478 --> 00:04:44,382
to make sure that mental health is part of
the day to day conversation.

90
00:04:44,382 --> 00:04:46,468
We try to go beyond the differences

91
00:04:46,468 --> 00:04:51,076
and make sure that everybody feels that it is
a subject important to the organization.

Start the discussion

Dive into our content

    Web series
    Mental health of managers in SMEs

    SME managers are often overlooked when it comes to mental health. In this episode, we examine concrete strategies to help them stay balanced.

    Web series
    Well-being of immigrant workers

    In the first episode of our web series on mental health in the workplace, we’ll explore the challenges that immigrants face and how to limit the impacts. We’ll offer companies potential solutions as well as practical recommendations based on action research.

    Insight report
    Addressing psychosocial risks to achieve lasting results

    Beneva recommends simple, concrete solutions that small- and medium-sized businesses can implement to address psychosocial risks and foster a healthy, caring and productive workplace.

    Webinar
    Small business special report: group insurance and mental health

    Thanks to the Relief Research Chair, learn about the significant benefits of the EAP, MAP and telemedicine for overall health, as well as mental health trends in Canadian small businesses.

    Podcast
    Understanding anxiety

    Immerse yourself in the second part of the podcast chat with Simon Coulombe, who holds the Relief Research Chair, and explore an inspiring approach: positive mental health.

    Podcast
    Mental health through shared responsibility (CRRSMAT)

    Fostering mental health in the workplace is everyone’s business. Discover supportive practices that employers can implement and self-management tips for employees.

    Article
    Managers and professional burnout

    The Relief Research Chair, powered by Beneva, conducted a survey on the mental health of managers. It offers solutions to promote their well-being at work.

    Reference tool
    Connecting the dots: our health report

    Connecting the Dots explores how shifts in group insurance claims reveal underlying health patterns, offering insight into the factors shaping plan usage. This is key to finding innovative solutions to ensure plan sustainability.

Our support programs for workplace health.

We are the 5th largest group insurer in Canada.