Implementing wellness practices in the workplace improve morale and productivity of employees and reduces absenteeism. By initiating and encouraging discussions around wellness, employees feel empowered to make decisions that will help reduce the stress they experience in the workplace.

Promoting wellness in the workplace does not have to be expensive or time consuming. Here are some easy-to-implement ideas that can have a huge impact on your employees:

• Provide healthy snacks 
  
• Ensure easy access to drinking water 
  
• Encourage employees to step away from their workspace at break times 
  
• Ensure employees take their vacation time 
  
• Put a Disconnecting from Work Policy in place to remind employees of your commitment to their mental health and work-life balance.
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• Offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). If you are a CFIB Member, you have access to an EAP through our partnership with PrimaSure.
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• Reduce the stigma around discussing mental health, encourage mindfulness, promote respectfulness, and teach tension release exercises by printing our free posters and posting them in your staff room or employee area.
  
• Offer flexible work schedules or arrangements, e.g., working from home, if possible.
  
• Encourage employees to eat healthily and to get enough rest.

For more insights into workplace wellness practices, check out our  Introducing wellness into the workplace  and Promoting workplace wellness articles. 

A Respectful Workplace Statement clearly lays out your company culture and the work environment you strive to foster, helping employees feel respected and valued.

Check out our Respectful Workplace Statement article for more information about why you should have a Respectful Workplace Statement for your business.

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The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) does not have mental health experts on staff, or provide mental health advice. Here are some trusted sources you can go to for mental health resources:

Canadian Mental Health Association 

Crisis Services Canada 

Mental Health Commission of Canada

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

Anxiety Canada

If an individual is in crisis and you think they could harm themselves or others, call 911.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) can provide advice on managing wellness in the workplace, but we are not mental health experts. If you need an expert in this area or other support, you can reach out to the Crisis Services Canada helpline by phone at 1-833-456-4566 (1-866-277-3553 in QC) or you can text 45645 (text not available in QC)

Encourage your employee to seek medical help, either through their family physician or a mental health professional. If your company offers an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) the employee can use that to access mental health aid.

Yes, stress and burnout are different and they are caused by different things.

Stress is caused by having too many demands and expectations placed on you – but you know there will be an end to it, and once the situation changes you will feel better.

Burnout is caused by long-term untreated stress, and can contribute to feelings of emptiness and being disengaged. 

Lean more about the causes and symptoms of burnout and explore suggestions for how to prevent it in our Burnout: What It Is & How to Deal With It article. 

Fatigue is used to describe a feeling of extreme tiredness that makes it difficult for someone to start or continue with activities or stay on task at work; they often feel exhausted and have a general lack of energy. Unlike burnout, fatigue doesn't include feelings of emotional or mental drain.

Check out our Identifying and Preventing Fatigue article to learn more about fatigue, including how to recognize it in yourself and your employees.