Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC
Mental Health

The demand for workplace mental health programs, supports, and resources is greater than ever. It’s time to stop thinking of mental health as a taboo topic and remove the stigma of shame and fear around mental illness.

What is mental health?
Mental health is at a state of well-being where the individual realizes their own abilities, can cope with the everyday stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and contribute to their community.

Why is mental health in the workplace important?
The workplace can be an essential factor to maintain positive mental health – but it can also be a stressful environment that contributes to mental health issues. When our mental health starts to deteriorate, it can be hard to enjoy life like we used to. The total cost from mental health problems to the Canadian economy is more than $50 billion annually and can contribute to lost productivity from absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover.

  • Know the risk factors for mental health
  • Understand the common signs and symptoms of mental health issues and how to recognize when an employee might be struggling with mental health issues
  • Access tools, resources, and information to help address mental health in the workplace.

Mental illnesses are conditions in which a person’s mood and behaviours negatively impact their day-to-day functioning. These health problems can include depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, substance use, and other illnesses and addictions.

If you or someone in your workplace is experiencing a mental health crisis and needs immediate medical support, call 9-1-1.

Basic Training
Course
This workshop helps attendees become more effective at managing their language, emotions, and interactions when dealing with difficult situations in the workplace.
Course
This course will cover how diversity affects the bottom-line, false assumptions, and how they can lead to unintentional biases.
Course
Available by e-Learning
Mental health is feeling good about who you are, having balance in your life, and managing life’s challenges. It is the responsibility of both employers and employees to protect and promote mental health in the workplace to ensure people are psychologically safe. For an introduction to the fundamentals of workplace mental health, start with this 1-hour online course.
Course
This interactive training session covers the fundamentals of bouncing back from adversity in our work lives. 
Course
Available Virtually by Video Conference
In this workshop, managers and supervisors build on their knowledge and skills and learn how to support an employee struggling with a mental health challenge or a situation affecting their mental health.
Course
Available Virtually by Video Conference
In this workshop, managers and supervisors build on their knowledge and skills and learn how to support an employee struggling with a mental health challenge or a situation affecting their mental health.
Course
This training is rich with skill-building exercises, including role-plays, to help participants become better able to work through inappropriate situations at work.
Course
This training is rich with skill-building exercises, including role-plays, to help executives become better able to work through inappropriate workplace situations.
Course
Designed for employees who have responsibility for direct reports and may be in an Emerging Leader or long-time people manager category.
Course
This customized training is an effective way to address negative workplace conduct and can provide solutions to help your leadership team and employees deal, skillfully, with numerous conduct-related issues.
Course
This course covers how to recognize workplace bullying or harassment and will examine what is ‘harassment’ and ‘bullying’, and what is not.
Course
Participants learn about the fundamentals of respect in the workplace. This session addresses and provides examples of behaviours that are inappropriate for workplace settings. It also gives participants techniques that can be used to eliminate the risk of offence.
Course
This workshop helps attendees to become more aware of the mental health continuum. It also provides strategies for removing mental health-related stigma at work.
Videos & Webinars
On Pink Shirt Day 2023, join Dr. Steven Conway, MSABC Mental Health and Wellness Director, as he shares how harassment and bullying in a workplace is an occupational health and safety issue. By the end of this webinar, workers, health...
Mental Health Resources and Tools
This workbook is intended for: Working people with low mood, who may be at risk for developing depression; Working people who have developed a mild or major depression; Partners, family members, friends or workplace colleagues who want to help; Employers, supervisors or managers concerned about their staff; Treatment providers who would like a tool to use as an adjunct to their clinical treatment.
Workplace mental health has never been more important. BC’s Hub for Workplace Mental Health is here to help.
Website
BounceBack® is a free skill-building program designed to help adults and youth 15+ manage low mood, mild to moderate depression, anxiety, stress or worry. Delivered online or over the phone with a coach, you will get access to tools that will support you on your path to mental wellness.
This document answers some of the frequently asked questions relating to mental disorder claims.
Guarding Minds at Work is a comprehensive resource to help you assess and address psychological health and safety in your workplace. 
About the project The Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC is working with industry, mental health, academic, government, and labour experts to develop a mental health strategy for the manufacturing sector. This strategy and plan will define a way forward to enable employers to integrate psychological health and safety into their OHS management systems. Manufacturing Sector […]
Unfortunately, due to stigma and unfair stereotypes about mental illness, it can be difficult for people to speak up about their mental health. It can be a lot easier to share that you have a physical illness, an injury, or some other form of physical disability than it is to disclose that you’re going through a mental health crisis.
What does it mean to be a psychologically safe workplace—and what role can an effective Safety Committee or Worker Rep play in helping to support a psychologically safe work environment? Find out as we explore the role of the Committee in a healthy workplace.
Watch on Demand
You are not alone. 1 in 5 of us will experience a mental health concern this year.
Mental Health First Aid is the help provided to a person developing a mental health problem, experiencing a mental health crisis, or a worsening of their mental health.
The workplace can be an essential factor to maintain positive mental health – but it can also be a stressful environment that contributes to mental health issues. When our mental health starts to deteriorate, it can be hard to enjoy life like we used to. The total cost from mental health problems to the Canadian […]
We spend a great deal of our time at work, and the financial and human costs of workplace mental health issues can be huge.
To foster a pragmatic integrated approach to workplace mental health in Canada, the Workforce Advisory Committee (WAC) of the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) collaborated with the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA) at Simon Fraser University to examine the relevant scientific and ‘grey’ literature on approaches to improving the mental health of employees.
Talking about mental health at work can be challenging. But becoming more aware of signs of mental illnesses, and learning how to have those difficult discussions are part of being an effective leader.
Disability management can be complex, even for what we might call “typical” physical injuries. Add a psychological element to a claim, and many employers feel completely paralyzed, unprepared to handle things appropriately and effectively. The sad reality is that many workers who are off work at least in part due to mental illness do not […]
Watch on Demand
“Workplace wellness is a commitment by an employer to cultivate a work environment that promotes the health and wellness of its employees.”
If you have someone in your family with a mental illness, you may be wondering what is going on.
Virtual services are available for British Columbians who are experiencing anxiety, depression or other mental health challenges.

Workplace bullying and harassment are behaviours that hurt, threaten, or frighten another person and can take many forms. Bullying and harassment can happen in any workplace, even if it’s not always obvious. This toolbox talk will help supervisors and managers begin the discussion with staff around recognizing and identifying workplace bullying and harassment.
An information fact sheet from WorkSafeBC with some basic information and links to legislation regarding bullying and harassment. Contains information for employers and workers.
Workplace Mental Health and Wellness Consulting Health and safety goes beyond the physical. The Alliance offers workplace mental health, wellness, and psychological safety consulting, coaching, and training to support you. Who is this for? If you are a business owner, leader, or responsible for developing programs or training for your organization, we can help. While […]
Please take a few minutes to participate in our workplace mental health survey (approximately 5-7 minutes). Your feedback is important to help us create a workplace mental health strategy that works for ALL manufacturers in British Columbia.
News & Blog Articles
by Andrea McKinlay Exploring the psychological experience of taking off our masks.   While many of us dream of the day we can step into a mask-less future, the thought of discarding them for good is a source of anxiety for others. For many, the...
An innovative work environment enhancement program from Sensitivity Training Canada, the 3-Step Respect in the Workplace Sensitivity Training program helps create workplaces that support mental health. Employers are required to protect the mental health of their employees while they are...