The University of Guelph has received Excellence Canada’s Silver Level Healthy Workplace® award, following an on-site verification process. The award acknowledges U of G’s efforts to encourage, support and implement exemplary health-related programs in the workplace.
“U of G’s Wellness@Work Initiative was created to help us support a thriving workforce, organization and community,” says Don O’Leary, Vice-President (Finance, Administration and Risk). “Achieving this silver certification shows we’re on the right path to fulfilling that goal.”
O’Leary will accept the award at the 2019 Performance Excellence Summit and Canada Awards for Excellence this fall. O’Leary has chaired U of G’s Wellness@Work committee since it began in 2016. The Wellness@Work initiative is sponsored by President Franco Vaccarino and supported by an advisory committee.
Meeting the evidence-informed criteria outlined in the Healthy Workplace Standard validates U of G’s progress toward supporting employee well-being over the past three years. Says O’Leary, “We will continue to prioritize building a workplace where employees can be their best selves.”
Excellence Canada is an independent, not-for-profit corporation that aims to improve the performance of Canadian organizations. Their Healthy Workplace® Standard, developed in collaboration with mental health specialists and health and safety professionals, provides a framework for organizations to encourage, support and implement exemplary health, safety and wellness-related practices and programs in the workplace. The Standard incorporates the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s voluntary Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.
Silver level is the second milestone in the Standard’s four-step certification process. Certification involves meeting requirements for leadership, planning and programs, people engagement, and process and risk. The University of Guelph achieved bronze certification in 2017.