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Working Remotely: Taking Care of Our Mental Health

Remote working used to be about less commuting, balancing your schedule or avoiding office distractions when you needed special concentrate.

These days, remote working is not an option for many of us, which means a changed work environment – a more stressful one. Many of us work from desks created in the corners of our homes, with new work tools and need to deal with “coworkers” – our pets, children and roommates – who are now with us through our work day.

Balancing all this can be a struggle. The good news? There is help available.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Through the Government of Canada’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP), GC employees have access to completely confidential help provided through a third-party provider in either official language, free of charge.

Check out your Department or Agency’s EAP for Covid-19 related information on topics ranging from working from home with children and concentration and stress. For more information on how you can access your organization’s EAP services check here .

There is also an extensive library of health and wellness resources on LifeSpeak, a digital well-being platform, available to those in the GC. It has a section of blog posts related to COVID-19 on topics like:

• Helping your kids listen during COVID-19 isolation
• Staying connected as a couple during COVID-19
• Social distancing: What it means and how you can manage it

You can access these through your Department or Agency’s Group Account, where you can create your own account or browse anonymously. The password is “canada”.

Sun Life Financial

The Government of Canada’s benefits supplier, Sun Life Financial, also offers a Mental Health in the Workplace series with resources, products and services to help manage mental health issues in your workplace. These resources Include a workplace mental health risk assessment, access to research, resources and videos. You can access it here, in both languages: Sunlife Mental Health in the Workplace

Centre of Expertise on Mental Health in the Workplace

Chief Human Resources Officer for the Government of Canada has a web portal for GC workers during Covid-19. Start here Mental Health and Covid-19: Protect Your Mental Health for a list of links and many sources of information related to protecting your mental health. You can also follow along on Twitter @CEMHW_CESMMT for regular updates and timely information.

During Mental Health Week, there was a live “Power Chat” Question and Answer event co-organized by the Federal Workplace Well-Being Network and the Centre of Expertise on Mental Health in the Workplace, in cooperation with the Canada School of Public Service. Expert panelists answered questions on how to maintain social connections while juggling personal responsibilities with professional duties. The event was held in separate English and French sessions. More than 4,000 people registered online. You can watch the event, and others like it, here.

How are you feeling? Assess Yourself

The Canadian Mental Health Association has a mental health self-assessment tool called the Mental Health Meter that can help you understand the characteristics that make up good mental health.

Mental Health Meter

Mental Health for Managers

The Canadian School of Public Service hosts job aids to help managers on their GC Campus. There you will find a variety of mental health job aids developed specially for those who manage people. There are 13 different chapters with topics including; Balance, Recognition and Rewards and Workload Management.

Mental Health Job Aids

Posted June 2020