Strategic Plan

Carleton University’s Healthy Workplace Strategic Plan 2019-2022 is a holistic approach to supporting faculty and staff well-being and building a thriving workplace. This Strategic Plan lays out the vision, areas of focus, goals and actions for Carleton’s Healthy Workplace Committee over three years, from 2019 to 2022. It also identifies actions for implementing the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, which Carleton committed to in 2013.

Year Two Update (2020-2021)

The Healthy Workplace Committee and Champions are pleased to provide the Carleton campus an update of the accomplishments achieved in the second year of the three-year Healthy Workplace Strategic Plan (2019-2022):

• Saw an increase of 131% in faculty and staff participation in Healthy Workplace programming from the 2019/2020 academic year to the 2020/2021 academic year.
• Expanded the Healthy Workplace Committee to ensure the membership reflects our values of diversity and inclusion, and to further our coordination with other university-wide initiatives (such as Kinàmàgawin– Carleton’s Indigenous Strategy, the Coordinated Accessibility Strategy and the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Action Plan).
• Delivered a suite of virtual mental health training opportunities for faculty and staff in collaboration with Learning and Professional Development, with new topics related to our current context including Stress & Anxiety, Isolation & Loneliness and Substance Use & Addiction.
• Developed and launched the new Workplace Mental Health for People Leaders training in collaboration with Human Resources.
• Hosted regular virtual Staff Check-In sessions and Management Mornings & Afternoons sessions in response to the expressed needs of faculty and staff, in collaboration with Human Resources and Learning and Professional Development.
• Further developed and expanded the Workplace Mental Health resource page.
• Supported the Office of Quality Initiatives in the development and implementation of the new Change Management Workshop Series.
• Co-hosted January 2021 Let’s Talk event “From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way” featuring author Jesse Thistle with campus partners: Carleton Leader, the Office of the VP (Students & Enrolment), the Rideau River Residence Association, the Department of Psychology and the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA). 478 faculty, staff, students and community members attended!
• Hosted regular Stress Management group workshop series for staff, as well as for faculty and instructors, with Dr. O’Farrell, C.Psych. and Stress Management group workshop series for parents with Dr. Jacqueline Legacy, C.Psych.
• Relaunched the Mental Health Speaker Series virtually, highlighting Carleton faculty members’ research
• Partnered with Equity & Inclusive Communities and the Centre for Indigenous Initiatives to offer Community Healing Sessions for Black, Indigenous and Racialized faculty and staff, and a Community-Wide Engagement Session for all faculty and staff.
• Join Carleton’s Mental Wellness Research and Training Hub (MeWeRTH) as an Associate Member
• Launched the new Accessibility & Wellness Speaker Series in collaboration with Carleton’s READ Initiative, in support of Carleton’s Coordinated Accessibility Strategy
• Partnered with Sustainability Carleton on a variety of initiatives, including Cleaning the Capital for Earth Day and the Spring Cleaning & Decluttering Challenge
• Offered the annual CU Healthier Challenge virtually in January 2021, with a record number of participants: 90 faculty and staff!
• Supported the Office of Quality Initiatives in hosting the hugely successful virtual Service Excellence Awards, with 600 people in attendance. We received a record number of nominations during the 2020 year as well: 482 compared to 295 in 2019 (that’s a 63% increase!). Nominees were recognized through the annual Service Excellence video, and both the nominees and the recipients were recognized on the Service Excellence website.
• Reviewed and updated the Healthy Workplace Policy

These initiatives support the goals as outlined in the Healthy Workplace Strategic Plan. As we moved our offerings online, we continued to place a priority on the health and well-being of all members of our campus community by creating the space to have informal discussions about how people are adapting, and to discuss best practices about working from home. We have made great progress in our second year of the strategic plan, but we must continue to improve how we meet the needs of all members of our diverse campus community. We are committed to continuous improvement in building a thriving, healthy workplace and we will continue our work in collaboration with our campus partners and members of our campus community.

Year One Update (2019-2020)

The Healthy Workplace Committee and Champions are pleased to provide the Carleton campus an update of the accomplishments achieved in the first year of the three-year Healthy Workplace Strategic Plan (2019-2022):

• Delivered a suite of mental health training opportunities for faculty and staff in collaboration with Learning and Professional Development.
• Developed regular Remote Staff Check-In sessions and virtual Management Mornings & Afternoons sessions in response to the expressed needs of faculty and staff, in collaboration with Human Resources and Learning and Professional Development.
• Further developed and expanded the Workplace Mental Health resource page.
• Co-hosted January 2020 Let’s Talk event featuring Kellylee Evans with campus partners: Carleton Leader, the Office of the VP (Students & Enrolment), the Rideau River Residence Association, the Department of Psychology and the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA).
• Launched Stress Management Group pilot with Dr. O’Farrell, C.Psych.
• Developed and delivered Supporting a Colleague workshops and moved them online in May 2020.
• Developed and mailed out Supporting a Colleague: A Step-By-Step Guide document to all faculty and staff.
• Developed and delivered Recognizing Stress and Building Resilience workshops and moved them online in May 2020.
• Worked in collaboration with Human Resources to cross-promote information about Carleton’s Employee & Family Assistance Program.
• Achieved Gold Level certification in Mental Health at Work standard from Excellence Canada.

Dimensions of Well-Being

The Healthy Workplace Committee recognizes that there are various dimensions that can influence an individual’s well-being and thereby impact a Healthy Workplace culture. These dimensions are not independent, but rather interdependent and interconnected. The following dimensions of wellness that impact health and well-being will assist in developing Healthy Workplace programming and planning.

• Mental
• Physical
• Professional
• Social

Areas of Focus

For the purpose of this Strategic Plan, the Healthy Workplace Committee identified the following four areas of focus integral to building a Healthy Workplace:

• Planning & Assessment
• Faculty & Staff Engagement
• Awareness, Literacy & Education
• Leadership

Here is a model demonstrating how these four areas contribute to building a Healthy Workplace, defined by the four dimensions of well-being.

The world is increasingly complex and the pace of change compounds the challenge of living a balanced and healthy life. At Carleton, we value resilience and we are a caring community that supports each other. The Healthy Workplace Strategic Plan 2019-2022 is our commitment to continuous improvement in building a thriving, healthy workplace.