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Key points
- Adopt a Plan-Do-Check-Act continuous improvement model that engages employees.
- Tackle the easiest problems first, as it builds skills and confidence that issues are being addressed.
- Training leaders/managers is one of the quickest ways to make an impact on the daily experience of employees.
- Evidence-based tools like the WPSA can ensure initiatives are having the desired impact.
Burnout first became a classified condition with the publication of ICD-11. It is not listed as a medical diagnosis but as a workplace phenomenon. The WHO emphasizes that burnout is not a problem in the individual that needs to be fixed, but rather the consequence of chronic workplace stress that is not well managed.
Although we want to empower employees to take care of themselves, this focus on the individual was never the concept of burnout. The good news is that organizations can do things to improve the workplace and reduce the likelihood of stress for employees. However, organizational change is not one-size-fits-all. There’s no checklist to go through to make organizational change.
Step 1 of organizational change is to get a baseline. It is critical to take a Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) approach when making organizational change. In our research, we have found that too often organizations make change without any data and therefore have no way of evaluating whether their efforts are having the desired impact (Lee-Baggley & Howatt, 2022). Assessment tools like the Workplace Psychological Safety Assessment (WPSA) allow organizations to have data so they can evaluate whether their efforts are having the desired impact.
We created the WPSA because there are few evidence-based tools available to workplaces. Existing tools have poor test qualities or have no data at all to know whether they are accurate and reliable [1]. The WPSA is based on the existing literature and on previous versions (the Mental Fitness Index) that met academic standards for reliability and validity. In a commitment to continuous improvement, we are currently running a study examining the psychometric properties of the most recent version of the WPSA, which will inform ongoing revisions and improvements.
Once an organization has a baseline, it should then try to tackle the easiest problems first (not the hardest). Tackling easier problems has the effect of building the skills and confidence of those making the change and builds trust among employees, who can see that “something is actually being done” about an issue.
What change looks like will be different in each organization depending on the problem and what solutions are available. Organizations can focus their efforts around established guidelines like the Canadian Standards Association Z1003 guideline of Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (CAN/CSA-Z1003) [2] or the international guidelines on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (ISO 45003) created by International Organization for Standardization (ISO, 2021).
Training leaders is also an effective way to make organizational change because leaders and managers have a big impact on the experience of employees. It is often said that employees don’t leave jobs, they leave managers. Training leaders is the quickest way to make an impact on the daily experiences of employees. Furthermore, we know managers have some of the highest rates of burnout. They also need support. Many managers get into their roles because they were the best “widget maker” but as a leader, the role isn’t about “widgets” anymore, it’s about people. And many managers have never been given the proper training to effectively manage the wide range of human problems that arise in our modern workplace. Training in psychological safety, trauma-informed workplaces, and burnout are necessary skills for today’s workplaces.
Step 3 is to “rinse and repeat,” or activate that PDCA, especially the C and the A. The “check” and “act” or “adjust” part of PDCA relies on employee input (Lee-Baggley & Howatt, 2023). Once changes have been made, repeat the WPSA to ensure initiatives are having the desired impact. Change is possible and organizational change has the potential to have a big impact on all employees.
What is the WPSA?
The WPSA is a confidential, online assessment that employees complete on a computer or mobile device. It takes 20-40 minutes to complete. It provides employer and employee reports on how to improve mental fitness in the workplace. Employees will get their results in real time as soon as they have completed the survey. Employers will get the baseline aggregated report that provides a dashboard across the organization or divided by departments/work units/locations.
The WPSA allows organizations to gather data on the following key areas, which can then be used to target and review the impact of organizational change efforts in a PDCA model. Click here for more information.
- Diversity statistics
- Psychological safety
- Inclusion
- Health and Safety Risks
- Stigma and help-seeking
- Social determinants of health
- Psychosocial factors and hazards consistent with ISO 45003
- Awareness and impact of organizational programs and policies
References
1. Smith, P. M., & Oudyk, J. (2021). Assessing the psychometric properties of the Guarding Minds@ Work questionnaire recommended in the Canadian Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. Quality & Quantity, 1-23.
2. Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace - Prevention, Promotion, and Guidance to Staged Implementation, CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013 (R2022), Canadian Standards Association, Toronto, ON, 2013.
