Psychological Protection

Our Goal

Psychological protection ensures the psychological safety of our people, so that they feel valued and protected from harm. This is at the heart of the institution, and foundational to all policies, practices and procedures. The culture is one where supporting psychological health is the norm. 

• The university sets healthy workplace standards that include psychological safety. This will ensure that a climate exists where everyone is valued, included and can contribute in a positive way.
• We have a climate where psychological safety and trust are consistently reinforced through dialogue in a mutually beneficial and preventative way.
• In a timely manner, the university proactively and courageously addresses all situations that may threaten or harm psychological safety.

This will be achieved through:

1. Continuously reviewing policy and procedures to support healthy workplace practices.
2. Ongoing education and evaluation, through feedback, of processes to ensure psychological protection is a priority.
3. Recognizing that psychological injury can manifest in a number of different ways, such as illness, injury, lack of engagement, concerns about performance, disruptive behaviours, or behaviours that may be out of character for an individual or groups.

Call to Action

The university creates a respectful, inclusive and safe environment, and implements practices to ensure difficult situations are addressed in a timely, effective and confidential manner.

Policies and procedures are reviewed through the lenses of health, psychological safety and inclusion.

Faculties and departments proactively identify situations that present a risk to psychological safety, and explore remedies and appropriate supports in a timely manner. 

Supervisors, managers and individuals are skilled in identifying and addressing psychological stressors as they develop.

Individuals are responsible for their own psychological safety. They are also responsible for supporting the safety of others, while being mindful of ways that their own personal actions may inflict harm. Our culture recognizes that it is not possible for individuals to always behave perfectly. Once harm has been identified, individuals will be expected to work to restore safety. 

Institutional resources include but are not limited to:

• Workplace Bullying (presentation).
• Helping Individuals at Risk  (program).
• Institutional and departmental EDI strategies.
• Supervisory Leadership Program.
• Gold College.
• Conflict resolution workshops.

For additional resources and learning opportunities related to this risk factor check out our support inventory.

Information directly modified from:  CSA Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace , Workplace Strategies for Mental Health  and  Guarding Minds at Work .