Meeting Your Duty to Accommodate
in Federally Regulated Workplaces

Improve workplace health and employee accommodations to meet legal requirements and ensure workforce viability

Optional Workshops: Thursday, March 20, 2008

9:00 - 12:00 Workshop One How to Accommodate Workplace Stress and Mental Disability Effectively Lt Col Stephane Grenier MSC, CD, Operational Stress Injury Special Advisor, Department of National Defence After serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan for six months, LCol Grenier has recently been appointed on the new Mental Health Commission of Canada, which among many things, plans to devise a national strategy for mental health issues. LCol Grenier presents his three-hour interactive workshop based on his Operational Stress Injuries (OSI) Program. This highly focused military stress and trauma program involves clinical advisors from all disciplines. Learn to develop non-clinical solutions, policies, procedures, and practices to foster not only recovery, but return to work. Learn how to apply a plan that is specifically constructed for mental health issues, along with support and education, to progress towards an effective solution for those who suffer from these types of conditions. Isolating paradigms that make dealing with mental health difficult Moving away from applying a physical injury template, and how to set up a model specifically constructed for mental health issues Taking action against the stigma of mental illness Developing a peer support program for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression Develop non-clinical solutions, policies, procedures and practices to foster not only recovery but return to work   1:00 - 4:00 Workshop Two Workplace Health and Productivity: Promoting Workplace Wellness and How It Will Benefit You in the Long Run Jane Sleeth, Managing Director, Optimal Performance Management Inc. Providing a healthy workplace has become the most proactive way not only to deal with accommodation issues but, in some cases, to prevent them. These policies and practices do everything from making health and safety a priority to allowing employees a work-life balance. The idea behind promoting workplace wellness is to "give a little and get a lot." The results of these programs: companies that are investing in their employees see more productivity, better quality work, lower absenteeism, and employees who generally care more about their jobs. Importance in understanding the current and future culture of your workplace when it comes to health, wellness and prevention Promoting health among workers: what is health? Working against the paradigm of "everyone is disabled" How to build a healthy workplace from the bottom up Best practices in Canadian and U.S. workplaces: mistakes and lessons learned from other companies Helpful policies to get you started today Case study example   REGISTER NOW See Program Overview