Creating A

Psychologically Healthy Workplace

Countering Unhealthy Workplace Practices

Presented by: Cie ArmsteadManagers’ Focus Session

APA CREATING A PSYCHOLOGICALLY

HEALTHY WORKPLACE

Employee Involvement

Work-life balance

Employee Growth

& Development

Health & Safety

Employee Recognition

APA PHWP MetricsPHWP

Winners

U.S.

Companies

Employee Turnover 7% 38%

Org Supports Employees’

Healthy Lifestyles66% 40%

Mental Health Resources 71% 45%

Stress Management

Resources69% 36%

Org Practices Support

Workplace Diversity68% 46%

Employees Recommend

Org to Job-seekers74% 57%

Employee Involvement

When employees are involved in

building the business,

the company benefits:

Higher employee job satisfaction

and morale

Improved productivity

Lower turnover and reduced

absenteeism

Better quality products and services

Psychologically Healthy Workplaces Promote

Activates:

Demand/Control Theory

Work & Life: Seeking Balance & Integration

Balance or Integration?

Psychologically healthy workplaces invest in

EMPLOYEE GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

Reimbursement for tuition or

professional courses

Continuing education courses

Services that provide career

development or counseling

Skills training offered internally or

through external trainers

Promotion opportunities and internal

career advancement

Coaching, mentoring, and leadership

development programs

**Measures to improve

workplace safety and

security issues

** Stress management,

weight loss and smoking

cessation programs

** Employer-supported

health insurance, including

mental health coverage

** Employer-supported

access to health/

fitness/recreation facilities

Health & Safety

Initiatives

Employee

Recognition

Equitable salaries and fair

compensation

Competitive benefits packages

Employee contributions and

milestones publicly acknowledged

Bonuses and salary increases

based on performance

Recognition ceremonies, e.g.,

work anniversary celebrations

Diverse, Inclusive EnvironmentsSupport Psychologically Healthy Workplaces

Create an atmosphere of trust and respect

Strive to establish a critical mass of different

demographic groups

Provide a credible narrative that allows all employees

to see themselves as successful in the company

Educate supervisors about their own biases

Train all employees on how to embrace differences.

Foster intergroup interactions

Work-related & employee-relations

topics considered off-limits

Developing skills for participating

in difficult conversations

Safe place to report mistreatment

or unethical behavior

Fair & honest handling of reports

of mistreatment

People in power being held

accountable for misconduct

Countering an Unhealthy

Workplace Culturewith courage to address:

and employees & management are the ones who feed it

Psychological Reactions

• Anger

• Anxiety

• Job Dissatisfaction

Physical Reactions

• Headaches

• Stomach Distress

• Physical Sickness, e.g., cancer, heart disease

Behavioral Reactions

• Workplace Accidents

• Smoking; Substance Abuse

• Employee Turnover

3 Types of JOB STRAINS & Sample OUTCOMES

Humiliation, ridicule or excessively teasing or other person-related actions

Withholding important information, excessive monitoring of one’s work, or other work-related actions

Shouting, threats of violence, or other physical intimidation

Workplace Bullying

Leadership Style

Leaders’ stress & poor well-being =

employees stress & poor well-being

Leaders’ positive behavior towards

employees = employees improved well-being

Transformational leadership style =

positive employee outcomes

Burnout

Being emotionally exhausted with low

emotional energy

cynicism or mental withdrawal from work

Impact on

Psychologically Healthy

Workplaces

What Will You Do

to Create

your

Psychologically

Healthy

Department?

References

APA Center for Organizational Excellence website (APA/COE website). Retrieved from http://www.apaexcellence.org/

Ferdman, B. M. (2014). Toward infusing diversity and inclusion as core elements of OD 44 OD. OD Practitioner, 46(4), 44-46.

Retrieved from http://www.odnetwork.org/?Publications

Nelson, B. (2014). The data on diversity. Communications of the ACM, 57(11), 86-95. doi:10.1145/2597886

PHWA (2014). American Psychological Association Center for Organizational Excellence Report. Retrieved from

http://www.apaexcellence.org/

Perschel, A. (2010). Work-life flow: How individuals, Zappos, and other innovative companies achieve high engagement. Global

Business & Organizational Excellence, 29(5), 17-30. Retrieved from

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1932-2062

Skakon, J., Nielsen, K., Borg, V., & Guzman, J. (2010). Are leaders' well-being, behaviours and style associated with the affective

well-being of their employees? A systematic review of three decades of research. Work & Stress, 24(2), 107-139.

doi:10.1080/02678373.2010.495262

Spector, P. E. (2012). Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Research and Practice. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Trépanier, S., Fernet, C., & Austin, S. (2013). Workplace bullying and psychological health at work: The mediating role of

satisfaction of needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Work & Stress, 27(2), 123-140.

doi:10.1080/02678373.2013.782158

Yamada, D. (2009, July 9). NWI’s “Eightfold Path” to a Psychologically Healthy Workplace. Minding the Workplace: The New

Workplace Institute Blog. Retrieved from http://newworkplace.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/nwi-eightfold-path