Are You Heading Toward a Healthy Workplace Today?

If you think you are, celebrate it!
If you think you aren't, improve it!

TORONTO, May 22, 2014 /CNW/ - A healthy workplace requires ongoing collaboration between your employer and you, so visit www.healthyworkplacemonth.ca  for resources, ideas, activities, and initiatives that can empower individuals to make a positive impact on the health, safety, and well-being of their coworkers.

Now in its 14^th year, Canada's Healthy Workplace Month^® celebrates:

Living Well at Work….workplace wellness fosters healthy and happy employees

The Canada's Healthy Workplace Month^® (CHWM) website is now a year-round resource for administrators looking for activities, strategies, tips, and tools to help make their organizations physically and psychologically safe and healthy. At www.healthyworkplacemonth.ca you will find a full month of initiatives that you can do at any time. Then the annual celebration comes to a climax in October 2014 when you can also apply to be included in the on-line CHWM Showcase as an example of best practice. Selected submissions will receive a Certificate of Merit and will be featured on the website for a whole year. Canada's Healthy Workplace Month^® is presented by Great-West Life through their national corporate citizenship program, and is managed by Excellence Canada.

"Every workplace culture needs nurturing toward wellness, engagement, and empowerment in order for the organization to achieve excellence," says Allan Ebedes, President and CEO at Excellence Canada. "Success always comes down to the people, and healthy, happy employees are more creative, productive, and loyal, and act in alignment with the goals of their organization."

"The importance of fostering healthy and engaged employees through workplace wellness resonates with our organization," says Jan Belanger, Assistant Vice-President, Community Affairs, Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life. "As Presenting Sponsor of Canada's Healthy Workplace Month, we're proud to encourage Canadians, including our staff and advisors, in wellness initiatives that can impact their personal and professional success."

Excellence Canada's mission is to help organizations improve performance and to recognize them for achieving excellence. Canada's Healthy Workplace Month^® helps accomplish this mission as it recognizes the best practices of organizations from across Canada and shares them online at www.healthyworkplacemonth.ca. This inspires all organizations to improve their performance by learning from the experiences of others.

CHWM is funded with great appreciation through the generous support of the following sponsoring organizations:

Presenter: Great-West Life
Champions of Excellence: Kimberly-Clark Professional, Manulife Financial, Sun Life Financial
Advocates: Bell, Ricoh Canada
Supporters: Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Powerstream Inc., WSIB
Industry: Calian, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
Media: Canada Wide Media, Canadian Government Executive, Postmedia Network, YourWorkplace

We hope your organization will join in the 14^th Annual Canada's Healthy Workplace Month^® celebration. For ideas, activities, and strategies for the Month and beyond, visit www.healthyworkplacemonth.ca.

Let's value our people so our people will value their workplace! 

About Excellence Canada
Excellence Canada is an independent, not-for-profit organization that is committed to advancing organizational excellence across Canada. Since 1992, Excellence Canada has helped thousands of organizations become cultures of continuous quality improvement and world-class role models, through its four-level certification methodology including the Excellence, Innovation and Wellness Standard, Healthy Workplace^® Standard, and Mental Health at Work^® Program.

Excellence Canada's Mental Health at Work^®, which is fully aligned with the National Standard on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, breaks down the journey to a psychologically safe and healthy workplace into four milestones, complete with metrics, education, coaching, certification, and celebration as each milestone is achieved. Hundreds of organizations endorse this proven implementation methodology.

As a national authority on Organizational Excellence, it provides excellence frameworks, standards, and independent verification and certification to organizations of all sizes and in all sectors.  It is also the custodian and adjudicator of the Canada Awards for Excellence program, of which the patron is His Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D., Governor General of Canada.

SOURCE: Excellence Canada

Karen Jackson, Advisor, Healthy Workplace Strategies, Excellence Canada, [phone] x250 or 1(800) 263-9648, [email protected]; Marlene Klassen, Great-West Life, Media and Public Relations, [phone], [email protected]; Pour plus d'information, s.v.p. contactez: Bonita Savard, Excellence Canada, [phone] ext 233 or 1(800) 263-9648 ext 233, [email protected]