Health Minister Mark Holland approved a multimillion dollar wellness program for Health Canada employees stressed by their jobs, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “Examples of topics covered during sessions include how to prevent burnout, strategies for coping with loss and change as well as approaches for enhancing wellness and psychological safety,” said Holland in a report. “The program was developed in collaboration with mental health professionals with advice from a clinical advisory committee.”Holland said in an inquiry of ministry tabled in the House of Commons two-week online wellness courses called a decompression program cost $2.8 million to date. A total 927 Health Canada managers and employees enrolled — an equivalent cost of more than $3,000 per participant. “The curriculum consists of a combination of psycho-education delivered by mental health professionals, group work and practical resources,” he said. When it comes to the decompression program, he said it was so popular other Canadian government departments started their own. He added it has received significant interest from other departments and agencies. “A small pilot was conducted at Transport Canada in March 2023,” he said. “As of Dec. 6, 2023, 27 Transport Canada employees have participated in the Decompression Program, including two executives.”The inquiry was tabled at the request of Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary-Nose Hill, AB), who asked for the overall cost of the program for Health Canada’s staff since its inception. The cost is the largest disclosed to date for in-house counselling. Records published in 2022 showed Canadian government managers billed taxpayers more than $150,000 for videoconference workshops with a consultant offering deep breathing exercises. READ MORE: Taxpayers inhale $150k hit to cover deep breathing exercises for stressed federal bureaucratsThe spending followed questionnaires indicating many government executives complain they work too hard.Cabinet said in an inquiry of ministry tabled in the House of Commons managers at nine departments and agencies spent a combined $153,060 on training sessions with Canadian consultancy company Exco2 Incorporated. The Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (APEPSC) complained in a report in 2022 many federal managers were tired of their jobs. “Seventy-six percent show high levels of exhaustion,” said APEPSC. “Thirty-nine percent report high levels of cynicism.”APEPSC admitted people could describe executives “as having weathered the storm of the pandemic.” Moreover, it said it is evident some come across as better than others. “Overall, executives are bruised, weary, looking for relief and needing time to recover and refresh,” it said.
Health Minister Mark Holland approved a multimillion dollar wellness program for Health Canada employees stressed by their jobs, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “Examples of topics covered during sessions include how to prevent burnout, strategies for coping with loss and change as well as approaches for enhancing wellness and psychological safety,” said Holland in a report. “The program was developed in collaboration with mental health professionals with advice from a clinical advisory committee.”Holland said in an inquiry of ministry tabled in the House of Commons two-week online wellness courses called a decompression program cost $2.8 million to date. A total 927 Health Canada managers and employees enrolled — an equivalent cost of more than $3,000 per participant. “The curriculum consists of a combination of psycho-education delivered by mental health professionals, group work and practical resources,” he said. When it comes to the decompression program, he said it was so popular other Canadian government departments started their own. He added it has received significant interest from other departments and agencies. “A small pilot was conducted at Transport Canada in March 2023,” he said. “As of Dec. 6, 2023, 27 Transport Canada employees have participated in the Decompression Program, including two executives.”The inquiry was tabled at the request of Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary-Nose Hill, AB), who asked for the overall cost of the program for Health Canada’s staff since its inception. The cost is the largest disclosed to date for in-house counselling. Records published in 2022 showed Canadian government managers billed taxpayers more than $150,000 for videoconference workshops with a consultant offering deep breathing exercises. READ MORE: Taxpayers inhale $150k hit to cover deep breathing exercises for stressed federal bureaucratsThe spending followed questionnaires indicating many government executives complain they work too hard.Cabinet said in an inquiry of ministry tabled in the House of Commons managers at nine departments and agencies spent a combined $153,060 on training sessions with Canadian consultancy company Exco2 Incorporated. The Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (APEPSC) complained in a report in 2022 many federal managers were tired of their jobs. “Seventy-six percent show high levels of exhaustion,” said APEPSC. “Thirty-nine percent report high levels of cynicism.”APEPSC admitted people could describe executives “as having weathered the storm of the pandemic.” Moreover, it said it is evident some come across as better than others. “Overall, executives are bruised, weary, looking for relief and needing time to recover and refresh,” it said.
