The connection between health and wellbeing is closely linked to workplace environments, making healthy workplaces meaningful for any business. When employees feel valued, respected and satisfied in their jobs and work in safe, healthy environments, they are more likely to be productive and committed to their work. 

​The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce supports Healthy Workplaces by bringing together information, tools and resources to help both employers and employees make their workplaces healthy and safe.

​Four local organizations stepped forward to be founding partners of Healthys Workplaces. We sat down with one of them — CPHR Manitoba — to find out a little bit more about why supporting healthy workplaces is important to them.

In your opinion, why do you believe an organization should take a serious interest in both the physical and mental wellbeing of its employees?

Taking a serious interest in both the physical and mental wellbeing of employees shows an organization cares about and values its staff. Research shows that healthy employees can physically perform better because they have more energy. They are also more efficient and more focused.

What are some initiatives, programs or policies that your organization employs to provide a healthy workplace for your employees?

We place a strong focus on our organizational culture. We regularly talk about our organizational values and how we all contribute to upholding those values. We also take our time with recruiting people to our organization to make sure everyone will feel comfortable working within our culture. We take part in informal team-building exercises and openly communicate with one another. We offer a relaxed work environment where employees are encouraged to manage their time and flex their hours to accommodate their schedule.

What are some ways that your organization can help other workplaces to provide a healthier environment for its employees?

As a professional association, we offer workshops about employee health and safety and other timely topics about workplace wellness to help other organizations learn how to adopt initiatives into their workplace. For example, we learned that WCB claims related to mental health/psychological safety have gone from .5 to 1% in 5 years, so we have planned a Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace Conference coming up in March presented in partnership with SAFE Work Manitoba.