Workplace Conflict: The Enemy of Mental Health and Productivity

CharityVillage Connects

A recent TELUS Health Mental Health Index indicates that employees experiencing workplace conflict lose up to 55 days in productivity per year. The impacts of conflict at work are clear - lost productivity, but also stress and lower mental health scores for the staff who experience it. In this episode, we explore the factors that contribute to workplace conflict, including power dynamics, racism and microaggressions, and mounting workloads, outline an organization’s legal requirements to take action, and provide some practical tips for leaders and staff to address conflict when it happens in your workplace.

Meet Our Guests in Order of Appearance

· Paula Allen, Global Leader, Research and Client Insights, TELUS Health

· Eileen Chadnick, Principal, Big Cheese Coaching

· Sarah Albo, Founder, Novel HR

· Rensia Melles, Manager, Clinical Operations Canada, Lyra Health

· Donna Marshall, CEO, Workright Ltd.

· Jackie Laviolette, Partner, Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark LLP

About your Host

Mary Barroll, president of CharityVillage, is an online business executive and lawyer with a background in media, technology and IP law. A former CBC journalist and independent TV producer, in 2013 she was appointed General Counsel & VP Media Affairs at CharityVillage.com, Canada’s largest job portal for charities and not for profits in Canada, and then President in 2021. Mary is also President of sister company, TalentEgg.ca, Canada’s No.1, award-winning job board and online career resource that connects top employers with top students and grads.

CharityVillage eLearning Courses Mentioned in this Episode

· Mental Health and Psychological Safety at Work Master Certificate Program

· OHSA and AODA Compliance Training Package for Employees

· OHSA and AODA Compliance Training Package for Leaders and Supervisors

Related CharityVillage eLearning Courses

· Communicating Internally

· Working in Teams

· Developing Emotional Resiliency & Self Care

· IDEA Fundamentals

· Introduction to Unconscious Bias

Additional Resources from this Episode

We've gathered the resources from this episode into one helpful list:

· TELUS Mental Health Index reveals workers lose 55 working days per year due to workplace conflict

· Warring Egos, Toxic Individuals, Feeble Leadership: A study of conflict in the Canadian workplace (Psychometrics Canada Ltd)

· Nonviolent Communication: A Language Of Life: Life-changing Tools For Healthy Relationships by Marshall B. Rosenberg

· Workplace harassment and violence impacts over 70% of employees in Canada, study shows (CBC)

· Black Canadians feel their employers are making headway in eradicating anti-Black racism (KPMG)

· Remembering the fatal 1999 OC Transpo shootings: 'I only wish I got to know him better' (Ottawa Citizen)

· Federal court certifies $1.1B class action against RCMP over alleged bullying, harassment (CBC)

· Canadian Human Rights Commission

· Twenty per cent of Canadians experienced increased workplace conflict or aggression (LifeWorks, now TELUS Health)

Learn more and listen to the full interviews with the guests here.