Organizational Health Consultant
Frances Cortese, RN, MSc
e-mail: frances@orghealthconsulting.com
phone: (905) 646-1104

 

As a health care professional for 22 years, Frances has an extensive background in mental health.  She holds a Master of Science in Public Health Sciences and was employed by the Niagara Regional Public Health Workplace Wellness Program for several years acquiring extensive knowledge in healthy workplace management principles.  In attempt to foster the promotion of emotional well-being in the workplace, she wrote and directed the play Mentally Incarcerated, which illustrates the effects of poor management in the manufacturing sector.   The play  was performed at both the Niagara Regional Annual Workplace Wellness Conference in 2003 and at the Haldimand-Norfolk Public Health Department Conference in 2004.  Frances has completed training in organizational change, emotional intelligence and organizational behavior studies.

 



Organizational Health Consultant
Corinne Smith, RN, BScN
e-mail: corinne@orghealthconsulting.com
phone: (905) 380-9641


Corrine Smith brings twenty-two years of experience as a health care professional to her work as an organizational health consultant. She was employed by the Niagara Regional Public Health Workplace Wellness Program for six years where she worked with many organizations and community partners in an educational and consultative role.     She has also provided her expertise via the Health Communication Unit, affiliated with the University of Toronto, to other Public Health Departments facilitating the exploration and implementation of quality of work life initiatives.   Corinne has been trained in group facilitation and has experience in organizational change and developmemnt.

 

Past Speaking Engagements - Organizational Health Consulting


•  Organizational Health: A Leadership Imperative, IAPA Health and Safety

    Conference, May 1, 2006, Toronto, Ontario.

• Transforming Organizational Culture: A Prescription for Health Care

   Environments, Health, Work and Wellness Conference 2005, October 20, 2005,

   Montreal, Quebec.

• Organizational Health: A Leadership Imperative, Disability Management

  Workshop, Ontario Association of School Business Officials, June 3, 2005,

  St. Catharines, Ontario.

• Organizational Health - The Role of Managers: Bridging the Gap

  between Research and Practice, Health, Work & Wellness Management

  Forum, May 17th, 2005, Ottawa, Ontario.

• Organizational Health: A Leadership Imperative, Leadership Expo,

  Niagara Region, April 12, 2005.


• Organizational Health: Beyond Hard Hats and Safety Boots,

  Burke Group Conference, Niagara Region, November 18, 2004.

• Organizational Health: The Role of Managers, Communities Quality Initiative,

  Sault Ste. Marie, November 2, 2004.

• Management Roundtable, EMS Supervisors, Regional Niagara Public Health

  Department, September, 2004.

• What Works: Experience from the Field at the Workplace Conference, Health

  Communication Unit, University of Toronto, June 9-10, 2004.

 

 



Mental Health and the Workplace

Mental health disorders have now replaced musculoskeletal conditions as the top condition causing long term disabilities.

According to the World Health Organization, stress, anxiety and depression will become the leading cause of disability in the next 20 years.

 

Stress and the Workplace

Stress related disorders are costing Canadian business $12 billion annually.

Research indicates a causal relationship between heart disease and:

· Job stress
· Effort-reward imbalance
· Long working hours
· Shift work
· Physical/chemical hazards

Research from a landmark study (Whitehall Study done in Britain) found that workers who had little control within their jobs were over 50% more likely to suffer heart disease.

Excessive stress is produced when work is organized and designed in ways that ignore or devalue certain basic human needs, particularly those related to our mental or emotional health and well-being. Thus, the working environment, or what is now known as psychosocial hazards or organizational factors, can threaten the mental and physical health of employees. Some examples are:

· Lack of respect for employees

  and the work they do
· Discrimination or harassment on

  the job
· Work overload and time pressure
· Lack of influence or control over

  how day-to-day work is done
· Lack of social support from

  supervisors or co-workers
· Lack of recognition
· Poor communication
· Lack of support for work-family

  balance

 

Emotional and Physical Costs of a Stressful Working Environment


There are decades of research showing that many of the factors above lead to a two to three times greater risk of injuries, workplace conflict and violence, back pain, and mental illness, to name only a few. Injuries will never be eliminated or adequately controlled in a workplace where there is little respect for workers, where workload and pace are unreasonable, deadlines unachievable, where workers have little or no control over the way they do their jobs, and where worker-supervisor, or worker co-worker relationships are hostile (The Healthy Workplace by Joan Burton, in Accident Prevention, November, 2004).

More importantly, the psychosocial hazards listed above can be minimized through supportive managerial practices and commitment to organizational change while maintaining a competitive edge.

Finally, each of these factors is determined by the culture of an organization.

 

 

Improve your organization's health and unlock the solutions to workplace stress.

Arrange a seminar for managers in your workplace. Contact us for more information or see our Seminars page for a seminar overview.