Join the celebration this October during Canada's Healthy Workplace Month

Access resources, activities and tools to plan your employee wellness campaign

TORONTO, Oct. 1, 2018 /CNW/ - October 1 is the official start of the 2018 Canada's Healthy Workplace Month^®, presented by Great-West Life and managed by Excellence Canada. Now in its 18^th year, October is a month of celebration, exploration, and new beginnings.

Visit www.healthyworkplacemonth.ca to access campaign planning tools, activities and information about best practices shared by organizations that want to foster healthier, happier and more engaged workforces. You can share your own success story by submitting it to our Showcase where your organization can receive a certificate and be featured online throughout 2019.

"We're proud to work with Excellence Canada on what will be another successful campaign, and to encourage Canadian employees to take advantage of the tools and activities offered on their website," said Jeff Macoun, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Canada. "We believe in the importance of happy and productive workplaces, and applaud Excellence Canada for their work. Their efforts help improve the well-being of employees across the country, year after year."

What does a Healthy Workplace mean to you? It might be a place where:

• you feel respected, safe and supported by your employer and your co-workers.
• you clearly understand your responsibilities and are empowered to make decisions.
• you combine hard work and fun with your colleagues.
• teamwork includes healthy activities and improving lifestyle habits.
• inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility are at the centre of its culture and decisions.
• you contribute to a valuable purpose and mission that gives back to community and others.
• you look forward to getting up and going to each day.

There is no simple answer, because organizations and people are all different:

• different employee priorities, needs, and characteristics
• different kinds of work and stressors
• different amounts of money and time
• different numbers of employees

"Study after study has shown that senior leaders are prioritizing the mental and physical health of their employees because it is the right thing to do, even more-so than the proven benefits to organizational outcomes," said Allan Ebedes, President and CEO of Excellence Canada." Doing things for the right reasons also creates trust in leadership and increases employee engagement. I am encouraged that we are seeing much greater focus on health and well-being in Canadian workplaces."

What will it take to transform your work environment into your vision of a Healthy Workplace?

Explore Canada's Healthy Workplace Month where you will find answers for employers of all sizes and industries. Whether you are just looking for ideas for a monthly team event or getting serious about being an agent for long-term improvement, you will find it there.

You can also contact Excellence Canada to get whatever level of help you need. We are a not-for-profit dedicated to helping you make your workplace physically and psychologically healthy and safe, so you can thrive and reach your full potential. You can arrange a no-obligation phone call about your own unique situation, how to overcome barriers, and to obtain free guidance and resources to get you started, reinvigorate your present initiatives, or be certified to the Healthy Workplace® Standard.

The 18th annual Canada's Healthy Workplace Month^® is made possible thanks to generous support from the following sponsoring organizations:

• Presented by:  Great-West Life
• Champions of Excellence:  Manulife, Sun Life Financial
• Supporters: CivicAction; Saint Elizabeth; Durham Region
• Industry: Calian

About Excellence Canada

Canada's Healthy Workplace Month^® is managed by Excellence Canada, an independent, not-for-profit corporation 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® Framework.

About Great-West Life
Great-West Life is a leading Canadian insurer, focused on improving the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians. For more than 125 years, our customers across Canada have trusted us to provide for their financial security needs and deliver on the promises we have made. Together with our subsidiaries London Life and Canada Life, we serve the financial security needs of 13 million people across Canada.

As an Imagine Caring Company supporting the principles of corporate citizenship and benchmarks for community investment established by Imagine Canada, our companies contribute at least one per cent of pre-tax profit in support of the communities where our employees and customers live and work. In 2017, we contributed $13.5 million to communities. To learn more, visit greatwestlife.com.

Canada's Healthy Workplace Month^® and Healthy Workplace^® are registered trademarks of Excellence Canada.

SOURCE Excellence Canada