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Thursday, October 17, 2013

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Are you ready to make a difference in your workplace?

A Better Workplace Conference 2013 brings together thought leaders to share cutting-edge concepts and emerging trends affecting the workplace, as well as real stories from Canadian and international organizations.

 
This Conference has an alumnus of passionate delegates, and creates a valuable learning experience for those aiming to bring about positive change in their workplaces. This year’s conference will focus on three emerging organizational health challenges, which will form distinct, but related streams of presentations: Leadership for a Better Workplace – This stream of presentations will explore the development of supportive leaders who are accountable for organizational health and can create cultures of trust, respect, teamwork and performance. A Better Workplace Culture – The development of a respectful, learning culture that promotes work-life balance and where employees have input into decision making will be the discussion in this stream. Better Workplace ROI – How have those organizations recognized for being ‘better workplaces’ become this way? The business case including how they have evaluated their success and the outcomes they have seen will be shared.

Twitter Agenda

AWARE-NS will be tweeting speaker highlights for the following sessions:

The Energy To Lead! Canada-Europe Exchange On Mental Health In The Workplace

Speakers: Sari Sairanen and Thomas Schneberger
9:15-10:00AM
Session Will Also Be Recorded
Join experts, Sari Sairanen and Thomas Schneberger for an exchange of ideas on workplace mental health strategies between Canada and Europe. Thomas is the Head of Workplace Health Management for RWE AG in Germany and will speak on RWE’s long-standing workplace mental health strategy as well as provide a bigger picture on the European governmental program on mental health and well-being at work being rolled out throughout Europe. Sari sat on the technical committee for the development of the new national Standard of Canada on Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace and will share with us her experiences there, as well as some specific ways that the CAW is promoting workplace mental health in Canada. Join us for this lively exchange of ideas, and come away with new strategies and inspiration for implementing workplace mental health strategies in your own organization!

Building A Better Workplace, One Conversation At At Time

Speaker: Janice MacInnis
10:30 – 11:15AM
Session Will Also Be Recorded
More often than not, solving problems and driving change requires having honest, and often challenging, conversations. These conversations can be opportunities to gain input, overcome barriers, or change behaviour yet we almost all struggle having them. We avoid, wait too long, or send a message rather than initiate a discussion. These tactics all serve to contribute to the problem we are trying to solve and enable issues to continue unaddressed, resulting in a workplace culture that avoids rather than tackles its problems. This session will provide insight into the initiative undertaken at Dalhousie University in Halifax to address the need for increased capacity for having effective dialogue. Participants will leave understanding the impact of the quality of dialogue in organizations and empowered to assess their workplaces’ dialogue quality and access useful resources.

Gratitude And It’s Role In Organizational Well-Being

Speaker: Jim Moss
11:15AM – Noon
Session Will Also Be Recorded
Coaching for organizations to develop happier, healthier employees through daily interventions of gratitude in the workplace. The Smile Epidemic is a scientifically-supported and evidence-based social sharing program that is geared to developing a happier and healthier mental state in both individuals and organizations. The Smile Epidemic is in 125 Countries and 450 cities globally, with a Facebook page growing at 250 % a week and on some days, reaches over 500 million impressions. This year, the program launched campus-wide at Wilfrid Laurier University, as part of the school’s mandate to improve mental health on campus. Research suggests that when our brains start to scan our environment for positive and present moments; we spend more time looking for ways to be grateful and that we eventually become more grateful for our environment. Organizational happiness and the impact of happier employees from an economic and overall well-being standpoint is a topic that is discussed more frequently than in years past, which will be explored in this highly engaging session.

Strategies For A Respectful, Resilient Workplace

Speaker: Michael Leiter
2:00 – 3:30 PM
Relationships among colleagues and of supervisors with members of their workgroups are pivotal points in an organization. The quality of those relationships defines a workgroup’s potential to thrive in a changing world of shifting priorities. The quality of working relationships is a major determinant of employees’ psychological and physical wellbeing. Co-worker and supervisory relationships make distinct contributions to employees’ experience of work-life. This session leads participants through reflection on civility within their work settings. It provides strategies for individuals and organizations to foster greater civility, respect and engagement at work.
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