Developed with the Digital Hub’s Workplace Wellness and Resilience Working Group with the leadership of Ms. Sapna Mahajan (Canada) and Dr. Hiroto Ito (Japan), the APEC White Paper on Workplace Mental Health and Safety (White Paper) provides a framework on how workplaces can take action and support the mental health and wellness of employees. The White Paper outlines the critical role of mental health in the workplace and in economic prosperity, highlights best practices and model programmes from across the APEC region, and delivers a call to action for policy makers, employers and individuals with regards to supporting workplace mental health and safety.
In March 2020, APEC’s Life Sciences Innovation Forum (LSIF) fully endorsed the White Paper, which will be disseminated widely in the coming months.
Taking into account the new and changing context of the impact of COVID-19, the release of this White Paper is extremely timely: the global and regional mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be far-reaching and long-lasting. Workplaces must play a central role in supporting employee mental health both during and after the pandemic.
The White Paper is now accompanied by a brief preface that addresses the impact of COVID-19 and the critical role of workplace mental health and safety measures in response to a crisis.
Ms. Sapna Mahajan, Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC)
Dr. Hiroto Ito, Japan Organization of Occupational Health and Safety (JOHAS)