Support your community
Compassionate Workplaces
The Compassionate Workplace Campaign is designed to help companies improve their ‘care culture’ by proactively supporting working caregivers and those among us who are grieving.
Together, we can make a difference.
The need to support working caregivers is greater than ever.
People are at the core of Canadian workplaces and with our aging population, it is more important than ever to ensure employers and employees are equipped with the information and resources they need to support colleagues during difficult times.
The Compassionate Workplace Campaign offers a practical facilitated workshop to engage your employees around these issues, and strengthen managers’ skills to engage in difficult but supportive conversations in the workplace. The goal is to drive positive change in your workplace for your most valuable resource: your people.
Why is this issue important?
35%
of the Canadian workforce (6.1 million people) are juggling work and caregiving responsibilities.
560,000
of full-time employees are lost each year in Canada due to the demands of caregiving and paid work.
30 hours
Caregivers are providing 30 hours of unpaid care and 37.5 hours of work weekly.
What is the Compassionate Workplace Campaign?
The goal of the Compassionate Workplace Campaign (CWC) is to create a more compassionate work environment for all Canadians, including working caregivers and those who are grieving. The workshop make it easy for any workplace to become more compassionate and supportive.
Additional tools, activities, and communication materials are available for workplaces looking to further enhance their approach to caregiving and grief support.
The campaign provides resources to achieve this goal by:
Equipping managers and employees to have supportive conversations on caregiving and grief.
Building a compassionate workplace culture.
Supporting employee well-being by helping staff feel valued and understood.
Boosting retention by addressing team members’ emotional needs.
Reducing stigma around caregiving and grief at work.
Promoting open dialogue and understanding around personal challenges.
Start creating a compassionate workplace culture today.
Simply fill out the form below to receive your information kit and stay informed on campaign updates.
FAQs
Who is the Compassionate Workplace Campaign for?
The Compassionate Workplace Campaign is designed for all workplaces of all sizes and was developed by national and international experts in caregiving, grief, and employee wellness in consultation with stakeholders representing employees and small, medium, and large businesses across the country.
What is included in the Compassionate Workplace Campaign and what can we expect to receive from Pallium?
The campaign features a one-hour, facilitated workshop delivered online or in-person, designed to increase employees’ and management’s skills in key topics. The Pallium team will help you organize your workshop, including providing a qualified facilitator and ensuring the content fits your needs.
Key Features
The Compassionate Workplace Campaign is designed to be flexible and accessible to fit your organization’s unique needs—whether on-site or virtual. It includes:
- Facilitated workshop: Led by a qualified facilitator skilled in caregiving, grief support, and compassionate
- Tailored content: The workshop can be personalized to reflect your organization’s culture and goals.
- Expert-developed materials: Learn from materials created by national and international experts in caregiving, grief, and employee wellness, with input from stakeholders across diverse
- Skill-building: Employees and management gain practical skills to create a more supportive environment and engage in difficult conversations.
- Additional tools and resources: The campaign also includes optional tools, activities and materials for workplaces looking to further enhance their approach to caregiving and grief support.
How long does the Compassionate Workplace Campaign run?
The facilitated workshop is one hour long. If your workplace chooses to engage further, additional resources can be utilized to enhance and continue the conversation over time.
It takes time to bring about a culture change, so we encourage participating companies to leverage the Compassionate Workplace Campaign over multiple years to realize the maximum benefit.
Does our workplace need an expert on caregiving, grief, or employee wellness to run this campaign successfully?
You do not have to be an expert in the areas of caregiving, grief, and employee wellness to carry out a successful workshop. The workshop has been designed to be straightforward and accessible to all. The team at Pallium is here to assist you along the way.
Acknowledgements
The Compassionate Workplace Campaign and the materials, tools, and resources provided would not be available without the contributions, guidance, and support of the following individuals and organizations.
Subject Matter Expers
- Karen Browning, CHRL, CEC, Chief Executive Officer, iHR Advisory Services
- Dr. Jennifer Newman, R. Psych, Director, Newman Psychological and Consulting Services
- Neil Thompson, PhD, D.Litt., Avenue Media Solutions
- Allison Williams, PhD, Professor, CIHR Research Chair in Gender, Work and Health, McMaster University
- Dr. Philip Carverhill, R.D. Psych Carverhill Counselling & Consulting, Past Chair, International Work Group on Death, Dying & Bereavement
- Yvonne Heath, RN, Founder and CEO, Love Your Life to Death
Advisory Group
- Julia Dima
Lived experience as a caregiving and grieving employee
- Addie Greco-Sanchez
President, AGS Rehab Solutions Inc
- Rachel Muston
Lived experience as a grieving employee
- Lynn Orzel
Staff Representative, Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)
- Kerilee Snatenchuk
Director – People & Culture, ATB Financial
- Lyne Wilson
Assistant Vice-President – Talent Management, NAV CANADA
Support your community
When it comes to palliative care, the health care system is only part of the equation.
Pallium equips health care organizations, health care professionals, and community members with the knowledge and tools to provide better palliative care to patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families. Pallium provides resources to community members to help create a wraparound effect to better support people in the community who may be experiencing serious illness, caregiving, death, or grieving.
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