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Healthier & Safer Workplaces

Psychosocial risk & psychological health and safety, from assessment to action

Heavy workload, unclear roles, little support, recognition that never comes. These psychosocial hazards wear people down, and they show up later as absence and turnover. I help you find which ones matter most in your organization and reduce them at the source, while strengthening what keeps people well.

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Healthy workplaces need and mean more than the absence of harm.

Most organizations start with the risks, and they should. But a good approach also shows what protects people: some control over how work gets done, work that makes sense, recognition that feels real, managers people can trust. I look at both. A plan that only removes hazards rarely changes how work feels day today.

Why it matters

What I can help with

From managing risks to creating healthier and safer conditions.

Psychosocial Risk Assessment & Mitigation

Psychological Health & Safety (CSA Z1003)

Workplace Wellbeing Strategy & Flourishing

Psychological Safety & Healthy Leadership

Find out which hazards are present, how strong they are and which teams they affect. I use recognized tools such as COPSOQ and Guarding Minds at Work, plus interviews or focus groups when the numbers alone don't explain what's going on.

Build or strengthen your approach in line with the National Standard of Canada: a clear policy, defined roles, a link with your OHS program and health and safety committee, and a way to track progress.

Turn scattered wellness initiatives into a strategy that works on the job itself (organizational levers). Leverage salutogenese and positive psychology where it helps.

Help leaders build trust and teams where people can raise a concern or admit a mistake without paying for it. We practice on real situations from your workplace.

My approach

I start with your situation, then choose the method

Some organizations need a full assessment. Others already have survey results and need help making sense of them, or a plan their leaders will actually follow. I combine psychological health and safety, organizational development and applied positive psychology. I work from recognized references: CSA Z1003, COPSOQ, Guarding Minds at Work and Alberta's guidance on psychosocial hazards.

I strengthened this work in Europe, where assessing psychosocial risks is part of the employer's legal duty to assess all occupational risks. There I ran COPSOQ assessments at scale - with executives, HR and employee representatives around the same table. Canada relies more on a voluntary national standard. Having worked in both systems helps me show Canadian organizations what works beyond compliance, and what to avoid.

How it works

How an engagement usually runs

Assess conditions and impacts

Reduce risks at the source

Strengthen what protects people

Make it last

A survey, interviews or focus groups, covering psychosocial factors (protective and hazards) and you psychological safety climate. You get a clear picture of how PHS is prioritized, where risk is high and which teams need attention first.

Following the hierarchy of controls, we change the work itself first (workload, roles, processes) before relying on training or individual support.

Build up the resources that buffer pressure, act on organizational barriers and levers: executive priority, day-to-day leadership, systems, work design and culture.

Agree on a few indicators, give leaders and your health and safety committee a role in follow-up, and review at set intervals so the plan doesn't fade after a few months.

Let's Talk

Healthier workplaces are built by design.

Tell me what you're seeing: survey results that worry you, rising absence, a team under strain, or questions about the Standard. We'll work out together to design the right first step.

Frequently asked questions

Is CSA Z1003 mandatory in Alberta?

No. The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace is voluntary. Alberta's OHS rules do require employers to assess all existing and potential hazards, and the province's guidance says this can include psychosocial hazards. Part 27 of the OHS Code also requires a violence and harassment prevention plan. The Standard gives you a practical framework for organizing this work.

Do we need to run a new survey?

Not always. If you already have engagement or wellbeing survey data, we can start there and add interviews or focus groups to fill the gaps.

Can the work be done in French?

Yes. Surveys, workshops and reports can be in English, French or both.

Isn't there a new edition of the Standard coming?

Yes! A second edition (CSA/ASC Z1003:26) is being finalized. Its published scope keeps the same logic: identify psychosocial hazards, assess and control the risks, and keep improving. Starting now is not wasted effort.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

English & French
Anglais & Français

Emmanuel Paty
Organizational & Workplace Wellbeing Consultant, OD Practitioner and Professional Coach