SCIENTIFIC MONITORING
From universities…
to organizations
Global-Watch aims to increase knowledge transfer between universities and organizations on the different aspects related to workplace health and well-being.
Scientific monitoring articles
Return to work – it’s everyone’s business!
Looking at musculoskeletal disorders and common mental disorders, which are the most common causes of prolonged absences from work, Durand et al. (2014) suggest a six-step return-to-work process involving various stakeholders in the organization.
The hybrid work of tomorrow: Food for thought for employees (Video in French)
The hybrid work of tomorrow: Food for thought for employees
The hybrid work of tomorrow: Food for thought for managers (Video in French)
The hybrid work of tomorrow: Food for thought for managers
How can you plan for the transition to hybrid work mode? The major steps in planning for the change
How to plan well for the transition to hybrid work mode.
Mobilize employees in the transition to hybrid work mode
Learn about the 5 major beliefs from the scientific literature to reduce resistance to change.
Communicating well to facilitate the transition to hybrid work mode
How to write an effective communication plan to reduce the potential negative effects associated with a change.
Fostering mental health at work: The butterfly effect of management behaviours
20 specific, concrete, and simple behaviours to adopt
Video 2 of 2: Self-management of mental health at Work – strategies that can be used outside of working hours
Strategies to use to self-manage mental health at work
Work-family balance: Measuring the impacts of parenting support interventions – A toolbox of tools and indicators
A Global-Watch & Université de Sherbrooke project, with financial support provided by EN3S
Video 1 of 2: Self-management of mental health at Work – strategies that can be used in a workplace setting
Strategies to use to self-manage mental health at work
The Other Invisible Epidemic: Workers’ Mental Health Disorders. Sharing the Responsibility
Lockdown, mandatory remote working, work-life conflicts, job loss or excessive workload: workers have been exposed to all these sources of stress since the start of the pandemic, and it is jeopardizing their mental health.
Behind the scenes of a Global-Watch scientific newsflash – Part 2 (in French)
Who are the people working on the development of Global-Watch Scientific Newsflashes? (Part 2)
Working, socializing and relaxing online… Are you techno-stressed?
How can we stay connected without getting techno-stressed?
“Do you really want to press send?” Making sure that a hastily sent email doesn’t become an instance of cyber incivility
Professional interactions via electronic communication devices may be quick and efficient, but their use may also represent a little-known psychological health risk.
3 months later : the effects of confinement on me and my work
How will you return to work after this period of slowdown or downtime?
Managing the return to work: elements for reflection and action
A few tips for managers to manage the return to work
Managers, some practices from positive psychology to inspire you in managing your teams (in French)
Some practices from positive psychology to integrate in the workplace.
Knowing how to take care of yourself to better help others (in French)
To take care of others, you must first know how to take care of yourself!
Behind the scenes of a Global-Watch Scientific Newsflash (in French)
What are the motivations of those who work on the development of Global-Watch Scientific Newsflashes?
To protect remote workers’ health and safety, rely on a shared vision, inclusion and knowledge pooling
How can the health and safety of out-of-sight employees be the focus of managers’ concerns?
Better understand and foster sleep during stressful times
Advice for a better rest…
Confinement and cyberaddiction: what you need to know (in French)
What are the signs of a cyber addiction?
Recommendations for a healthy return to “normal” life (in French)
Recommendations for employees and managers.
Preparing effective communications to protect employee and organizational health in times of crisis.
Why and how can organizational communication get through this period of crisis?
“Like me!”: Being active on social media to counteract social distancing: between work engagement and the risk of addiction.
How do you balance the pros and cons of using social media?
From office neighbours to online collaborators: could becoming a virtual work team be an opportunity disguised as a hardship?
Working from home is forcing many work teams to continue their activities online. How can our teams overcome adverse situations in such conditions?
Mandatory telework: Surviving work-life conflicts.
During a pandemic, how can work-life-family balance be achieved when a person has to simultaneously meet the demands of each of these spheres of life?
Managing stress during quarantine
Do you feel stressed or anxious or do you sometimes panic at the idea of being stuck at home for an indefinite period of time?
3 tips for managers: supporting my staff in remote working successfully.
Prof. Tremblay offers managers 3 tips to consider in supporting their workers during this time of “mandatory” remote working.
As an employee, how can I make my “mandatory” remote working a success?
Prof. Tremblay offers employees guidance on how to make their “mandatory” remote working a successful and more enjoyable experience.
5 tips to help managers look after their own mental health
How we, as managers, can take care of our own mental health?
5 tips to help employees look after their own mental health
How we, as employees, can take care of our own mental health?
When employment becomes uncertain, how can employee trust and satisfaction be maintained?
Returning to work after a period of absence poses challenges that can have negative consequences.
“Scrambling”: An ability and a process.
The concept “scrambling” that refers to how human beings respond to a crisis adaptively, could not apply to the situation any better than the one we are experiencing today.
Key management practices for leaders to apply in an effort to safeguard their employees’ mental health in the context of remote working and crisis
Dr. Dimoff shares management practices to protect employees’ mental health and gives clear examples to help leaders use these practices in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
How to recognize employees’ warning signs in a remote setting?
Dr. Dimoff explains the 5 categories of “warning signs” and the related conditions that could indicate that your employees are psychologically distressed
COVID-19: How can telework be adapted to maintain employee well-being
How does working remotely impact employee well-being?
Online positive interventions programs to promote employee well-being: Are they effective?
Growing out of positive psychology, so-called positive interventions are trendy.
“Being present here and now”: looking at mindfulness
Mindfulness: is it just a fad or a promising intervention strategy?
Returning to work after the holidays, not at all restful!
Returning to work after a period of absence presents challenges that can have negative consequences for employees and the workplace.
Can presenteeism be good for health and performance?
What if presenteeism can have some positive aspects that are overlooked?
Where is the line between workaholism and work engagement?
Employees engage in excessive work for different reasons.
Are your employee’s citizenship behaviors helpful in times of work overload?
How work overload and allocentrism impacts organizational citizenship behaviors.
Too old to work?
In the current context, organizations have a strong interest in encouraging the retention of older workers.
How work interruptions affect employees well-being at work
The phone rings and two emails pop up. Immediate attention required.
Self-training: more than an individual skill.
Self-directed employee learning, or self-training, has become a competitive advantage for organizations.
Work-family interface: a local and global challenge
Balancing work and personal life is easier said than done.
A resilient, high-performing workforce in a stressful situation: what are the implications for the employer?
The importance of organizational and personal resources to foster workforce resilience.
Can a person find satisfaction in a “dirty job”?
Why do some workers report that they are satisfied with the results of work that so many others perceive as “dirty work”?
Is working remotely good for your employee’s well-being?
How does working remotely impact employee well-being?
Would you be able to recognize SOS in an employee?
Risk factors are closely associated with mental health problems, musculoskeletal troubles and cardiovascular diseases.
The challenges of telework
Telework can be synonymous with stress and tensions, and can reduce many people’s well-being.
Risk factors in the workplace
Risk factors are closely associated with mental health problems, musculoskeletal troubles and cardiovascular diseases.
Cancer’s physical and psychological symptoms: when to intervene and for which ones?
From the first signs of cancer until the end of treatment, the process can be gruelling, and at times, the challenges are many
Shared office spaces – what to make of them
Shared office spaces are seen as innovative, modern, flexible and allowing for more efficient sharing of information and better communication. Is this really the case?
Challenges of the return to work for breast cancer survivors
For some people, the return to work after an absence due to illness can mean recovering their social network, improving their self-esteem, regaining a certain financial security or boosting their personal well-being. But the return does not always happen smoothly and can sometimes be complex.
Service with a smile: Easier said than done!
A smile, even though it can be authentic, can also be a mask, especially in a context where an employee’s work requires it. This mask can become exhausting. This phenomenon is not new in the research: it is known as emotional labour.
What if we also looked after managers’ mental health?
What have you done lately to recognize your manager or support them in their work–life balance? If the answer does not spring to mind, you are not alone: the same is true for many employees.
Pointless and unreasonable: tasks that spoil work
Assigning tasks in a company is a management practice that is so common and routine, we rarely question our ways of doing it. It generally doesn’t pose a problem, since employees are hired based on their skills, and their work revolves around these. It gets tricky, however, when employees are assigned tasks that fall outside their expertise or tasks that seem… pointless.
Financial health of millennials: A cry for help!
The arrival of millennials (those born between 1980 and 2000) in the workplace has caused its share of upheaval. They bring with them a certain number of changes in ways of working, especially through their increased use of technology. They differ on several points from previous generations: their style of consumption, which happens more online, their greater difficulty in separating personal life and professional life, as well as the issue of their personal finances. The latter is a major source of stress, exacerbated by the combined accumulation of student debt and credit. Despite this financial stress, millennials often hesitate to ask for help in managing their finances.
Workplace bullying: Understanding it and reducing it
Although researchers have been interested in workplace bullying for several years, it remains largely misunderstood and is a challenge for organizations. Confusion around even the definition of bullying makes it more difficult to detect and, as a result, to reduce how often it occurs. This scientific interpretation aims to narrow down the concept of workplace bullying, to identify the main risk factors and to suggest prevention and intervention measures to deal with it, while taking into account the cultural context of organizations.
Recognizing and preventing fatigue at work…before something happens!
Fatigue at work affects a large number of employees around the world. It is the third most-reported health problem in Europe, and more than one in five workers in the US say they feel tired at work. Yet, in addition to affecting people’s quality of life and weakening their immune system, fatigue at work also entails major costs.
Adapting programs to employees based on cultural differences: the example of work–family balance
When an organization decides to expand its business into other countries, it generally tries to increase its competitiveness in the global marketplace. This strategic decision, however, exposes it to new management challenges, related especially to cultural differences among employees from different countries.
When technology and personal life are not necessarily compatible!
In modern societies, the way of working is constantly evolving. Some of this change is facilitated by communication technologies which allow connectivity, immediacy and, in the process, permeability of the boundaries that once separated work from private life. It would be wrong, however, to blame technology by itself for these developments: electronic devices can be disabled, emails can be filtered and incoming (telephone) calls can be directed to voice mail. Nevertheless, hyperconnectivity makes individuals more accessible and implicitly requires them to be available online at all times. What is the impact on employees?
Older workers: adding value
Due to the aging of today’s workers, many organizations will experience major demographic declines over the next 20 years, which could create a labour shortage. Because of an increase in life expectancy, combined with a gradual extension to what was traditionally considered the age of retirement at 65, older workers are a growing proportion of the current labour force.
Job crafting and leisure crafting: creating meaning and fostering commitment to work
Working environments are both dynamic and evolving. They subject employees to performance and adaptation challenges which can negatively influence their commitment to work. Job crafting – shaping or determining how one’s time is spent at work – is becoming more and more widespread. Employees seek to create meaning in their work and professional occupations, and this generally increases their commitment to the work.
Sustainable return to work for individuals with common mental disorders: Building on available resources
When an employee/worker with a common mental disorder (CMD) returns to work after a period of absence, his or her continued employment – or sustainable return to work (SRTW) – is an important issue at both the individual and organizational levels. A comprehensive understanding of the various concerns relating to CMDs and the conditions which positively impact a return to work are fundamental to the achievement of a SRTW.
Comparative analysis of workplace mental health guides and standards: understanding the pros and cons
Several international guides and standards are available to help employers implement mental health promotion and mental illness prevention in the workplace. But how effective are these guides and standards? Which best meet the specific needs of an organization? What criteria should their selection be based on?
When meaningful work and job satisfaction lead to good mental health
Meaningful work is an increasingly popular phenomenon when it comes to organizational health. More specifically, it appears that, when paired with job satisfaction, meaningful work improves employee’s mental health. How are these mechanisms related, and how can organizations benefit from them?
Participatory change to reduce insecurity
All organizational change comes with a lot of fear and insecurity, for managers as well as employees. Although a number of studies have been done on the topic of change in recent years, its impact on employee insecurity has not received a lot of attention. How to manage this insecurity and reduce negative consequences on the organization?
Bystanders intervention: taking action to stop workplace sexual harassment
Workplace sexual harassment is a persistent problem. Encouraging bystanders to intervene, directly or indirectly, therefore seems like a promising approach for dealing with it. How can these bystanders act to prevent or reduce the harm done to victims?
Key practices for a successful and sustainable return to work
The return to work after an injury or work-related illness involves numerous challenges for both organizations and employees. The return to work coordinator will play a very important role in a successful and sustainable return to work. But what must the coordinator do in concrete terms to help this happen?
When work makes people sick, and sick people come to work
What do we know about presenteeism at work? We know that presenteeism is more costly than absenteeism for organizations. Yet it is rarely measured in workplaces, even though it is an important indicator of employees’ health. Presenteeism is the vicious work cycle that makes employees sick; these same employees who show up to work when they are sick are less productive.
Even a 10-minute break outdoors can reduce stress
Whether it’s meditation, breathing techniques or yoga, individual approaches to stress management are increasingly popular in organizations. Enjoying the outdoor environment to take breaks at work would be especially beneficial in reducing stress. What are the effects and how can you introduce them in your organization?
What if being fulfilled fathers meant that men could be satisfied employees?
Balancing work and family life is one of the current challenges for employees and organizations. Today, many working men want to be recognized and supported in their role as a parent. Being a fulfilled father also means being a more satisfied employee. All organizations have an interest in putting in place concrete ways to promote work–family balance and therefore improve work–family enrichment.
The Kaizen approach can improve your employees’ well being
Japanese continuous improvement methods such as Kaizen have been gaining in popularity in Western organizations over the past 10 years. These methods have been criticized, as some people find them inhuman and used to increase the rate of production, but can Kaizen also improve the psychological well being of employees?
Is recovery an effective action lever?
Many organizations would like to promote their employees’ work engagement.
Can recovery be an effective action lever?
“Being present here and now”: looking at mindfulness
Mindfulness is increasingly taking hold in workplaces, but is it just a fad or is it a promising intervention strategy to promote your employees’ psychological health, well-being and performance?
Flexible work schedule : Is it really beneficial?
At work as in their personal lives, employees must do multiple tasks. Flexible work schedule is one form of support that some organizations offer to employees so they can better deal with the demands of both areas of their lives. But is flexible work schedule really beneficial?
When workplace bullying intrudes into personal life
If we know that the challenges that employees encounter in their personal lives affect their work and the entire organization, what about the effect on their personal lives when they are victims of workplace bullying? Here are some original research results on the vicious circle of workplace bullying.