The future of psychological health and safety: What the next 10 years must deliver

Over 10 years ago, Canada did something truly groundbreaking. It launched the world’s first National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (CSA-Z1003-13), also known as "The Standard", creating a framework that was, at the time, visionary.

The Standard pointed to a future where psychological safety would be seen as equally important as physical safety, and it laid the groundwork for how we could start protecting people at work in more holistic, human ways.

And it worked—in so many important ways.

• The Standard got companies talking seriously about psychological health and safety, not just as a wellness initiative, but as a critical safety issue.

• It informed the development of ISO 45003, the first global standard for managing psychosocial risk.

• And it gave rise to a powerful community of practitioners, consultants, researchers, and advocates who continue to work tirelessly to move this space forward.

We need to celebrate that success. Because what we’ve achieved over the past decade is significant. Without this foundation, we wouldn’t be where we are now.

Ten years in, and still a hard sell

But we also need to take a moment to reflect on our challenges. Not to diminish the progress we’ve made but to understand what’s holding us back.

Despite the plethora of free tools, resources, and trainings that exist, PHS still remains a hard sell to many businesses. Adoption is still limited. Programs, when implemented, are often surface-level. And too many leaders still don’t see the link between PHS and performance, retention, or risk.

Why is it so hard?

In part, because PHS is often seen as complex, intangible, and outside the core operations of doing business. Many organizations don’t know where to start. Others are overwhelmed by the perceived scale of what’s involved. And too often, the conversation is siloed in HR, rather than being seen as part of safety, leadership, or strategy.

And yet, something is shifting.

We may be in a lull right now, a pause before the curve bends upward. But make no mistake: the next decade will look different. Because we are facing a perfect storm of pressure and opportunity.

The perfect storm: Why now must be the tipping point

Mental health in the workplace is worsening, not stabilizing. We're seeing:

• Rising rates of burnout and increased mental health-related disability claims

• Lower employee engagement across sectors

• New demands from younger generations, especially Gen Z, who expect safe, responsive, and transparent work environments and have little patience for workplaces that ignore mental health

At the same time, legislation is catching up:

• As of September 1, 2025, Nova Scotia will require all employers to integrate psychological health and safety into their occupational health and safety (OHS) programs

• New Brunswick and PEI have already introduced similar requirements

• Other provinces are likely to follow, setting a new baseline for employer responsibility

The floor is rising. What was once voluntary is now becoming law. And within this growing pressure lies an extraordinary opportunity: to shift decisively from simply raising awareness about PHS into real action.

What action is needed

This important move from PHS awareness to action requires us to do three things, and to do them well:

1. Focus on simplicity, not capturing it all

The National Standard was a landmark achievement—but its impressive depth is also its greatest barrier. The 14 psychosocial factors it outlines are thorough, evidence-based, and meaningful. But for many employers, especially small and mid-sized businesses, it’s simply too much.

The message going forward needs to be clear: you don’t have to do it all at once. Start by addressing a few psychosocial factors that are most relevant to your workplace. Focus on hazards that are most clearly affecting your team: workload, leadership, or interpersonal conflict. Build the habit of identifying and addressing psychological risk in small, visible ways.

If we want widespread adoption, we need to make this feel accessible. Simplicity isn’t about watering it down but about making it doable.

2. Build a business case that shows real value

One of the major roadblocks in scaling PHS is that we haven’t made a convincing enough case for why it matters financially. The existing data is thin, sometimes outdated, and too often relies on broad, self-reported metrics that don’t resonate with senior leaders.

This is partly because the impacts of PHS are not uniform. The trajectory of change is complex and non-linear, and companies often look for different types of value: whether it's reducing absenteeism, improving morale, preventing turnover, or lowering disability claims. One-size-fits-all numbers rarely capture what matters most to decision-makers.

To move forward, we need to invest in deep, sector-specific case studies and not just the success stories. We need to learn from what didn’t work, from partial implementations, and from efforts that failed to gain traction or have impact. These lessons are just as valuable as the wins.

If we want leaders to invest, we have to speak their language. That means showing how psychological health and safety affects claims costs, absenteeism, turnover, productivity, and team morale. It also means providing evidence that holds up under scrutiny and helps organizations see PHS not as a soft initiative, but as a smart and strategic one.

Legislation may push companies to act, but it’s a strong business case that will convince them to go beyond compliance.

3. Train and equip safety professionals to lead

As psychological health and safety becomes integrated into OHS law, safety professionals will be on the front lines of this shift. But most have not yet been trained to identify, assess, or manage psychosocial risk. Many still see mental health as something that sits in HR.

We need to change that.

Safety professionals must be equipped with the tools, language, and confidence to treat psychological risk the same way they treat physical hazards. That means training in mental health literacy, trauma-informed leadership, and psychosocial risk assessment. It also means giving them practical frameworks for reporting, mitigation, and follow-up.

They are the ones who can normalize this work: not as something soft or optional, but as a core part of any workplace safety program.

Looking ahead: The next decade of PHS

The next 10 years won’t be about more awareness. That work is largely done. What we need now is action.

We’ll start to see PHS integrated into safety audits, performance metrics, and leadership KPIs. We’ll see regulatory frameworks evolve to demand more than paperwork. We’ll see companies investing in early detection systems, better data collection, and initiatives to manage psychosocial risks.

And most importantly, we’ll see a shift in culture—where PHS is treated not as an accommodation, but as a basic right.

But this future won’t build itself. It requires courage, investment, and leadership. It requires us to stop tinkering around the edges and start building systems that support prevention, respond to risk, and truly protect people at work, which are also implementable and cost-effective.

We have the tools. We have the knowledge. We have the grit. What we need now is commitment.

Want to learn more?

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