Proactive mental health support that meets the unique needs of all employees
Approximately 47% of employees report their work suffers due to poor mental health and 65% report stress impacts their work.¹ On a positive note, Deloitte research found that organizations that support employee mental health not only help their employees, they also achieve a significant return on their investment. Additionally, they found that the companies that achieved greater returns took a more proactive approach by providing activities to all employees along the entire mental health continuum, regardless of their current state of mental health.²
Wajax is one of Canada’s leading and most diversified providers of industrial equipment, products, and services with over 165 years of experience. As a people-first company, Wajax is committed to the wellbeing and safety of its employees and to helping employees improve their mental, physical, financial, and social health, while delivering programs that meet the needs of the company’s diverse workforce. To bring this commitment to life, Wajax developed a comprehensive health and wellness program that advances prevention, inclusivity, and accessibility by giving employees access to high-quality resources and support. The company has received multiple awards for its dedication to employee wellness, including the Excellence Canada Platinum Awards for Healthy Workplace and Mental Health at Work, the nation’s pre-eminent recognition of organizational excellence.
Improve mental health support while expanding accessibility
Wajax has a workforce of over 3,000 employees and over 120 branches across Canada. Before partnering with LifeSpeak, Wajax had a robust mental health program in place, but the leadership team wanted to expand mental health resources to engage employees earlier in the continuum of care, as well as proactively support the mental health needs of the company’s diverse workforce. Because many Wajax employees work in the field and have limited access to workplace resources, the company needed a solution that would be accessible anywhere and at any time.
Proactive mental health education and guidance with easy, any time access
Wajax partnered with LifeSpeak Inc. in 2021 to expand their mental health program. Wajax chose LifeSpeak, which provides bite-sized education and guidance from top mental health experts. Jennifer Lombardo, Health & Wellness Manager at Wajax had a long history of strong partnerships with LifeSpeak and knew firsthand how credible and engaging the company’s content is and how beneficial it is to provide easy access to whole-person wellbeing support.
With LifeSpeak, employees can chat with world-class mental health experts and access a wide variety of health and wellness topics in one place. The micro-learning approach through videos and other digital formats makes LifeSpeak content easy to digest and adopt. Wajax employees and their dependents can access LifeSpeak at any time, free of charge, which is especially useful to field employees who need to access content at home or on the go.
Wajax actively promotes mental health support by integrating LifeSpeak into its comprehensive wellness strategy. The company incorporates LifeSpeak into annual mental health campaigns, embeds videos into training programs on mental health, wellness, and financial health, and leverages Wellness Champions to share new content. LifeSpeak videos are easily accessible through the company’s SharePoint platform. To boost engagement, Wajax runs popular “Watch and Win” contests, generating positive employee feedback and increased LifeSpeak utilization.
