Definitions

Target of Interventions

Individual level:

Toolkits (and interventions) must focus on worker empowerment, changes in work culture or aimed at leadership within a division. We are not including single interventions that place the onus on the individual to ‘fix’ themselves.

Team Level:

Toolkits and interventions focus on peer support, mentorship and leadership within a group setting.

Organization level:

Toolkits and interventions focus on policies within an organization, leadership development and training opportunities within the work environment.

System level:

Toolkits and interventions target policies at an association/union level, collective agreements, government action or advocacy

Types/Level of Burnout

Preventing Burnout:

Addressing Burnout:

Supporting Burnout:

Interventions /toolkits aimed at healthcare workers who are showing signs of severe stress that can lead to severe physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. Primary - prevention and promotion of mental health and psychological well-being in the workplace (e.g., job redesign, workplace health promotion).

Interventions /toolkits aimed at healthcare workers who have experienced or are currently experiencing excessive and prolonged work-related stress. Secondary–acute treatment = active training and educational programming/interventions/ (e.g., coping skills training; stress management programs)

Interventions /toolkits aimed at workplace accommodations for healthcare workers who were off work and are returning to work after experiencing excessive and prolonged stress. Tertiary – recovery and rehabilitation (e.g., EAP, RTW program)

Cross Cutting Workplace Influences On Burnout

Workload Management:

Conflict, Bullying & Harrassment:

Discrimination:

Reducing Stigma and Disclosure:

 General Definitions

Emotional labour:

Equity:

Imposter syndrome:

Implicit Biases:

 Inclusion:

Institutional Racism:

Microaggressions:

Racism:

Sexism:

White fragility:

White privilege:

a state of well-being that a healthcare worker can reach or can set as a goal to allow them to manage effectively multiple responsibilities at work (CMHA Ontario); the demands of the job do not match or exceed the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker, or when the knowledge or abilities of an individual worker or group to cope are not matched with the expectations of the organizational culture (ILO Workplace Stress)

any inappropriate action by a person towards a worker that he or she knew or reasonably ought to have known would cause that worker to be humiliated or intimidated (WorkSafeBC)

occurs when an employee or group of employees is treated differently, negatively or adversely because of their gender, race, color, culture, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, trade union membership or any other prohibited grounds of discrimination (Doyle, A. Types of Employment Discrimination)

a process that involves awareness and/or endorsement of stereotypes, labelling, separation, prejudice and discrimination in a context in which social, economic or political power is exercised to the detriment of members of a social group. Telling a supervisor or member of your workplace’s human resources team about a diagnosis of any health problem (including MH issues).

“is the process of regulating both feelings and expressions for organizational goals... Emotional labor may involve enhancing, faking, or suppressing emotions to modify the emotional expression” (Grandey, 2000, p. 97). Although emotional labor might be helpful in some contexts, it is known to be stressful for an individual and may result in burnout. 

Rodriguez (2016) explains that equity “refers to the enactment of specific policies and practices that ensure equitable access and opportunities for success for everyone” (p. 243). Often, we may conflate equity and equality, which can be detrimental to meeting and surpassing our diversity and inclusion goals. Rodriguez speaks to the difference between equity and equality when she writes that, “in order to be equitable, we cannot treat everyone the same. To be equitable, we must treat individuals according to their needs and provide multiple opportunities for success” (p. 243).

In the context of health sciences, for example, equity would have us provide childcare for scientists travelling with children, even though others may not need such services. Resources and policies do not need to be equal to be equitable.

is “a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success.”

“are discriminatory biases based on implicit attitudes or implicit stereotypes. Implicit biases are especially intriguing, and also especially problematic, because they can produce behavior that diverges from a person's avowed or endorsed beliefs or principles.”

According to Jordan (2011), “inclusion puts the concept and practice of diversity into action by creating an environment of involvement, respect, and connection—where the richness of ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives are harnessed to create business value. Organizations need both diversity and inclusion to be successful.” Mor Barak (2014) states that “[t]he concept of inclusion-exclusion in the workplace refers to the individual’s sense of being a part of the organizational system in both the formal processes, such as access to information and decision-making channels, and the informal processes, such as “water cooler” and lunch meetings where information exchange and decisions informally take place” (p. 155). An inclusive workplace goes beyond employing people from diverse backgrounds (racial, class, gender, nationality, religion, ability, etc.). Workplace inclusion involves being attuned to the organizational climate, as well as the “unwritten rules” that maintain workplace culture. If socializing amongst colleagues, for example, often takes place after office hours, and in bars or pubs, parents with young children and people who do not drink (for religious, health or other reasons) may not feel comfortable or supported by the organization. 

is “the collective failure of an organization to provide appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people” (“The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, Report of an Inquiry” cited in Eddo-Lodge, 2017, pp. 60-61).

is a term that was coined in 1970 by Chester M. Pierce, psychiatrist and Harvard University professor, to describe insults and dismissals which he regularly witnessed non-black Americans inflicting on African Americans. Others have defined them as “brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership” (Sue, 2010, p. xvi).

is "encompassing economic, political, social, and cultural structures, actions, and beliefs that systematize and perpetuate an unequal distribution of privileges, resources and power between white people and people of color (Hilliard, 1992)...Whiteness itself refers to the specific dimensions of racism that serve to elevate white people over people of color" (DiAngelo, 2011, p. 56).

refers to the selectively unjustified negative behaviour against women, girls, and anyone not identifying as a man. Sexism is a term that is particularly used to denote discrimination against women and girls. Research has suggested there are four levels of sexism — individual, social/structural, institutional, and cultural — that interact with each other.

“is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviours, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium” (DiAngelo, 2011, p. 54).

is “inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice. unearned over advantage and conferred dominance.” White privilege works systematically to confer dominance on white people because of their race (McIntosh, 2003).