Dear Members,
As I sit down to write this message, the National Capital Region is covered in a thick blanket of snow. Everything at the moment looks so still and peaceful. However, the reality on the ground is that Omicron is still running rampant through Canada and in many places abroad. With testing at capacity, the only numbers we have are dizzying daily counts of hospitalizations and deaths. Add to this the complexities of living under recently renewed health restrictions and, for many of you, managing children’s remote learning, it’s no wonder that stress and anxiety levels feel higher than they have ever been in the past 22 months.
Experts are now worried about a “second,” or “shadow” pandemic in the area of mental health. It is more crucial than ever that we pay attention to our mental health and wellness as well as to the stressors in our environments. As GAC Psychological Well-Being Co-Champion, I am pleased to share with you a few initiatives designed to help us through these trying times.
You may already know this first one. Created in response to an unprecedented rise in mental health and substance abuse concerns arising from the pandemic, Wellness Together Canada (WTC) is a comprehensive website that offers wellness self-assessment and tracking tools, self-directed wellness courses as well as a community of support through coaching and counselling services via phone or text. If you haven’t already, please check it out.
Next is PocketWell, a new companion app to the Wellness Together Canada portal. Through PocketWell, you can access all the resources of the WTC portal as well as new tools to monitor mood and mental well-being. You can download the app for free from Apple’s App Store or from Google Play.
And, lastly, Bell’s long-running Let’s Talk mental health campaign has just launched for 2022. A number of events are being presented under this banner. Next Wednesday, January 26, is Bell Let’s Talk Day which will feature a signature event for all federal employees. This special event brings together subject matter experts and organizational representatives to explain how peer support, whether formal or informal, can help public servants navigate the psychological impacts of COVID-19 at work and at home. Participants will learn about the benefits of workplace peer support programs and how to implement them and will gain insights from organizations that have already done so. Click here to register.
Within this same framework, two more events are scheduled. On Monday, January 24, all employees are invited to join multi-medal winning Paralympian and current Senator Chantal Petitclerc for The Key to Success: Attitude, Passion and Determination. Presented by the Canadian Innovation Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, this session will take place on Monday, January 24, 1:30pm to 2:45pm ET. Use this link to register. And, on Thursday, January 27, Executives are invited to join Isolation Nation: Supporting Mental Health, presented by the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (APEX). The event will feature Bell Let’s Talk ambassador and #SickNotWeak founder Michael Landsberg. Click here to register for this talk.
In PAFSO business, things are progressing well with the implementation of the Full-Time Presidency project. The Nominations and Elections Committee, made up of Michael Eyestone, Tam Ames, Kristen Jansen as Chair, is set to meet this week to begin to develop the frameworks necessary to launching the process next month, with an eye on a membership-wide vote before the end of April. If you are interested in learning more about the Full-Time Presidency, the elections and nominations process, the steps to come and how it all ties into our Strategic Plan, I will be holding an information session on the subject with the Committee on Wednesday January 26 at 1400, Ottawa time. You can register via this link.
As always, if you have any concerns about your situation at work, Executive Director Kim Coles is your first point of contact. Just send her an email describing your circumstance and she will put you in touch with our labour relations team. For all other questions, please send an email to info@pafso.com.
While the COVID-19 headlines at the moment are not that great, there has been a slight glimmer of hope developing in the last few days. Some health experts, at home and abroad, are cautiously advancing the idea that the Omicron variant may be about to reach its peak in Canada and has already begun to decline in other parts of the world. Through our diligent adherence to health protocols, our uptake of vaccination and booster programs, and our patience and perseverance through these difficult times, it appears that transmission rates in a few spots in Canada may have plateaued. If these trends continue, it is extremely good news and may constitute a significant turning point in the pandemic, at least here at home. I’m not one to count her chickens before they hatch, but this may just be the kind of good news we need to hear.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and we’ll chat again in a few weeks. Until then, stay safe. Take care of yourselves and each other.
All the best,
Pam Isfeld
President