The Canadian Mental Health Commission, in their booklet – Making the Case for Investing in Mental Health in Canada, reported that the economic cost of mental illnesses to the Canadian healthcare and social support system was projected at $79.9 billion for the year 2021.

SAHARA enables organizations to take proactive steps to realize measurable improvements in safety performance and employee mental health and well-being. Our mission is to help educate, empower, and proactively mitigate physical and mental health related issues to reduce incidents in the workplace.

SAHARA allows organizations of all sizes to cost-effectively meet the requirements outlined in the CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013 National Standard of Canada.

This Standard specifies requirements for a documented and systematic approach to develop and sustain a psychosocial healthy and safe workplace including a framework to create and continually improve a psychologically healthy and safe workplace specifically:

• the identification and elimination of hazards in the workplace that pose a risk of psychological harm to a worker;
• the assessment and control of the risks in the workplace associated with hazards that cannot be eliminated;
• implementing structures and practices that support and promote psychological health and safety in the workplace; and
• fostering a culture that promotes psychological health and safety in the workplace.

See industry verticals SAHARA 4 Energy, Resources, & Industrial, SAHARA 4 Service Hospitality and Tourism, and SAHARA 4 Welding. We can customize or create a new SAHARA version that meets your hazard assessment and safety requirements. SAHARA is delivered free to high schools through the SiS Foundation of Canada.

When psychological health is assessed, it most often involves a third-party supervisor or evaluator. This is problematic for two reasons: the potential for evaluator bias, and the employee may not want to disclose their personal mental health issues. Eliminating evaluator bias and offering anonymity are both key to accurate and honest responses.

Combining workplace hazards and psychological health and well-being to calculate risk level is a novel concept and the genesis for SAHARA.

Our extensive reporting and data analytic capabilities allows you to  proactively mitigate physical and mental health hazards to reduce incidents in your workplace.

Potential workplace hazards are presented for different work environments raising awareness and educating employees. Personalized Recommendations are based on the industry, selected hazards, and the Personal Wellness Assessment, and link to eLearning courses accessible anytime from any device.

The confidential Personal Wellness Self-Assessment displays the Risk Level without disclosing details and correlates to the employee’s current mental health. Questions related to personal safety, psychological issues, well-being, and right to refuse unsafe work are included and can also be customized. Employees that indicate feelings of despair or that they fear for the safety trigger a High-Risk level and a direct link to an anonymous crisis response support organization.