Communicating psychologically safe workplaces in Nova Scotia : the effect of Nova Scotian cultures on the prevention of mental health disability

Abstract

Psychologically safe workplaces are environments that promote positive workplace mental health and well-being to help prevent mental health disability. Despite an emerging discussion in Canada about mental health, communicating psychologically safe workplaces has been under-explored within cultural contexts to determine in what ways those contexts could affect communication. This research explores particular ways that Nova Scotian cultures affect communicating psychologically safe workplaces. Five Nova Scotian disability managers were interviewed using questions about Nova Scotian cultures and factors affecting a psychologically safe workplace. Using qualitative content analysis, the results suggest three unique features affecting the communication of psychologically safe workplaces in Nova Scotia: urban/rural access to resources, employment industries and job mobility, and attitudes and behaviours around mental health. These results posit that cultural contexts may affect how organizations "buy-in" to psychologically safe workplaces, suggesting that cultures should be considered when designing channels for communicating these workplaces to organizations.