The Fondation de l’Institut universitaire en santé mentale (the “Foundation”), in partnership with the National Bank and iA Financial Group, are launching today Quebec’s very first Chaire de recherche en santé mentale et travail (Research Chair in Work and Mental Health). The Research Chair, which will have initial funding of 1.4 million dollars, will be led by Marc Corbière, a researcher with the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal (CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal) and a full professor in the Department of Education – Career Counseling at the University of Quebec in Montreal.
Marc Corbière, Research Chair
The objective in creating the Research Chair is to develop new, effective intervention strategies to help not only employees suffering with an illness but also other stakeholders such as managers, human resources professionals, mental health practitioners, work colleagues, unions and insurers.
“It is essential that all these key players know their role well so that they can quickly gain access to information on the employee and are able to communicate with other stakeholders both during sick leave and during a gradual return to work phase or reinsertion in the regular job market,” stated Mr. Corbière.
To reach this objective, the researcher is committed to developing practical tools such as questionnaires and applications that improve workplace interventions and encourage a durable and healthy return to work for employees who have been on leave.
“The development of knowledge in the field of work and mental health must be based on science, conclusive data, an analysis of innovative approaches used across the globe and specific expertise. As a result, I am extremely pleased with the creation of the Research Chair and the support it has received from the National Bank and iA Financial Group,” said Mr. Yvan Gendron, the President and Managing Director of the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.
Improve Employee Well-Being
In an industrial society like Quebec, organizations are having to face more and more mental health issues in the workplace. By helping to create the Research Chair, the National Bank and iA Financial Group are seeking to reduce stigmatization that can arise in the workplace if employees admit to suffering from a mental illness.
The Foundation also has cause to celebrate the benefits of such an investment in the field of work and mental health.
“With the creation of the Research Chair, organizations will, in the near future, be able to identify and effectively help people with a mental illness in order to facilitate their return to work or to give them the support they need to stay on the job,” stated Martin Gagnon, the Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
To learn more about the Research Chair, visit the site santementaletravail.ca (in French only).
