Canada Awards for Excellence

The Co-operators is a leading Canadian, multi-product insurance and financial services co-operative with over 70 years of history and more than $48 billion in assets under administration. In 2015, mental health was identified as a strategic focus area, with executives endorsing a 10-point commitment statement and hundreds of employees also pledging their support.

The Co-operators launched an educational campaign based on 13 psychosocial factors for mentally healthy workplaces, and employees are engaged through internal social media and communications. The organization is reviewing benefit programs and medical leave processes, and has recently launched a mental health dashboard of key performance indicators to track progress. Its commitment to mental health extends beyond the workplace, with community supports such as trauma and bereavement counseling for clients, community partnerships that focus on youth and research initiatives with academia.