First-Ever U.S. Study on Workplace Wellness Finds 80 Percent of People Would Rather Work Alone Because of Unhelpful or Hostile Work Environments

NEW YORK and TORONTO, Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In order to explore bullying and wellness in the workplace and to create methods to assess psychological health and eliminate the unnecessary stress factors, the nonprofit Faas Foundation launched the Initiative to Create Psychologically Healthy Workplaces. It has begun work by supporting projects with Mental Health America (MHA), Canada's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation (CAMH) and the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence.

MHA has developed a workplace bullying and psychological wellness survey that in the first three months has generated almost 2,000 completed responses. The survey has revealed stunning preliminary results.  Among those who scored as being in unhealthy:

• Eighty-three percent reported that their company is overly focused on trivial activities.
• Because of unhelpful or hostile work environments, 80 percent report that they tend to work alone.
• Despite the difficulties they face, 41 percent of people in unhealthy work environments report that rarely or never miss work due to work related stress.

MHA is continuing to collect and analyze survey data, click here to take the survey which will be used to facilitate a forum with corporate executives.

"As someone who was retaliated against after blowing the whistle on a corrupt executive, I have firsthand knowledge of the devastating effects of an unhealthy workplace," said Andrew Faas, Founder of The Faas Foundation. "I am thrilled to be working with prestigious organizations like MHA on this initiative. I am also excited about working with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence on future projects. My hope is that it will result in greater awareness for employees, c-suite executives, board of directors and all those who are responsible for creating and sustaining healthy work environments."

"MHA is excited to work with Andy Faas and the Faas Foundation on this important work," said, Paul Gionfriddo, MHA president and CEO. "Andy's commitment to workplace mental health, his support for MHA's work, and his creativity in thinking globally about improving workplace environments is to be commended. We look forward to working collaboratively in the months and years to come to make an impact on this issue."

MHA is continuing to collect and analyze survey data, which will be use to facilitate a forum with corporate executives on workplace bullying. Findings will be used to potentially develop programs to create workshops and guidelines for corporations, as well as a toolkit for MHA affiliates to conduct their own workplace wellness forums on psychological health.

CAMH is creating a new program called Well @ Work. The goal is to create Canada's most comprehensive, evidence-based service and resource for the promotion and protection of mental health in the workplace. Well @ Work will focus on creating an online community to link businesses and workers with evidence-based workplace mental health information, strategic presentations with senior level executives, and on-site training programs using simulated scenarios. Continuous evaluation of the Well @ Work program will ensure that as new knowledge and learnings are developed they will be incorporated into the program.

"CAMH Foundation is delighted that Andy Faas has chosen to shine a spotlight on the issue of workplace mental health. Andy Faas' commitment is helping bring much needed attention and capacity to this critical field," said, Susan Mullin, Senior Vice President, Philanthropy at CAMH. "With the Faas Foundation's support, CAMH's Well @ Work program will provide Canadian businesses with the tools and training they need to make their workplace's psychologically healthy."

The Faas Foundation will be working with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence to bring the skills of emotional intelligence into the new initiative to improve mental health in the workplace, across Canada and the U.S., by creating psychologically healthy workplaces. The two organizations are committed to giving people the tools they need to understand and manage their feelings and emotions wisely. The Faas Foundation is also a donor of travel scholarships for students to attend the Emotion Revolution Summit on October 24 at Yale University. This inaugural Summit is a joint initiative of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation. The mission of the Emotion Revolution is to drive the national conversation to increase the focus on building positive school climate and creating psychologically and emotionally healthy schools and school communities.  

About The Faas Foundation
The Faas Foundation is a private foundation helping non-profit organizations in health care, medical research, and education become leaders in sustainable societal and economic solutions.

About CAMH
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world's leading research centres in this field. Clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion efforts combine at CAMH, enabling us to transform the lives of people affected by mental illness and addiction. For more information, please visit www.camh.ca and www.supportcamh.ca.

About MHA 
Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation's leading community-based non-profit dedicated to helping all Americans achieve wellness by living mentally healthier lives. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all, early identification and intervention for those at risk, and integrated care and treatment for those who need it, with recovery as the goal.

About Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence uses the power of emotions to create a more effective and compassionate society. The Center conducts research and teaches people of all ages how to develop their emotional intelligence.

SOURCE The Faas Foundation