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Interview with Amy Quintal about Mental Health in the Workplace

An Interview with Amy Quintal about Mental Health in the Workplace

By Chantelle Painter, Consultant and Business and Relationship Development Professional

This month, we connected with Amy Quintal, a Mental Health and Wellness Counsellor at Elements Health in Spruce Grove, Alberta. In her work, Amy recognizes the need for mental health supports, and she shared what it means to create psychological safety in the workplace.

Make Mental Health Supports More than a List of Benefits

According to Amy, positive mental health supports in the workplace “can look like a variety of things. Mental health supports in the workplace means there is a top-down approach to acceptance, inclusion, and belonging, as well as work-life balance.” 

She also noted that mental health supports should be expressed as more than a basic list of benefits and that “leadership in the workplace must make mental wellness a priority and live through this value for their teams.”  

“Leadership in the workplace must make mental wellness a priority and live through this value for their teams.”

Foster a Flexible, Understanding Environment

Amy mentioned that positive workplaces make room for “fostering an environment that allows people flexibility, empathy, and understanding. People need to feel safe sharing if they are unable to meet a deadline, cannot work overtime, or some days, just simply cannot come to work.” Examples she gave included recognizing that:

  • a neurodivergent employee requires work time accommodations, such as later start times or shorter workdays, or
  • an Indigenous employee may not want to take mandatory time off for Christmas but could use days for medicine picking and solstice.

It’s also important to share these accommodations with their team to ensure that individuals are being met where they are. It acknowledges and validates their experiences as part of a larger commitment for all members of the organization to support the humanity in others.

Offer Opportunities to Slow Down

“We are in a world that is so fast paced both in and out of work. Feeling supported at work, with the ability to slow down at times throughout the workday, can alleviate some of the stress folks have.”

Amy was thoughtful when considering “we are in a world that is so fast paced both in and out of work. Feeling supported at work, with the ability to slow down at times throughout the workday, can alleviate some of the stress folks have. Employers can offer regular mindfulness activities for their teams, implement longer breaks, encourage walking meetings, and connect on a personal level with team members.”

Actions from Leaders Are More Powerful than Words

Underscoring everything we discussed was the role senior leadership plays in not only verbalizing the importance of supporting the mental health and well-being of their team members but acting as a role model for their entire organization. Actions can be more powerful than words. Organizations that embrace well-being at the core of their lived values will always come out ahead and be more sustainable over time.

Chantelle Painter is a consultant and business and relationship development professional with over 20 years’ experience in corporate retail and non-profit collaboration. Chantelle is skilled in Relationship Building, Coaching, Retail, Customer Satisfaction, Driving and Measuring Engagement, and Policy Development.

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