Healthy Workplaces Are Not One-Size-Fits-All
Understanding how workplace wellness can include family violence awareness and support
October is Canada’s Healthy Workplace Month, a time to reflect on the habits, supports, and workplace cultures that help people feel healthy, safe, and supported at work. Canada’s Healthy Workplace Month takes place every October and highlights the importance of practicing habits that promote a healthy mind, body, and organizational culture.
When we talk about healthy workplaces, the conversation often focuses on wellness programs, work-life balance, mental health, team connection, or physical wellbeing. These are all important. But for employees impacted by family violence, workplace wellbeing may also involve safety, privacy, flexibility, informed leadership, and access to support.
Family violence does not always stay outside of the workday. It can affect how someone feels, communicates, travels, attends work, concentrates, manages appointments, or asks for help. In Alberta, domestic or sexual violence is included in the definition of workplace violence when it is work-related or happens at a work site. Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Code also states that when an employer is aware that a worker is, or is likely to be, exposed to domestic violence at a work site, the employer must take reasonable precautions to protect the worker and others who may be affected (Government of Alberta, n.d.).
This does not mean workplaces are expected to become family violence specialists. It means workplaces can play an important role in creating conditions where employees are met with care, privacy, and informed support.
Wellness Designed for You
Canada’s Healthy Workplace Month 2026 theme is Wellness. Your Way, with weekly themes including Wellness Designed for You, Building Sustainable Habits, Your Toolbox for Thriving, and Owning Your Wellness Roadmap (Weekly Themes | Canada’s Healthy Workplace Month, n.d.).
The first theme, Wellness Designed for You, reminds us that wellbeing is not the same for everyone.
For someone impacted by family violence, wellness may not look like joining a team challenge, attending a lunch-and-learn, or adding another activity to their schedule. It may look like having a private way to ask for help. It may look like knowing their schedule, phone number, location, or personal information will not be shared without care. It may look like flexible planning around appointments, court dates, childcare, transportation, or safety concerns.
A healthy workplace gives people options instead of pressure. It avoids assumptions about what someone should do and creates space for people to access support in a way that feels realistic and safe for them.
Building Sustainable Habits
A workplace response to family violence should not depend on one person knowing what to do.
Sustainable support means having habits and processes in place before a crisis happens. This may include making family violence resources visible, training leaders on how to respond without judgment, reviewing workplace violence and harassment procedures, and making sure employees know where they can go if they need help.
These habits can be simple but meaningful. A workplace may include family violence resources in onboarding materials, staff portals, wellness newsletters, manager training, or health and safety conversations. Teams may review privacy practices around schedules, contact information, and workplace access. Leaders may learn how to listen, respect choice, and connect someone to specialized support without trying to take control of the situation.
Support is stronger when it does not rely on luck, timing, or finding the “right” person to be believed.
Your Toolbox for Thriving
A workplace wellness toolbox should include more than general wellness resources.
For employees impacted by family violence, practical tools may include information about safe communication, workplace safety planning, flexible scheduling, emergency contacts, transportation options, privacy, and external support.
A toolbox can also support leaders and teams. A manager may not know what to say if an employee shares that they are experiencing family violence. HR, reception staff, or supervisors may not know what steps to take if someone unsafe contacts or comes to the workplace. These situations are easier to navigate when workplaces have training, procedures, and referral pathways in place.
A strong toolbox does not mean having all the answers. It means knowing what steps to take, who to involve, what information to protect, and where specialized support is available.
Owning Your Wellness Roadmap
Healthy workplace culture is built over time.
A wellness roadmap should not treat family violence awareness as a one-time conversation. It can include ongoing education, regular resource sharing, clear policies, leadership commitment, and relationships with community support.
For workplaces, this may mean asking what happens before, during, and after someone reaches out. Before a disclosure, are resources easy to find? During a safety concern, do leaders know how to respond with care and privacy? After someone asks for support, are there options for continued planning, flexibility, and connection to specialized services?
Owning a wellness roadmap means looking at whether workplace supports are realistic for people’s actual lives, not only ideal circumstances.
Connecting Healthy Workplace Month to Family Violence Awareness
For workplaces thinking about family violence awareness, the Healthy Workplace Month themes can be a helpful starting point for reflection and action.
A healthy workplace can consider how wellness, safety, privacy, and support show up in everyday practices. This may include:
Reviewing workplace violence and harassment policies.
Making family violence resources easy to find.
Training leaders, HR, wellness teams, and supervisors.
Creating private ways for employees to ask for support.
Thinking through safety concerns related to schedules, parking, reception, communication, and workplace access.
Building referral pathways with specialized community support.
Sharing resources throughout the year, not only when a concern becomes urgent.
At The Today Centre, we work with businesses to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to recognize and effectively respond to family violence in the workplace. Our workplace training is designed for executive staff, senior managers, HR managers, Occupational Health and Safety representatives, and wellness team leads, with a focus on organizational preparedness and safer, more informed responses.
We also support adults impacted by family violence through safety planning, risk assessment, education, connection to resources, and non-judgmental support that meets people where they are.
A Healthier Workplace Includes Safety and Support
Healthy workplaces are not one-size-fits-all because people’s lives are not one-size-fits-all.
For employees impacted by family violence, wellbeing at work may include safety, privacy, flexibility, informed leadership, and access to support. During Canada’s Healthy Workplace Month, workplaces have an opportunity to think more deeply about what wellness means, who it includes, and how support can be made easier to access.
Workplaces do not need to have all the answers. But they can help create environments where people are more likely to be met with care instead of judgment, and connected to support when they need it.
Help starts today.
The Today Centre Family Violence Impacts at Work Workshops
Family violence can affect workplace safety, employee wellbeing, productivity, and an organization’s ability to respond effectively when concerns arise. At The Today Centre, our Family Violence Impacts at Work education is available at different levels depending on where your organization is in its learning.
Family Violence Impacts at Work: What Businesses Need to Know
Our 30-minute informational session focuses on the why. It introduces workplace leaders, management teams, HR, OHS, and wellness personnel to the impact family violence can have at work and why organizations need to be prepared to respond. These introductory sessions are offered monthly.
Family Violence Impacts at Work: What Workplace Leaders Need to Know
Our three-hour half-day workshop focuses on the what, helping workplace leaders build a stronger understanding of what organizations need to consider when responding to family violence in the workplace.
8-Hour CPHR-Accredited Training
Our eight-hour training focuses on the how, providing a more comprehensive learning opportunity for organizations ready to deepen their knowledge and strengthen their workplace response. These workshops are scheduled later in each month following the introductory session.
Whether your organization is starting the conversation or ready for deeper learning, The Today Centre can help build the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to better recognize and respond to family violence in the workplace.
To learn more about these workplace education options or find the right fit for your organization, contact Training@TheTodayCentre.ca
References
Canada’s Healthy Workplace Month. (n.d.). Weekly themes. https://healthyworkplacemonth.ca/weekly-themes/
Government of Alberta. (n.d.). Workplace violence and harassment. Alberta.ca. https://www.alberta.ca/workplace-harassment-violence