The Working Mind
Foundational Manager
Leading a team takes more than good intentions.
FOR PEOPLE LEADERS
About half of Canadian workers have experienced mental health challenges that affected their work, yet only a third told their employer. Managers are often the first to notice something has shifted, whether it’s a change in energy, in engagement, or in the quality of someone’s work. And their support makes a difference: 59% of workers say their manager’s support has a positive impact on their mental health.
The Working Mind: Manager gives leaders the confidence to meet that moment. They step into those conversations early, with care and clarity, and with a firm grasp of their responsibilities along the way. They also come away better equipped to look after their own wellbeing, because leaders carry a heavy load too.
Employees feel the difference, since an approachable manager makes it safer to speak up. For your organization, it builds a common language across leadership and a foundation for psychological safety, which supports retention, productivity, and fewer days lost to presenteeism and absenteeism. Pair it with The Working Mind: Employee, and leaders and their teams are on the same page.
Source: Mental Health Research Canada, Mental Health in the Workplace (2025).
Steadier leaders. Stronger teams. Healthier workplaces.
Group bookings only.
The Working Mind: Manager is delivered privately, scheduled around your leadership team’s calendar. Managers set the tone for how mental health is talked about at work, and training them together builds a consistent approach across your organization. Available virtually across Canada, or in person in the Lower Mainland. In-person delivery elsewhere is available with travel costs covered.
$375 + GST per person. 8 hrs.
52%
Only half of Canadian managers feel confident identifying when a team member is struggling with psychological distress - yet manager support has the strongest measurable impact on employee mental health of any workplace intervention.
Mental Health Research Canada, Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace 2024 Update.
59%
of employees say manager support has one of the strongest impacts on their mental health, yet 33% of managers still don't feel equipped to give it.
This training exists to close that gap.
Mental Health Research Canada, Mental Health in the Workplace 2025
$3,400
saved per employee per year when organisations prioritise burnout prevention - companies that act see a27% burnout rate versus 47% for those that don’t.
Mental Health Research Canada, Mental Health in the Workplace 2025
The Curriculum
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This program was developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. It speaks directly to the operational pressures managers face: high turnover and a team's mental health that can shift fast. It's delivered by a facilitator who has managed teams herself, not just studied them. The curriculum uses video testimonials and case studies from people sharing their real experiences with mental health struggles and recovery, across corporate, service, and industrial environments. Effective leadership requires personal sustainability, so this course protects your own resilience just as much as it builds your ability to support your team. What happens in the room reflects what you're already living day to day.
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We begin our day by establishing a shared foundation, exploring the core concepts of mental health and wellness. This opening module examines the structural impacts of stigma in the workplace - focusing heavily on how workplace culture directly shapes whether an employee feels safe enough to reach out, or chooses to stay silent.
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Moving into our next session, we introduce the Mental Health Continuum Model. This practical, objective tool shifts management away from guesswork and toward active observation. You’ll learn to monitor shifts in health across your team and gain the confidence to open supportive conversations long before a performance issue becomes a crisis.
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In the afternoon, we pivot inward to focus on the leader behind the title. You’ll explore your own physiological and psychological stress responses, learning how to apply evidence-informed coping strategies to manage pressure. By building your own resilience, you ensure you can lead steadily through challenging organizational periods without sacrificing your own health.
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We conclude the day by translating theory into direct leadership practice. In this final session, you’ll practice the specific language and trauma-informed skills required to support a struggling team member. We map out how to navigate workplace accommodations, handle critical incidents with steadiness, and clearly discern when - and how - to safely connect an individual to professional care.
Please note
For prevention purposes, this course includes content on suicide awareness. Verbal trigger warnings are provided prior to discussing this material to ensure a safe, supportive learning environment for everyone.
Reduces stigma by giving every team member the same shared language to talk about mental health, whatever your workplace looks like
Recognizes early warning signs in your team using the Mental Health Continuum, so you can step in before a performance issue becomes a crisis
Prepares you to support a struggling team member with practical conversation skills and a clear path to professional care
Why Both Matter
Atelier Mental Health Literacy + Facilitation delivers The Working Mind as parallel programmes - one designed specifically for managers and one for employees - because what each group needs from this training is genuinely different.
When both cohorts complete their respective streams, they return to the same workplace with a shared language and shared frameworks for mental health. That shared foundation is what builds psychological safety - and psychological safety is what changes workplace culture.