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    Guarding Minds at Work

    Guarding Minds at Work (GM@W) is Canada's primary evidence-based psychosocial assessment tool, developed by the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA) at Simon Fraser University. It is aligned to the Canadian National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety (CAN/CSA-Z1003-13).

    Overview

    Developer

    CARMHA at Simon Fraser University, supported by Canada Life and the Great-West Life Centre

    Format

    65+ item survey assessing 13 workplace factors plus additional organisational health items

    Regulatory Alignment

    Directly aligned to CAN/CSA-Z1003-13, the voluntary national standard for psychological health and safety

    The 13 Psychosocial Factors

    Psychological support
    Organisational culture
    Clear leadership & expectations
    Civility & respect
    Psychological demands
    Growth & development
    Recognition & reward
    Involvement & influence
    Workload management
    Engagement
    Work-life balance
    Psychological protection from violence
    Protection of physical safety

    Strengths

    Free to use — no licensing fees for employers
    Directly aligned to the Canadian National Standard (CAN/CSA-Z1003)
    Covers 13 psychosocial factors — broader than most instruments
    Includes action planning resources alongside assessment
    Backed by academic research from Simon Fraser University
    Includes both employee and leadership survey components

    Limitations

    Anonymous only — cannot identify individuals requiring support
    Episodic — designed for annual or biannual administration
    Canadian regulatory context — not mapped to Australian hazard definitions
    Does not cover intrusive surveillance, traumatic events, or harmful work environment
    No continuous monitoring capability
    65+ items create moderate survey fatigue
    Time to insight is 6–8 weeks minimum
    No built-in mechanism to connect findings to individual manager action

    Australian Context

    Guarding Minds at Work is well-regarded in Canada but its 13 factors do not map directly to the 17 Comcare psychosocial hazards. Australian organisations using GM@W would need to supplement it with additional assessment for hazards like intrusive surveillance, fatigue, traumatic content exposure, and harmful work environment — and would still lack continuous monitoring and individual-level visibility.