Why Robust, Safe and Respectful Workplace Policies are an Essential Prerequisite to a Successful DEI Program
22
Feb 2022
147
Author:
Jillian Kruschell (she/her/hers)
, Chief Executive Officer, Libra Consulting Ltd.
Every great team strives to create a safe, inclusive and diverse workplace culture – a culture that will help the organization recruit and retain employees, a culture that will make a great impression on not only employees, but clients, prospective clients and all other stakeholders too.
There are many ways to arrive at that pinnacle and every road map looks different, but the starting point is often the same – tried, tested and true policies for a safe and respectful workplace. Without those policies in place and effectively in use from the beginning, it’s easy to get off course.
The Alberta Human Rights Act
(Government of Alberta) states that “Employers have obligations to keep their employees safe and create an environment free of discrimination, harassment and violence.” These issues are often considered and addressed in policy and procedures completely separate from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). But at my organization, we recognize that those policies are essential building blocks to DEI success.
Essential to understanding human behavioural motivation is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which uses a hierarchical pyramid to illustrate the importance of each individual having their basic needs met as a precursor to achieving meaningful self actualization.
Only when an organization is firmly rooted in its commitment to keeping its employees safe from any type of workplace harassment, discrimination or abuse, can a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive culture grow. It’s easy for organizations to implement policy that meets the legal obligations, but properly implementing those policies and firmly standing by the guidelines set out within them is what really counts.
Any organization can distribute policies to employees, most do it as a box to check during the onboarding process. But after a brief scan during those early days on the job, are your policies filed away, never to be seen again? Are they written in such a way that employees will be able to digest their content as meaningful and get a sense of how those policies will translate into action in the day-to-day? It is essential to be able to show employees that inevitable conflicts can be resolved fairly, that they are empowered to advocate for their personal safety and well being and that nobody, be it colleagues, customers or suppliers, will be permitted to treat them poorly.
At my organization, we believe that inclusion has to come before diversity, because intentionally recruiting diverse talent into a workforce shouldn’t be done if the groundwork of creating an environment in which they will be able to meaningfully contribute and thrive has not come first. Without a strong base of inclusivity, diverse talent, which could bring in new ideas and perspectives will likely fail and leave. Aside from the obviously expensive repercussions of turnover, this could damage your reputation as an employer and your ability to recruit diverse talent in future.
Employers who succeed at DEI are employers who are ready to do right by their employees and can see and value the complex humanity of their individual team members. If you can achieve this, you’ll be positioned to recognize the significant improvements in productivity, engagement and collaboration available if they are able to create an environment of psychological safety.
Safe and respectful workplace policies that demonstrate an employer’s commitment to prioritizing employee wellbeing and responding in a fair and timely manner to any complaints that come in speak volumes to their employees about how valued they truly are within that organization. If you really want to make a statement, consider implementing third party handling of sensitive workplace complaints. Employees all over the world have been asking for this. Not only does it drastically reduce employees’ barriers to coming forward, and eliminates the risk to the organization of complaints being mishandled because of internal ingrained bias and conflicts of interest.
In the 4 stages of Psychological Safety
, Timothy R Clark says the following about Inclusion Safety:
“As the basic glue of human society, inclusion safety offers the comforting assurance that you matter. If you’re a leader and you want your people to perform, you must internalize the universal truth that people want, need and deserve validation. Inclusion safety requires that we condemn negative bias, arbitrary distinction, or destructive prejudice that refuses to acknowledge our equal worth and the obligation of equal treatment.”
One of the most foundational ways we can create this for our teams is making a sincere commitment to the creation of safe and respectful workplaces for all people.
It’s also important to note that there are varying degrees of psychological safety. It’s not just about feeling safe from workplace harassment, bullying and discrimination. Achieving complete psychological safety means employees feel included, safe to learn, safe to contribute and safe to speak up and challenge the status quo.
With established inclusion and psychological safety, diverse hires become empowered to offer valuable new perspectives. Diverse employees bring in varying educational and cultural backgrounds and unique life experiences that simply can’t be found in homogeneous environments. Whether employers are trying to create solutions, increase efficiencies, enter a new market, develop a new product or disrupt an established industry, diversity is the key to creativity.
So if you’re thinking about DEI, start by taking a step back and focus on the foundation. We know business leaders love quick wins, but any structure built on a shoddy foundation will eventually crumble and performative band aids will always fall away. Look at turnover, employee engagement and productivity. Then get your house in order before inviting new people into it.
Citations
Government of Alberta. Alberta Human Rights Act. 2000. Queen's Printer, https://www.qp.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=A25P5.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779744060
Maslow, Abraham. “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review, vol. 50 (4), 1943, pp. 370–396.
Clark, Timothy R. The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Incorporated, 2020.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post belong solely to the original author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of CPHR Alberta.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post belong solely to the original author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of CPHR Alberta.
As the governing voice of CPHR Alberta, the Board of Directors meets quarterly to provide oversight and guidance across key strategic and operational priorities. To maintain transparency with members and stakeholders, we continue to share post-meeting updates to highlight progress, key decisions, and how we are advancing the HR profession while ensuring a strong and sustainable organization. The Board of Directors met in June 2026 to review organizational performance, governance priorities, and long-term sustainability. The Board’s key messages for the membership are as follows: Continued Membership Growth CPHR Alberta continues to grow, with membership increasing by 4% year-over-year to 7,559 active members. Growth is being driven by strong engagement from students, future HR professionals, and members pursuing the CPHR designation, demonstrating the continued strength and relevance of the HR profession across Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Strong Financial Position The Board reviewed Q1 2026 financial results and continues to closely monitor financial performance and long-term sustainability. CPHR Alberta remains committed to responsible stewardship of member resources while investing in programs, services, technology, and professional development opportunities that deliver value to members. Investing in the Future of the Profession Advancing the visibility and influence of the HR profession remains a strategic priority. A new province-wide marketing campaign has launched to position CPHRs as trusted business leaders and strategic partners, while increasing awareness of the value of the designation among employers and the broader business community. Supporting Future HR Professionals Student membership continues to be a key driver of growth, reflecting strong interest in HR careers and the CPHR designation. CPHR Alberta remains committed to supporting students, candidates, and emerging professionals as they progress through their HR careers. Continuous Improvement in Governance and Member Service The Board and its committees continue to strengthen governance practices, review policies, and enhance Board effectiveness. This ongoing work ensures oversight remains aligned with leading practices and supports a strong, sustainable organization for members. Focus on Long-Term Sustainability The Board continues to review long-term financial planning, revenue diversification, and future membership dues strategy. These efforts are aimed at ensuring financial sustainability while maintaining the value delivered to members. Looking Ahead The Board’s focus for the remainder of 2026 includes: Continuing to grow membership and engagement Expanding the visibility and influence of the HR profession Supporting a future-ready HR community Maintaining strong governance, risk management, and financial oversight Delivering high-quality programs, services, and member experiences The next Board meeting takes place in November 2026, after which we will again share our key messages. If you have any questions regarding these key messages or the Board of Directors, please contact chair@cphrab.ca . We welcome your feedback!
Author: Nidhi Gandhi , 2026 Social Media Committee Volunteer "By the time you truly understand your father, you have become one yourself, and your father may no longer be in the world for you to tell him." It's a thought that stays with Jitendra Das, and one that lands especially close around Father's Day. Jitu, to those who know him, is a Senior Human Resources Business Partner at Amazon, where he partners with business leaders on organizational effectiveness, talent strategy, leadership development, and culture. Behind that work sits more than 16 years of HR experience across India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and North America. Alongside his corporate role, he is an ICF certified executive coach at the PCC level with over 2,500 coaching hours, having supported leaders across Fortune 500 companies in unlocking their potential and navigating personal and professional growth. But the role that shapes everything else is a quieter one. He grew up watching a generation of fathers who showed love through provision, and made himself a different promise, to show it through presence. He wants his son, Ayaan, to remember the school runs, the bedtime stories, the nothing-in-particular evenings. As he puts it: "I am not building a career despite being a father. I am building it because of it." This Father's Day, we interviewed Jitu to talk about what modern fatherhood asks of men at work, the leave they don't take, the bias they navigate quietly, and what it really means for a working father to feel safe being fully himself. 1. You are uniquely positioned to advocate for policies like parental leave for fathers. Do you feel a personal responsibility to champion men’s work-life balance and mental health in the corporate world? Absolutely, and I think responsibility is the right word, not just opportunity. Men's mental health and work-life balance remain largely underdiscussed in corporate spaces, and the cost of that silence is real. Burnout, disengagement, and leaders who are physically present at work but emotionally absent at home, these are symptoms of a culture that never gave men permission to be human. In Canada, fathers have access to parental leave, yet the uptake remains far lower than among mothers, not because fathers do not want to be present, but because the culture has not caught up with the policy. I want to help close that gap. Not just through advocacy in meetings, but by modeling it myself, being visible about my own boundaries, talking openly about Ayaan and what being present for him means to me, and making it easier for the men around me to do the same. If I cannot use my platform to normalize that, then what is it for? 2. Working fathers often face a subtle social bias where they are viewed as the 'secondary' parent. How can HR teams and leaders shift corporate mindsets to recognize and respect men as primary, equal caregivers? The bias is real, and it often lives in the small things: a father who leaves early for his child's recital gets noticed differently than a mother who does the same thing, and a man who sets a hard stop for school pickup reads as less committed rather than more present. HR teams need to look at this structurally, because in Canada, parental leave is available to both parents yet the uptake among fathers remains significantly lower, and that gap is not about desire, it is about what leaders normalize. If no senior man in an organization has ever visibly taken parental leave, that silence is a message. I keep Ayaan's school events on my calendar and I do not hide them, because representation in everyday behaviour is more powerful than any policy document 3. There’s an old stereotype that fathers should always be the 'unshakable pillar.' How have you learned to embrace vulnerability, both as a dad and as a professional leader? When we moved to Canada in 2022, I went through a period of professional uncertainty I was not prepared for, having built my career across India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia and then starting over in a new market without the network I had spent years building. My wife Megha held the family steady during that time, and watching her do that taught me the difference between being a pillar and being a wall: she was not unaffected; she was grounded. I have told Ayaan when I have had hard days, not to burden him, but to show him that naming something difficult is not weakness, it is how you move forward. That same principle lives in how I coach leaders now: vulnerability is not the absence of strength, it is the honesty to say where you are, and that honesty builds more trust than any polished performance. 4. What does psychological safety look like for a working father? Have you ever felt pressure to hide family obligations to maintain a certain professional image? Yes, early in my time in Canada I was careful about how much I revealed as a father in professional settings, because there is an unspoken test that working fathers navigate: prove your commitment by making your family invisible at work. But I think about Ayaan running to show me a drawing he made at school, not because it was perfect, but because he wanted me to see it, and that unconditional trust reminds me that the most important audience for how I show up is not in the boardroom. Psychological safety for a working father means being able to say I am leaving early for my son's event without it being read as a lack of ambition. The day that becomes unremarkable is the day we have actually made progress, and as HR professionals, building that culture is not a nice-to-have. It is the work . A Wish for Father's Day “Fatherhood did not soften my professional edge. It sharpened it, gave me a reason to build something worth being proud of, and a daily reminder of what I am actually working for. This Father's Day, my wish is simple: I hope working fathers across Canada and the world feel seen, take the leave they are entitled to, and show up for the bedtime stories. And I hope their organizations build cultures where none of that is a trade-off. Ayaan, this one is for you.” Jitu's wish is a modest one, but the shift it asks of our workplaces is not. It asks for cultures where presence, honesty, and a hard stop for school pickup read as strength rather than absence, where showing up for your child is never a trade-off against showing up at work. This Father's Day, that feels like a goal worth building toward. Wishing everyone a Happy Father’s Day!
Author: Taia Northrup , 2026 Social Media Committee Volunteer Each year, on the second Saturday of June, people around the world come together to recognize International Wellness Day, a global movement dedicated to promoting healthier, happier, and more balanced lives. This special day serves as a reminder that well-being extends beyond physical health; it includes mental, emotional, social, and workplace wellness as well. As HR professionals, wellness is more than a personal responsibility, it is a workplace priority. The Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) profession recognizes that healthy, supported employees are the foundation of engaged, productive, and resilient organizations. HR leaders play a key role in creating workplace cultures that foster psychological safety, work-life balance, employee engagement, and overall wellbeing. International Wellness Day encourages individuals, employers, and communities to reflect on the habits, environments, and relationships that contribute to overall wellbeing. In today’s fast-paced world, it can be easy to put our health on the back burner. This day provides an opportunity to pause, evaluate our wellness practices, and make meaningful changes that support long-term health and happiness. The celebration also aligns with the broader goals of workplace wellbeing initiatives, which focus on creating healthier organizations and communities. Research continues to show that employees who feel supported in their wellbeing experience lower levels of burnout, higher engagement, and stronger workplace satisfaction. Organizations that prioritize employee wellbeing also benefit through improved retention, productivity, and organizational resilience. From a CPHR perspective, wellbeing is not limited to wellness programs or fitness challenges. It involves taking a holistic approach that considers mental, emotional, physical, financial, and social health. Building supportive policies, encouraging meaningful work-life balance, and creating inclusive workplace cultures are all essential components of a successful people's strategy. Wellness looks different for everyone. For some, it may mean prioritizing physical activity, healthy nutrition, or quality of sleep. For others, it may involve managing stress, strengthening social connections, practicing mindfulness, or taking time for self-care. The important message is that small, intentional actions can have a significant impact on overall wellbeing. As we celebrate International Wellness Day, consider taking a moment to invest in your own health and happiness. Whether it’s going for a walk, connecting with loved ones, setting healthy boundaries, or simply taking time to recharge, every positive step contributes to a healthier and more fulfilling life. At its core, wellbeing is about creating environments where people can thrive—both at work and in life. As HR professionals and workplace leaders, we have the opportunity to champion initiatives that support our people, strengthen our organizations, and build healthier communities for the future. How will you invest in your wellbeing today?
