Morneau Shepell's Rita Fridella and EAP client Nestlé Canada win EASNA awards

Employee Assistance Society of North America recognizes excellence in employee mental health support and workplace health leadership

TORONTO, May 13, 2019 /CNW/ - Morneau Shepell is excited to announce that a member of its senior leadership team and a long-standing employee assistance program (EAP) client have been awarded for their excellence in employee assistance by the Employee Assistance Society of North America (EASNA).

Rita Fridella, president of LifeWorks and executive vice president of Morneau Shepell, won the 5(th) Annual Leadership Award for her 30+ year commitment to growth and innovation in the EAP industry. Rita advocates for more prevention-based models of care to transform employee assistance programs, building on traditional clinical treatment options with digital total well-being solutions that can support the entire global workforce. She has been instrumental in bringing digital EAP support to the forefront to improve outcomes, productivity and well-being for clients and their employees.

"I am truly humbled and honoured to be recognized by EASNA with the 2019 Leadership Award," said Fridella. "The most important thing we can do in our industry is find new ways to reach more people and support their total health and well-being in ways that are meaningful to them. This award is an inspiration for us all at Morneau Shepell to keep moving in this direction with the needs of our clients and their employees as our guide."

Nestlé Canada, whose EAP is LifeWorks by Morneau Shepell, won the 15(th) Annual Corporate Award of Excellence for innovation and the impact of its EAP in the workplace. Nestlé expanded its focus on the physical safety of its employees to an integrated EAP strategy that prioritized both mental and physical well-being in and out of the workplace. They also focused on improving financial health, with the goal of helping to reduce personal debt ratios of Canadians who carry high debt.

"Focusing on the mental, physical and financial health of our employees has demonstrably improved the well-being of our EAP users," said Alastair MacDonald, senior vice president of human resources at Nestlé Canada. "Absenteeism is down by more than half, and more than three-quarters of our EAP users report higher resiliency to job stressors. More importantly, we're seeing an increase in our EAP usage, meaning improved health, well-being and productivity for more of our people."

Nestlé Canada is one of two Corporate Award of Excellence winners in North America. Rita Fridella is the sole winner of the Leadership Award. The winners were honoured at EASNA's 31st Annual Institute on May 8-10 at the Royal Sonesta in New Orleans, Louisiana.

About Morneau Shepell
Morneau Shepell is the leading provider of technology-enabled HR services that deliver an integrated approach to well-being through our cloud-based platform. Our focus is providing everything our clients need to support the mental, physical, social and financial well-being of their people. By improving lives, we improve business. Our approach spans services in employee and family assistance, health and wellness, recognition, pension and benefits administration, retirement and benefits consulting, actuarial and investment services. Morneau Shepell employs almost 5,000 employees who work with some 24,000 client organizations that use our services in 162 countries. Morneau Shepell is a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: MSI). For more information, visit morneaushepell.com.

SOURCE Morneau Shepell - Corporate