Discussions about mental health in the workplace have surged lately, driven by growing awareness of its impact on employee and organizational success. As occupational health researchers, these discussions have helped us shed light on the precursors and consequences of mental health challenges.

One such critical but often overlooked aspect is the relationship between mental health challenges and work injuries — a relationship that goes in both directions: struggling with mental health can increase the risk of work injuries, and work injuries can give rise to, or worsen, mental health challenges.

We aimed to shed light on this crucial bidirectional relationship because it undermines the sustainability of an organization’s most crucial asset: its people.

Mental health and work injuries

Languages are the foundation of communication as we know it. Humans have always had ways of communicating, whether that be through sounds, gestures, or symbols. Language has evolved with complex syntax. Language allows us to express our thoughts and feelings. The internet has made it exponentially easier to communicate with people who speak other languages, whether that be in person, using translation software, or via a messaging app. Because of this vast web of communication and modern translation technology, it is easy to forget that not all languages are direct translations of one another and that some languages are vastly different from one another. In spite of this, it is possible to learn any new language. It may be difficult, but there are many resources and techniques that are available to help. There are many benefits to learning a new language, from improving cognitive abilities to increasing cultural understanding.

Before one learns a new language, it’s beneficial to understand the differences and intricacies of languages. They are determined and influenced by multiple things, which form the differences we see today. One of the key differences between languages is their grammar, or simply, the rules that hold a language together. For example, take French and English. In English adjectives go before the noun, whereas in French adjectives go after the noun. Furthermore, languages make use of tones, which are essentially when one changes the pitch or slightly alters their pronunciation and that changes the meaning of what is said. An example of a tonal language is Mandarin Chinese. If one does not use the correct tone, then the meaning one is trying to convey could be completely butchered. You could accidentally be asking someone to sleep rather than asking for a boiled dumpling. Another thing that differentiates the languages is their alphabets. There is Latin, which is used in both the Canadian national languages, French and English. According to worldstandards.eu, approximately 36 per cent of the world uses the Latin alphabet. Some other alphabets include Cyrillic, Arabic, and Bengali, all with their own quirks.

Now that the basic differences between languages have been established, understanding what resources are available for language learning is important. There are many ways to learn languages, but usually the best way is a balance between multiple resources. One resource is language learning apps. Regardless of the features that the app possesses, it is extremely difficult to learn a language to fluency using only an app. Usually, by only committing a few minutes a day, one can learn a few basic phrases but not be able to hold conversations with native speakers. This leads to the next point: if it is possible, you should be practicing with someone who speaks your desired language. Even if you can’t find someone in person, there are many websites where you can find tutors or coaches who are very helpful resources. Absorbing media, whether that be watching videos or movies in the desired language, is also very helpful; anything to get the language imprinted in the mind. It is important to note that becoming fluent in any language takes a considerable amount of time and dedication, ranging from hundreds to thousands of hours.

But why learn a language if it takes so long? There are many benefits associated with learning a new language. According to a study at the University of Edinburgh, people aged 18 to 78 studying a language improved their attention span. Furthermore, as language learning requires memorization of words, a language learner’s memory is also improved. However, there aren’t just cognitive benefits; more job opportunities are available to those who speak multiple languages. In addition, learning languages can also help increase understanding and eliminate prejudices towards other cultures. It is important to remember that even with all these benefits, you should only learn a language if either you need to or you really want to, and if you’re passionate about that language.

The recent collision between a bus and a semi-truck near Carberry, which killed 16 seniors, is the latest fatal incident to raise concerns about bus and road safety in Canada. The crash shares similarities to other fatal bus crashes like the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash and the 2019 bus rollover on Vancouver Island.

Buses are one of the safest modes of transportation. However, these tragic incidents show that major crashes can result in significant loss of life, severe injuries and profound grief for entire communities.

Safety investigations into such collisions need to be conducted at a national level and by an independent body in the same manner air and rail occurrences are investigated.

A provincial responsibility

Last year, I wrote a column in which I discussed the high level of transience and lack of long-term commitment among Brandon’s population. I suggested that, as a city with a university, a college and a major employer that hires large numbers of employees who do not intend to stay here for the long term, our city’s population is far less stable than in many other similar-sized Canadian cities.

I also discussed the sizable segment of Brandon’s population that have “escape plans.” They may have been born and raised here, but they plan to move elsewhere if a better job opportunity materializes, or when they reach retirement age.

Since writing that column, I have heard from many Brandonites that they plan to move outside of the province in the next few years, for either retirement or better jobs. When they tell me that, I respond with a series of questions that many of them haven’t really thought about.

My first question is always the same: “Will you be taking your doctor with you?”

In late May, the latest version of the draft Pandemic Instrument, also referred to as the “pandemic treaty,” was shared with member states at the World Health Assembly. The text was made available online via Health Policy Watch, and it quickly became apparent that all mentions of addressing antimicrobial resistance in the Pandemic Instrument were at risk of removal.

Work on the Pandemic Instrument began in December 2021 after the World Health Assembly agreed to a global process to draft and negotiate an international instrument — under the Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) — to protect nations and communities from future pandemic emergencies.

Since the beginning of negotiations on the Pandemic Instrument, there have been calls from civil society and leading experts, including the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, to include the so-called “silent” pandemic of antimicrobial resistance in the instrument.

Just three years after the onset of a global pandemic, it is understandable why member states negotiating the Pandemic Instrument have focused on preventing pandemics that resemble COVID-19. But not all pandemics in the past have been caused by viruses, and not all pandemics in the future will be caused by viruses. Devastating past pandemics of bacterial diseases have included plague and cholera. The next pandemic could be caused by bacteria or other microbes.