Jordan Friesen

Jordan Friesen is the President of Mindset Mental Health Strategy Inc. He is a mental health expert with experience leading national programs and initiatives focused on workplace mental health. He uses is knowledge of best practices to assist organizations who want to take progressive action to support the mental health of their employees as an imperative for the future of work.

A skilled educator, Jordan can distill complex ideas into actionable insights for a wide range of audiences, from executives to students. He is known for his pragmatic approach, ability to coach and influence leaders, and drive to help companies meaningfully move the needle on mental health in their workplace.

Grounded in his own lived experience of illness and recovery, he takes a person-centred approach to making workplaces healthier and, ultimately, more human again.

Jordan is a registered occupational therapist and holds a Master of Occupational Therapy degree from the University of Manitoba. He lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba with his wife Caitlin and daughter Charlotte. In his spare time, he can be found cycling, backcountry hiking, and enjoying local craft beer.

Expertise

  • Mental health strategy development

  • Culture change

  • Workplace risk assessment

  • Executive coaching and leadership development

  • Psychological safety

Insights

When employers think “mental health” in their work environment, they almost always think about employee assistance programs, benefits, and “wellness programs”. The truth is these products and services are only a very small part of the solution to creating a mentally healthy workplace.

The biggest factors that determine how our work impacts our mental health are all about the work itself and the environment around us. Issues like chronic high workload, poor quality leadership, disconnect between company mission and day-to-day tasks, limited transparency or input on decisions, and incivility are examples of the things employers need to focus on instead of yoga at lunch.

I help employers shift their focus from bandaid solutions to healthy workplace design that can make a bigger impact on their employees and generate stronger return on investment.