Reducing stigma and empowering strength: mental health matters at Cenovus

Never before have mental illness awareness and proactive psychological health received so much attention and played such a critical role in the workplace. In a years-long journey to provide mental health information and resources to our staff, Cenovus Energy has a new way to keep the conversation going through our newest employee network, MentalHealthMatters@Cenovus. 

Recognizing how the support of colleagues can make a big difference on mental health, Cenovus staff aligned and created the new network where staff could come together and support mental health in the workplace, ultimately helping staff take better care of themselves and each other. 

“At Cenovus, we have lots of great resources to support our mental well-being, but we saw the need for a place where staff could personally connect with their colleagues – share their experiences, seek advice and learn from others who are going through similar struggles,” says Curtis Thompson, Supervisor, Field Operations and MentalHealthMatters@Cenovus Co-Chair. “By creating a space for staff to talk to each other about the stresses of work and life, we hope to reduce stigma around mental health and help build a more psychologically aware and safe workplace.”

The network launched in late-2023 with aspirations to spark change across the company and is already seeing momentum. By working with our other employee-led inclusion and diversity networks, internal resource groups and by bringing staff together in meaningful ways, the network plans to create mental health awareness through education, communication and collaboration on issues that may be affecting our staff.