Law 27 and Recognition: A New Approach to Workplace Wellbeing

Workplace health and safety have traditionally focused on physical risks: preventing injuries, creating safe environments and protecting employees from physical harm. As of October 1, 2026, that’s no longer enough. Under Quebec’s Law 27 (LMRSST), every employer must now have a prevention plan that also addresses psychosocial risks.

As organizations work to meet this requirement, one factor deserves particular attention: recognition at work.

What is Quebec’s law 27?

Law 27, officially the Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime (LMRSST), was adopted in 2021 to bring Quebec’s workplace safety rules up to date. Its biggest shift: employers must now identify, analyze and prevent psychosocial risks the same way they handle physical hazards. That includes factors like excessive workload, harassment, lack of support and lack of recognition. As of October 1, 2026, every Quebec employer must have its prevention mechanisms in place: a full prevention program and a health and safety committee for organizations with 20 or more workers, and an action plan for smaller ones.

Where recognition fits in

Psychosocial risks are shaped by how work is organized and experienced, including workload, autonomy, social support, organizational justice and recognition.

In fact, the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) identifies low recognition at work in i Recognition can come from managers and colleagues and take many forms. From positive feedback and appreciation of someone’s efforts to acknowledging their contributions and achievements; every effort counts for the employee wellbeing.

On its own, recognition won’t prevent burnout or replace the work of addressing excessive workloads, unclear expectations or poor working conditions. But feeling valued at work is part of the equation and it deserves a place in your psychosocial risk assessment under Law 27.

How to include recognition in your prevention plan for law 27

Recognition doesn’t have to be complicated. You just need to create the right conditions for it to happen every day, beyond service awards programs.

It can be as simple as:

• Acknowledging a specific contribution during a team meeting
• Connecting someone’s work to the impact it had on a project, customer or colleague
• Thanking an employee for how they supported a teammate
• Celebrating progress, not just results
• Making recognition more personalized and meaningful
• Creating opportunities for peers to recognize one another

The goal is to make recognition part of how your organization already work.

1. Involve your managers

Why it matters

Employers have an important responsibility when it comes to identifying and addressing workplace risks. But many aspects of an employee’s day-to-day experience are shaped much closer to the front line.

Managers have regular interactions with their teams. They set expectations, provide feedback, support employees through challenges and have countless opportunities to acknowledge contributions.

That makes managers an important part of creating a workplace where employees feel seen and valued.

How to make it happen: Turning recognition into a management habit

The challenge is that recognition doesn’t always happen naturally.

A manager might genuinely appreciate someone’s contribution without expressing it. Another might default to recognizing only major accomplishments, overlooking the consistent effort that keeps a team moving forward. Others may recognize employees frequently but without enough specificity or personalization to make the recognition meaningful.

Building recognition into everyday management practices can help close that gap. Here’s a few examples of what you can do to bridge the gap:

• Build awareness: Managers need to understand why recognition matters before they can practice it. Once they see its impact on engagement and psychological health, they’re more likely to make it a habit.
• Train your managers: Most managers want to recognize their teams. Many just don’t know how to do it well. Training helps them give specific, timely feedback, adapt to individual preferences and spot the everyday efforts that often go unnoticed. Just as importantly, it helps turn recognition from an occasional gesture into a daily habit.
• Offer the right tools: Good intentions fade without structure. Simple supports like conversation prompts, a dedicated Teams channel for shout-outs or recurring reminders in managers’ calendars make it easier to turn appreciation into action.

Because meaningful recognition isn’t about saying “good job” more often. It’s about knowing who to recognize, what to recognize, how to make it meaningful and when to do it.

2. Engage your employees

Why it matters

Managers aren’t the only ones who notice good work. Colleagues often see it first: the teammate who stepped in to fix a client issue, the one who showed a new hire the ropes, the one who keeps things moving when the team is short-staffed.

Recognition between peers also feeds social support, another psychosocial factor that shapes how people experience their work. And it spreads recognition across the whole organization, so it doesn’t depend on one manager’s habits. When everyone can say thank you, a lot less effort goes unnoticed.

How to make it happen: Making peer recognition part of daily work

Peer recognition rarely takes off on goodwill alone. Employees need a simple way to do it and a reason to keep doing it. Here’s where to start:

• Make it easy: If thanking a colleague takes more than a minute, it won’t happen. A social recognition platform lets employees send a shout-out in a few clicks, from their desk or their phone.
• Make it visible: Public shout-outs on a shared feed show what good work looks like and inspire others to do the same. Leave room for private messages too, for people who prefer a quieter thank-you.
• Tie it to your values: Link recognition to the behaviours you want to see more of, like collaboration, safety or customer care. That way, every thank-you also reinforces how your organization wants to work.
• Lead by example: When leaders and HR take part, employees see that recognizing each other is encouraged, not just tolerated.

3. Review your HR programs

Why it matters

Everyday recognition builds the habit. But some moments call for something more: a  work anniversary, a retirement, a return from parental leave, a project that took a year to deliver.

Your formal programs send a clear message about what your organization values. When a service award shows up late, feels generic or only kicks in after 25 years, it can send the opposite message. Under Law 27, these programs deserve the same scrutiny as your day-to-day practices: are they fair, consistent and meaningful to the people receiving them?

How to make it happen: Making milestones count

• Audit what you have: List every program you run: service awards, retirement gifts, holiday gifts, spot awards. Check who’s eligible, how often it happens and who might be falling through the cracks.
• Celebrate more moments: One year of service matters too. So do personal milestones like a wedding, a new baby or a return to work.
• Let employees choose: A gift that fits the person means more than a one-size-fits-all item. A curated catalogue lets each employee pick something they actually want.
• Automate the logistics: A corporate gifting platform can track anniversaries, remind managers and handle delivery, so no milestone slips through and HR isn’t stuck managing spreadsheets.
• Add a personal message: A gift without a few words from a manager or colleague feels like a transaction. The message is what makes it recognition.

Recognition is one piece of a healthier workplace

Law 27 represents an important shift in how organizations think about workplace health. Psychosocial risks deserve attention alongside the physical risks organizations have long been accustomed to managing.

For employers, this means looking closely at the conditions that shape employees’ day-to-day experience

For managers, it means recognizing the influence they have on those experiences.

And for employees, it means working in an environment where their contributions are noticed, their efforts are valued and their voices are heard.

Recognition won’t solve every workplace challenge, and it shouldn’t be presented as a cure-all for psychosocial risks. But when it becomes a consistent part of everyday management and workplace culture, recognition can be one meaningful way organizations create an environment where people feel valued and supported.

As organizations continue adapting to Quebec’s evolving workplace health and safety requirements, it’s worth asking if your recognition practices are up to par.