National workplace mental health and wellbeing research

SuperFriend conducts Australia’s largest annual workplace mental health and wellbeing survey – Indicators of Thriving Workplace – enabling us to analyze trends and provide the ‘so what’ interpretations that lead to practical and positive change.

Using 40 scientifically validated characteristics (‘indicators’) of mentally healthy workplaces, the survey measures and tracks the current state against the desired state of a thriving or mentally healthy workplace, by asking employed people about their experiences.

Responses are weighted by location, industry, gender identity and age using recent workforce data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to ensure the findings are representative of the Australian workforce.

The survey also tracks people’s broader perceptions, attitudes and experiences in relation to workplace mental health and wellbeing over time, while capturing information about new topics of interest at a national level.

Our research is fed directly into our evidence-based solutions to ensure we are responding to the latest needs and trends within Australian workplaces. This includes being able to measure organisations against national and industry benchmarks.

Thought leadership

SuperFriend is a well-known thought leader in workplace mental health with a specific focus on the insurance and superannuation sector. Our experts are frequently called on by media and event organisers to provide valuable commentary and insights. This includes recent commentary with respect to insurance product design and how policies can better respond to higher rates of mental health claims:

In partnership with the superannuation and insurance sector, we see enormous potential to collaborate on a range of new research projects which further support the creation of healthier workplaces and reduce the volume and duration of mental health-related claims. We also see a greater benefit from insights into early identification and prevention. We work to better understand mental illness trends, the effectiveness of mental health and wellbeing training and other solutions to ensure positive claims outcomes for the whole community.

Insurance insights

Additional insights and resources assist our Partner organisations and staff by undertaking research that identifies relevant solutions. For instance, in late 2018, we collected over 30 hours of qualitative research insights from claims teams at two insurers and two reinsurers. The human-centred approach involved onsite environmental observation, team observation, individual interviews and group meetings and workshops involving staff with between two and 30 years’ experience. This included claims staff, team leaders, rehabilitation staff, reinsurer claims teams and various other workers supporting and assisting claims staff.

What are you looking for today?

Workplace Index

A new benchmarking tool developed by SuperFriend that reveals how mentally healthy an organisation is and identifies practical actions to help a workplace thrive.

Training

Access a number of practical training courses designed using positive psychology approaches to build workplace mental health capability and confidence.

Resources

Access a range of free workplace mental health resources including guides, articles and more with practical tips to help guide workplaces and their employees.
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