How a positive workplace culture benefits your organisation
Blog: There are many factors to consider when it comes to managing a successful business - increasing revenue, keeping costs down, ensuring client satisfaction, paying suppliers and worker productivity, just to name a few. With so many things to juggle, it’s easy to let ...
Five ways that small companies can improve employee wellbeing
Blog: As a smaller business, it may feel like there’s not much more you can do to improve your worker’s wellbeing, especially in comparison to large organisations that have entire teams and large-scale budgets for HR and wellbeing. We’re here to tell you that promoting ...
The art of leadership
Blog: By Mark Leopold, Head of Policy and Strategic Alliances In my forties I became a positive leader. If that sounds like I’m pumping wind into my own sails, be assured, I spent the prior 20 years being somewhat crude at the art! I ...
Compassion, Community and Connection
Blog: By Mark Leopold, Head of Policy And Strategic Alliances Building a bridge to effective mental health and suicide prevention. If a calamitous 2020 has shown us anything, it is the importance of compassion, community, and connection. They are the underlying foundations of society ...
Preparing for a mentally healthy workplace post-COVID
Blog: The beginning of a new year is the right time to think about what type of environment you would like to build for your organisation before the year’s end. The pandemic has created both good and bad change in the workplace – some ...
Three tools to get your groove back
Blog: Forget 'normal' and use these three simple tools to get your groove back. ‘New normal’, ‘COVID normal’, ‘better normal’…. all phrases that have well and truly passed their used by date. There is no normal way to do life and most ...
Trust + Respect = Actions not words
Blog: Reflections on positive actions that build connectedness and an inclusive culture. Trust and respect are built from a leader’s many actions. Stating the words “I trust you” and then micro-managing to task implies exactly the opposite. “I trust you” is only a ...
8 tips for riding COVID’s second wave
Blog: There are a few 'c-words' that are universally disliked, but 'COVID' is definitely the frontrunner. Why? Well, apart from the fact that COVID stinks, for some reason it's taken this crisis for us to learn some very human lessons. Whether ...
Looking after your mental health when you’re out of work
Blog: While you’re out of work, there are some simple practices you can adopt to make this period of your life much easier for yourself and your family. Developing a sense of self ‘What do you do?’ is a question you’re probably asked ...
Personal issues are workplace issues
Blog: Just as issues at work can impact on our personal lives (relationships, stress levels, time etc) we can also bring all the personal issues we are dealing with at home to work. And while employers don’t own those issues – they do ...
A systems approach to good work design
Blog: Good work design has three main aims: protecting workers from harm, improving their health and wellbeing and transforming the business through increased worker productivity. Work design looks at four workplace elements: the work, work systems, the physical working environment, and the ...
Staying productive when working from home
Blog: With more than half the workforce working from home at least part of the time, it’s important to make sure this time is spent well. Working from home has grown as an option over the past decade, making it a legitimate ...
Your leadership responsibilities during a crisis
Blog: As a leader, your legal responsibilities in a crisis include: Keeping people physically and emotionally safe, communicating, monitoring changing needs, leadership, and getting people back to work – which includes providing support and flexibility. It IS your responsibility as an ...
Looking after yourself as a leader
Blog: If you’ve travelled on a plane, you’ll know the flight attendant’s safety briefing: brace positions, emergency exits, and remember to put on your own oxygen mask first. The reason we’re told this is because you can’t help others if you’re running low on oxygen. ...
Plan for stress as a team
Blog: Stress is the body’s reaction to adverse or demanding situations. In the workplace, among other factors, this can take the form of demanding workload, lack of control, poor working conditions, or the breakdown of working relationships. Chronic or repeated exposure to these ...
The business case for a mentally healthy workplace
Blog: Research tells us mental health is either affecting your business right now or is likely to in the near future. One in six working aged people are living with a mental illness. Beyond that, it’s believed there are more people experiencing mental ...
Leader’s guide to supporting staff during COVID-19
Blog: Managing people can be challenging even when piloting the calmest of skies. As leaders, we always need to make sure we’re prepared to adapt and respond calmly to any unforeseen turbulence along the journey but this is not straightforward when faced with ...
Connecting employees during physical distancing
Blog: In an effort to slow the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), many organisations have some or all of their employees working from home for extended periods. State and Federal governments in Australia are signalling that shutdown of schools and government offices could ...
How to create a Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy
Blog: Employers are legally obligated to provide a psychologically safe environment, free of harm, for their employees. In line with the Australian work health and safety (WHS) legislation, employers must take steps to protect workers against risks to their physical and mental health. ...
Action ideas to boost wellbeing
Blog: People often ask us: “What’s the first thing I should do to begin the workplace wellbeing process?” Our response is to tell them that the chances are they are already engaging in a wide range of actions to promote workplace mental health and ...
Feeling overwhelmed by COVID19 – Seek formal support
Blog: Taking that first step to seek support can be daunting, especially if you haven’t had experience with formal mental health support before. However, it is completely normal and important to seek support if you’re feeling overwhelmed by COVID-19, or during any difficult time for ...
Connect with a buddy
Blog: During difficult times, like a pandemic, it is understandable that people may be feeling isolated, anxious and overwhelmed. As humans we thrive and rely on human connection for overall wellbeing. It’s therefore vital to keep strong social connections, and to continue looking ...
Your guide to managing a crisis
Blog: Learn about the short-term, intermediate and long-term phases of a crisis, what to expect and practical ways to support your people and customers. You can also view as a PDF. Phase 1: Pre-disaster Phase 2: Impact ...
Getting leadership buy-in
Blog: All too often, well-crafted workplace wellbeing strategies struggle to maintain engagement and fizzle out over time. Like all workplace initiatives, leadership support determines the success or failure of all efforts to improve employee wellbeing. Gaining leadership buy-in is one of the first crucial ...
The two key ingredients to successfully managing change
Blog: We know organisational change can seem a bit daunting to employees, but we also know workers handle this change much better if they are included in – and informed about – each step of the transformation process with clear communication. Giving your ...
Ensure your organisation is inclusive, fair and representative of the real world
Blog: There is a wealth of resources to guide organisations towards a strategic diverse and inclusive (D & I) workforce. Reviewing these resources to inform yourself about the proven approaches is a great place to start – here are a few resources you ...
How to effectively engage with different personality types in the workplace
Blog: Sometimes it’s nice to imagine how stress-free life would be if everyone else was the same as us, especially in the workplace. But life is full of different types of people and - let’s face it - it would be boring if ...
The art of checking in
Blog: Approaching a friend, family member, colleague or employee you’re concerned about is important at any time of year. Noticing changes in someone’s behaviour or mood and asking, “Are you OK?” can make a significant difference to the life of someone who is having ...
