Opening the Conversation on Mental Wellbeing
Caring about mental wellbeing is part of how we live our values and support our people to thrive and perform at their best. This year we have opened conversations on mental wellbeing to develop our new Mental Wellbeing Plan.
Partnering with the Future of Work Institute at Curtin University, we captured a detailed picture of mental wellbeing in our organisation using the Thrive at Work survey tool and engaging with more than 700 people who provided insights. Based on the results, we selected five key priority areas to focus our efforts on to enhance mental wellbeing.
The Thrive at Work data shaped our consultation process by helping us to ask tailored questions. To generate actions for each of the areas of focus, we provided staff with an anonymous suggestion box to submit ideas and established a new Mental Wellbeing Committee. We also held a World Café event, providing a platform for collective conversation about how we can enhance mental wellbeing across the organisation. The event brought together passionate staff and leaders to explore issues and determine approaches to meeting our people's needs.
Concurrently, wellbeing was considered in close detail at the directorate level. Management teams and staff from each directorate were involved in risk workshops that tackled the key psychosocial risks in their areas. Each directorate examined the key causes of each risk which informed the development of meaningful actions to mitigate them and contribute to our new plan.
Generating a lot of discussion across the organisation, the consultation process reflected the important role of conversations about mental health in building our mental wellbeing culture and helping people feel safe and comfortable to access the support they need. This was evident in an increased use of the Employee Assistance Program.
Focussing on mental wellbeing, our new plan will be launched early in the new financial year and will be supported by an action plan on the initiatives we need to support our people to thrive.
