Welcome to the April 2019 eNewsUpcoming WayAhead Workplaces Member MeetingsThe next meeting for WayAhead Workplaces in Sydney will be our Annual Members Forum on Tuesday 18th June from 8.30am to 4.30pm. The meeting will be hosted by Aon, Level 33, 201 Kent Street, Sydney CBD 2000. Further details coming shortly. The next meeting for WayAhead Workplaces in Brisbane will be in September. Final details TBC. You must RSVP to Lynley if you want to attend these meetings. Remember members, as part of your membership benefits with us, you can log in and view the event presentations and summaries from all our previous meetings. New on the WayAhead Workplaces WebsiteIf you are a new eNewsletter subscriber, or you've been meaning to read something that caught your eye in a previous edition, you're in luck! You can now view all eNewsletters from 2018 onward in one convenient place on our website. If you are unsure if you are signed up to receive our eNewsletter just sign up on our home page. 2019 is well underway, and conferences for the year are ramping up. Check out what we are promoting and stay up-to-date with the latest events, as we update our Conference Calendar and Events Calendar monthly. These calendars are visible only to WayAhead Workplaces members on our website as part of your member benefits with us. Have you perused the Resources section of our website lately? Did you know that we publish hundreds of resources from apps to articles, blogs, research, reports, and more? You can search our resources by tags including mental health, sleep, financial awareness, happiness, leadership and management, return to work, and more. You told us that you wanted to know more about who was in the WayAhead Workplaces network, so we now dedicate a page on our website to Member Spotlights. So far, we have featured Q&As with 11 members across NSW and QLD, with a new profile published every few weeks! To access the member-only resources on our website, just log in from the home page using your member username and password from the email we sent you when you signed up with us. If you can't find that, contact Lynley. Annual Members Survey 2018We have now closed our 2018 Annual Members Survey. Thank you to all those who took the time to complete the survey, we had our highest response ever and two lucky randomly drawn people received $50 Westfield vouchers as a thank you for completing the survey. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we continuously strive to improve our program. An overview of the survey results was presented at our April meetings in Sydney and Brisbane and we are looking at how to incorporate those findings into the coming year. We are also currently conducting focus groups and phone calls with our members to get some more insights for our future planning. Sector Spotlight - Awards, Events, Webinars, Workshops and ConferencesMental Health Month October 2019The theme of Mental Health Month is once again Share the Journey. Nominations for this year's Mental Health Matters Awards are open so now is the time to think about the incredible work you've been part of, or seen others do. We know a lot of good work going on in the workplace health and wellbeing sector. Please don't be shy and nominate yourself for the WayAhead Workplaces Wellbeing Award, named this year in honour of our workplace program. The small grants program will be opening a little earlier this year, on the 29th of April. The starter kit has everything you need to plan for your grant application. There will also be a brand new event guide as part of the starter kit this year, which can help with organising big community events. Awards, grants, and starter kit information can all be found on the Mental Health Month website HERE. Mentally Healthy Workplaces Workshops - Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, January-June 2019, BrisbaneThese free half-day workshops will equip frontline managers and supervisors with foundational skills to identify, assess and manage risks to psychological health and safety within their team.
Silica Symposium - SafeWork NSW, 7 May 2019, SydneySafeWork NSW is hosting a one-day conference covering all things silica dust on Tuesday 7 May in Sydney. The symposium is an opportunity to network and learn how leading businesses are tackling the issue as well as hearing from experts across health, occupational hygiene and WHS. Eligible businesses will qualify for a $500 small business rebate to put towards safety solutions in their workplace. To register your interest to attend email chemicals@safework.nsw.gov.au
Workplace Coaching Summit - The Positivity Institute, 9 May 2019, Sydney - Discount for WayAhead Workplaces MembersTraditional models of Executive and Leadership Coaching had a strong focus on performance, often to the detriment of wellbeing. This conference aims to provide rigorous exploration and discussion of innovative approaches to workplace coaching. It explores these topics and more via inspiring keynote presentations by leaders in their field and case studies of successful workplace coaching programs. Contact Lynley for the discount code.
Workplace Mental Health & Wellbeing Conference, 27-29 May 2019, Sydney - Discount for WayAhead Workplaces MembersThe 4th annual Workplace Mental Health & Wellbeing Australia conference is now recognised as one of the signature events in the workplace mental health space, and was created to respond to the challenge of building mental resilience across a diverse range of public and enterprise organisations. This event brings over 25 health and wellness experts to share tips and insights for identification, prevention and resilience management of psychological issues at work. Contact Lynley for the discount code.
Happiness and Its Causes Conference, 24-25 June 2019, Sydney - Discount for WayAhead Workplaces MembersHappiness is important. It’s important for your own life satisfaction and enjoyment. And it is equally important for your family, the people in your care and the people you work with. Join us at Happiness & Its Causes 2019 for a rich and inspiring experience, connecting with like-minded delegates and speakers. Explore the big questions in life and uncover what will bring lasting, genuine happiness for you, those you love and those in your care. It is equally relevant to individuals and professionals. Contact Lynley for the discount code.
Workplace Wellness Summit, 24-25 June 2019, Sydney - Discount for WayAhead Workplaces MembersThe world of work is changing. Technology is disrupting, new business models are evolving and expectations of employees are rising. Business is responding by becoming more agile and productive, and by embedding health and wellbeing into their culture. This event is curated to squarely focus on the needs of workplaces with a major industry conference, big expo show floor, training & development forum and ample opportunities for networking. Contact Lynley for the discount code.
Wellness Wise™ Practitioner Training Program - Wellness Wise Academy, Discount for WayAhead Workplaces MembersRegistrations are now open for the next round of nationally accredited Wellness Wise™ Practitioner training programs:
Following the initial 2-day course, participants will have access to 1-on-1 mentoring, networking opportunities and access to an online “Hub” to help embed key learnings back into the workplace. Contact Lynley for the discount code.
Workplace Mental Health Symposium - Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association, 2-3 September 2019, Brisbane - Discount for WayAhead Workplaces MembersWith 1 in 5 people suffering from mental illness, the impact and cost to our workplace is increasing at an alarming rate. Organisations are struggling to influence positive change in workplace mental health – and it’s the leaders who are responsible for prioritising the conversation. Get the tools, knowledge and resources to improve mental health and build a culture of wellbeing in your organisation at this symposium. Contact Lynley for the discount code.
Queensland University of Technology Researchers Seek Worker Views of Health and Safety - Research OpportunityQUT researchers are still looking for Queensland workers to participate in a survey to better understand work safety at the grassroots level. The survey topics include general health and safety motivations, as well as personal beliefs and attitudes about work. This will help identify differences and similarities across industry sectors, which will aid in developing tailored, industry-specific safety interventions.
Return to Work Program Guidelines - SafeWork NSWIs your return to work program up to date? Contact SafeWork NSW to help you comply with the new guidelines by the 31 May 2019 deadline.
Wide Angle Film Festival - Host a ScreeningWide Angle Film Festival 2018/19 are providing organisations in Australia with a quality program of Australian and international short films that reflect the lived experience of people with disability. Why not host a screening in your workplace this year? Resource SpotlightMaking It Work - Building a Better Future for Mental Health in the Workplace - City Mental Health AllianceIn the UK, mental ill health is responsible for 91 million working days lost every year and costs employers £34.9 billion each year. We also know that starting a first job can bring its own particular stresses, which is why the transition from study into the workplace is a focus area for the CMHA. This report looks at the concerns which students and graduates are living with, and some of the steps which they would like employers to take to address those concerns.
Awareness Into Action: A Holistic Approach to Cultivating Mentally Healthy Workplaces in Australia - AllianzIn this report, Allianz seek to show that a mentally healthy workplace can only be achieved when it is a business priority. They do this by bringing together key research findings and other expert resources to put forward a holistic approach to help employers transform awareness into action that promotes positive mental health in Australia’s workplaces.
When a Company Can Lawfully Let an Injured Employee Go - Australian HR InstituteLate last year, the Fair Work Commission found that Pilbara Iron Company (Services) Pty Ltd’s dismissal of an employee, Ms Tito, on the grounds of ill health was not unjust, unreasonable or harsh after lengthy efforts were made to find her suitable alternative employment. This is a great case study explanation of a return to work from physical injury case.
Working Well Guide and Resources - Mental Health Foundation of New ZealandThe Mental Health Foundation developed the Working Well Guide, a comprehensive guide to enhancing mental wellbeing in the workplace. They've also divided the guide into more practical and accessible resources including fact sheets, worksheets and slides, to support workplaces to improve wellbeing at individual, team and systems levels. For example, Minimising and Managing Workplace Stress, offers fact sheets, worksheets and activities for leaders and teams to understand what is stress, how does work impact stress, and how can organisations and their people use the Three Rs (Refuel, Resolve, and Relax) to get on top of it?
How to Spend Way Less Time on Email Every Day - Harvard Business ReviewIs your inbox always full? Is it possible that you over-check your email? The average professional spends 28% of the work day reading and answering email. This article outlines five ways we unnecessarily lose this time and how to get it back!
Practical Steps Leaders Can Take to Drive the Disability Inclusion Agenda - Australian Network on DisabilityBusinesses and business leaders internationally are making themselves accountable for inclusion of people with disability in the workforce. This article outlines practical steps leaders can take to drive the Disability Inclusion agenda. This article examines new guidance on premises accessibility and wayfinding, so that all your employees, customers and stakeholders are able to find and access your premises in a safe, equitable and dignified way.
Infographic: Workplace Mental Health - Safe Work AustraliaUsing data sourced from Safe Work Australia's National Data Set for Compensation-based Statistics, this infographic looks at the rate, type and causes of work-related mental health conditions in the workplace, to help us focus on how to reduce these statistics.
Helping Remote Leaders Succeed in a Virtual Workplace - Remote Leadership Institute BlogWhile technology has made it easier than ever to stay connected, it has also made the leader's job that much more complex. The Remote Leadership Institute blog produces fresh content to help remote leaders succeed in a virtual workplace, including articles and other thought leadership from experts around the world.
Being Well Podcast Series - Black Dog InstituteBeing Well is everyone's business. Each podcast in this series tackles an important mental health topic and provides insight and expert knowledge from and for health professionals. Listen to Amy, Wayne, Jocelyn, Fiona, Jan and Evie's story.
New Guide to Officer Health and Safety Duties - Safe Work AustraliaWho is an officer responsible for work health and safety? What does an officer need to do? What are the health and safety duties of an officer? These questions are fully explained in new resources from Safe Work Australia which show exactly what is expected of people carrying out these duties whether they are CEOs, directors or health and safety representatives.
Are You Focused on Improving Safety For Your Young Workers? - Workplace Health and Safety QueenslandIt's a common misconception that managing young worker safety is the same as managing other groups of workers. The first step to improving young worker safety is to understand why they have a unique risk profile.
Easy To Do Work Health and Safety Toolkit - SafeWork NSWSmall businesses don’t always feel they have the time, resources or expertise when it comes to managing health and safety in their workplace. SafeWork NSW developed a toolkit to make it easier for small businesses to understand and meet their work health and safety obligations.
10 Healthcare Marketing Case Studies to Inspire Your Next Move - Step ChangeWe often hear of brilliant marketing examples from many top industry players, but it’s not every day we hear of this coming from the healthcare sector. This article features 10 examples of powerful marketing in healthcare.
8 Things to Give Up If You Want to Be a High Performer - Next Evolution PerformanceWhile we try to steer clear of the "one-size fits all" approach as neuroscience tells us that no two brains are the same, High Performance Coach Kate McKenna shares some general things we can all do to help support our high performance journey and ensure that we are in the best position to achieve our best at all times.
Mentally Healthy Workplaces Program - SafeWork NSWTo prevent mental illness from impacting your people and your business, the NSW Government has introduced some free initiatives to help you help your employees. There are also programs for employees to learn about tackling mental ill-health in the workplace too. The Black Dog Institute is hosting free mental health training for managers at medium sized businesses in Sydney and the Central Coast. Black Dog’s training will equip you with the knowledge, confidence and strategies to support your team’s mental wellbeing in the workplace. Black Dog is also offering a program for employees in the Hunter and Northern NSW regions. Employees will gain an understanding of common mental health conditions, develop skills to have difficult conversations, and learn about disclosure in the workplace. Assure Programs, an independent work health and safety consultant, can also help your business identify how well mental health is managed in your workplace. With tailored, expert guidance and resources targeted towards small and medium businesses in Sydney and the Central Coast, through Assure Programs you will learn how to create your own mental health and development plan. For more information and to sign up, visit mentalhealthatwork.nsw.gov.au and complete the online form. How mentally healthy is your workplace? Take a quick online mental health capability check now.
How to Handle Work While Losing a Parent - Medium"At some point, someone's loved one will get ill and maybe die, a colleague may get very sick, someone will have a baby... Life is always happening, and the best leaders and employees acknowledge that." This article is part of a collection of practical tips and stories curated by writer Lindsay Robertson, "in the hopes of sharing what we wish we had known when the unthinkable happened to us."
Top 5 Things You Need to Know If You Get Bitten by a Snake - Queensland HealthWhether you’re scared of snakes or you apply a ‘they won’t bother me if I don’t bother them’ attitude, if you live in Queensland, it pays to know what to do if you're bitten by a snake.
Tools For Searching For Long-Lost Relatives - International Social Service AustraliaWe recently came across this fact sheet, written by colleagues at International Social Service Australia, about how to look for long-lost relatives and we thought this might be of interest to you.
The Mind Reader - WayAhead - Mental Health Association NSWFor general mental health and wellbeing stories, news and research, subscribe to our parent organisation's newsletter The Mind Reader. Research SpotlightStudy: When Leaders Take Sexual Harassment Seriously, So Do Employees - Harvard Business ReviewNew research points to a single step that leaders can take to help reduce sexual harassment: communicate to employees that preventing it is a high-priority issue for their company. In just a few sentences, this signals to others how much they should prioritise the issue and sets a culture in which sexual harassment is not tolerated.
Those Paid to Promote Diverse Workplaces Are Rarely Diverse Themselves - The Sydney Morning HeraldFemale, white, able-bodied, straight and binary. It is not a dating profile for Tinder but a description of the predominant profile of Australia’s workplace diversity and inclusion practitioner. Why are Australia’s diversity practitioners so non-diverse?
Why This Landmark Inquiry Into Mental Health Will Be Different - The Sydney Morning Herald"This time the (Productivity) Commission will be able to put a precise number on the true cost of failing to adequately care for those in our community experiencing mental ill health. It's clear those costs are becoming simply too big to ignore," writes Jessica Irvine, senior economics writer for the Sydney Morning Herald. The National Mental Health Commission has published two position statements, and the Productivity Commission recently released The Social and Economic Benefits of Improving Mental Health – Issues paper. Submissions to the Inquiry closed on Friday 5 April.
How Healthy is the Typical Australian? - Australian Bureau of StatisticsThe latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that the typical Australian is a non-smoker and has never smoked, does 42 minutes of exercise every day, is overweight or obese and does not eat enough vegetables. For the survey's key findings, click here.
Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities Australia 2017 - Safe Work AustraliaSafe Work Australia has recently released the latest data relating to workplace deaths. The report provides up-to-date national statistics on all workers and bystanders fatally injured at work. A key finding was the fatality rate has decreased by 48% since 2007.
Research, Reports and White Papers - Australian HR InstituteThe Australian HR Institute aims to inform and support on issues affecting the workplace and organisational performance. Recent research, reports and white paper topics include The C-Suite Challenge: The Future-Ready Organisation Report, Benchmarking Diversity and Inclusion Practices in Australia, and The State of Wellbeing in Australian Workplaces. Click here to view and download. Articles of InterestAre You Burnt Out Or Do You Just Need a Vacation? - Thrive GlobalBurnout Coach, Caitlin Donovan, explains how chronic stress creates physiological changes in the body and strongly affects mental and emotional health. Where are you on the Burnout Scale?
How Intel Closed the Gender Pay Gap For Employees Worldwide - TechRepublicEarlier this year, Intel announced it had achieved gender pay equity across its worldwide workforce – a major milestone in the tech industry, where the gender pay gap is perceived to be the largest of any sector. If you think your business is too big to do the same, think again, because Intel employs about 107,000 people in more than 50 countries!
'It Was Like Watching a Slow Motion Car Crash': The Growing Toll of Mental Illness - The Sydney Morning HeraldMatthew Johnstone, a high-flying advertising creative director, had been working hard and playing hard in what he says is a fast-paced and "ego-driven" industry. Giving himself virtually no time for relaxation, eating well or exercise, he failed to recognise he was stressed and overwhelmed. New research has found fear and anxiety are sabotaging the productivity of many Australian workplaces and mental health needs to become a top priority for business.
When Telling People to "Choose Your Thoughts" Is Really Dumb Advice - Next Evolution PerformanceWhen someone is already very negative, it's really hard for them to "just choose to have more positive thoughts." What they need to do is to train the positive wiring in their brain to get a little stronger, like we would an under-active muscle. Start with small steps. Go on... Try it!
Self-fulfilling Prophecies and Seeing Your Employees' Potential - Australian HR Institute"We’re hardwired to see difference before we see similarity," says Fiona Krautil, founder and principal consultant at Diversity Knowhow. If you're a manager thinking about performance outcomes for employees, and you're seeking to find a happy medium between placing expectations that are too high and too low, read on.
What Does Closing Your Gender Pay Gap in a Few Weeks Look Like? - Australian HR InstituteMany businesses are working towards equal gender representation and shrinking the pay gap. Energy Australia enacted a plan to reduce its gender pay gap to zero in a matter of weeks - and it's paid off for the company too. Rebecca Fraser, Head of HR, Energy and Enterprise at Energy Australia, says "Because we went to this effort of closing the gap our employees have felt valued and we have continued to attract and retain people within our organisation."
Bold Recommendations For Free 'Preventative' Psychology Sessions - The Sydney Morning HeraldAustralians would be able to access up to 10 Medicare-funded sessions with a psychologist without being diagnosed with a mental disorder, under sweeping changes recommended by a federal government review. For more on this, read high-profile psychiatrist Ian Hickie's response.
Is Parliament House a Mentally Healthy Workplace? - Mental Health AustraliaIn their February newsletter, Mental Health Australia CEO Frank Quinlan asks "Is Parliament House a mentally healthy workplace?"" He references the nine key attributes of a mentally healthy workplace from the Heads Up website, and encourages us all to spare a thought for the people working hard and long hours to advance our nation.
R U Ok? Trees Painted Blue Spark Talking Point Around Depression In Regional Communities - ABC NewsAlongside a country road in south-east Queensland, a large gum tree painted bright blue is prompting people to talk about mental health and ask: "r u ok?" Read on here. Something a little different...How to Have More Empathy: Learn the Four Attributes of Empathy from Brené Brown - Melli O'BrienIn this beautiful short animated video, Dr Brené Brown teases apart the difference between empathy and sympathy and shows us how empathy fuels connection, while sympathy drives disconnection.
The Value of a Happy Team - The Chief Happiness Officer BlogIn this video, gymnast Katelyn Ohashi scores a perfect 10 for her floor routine. But what's equally incredible is how happy and engaged the rest of her team are. Just imagine what you and your team could achieve with that kind of support and energy around you!
Thank youWe want to thank our members, eNews subscribers and supporters for their ongoing support and feedback. Each year we commit to improving our work and staying relevant for you. Please tell other people about us so we can continue to help support all workplaces. Your word of mouth feedback is worth its weight in gold! |