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Further enhance your leadership skills and learn the frameworks to develop your organisation’s positive mental health culture.
PERTH 9 MAY 2017
WA Register Here
Including:
ADELAIDE
AUGUST 2017
SA Register Here
• Common mental illnesses of anxiety, depression and of psychosis.
• Symptoms and functional impacts in the workplace of each of these illnesses.
• Roles and responsibilities when responding to mental health issues in the workplace.
• Strategies to approach employees.
• Design reasonable workplace adjustments for mental illness.
• How to talk to employees about mental illness.
• Develop a Workplace Mental Health Strategy.
SYDNEY 5 MAY 2017
NSW Register Here
MELBOURNE
3 MAY 2017
VIC Register Here
Founder and Editor-in-Chief:
Deputy Editor: SHARNA
Editing and proofreading: SHARNA
Contributing Writers: TASHA BROOMHALL
SOPHIE
JULIE MEEK
DONNA HANSON
RACHAEL WEST
Contributing
Typesetting
SHARNA
This edition focuses on transformational workplace programs. Transformational programs require a shift in thinking about training. It’s a move away from training that ticks boxes to a more sustained approach that changes behaviours and workplace cultures. It puts positive personal relationships at the centre of workplace wellness programs and focuses on the human experience of mental health issues. We interview Katrina Walton to get her take on what makes a wellness program effective and speak to Dr Sarah Newman about the mental health of doctors and the work she is doing at a systemic level to improve the mental health outcomes in the workplace for our hardworking medical practitioners.
We also interviewed Mikayla King Co-Director of the 100 Days of Deadly Mob social media campaign that is changing the narrative about Indigenous Australians and their achievements and contributions to society. If you haven’t checked out their stories yet then make sure you get online and read about some of the awesome Australians we live amongst.
Another topic that has received a lot of interest recently is the discussion of suicide. A recent Netflix series has led to discussion around appropriate ways to discuss suicide and how it is portrayed in the film. Our article, 13 Reasons Why Suicide Should not be a Taboo Topic debunks some of the myths around talking about suicide and has links to resources to help you understand this important area.
And of course we continue to have contributions by guest and regular contributor writers including how to manage your emails so they don’t manage your life and some easy hacks for reducing stress.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments. Email me at info@bloomingminds.com.au
Want some more ideas for how to help yourself bloom? Watch here.
Best wishes,
Tasha
In our busy connected world we can become transactional. We send messages, tick; we attend a course, tick; we read a book and are now an expert, tick; we spend time with our family (all connected to various devices), tick. We ‘do’ a lot, but to what benefit and at what cost?
We are more connected than ever with technology, social media and 24-hour news cycles. However, relationships can’t be done. Can’t be ticked off a list. They are about collections of shared values, shared experiences and shared emotions. Skills also cannot just be ‘done’. We learn skills and then need to practice and integrate them into our behaviours to make lasting change.
From a workplace perspective, a transactional approach to training can be both a waste of money and even damaging in the long term. When budgets are tight, one of the early sacrifices is often the training budget. Training is sometimes seen as a nice to have, rather than a need. Part of the problem is that training is often transactional. People go into a training room, they learn skills, they go back to work and are expected to adopt the new skills often in isolation, and retention is mired by the busyness
of their role and other distractions.
Some workplace mental health programs are simply transactional. Put up a poster for RUOK day; put on a morning tea for mental health week; provide a ’lunch and learn’ that raises awareness of mental health issues. These may all be elements of a robust program, however, in isolation short transactional approaches can feel like we’re simply paying lip service to an issue; being politically correct or applying a Band-Aid approach. If organisations truly want to transform to positive cultures of mental health and wellbeing, they need a more comprehensive strategy.
So how do we create training opportunities that are truly transformational?
Workplace mental health training is often transactional… we tell employees that mental health issues are common and can affect anybody. We focus on statistics and facts. But a transformational training experience provides content whilst actually building positive relationships. It helps people to connect positively, to see similarities rather than differences and helps them to understand the human experience of mental health issues, how to better support themselves and how to better support others. It provides tools and strategies that are
relayed through stories and experiential learning in a way that people’s attitudes are challenged and shifted and new behaviours become possible.
The human and economic costs of mental health problems in your workplace can be staggering with increased absenteeism, presenteeism, stress claims and turnover. Responding to the mental health of employees makes financial sense as well as being the right thing to do. A mentally healthy workforce optimises your best asset – your people.
Raising Assessing and developing your organisations mental health literacy. These are primary level interventions that ensure that your policies, procedures and systems enhance the mental wellbeing of your staff and to ensure that mental health issues are recognised and responded to appropriately, balancing the individuals needs with the business’s needs.
Building personal buoyancy, team values development and the capacity of people leaders to recognise and appropriately respond to mental health issues in the workplace. These primary and secondary level interventions focus on professional and personal skill development to ensure that all people leaders have the skills to recognise and appropriately respond to mental health issues in the workplace and to encourage all employees to develop their individual buoyancy and proactively manage their own mental wellbeing.
Integrating the increased mental health literacy into the culture of your workplace so it becomes “how we do things around here”. This includes tertiary level interventions designed to develop a culture of peer support and positive engagement to ensure that if and where issues do arise, your employees are able to appropriately support each other and engage with your EAP provider or with community resources.
A positive example of a transformational workplace initiative to increase engagement and positive connection.
In late 2015 we were challenged to think about how we induct our rapidly expanding workforce in Western Australia. We formed a small working group with representatives from across the business and devised a “day 1 induction” designed specifically to create an emotional connection to Scentre Group - not just the role/ project they were working on. Our objective was for every new employee to complete their first day at our organisation feeling inspired, excited and validated that they’ve made the right choice in joining Scentre Group.
Every employee’s first day begins with a breakfast with their line manager and ‘induction champion’ to get to know each other better and establish a feeling of inclusion. Our induction champion then hosts the new starter/s through a series of specifically designed digital guides explaining who we are and, critically, how we work – the consistent cultural expectations that transcend our offices, centres and sites. They then embark on a detailed shopping centre tour, bringing the multiple facets of our business to life in the context of a centre environment.
Importantly, the day is exactly the same for every employee regardless of role or department. The induction concludes early in the afternoon with the new starter heading home to absorb everything they have learntand more importantly felt. This also serves to reinforces our flexibility policy and provides new starters with the space to enjoy the experience and reflect on the organisation they have joined before starting a more traditional role-related induction on Day 2. Initially started in WA, the initiative has now been rolled out across Australia and New Zealand with employees commenting on the sense of connectedness and belonging created when they join us.
Kate Holsgrove Regional Manager, Scentre Group
It is common these days to have a focus on workplace mental health and workplace health in general. However, how do we ensure that our initiatives are actually meeting their objectives and not just a band aid approach – throwing resources at a problem yet not knowing if we are actually solving the problem?
It’s common for workplace wellness programs to be transactional – we simply ‘do stuff’; but do they ignite and support positive change in our workplaces, changes in attitudes, knowledge and behaviour?
How do we make them transform workplace practices and culture?
Katrina Walton knows all about changing the health culture of workplaces – and we interviewed her to find out how she does it and what advice she has for designing transformational not just transactional wellness programs.
What are the benefits of workplace wellness programs?
Workplace wellness is no longer viewed as a nice-to-have but a business imperative. Australian organisations investing in the health and wellness of their greatest asset –their people – are reaping the benefits. This is backed by decades of strong evidence across the globe regarding the effectiveness of such programs. For employers, benefits include increased morale/employee engagement, productivity, creativity and innovation, attraction and retention of employees, together with a reduction in sickness related absenteeism and workers compensation costs. And not to forget, just being a great place to work! Employees (and often as an extension their families) benefit from improved health literacy, physical and mental wellbeing, work fulfilment and productivity.
Why is it the employers responsibility? Shouldn’t employees take care of themselves?
It always amazes me that employers will spend thousands of dollars and man hours on maintaining essential equipment, but won’t invest the same in maintaining their most important asset, their human capital.
Surely it’s just as important for people to function well?
Poor employee health and wellness has a negative flow-on to the workplace including higher absenteeism and injury rates and lower productivity. Furthermore, whilst the workplace can positively impact employee wellness (through stimulating and rewarding work), it can also have the very opposite effect. A stressful and unsupported working environment can quickly erode employee wellbeing. From a duty-of-care perspective, workers should be able to return home from work as healthy (or ideally healthier) as when they arrived. Therefore, employees wellness is a two-way street. Both employees and organisations share responsibility.
How do I measure our workplace wellness program to see if it is worth the money I’m spending on it?
Whilst many Australian organisations recognise the importance of investing in employee health and wellness, according to a recent study undertaken by Bupa, only 12% of Australian workplaces measure the impact of their investment! To eradicate the ‘nice-to-have’ tag, organisastions need to be able to demonstrate the value on investment, both for employees and the organisation. To do this, they need to clearly define and establish measurable goals and objectives as part of their planning. Typically the success of
interventions will then be measured by a mix of both quantitative (e.g. surveys) and qualitative (e.g. workplace observation) evaluation methods. But, be warned! Ensure expectations are set at a realistic level. Whilst positive changes can occur within a few months of implementing a wellness program (e.g. improved staff morale), research and experience suggests the full economic benefits will take 3+years to be realised. Such programs should be viewed as a long-term investment in your human capital.
What should an employee wellness program include?
Essentially, there is no one-size-fits-all approach for an effective workplace wellness strategy. It must be tailored to the organisation’s business objectives, structure, demographics and culture to ensure buy-in and ownership. In saying that, there are key characteristics that best practice programs share.
• A comprehensive needs assessment undertaken in collaboration with key stakeholders will ensure that where organisations spend their precious time, money and resources is spent in the right place.
• An integrated and best-practice approach to health, safety and wellness management will also include not only a focus on the individual employee, but at a policy, cultural and environmental level.
• Educating and empowering key stakeholders – including leaders, coordinators and local champions – is critical to a successful and sustainable program and building a wellness culture.
I have a limited budget – what should I focus on to give me the most bang for my buck?
Workplace wellness is still often perceived as an optional extra or discretionary spend. One in which the organisation’s “bean counters” can draw a red line through at budget time when dollars are being scrutinised. It is still largely viewed as a cost as opposed to an investment.
Generally I will turn this excuse on its head and ask ‘but right now, how much is poor health and wellness costing your organisation?’ We’re talking about a critical business issue here. Can your organisation afford NOT to invest?
As wellness practitioners, we often fail to communicate the ‘burning platform’ for investing in employee wellness and the cost of doing nothing. We subsequently lose out to a host of other business concerns that executive deem more pressing, particularly in tight economic times.
how do you make your wellness dollar stretch further? Whether you are just embarking on your wellness journey, or well along the road, these tips will have both your employees and Finance Manager smiling.
How do we take our program from just ticking a box to making transformational changes?
One-off health checks, underutilised EAP programs and a tired looking fruit bowl in the staff tea room. These are some of the typical ‘wellness programs’ we see when visiting workplaces across Australia. Often such programs are run off the side of the desk by a very enthusiastic (but often overwhelmed) staff member who is trying to ‘do wellness’ in addition to their ‘real-job’. And whilst it’s great to see such organisations obviously believe that investing in employee health and wellness is important, without the necessary rigour required, such programs are only ever going to be perceived as a bit of fluff. True
“Essentially, there is no one-size-fits-all approach for an effective workplace wellness strategy.”
In preparing the business case, practitioners need to be able to clearly articulate the valueon-investment. Is it reducing the frequency and cost of workplace injury, boosting employee engagement or being an employer of choice? Or all of the above? Ultimately this will stem from your organisation’s overall business strategy. Put simply, you need to ask yourself the question, ‘what’s keeping the CEO up at night’?
Research and experience also suggests that a comprehensive wellness strategy doesn’t need to be expensive to be effective. It doesn’t have to break the bank. The key is ensuring that you get the ‘best bang for your wellness buck.’ So
transformational change requires strong buy-in from senior leaders, alignment to the organisation’s overall goals and culture, and a targeted and results oriented approach. Most importantly, it requires educating and empowering key stakeholders – leaders, coordinators and local champions – to make it happen. Only then can true and sustainable transformation happen; where it ultimately becomes business as usual.
Tasha BroomhallKatrina is Director/Founder of Wellness Designs, a boutique consultancy business. Wellness Designs support Australian workplaces to create healthy, safe, engaged and high performing employees.
http://www.wellnessdesigns.com.au/
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Look for low hanging fruit
Get some runs on the board. Are there any opportunities for quick wins? Or is there the potential to combine and package what is already available with some new initiatives thrown in?
Engage your wellness partners
Existing or prospective wellness partners can provide a wealth of expertise, resources, support and practical assistance.
Seek funding and/or sponsorship opportunities
There are a growing number of funding and sponsorship opportunities available to support your wellness journey.
Share responsibility
Both employers and employees must take responsibility for health in the workplace. It’s a two-way street. Have a mix of employer funded and employee contribution options. .
Seek research and/or practical support from universities
Could you do with an extra set of hands or expertise for an upcoming project? Become friendly with your local university and explore practicum and joint research projects
Think outside the box
I’ve delivered many wellness strategies over the years that have started (and sometimes continued!) with a shoestring budget. This requires flexible, creative and innovative ‘out of the box’ thinking
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Make healthy choices the easy choices
Supporting flexible working arrangements, implementing a smoke-free policy, providing healthy snack options in your vending machines, or hosting walking or standing meetings as a way of discouraging sedentary behaviour.
Stay focused
Quality not quantity. Don’t stretch your wellness efforts too thin (and potentially jeopardise your own wellbeing in the process!), and concentrate on initiatives which will provide the best value-on-investment.
KATRINA’S TIPS FOR WELLNESS PROGRAMS ON A BUDGET:
“A healthy working environment is one in which there is not only an ABSENCE of HARMFUL conditions but an ABUNDANCE of health-promoting ones”
W ORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION
When you visit your doctor, and run through your list of symptoms, you’re not likely to be thinking about how your doctor is feeling - about their mental health.
As a society who relies on our doctors however, their mental health is something that should be getting more attention. We rely on doctors to diagnose our illnesses, to help our children to get better, and to help us to manage chronic health conditions. And it seems many doctors are pretty good at looking after their physical health … yet what about their mental health?
A 2013 report from Beyond Blue found that Doctors reported significantly higher rates of psychological distress and higher rates of suicide attempts than the Australian population in general and higher than other Australian professionals. In discussions with both junior and senior doctors over the last few years they share similar stories of the pressures they experience. Working in high care roles, with long hours, and managing crises with limited resources, can lead to high levels of ongoing stress for medical professionals. Many report their workplaces not only don’t support them at times of mental health issues, but in many cases they feel stigmatised and even blatantly discriminated against. Some report that the understanding and compassion that is shown to patients is not offered to colleagues and that instead the workplace culture is to “get over it” and to ignore
or bully people into more acceptable behaviour. Health professionals often report that they are not confident in responding to the functional impacts of a colleague’s mental illness and not comfortable having conversations about mental health concerns with colleagues that they habitually have with patients. Despite years of training and dedication to excellence, Doctors are after still humans working in a field that is incredibly pressured. This pressure can be a strong breeding ground for emotional distress.
Sarah Newman is a General Practitioner and a board member of The Doctors’ Health Advisory Service Western Australia (DHAS WA) and the AMA Doctors in Training Committee (Co-Chair of Welfare Sub-Committe). Dr Newman says “It is known in medicine that we have a risk around practitioner mental health and tragedies like the recent suicide death of junior doctors in Sydney, and the fact that we’ve lost 20 junior doctors to suicide in the last 10 years is distressing to our profession, however is anything changing to minimise the risk? Not quickly enough.”
“There is a lot of focus on getting medical practitioners to increase our insight into the emotional toll in what we do, to build our resilience and coping strategies, but the systems are still lagging behind. We can train our doctors to be resilient but they can only be as resilient as what their environment allows.”
When considering the risks to medical practitioner’s mental health Dr Newman states that it is a combination of factors such as the vicarious trauma experienced in treating sick and dying patients; the demands of modern medicine being that our society requires a high level of care 24 hours per day which often leads to Doctors working long shifts; the personality type often attracted to medicine being someone who is driven and intelligent and used to pushing themselves; the ever present umbrella of medico-legal risks of practice; the urgency of care and low cost pressures; and the stigma within the
profession, which all contribute to the effect. Often the management staff in medical practices, like in many professions, are promoted because of their clinical skills. However, they may not have the necessary skills to manage the human side of their role – managing people. A focus simply on patient needs and administrative requirements is not enough.
Managers, as in all workplaces, must know their roles and responsibilities in recognising and responding to mental health issues in the workplace. They need to know what is legally required to ensure that they are not discriminating against staff because of mental illness. They need strategies to approach and address staff with mental health issues, know how to have the conversations with staff and how to develop reasonable workplace accommodations or adjustments for mental illness. From a systemic level, medical institutions who want to improve their mental health culture, the wellbeing of their practitioners and ultimately safeguard patient care, should consider an audit of their own processes and systems. Do they promote a culture of positive mental health and wellbeing through leadership awareness, commitment and accountability around employee mental health? Do they have preventative structures in place such as appropriate rostering to minimise onerous fatigue, access to leave entitlements and programs to nurture the skills of leaders to appropriately manage mental health risks that arise?
If we rely on our doctors to help make us well. Don’t we want and need them to be well also?
Tasha Broomhall
Given the time we spend each week at work, it is not surprising that it would have such a significant impact on our mental health. In a 2015 meta-analysis on workplace bullying and mental health , a third of the patients with mood disorders attributed their mental problems to their work situation, making problems at work the most common self-reported cause of depression.
Discussions around workplace bullying tend to come in and out of focus according to high profile cases reported in the media. But overall there is little attention given to this issue given half of all Australians will experience bullying in their work life and recent research indicating that bullying costs organisations in multiple ways including:
criticism or social exclusion. It is important to note that bullying is not limited to one event, but is a persistent experience.
All employers have a legislative obligation to provide a safe work environment for all employees. This obligation includes psychological health and safety. The impact of bullying on mental health is significant. A 2016 study by Butterworth et al , found a strong association with increased instances of depression, stress-related psychological complaints post-traumatic stress disorder and burnout by people experiencing workplace bullying. Interestingly, this study also found that there was a higher incidence of being bullied in the first place by people with a pre-existing mental illness.
• Lost productivity
• Higher turnover
• Increased sick leave
Bullying in the workplace involves situations where an employee persistently perceives themselves to be mistreated and abused by others and finds it difficult to defend themselves against these actions. It can be related specifically to tasks such as unreasonable deadlines, meaningless tasks or excessive monitoring of work. It can also be more personally focused including gossip, hostility, persistent
So what can workplaces do to reduce bullying, improve productivity and decrease staff turnovers? When notified of a workplace bullying issue, many human resource departments offer a mediation process. However, according to Kemp (2014) , mediation assumes two parties are of equal power and is future focused so often fails to address past wrongs. Kemp states, “Workplace bullying is best seen as a manifestation of power in workplace relationships rather than interpersonal conflict”. Actual instances of bullying are not the same thing as interpersonal conflict and thus should not be handled the same way.
Another point of interest by Kemp is that if the perpetrator of workplace bullying is seen as more valuable to the company, it is less likely that the
target will receive appropriate support. On the surface this appears to be a logical choice. In situations where the perpetrator is seen to be a valued employee, and the target less socially adequate, a common strategy is to either leave the target unsupported (opening yourself up to legal claims) or to move the targeted employee to another department. Over the long term however, it can have profound impacts on employee morale, including those who are not personally the target of the bullying.
Without clear policies, targets are more likely to remain silent. According to Kemp, “Interventions ought to encompass legislation, organisational policy, organisational culture, workplace tensions and provide redress for the target.” Designing appropriate interventions for workplace bullying can be complex but is vital for creating mentally safe and healthy workplace environments. A study by Cooper-Thomas et al found that the following were key elements to eradicating workplace bullying: Constructive Leadership Organisational Support (perceived by employees)
Organisation wide anti-bullying policies
Other recommendations are:
Positive leadership styles that are ethical, inspirational and pay attention to employee’s achievements, needs and development
Clear and well communicated guidelines as to what exactly is and isn’t bullying
Well communicated organisational support and antibullying policies
Group level coaching to increase cohesiveness (preventative)
Contextualised training (customised)
References
1. Verkuil, B., Atasayi, S., & Molendijk, M. L. (2015). Workplace bullying and mental health: A metaanalysis on cross-sectional and longitudinal data. PLoS ONE, 10(8). http://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0135225
2. Butterworth, P., Leach, L. S., & Kiely, K. M. (2016). Why it’s important for it to stop: Examining the mental health correlates of bullying and ill-treatment at work in a cohort study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 50(11), 1085–1095. http://doi. org/10.1177/0004867415622267
3. Kemp, V. (2014). Antecedents, consequences and interventions for workplace bullying. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 27(5), 364–368. http://doi.org/10.1097/ YCO.0000000000000084
4. Einarsen S, Hoel H, Zapf D, Cooper CL. The concept of bullying and harassment at work: the European tradition. In: Einarsen S, Hoel H, Zapf D, Cooper CL, editors. Bullying and harassment in the workplace: developments in theory, practice and research. Boca Ratan, Florida: CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group; 2011.
Tasha Broomhall Artillery by Roger de la Fresnaye (The MET) 17
We all have times when we get exasperated by someone else’s behaviour and we just wish they would stop! Unfortunately, we often can’t make them stop, but we can sometimes make things better or worse depending on our reactions. However, our instinctive reactions are not always the most effective.
It is tempting to try to diagnose such behaviours under the banner of personality disorders. Even if you are clinically trained to diagnose mental health issues, the risk of applying a label such as this is that we stop seeing the individual person, and may start responding merely to a stereotype. The other reaction people will often have is the desire to just “get rid of them”. This may not always be possible; if the person has the skills to perform their role it certainly may not be desirable. The reality is that many people under pressure may exhibit difficult traits than they usually would, so we may be responding to these behaviours
that are occurring habitually in some, and occasionally in others. Simply “getting rid of people” is not the solution unless you know of a good deserted island you can reside on in peace. One of the big issues that people tell us they have with these difficult behaviours is that others may not experience the person in the same way. The difficult behaviours are not always consistent and are sometimes carried out behind closed doors. The risk is that by getting hooked into negative response patterns by this person, you become seen by others as the perpetrator, rather than the victim. Others can get hooked into the person with difficult behaviours’ perceptions and stories, and therefore can make it very difficult for you to get support.
SO, what can you do to minimise the impact of difficult behaviour sin your work teams and to minimise the personal impact on yourself?
Clearly defined values and associated behaviours tied in with organisational Performance Appraisal process
The Sorrow of Telemachus by Angelica Kauffmann (The MET)
Clearly defined process for responding to difficult behaviour (i.e. who to take it to, how and when)
Decontamination process (if the difficult person leaves the organisation minimise the damage they do on the way out)
INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIES:
Boundaries
• realise it is about them, not about you; don’t get hooked in –keep your relationship on one plane
3rd point
• Depersonalise – for them and for yourself, refer to a third point rather than keeping it as a personal disagreement between people. 2, 3
Manage your emotions
• Even tone; body still; head still. Slow your breathing and your talking to minimise the risk of you escalating the situation.
• Stay curious about them and their behaviours rather than analysing and judging them. 3, 4
Limitations & consequences
• Set and communicate reasonable limits for acceptable behaviour; outline the consequences for not meeting these and then follow-through with grace and respect. It is much easier to enforce real consequences if policy and procedures are written to support this process. 2, 3
Others’ perceptions
• You might feel that it’s all just a load of nothing – that the claims the difficult person is making about you aren’t true and so you don’t have to worry about them. However, if the person is telling these things to others then there is a high risk of other people making their minds up and consequently seeing you as the one with difficult behaviours, and therefore thinking that you’re the perpetrator rather than the victim.
• The way to deal with others’ perceptions is to
• Ensure you haven’t been hooked into the behaviour yourself
• Treat others who may be “siding with” the difficult person in the same way as the person who has difficult behaviour (e.g. boundaries, 3rd point, manage your emotions, limitations & consequences) 1, 2
Tasha Broomhall
References
4. Emotional Intelligence Daniel Goleman (1996) Bloomsbury Publishing, London ISBN 0-7475-2830-6
3. How Not To Get Shot DVD Michael Grinder (2007) www.michaelgrinder.comEmail was supposed to make our lives easier!
With 24/7 access, it was supposed to fast track things that took days or weeks to deliver or respond to. Whilst it does that, reality is most businesses don’t have a real plan about how to use email nor do they empower their teams to effectively use it. They simply hand a computer and an email address to employees and send them on their way.
You only need to take a look around you to see its impact. In meeting rooms, people typing on their phones, on trains, at traffic lights and worse eating into precious family time. Whilst customer expectations and responsiveness are higher than ever, many think the answer is to respond to emails immediately only to have another appear in your inbox as soon as you send it.
Isn’t it time you took back your life and sent out an email SOS?
This simple strategy could have you back on top of your inbox never to be overloaded again.
So what is email SOS?
A simple acronym to reduce the volume of email you receive and enable you to focus on the high priority tasks in your day.
Whilst many people try to stem the tide of email there are a number of simple strategies you can apply to stop you and others sending email.
Have you ever heard of the law of attraction? It simply means what you put out is what you get back. Ever thought about buying a new car, you’ve chosen a model and all of a sudden you notice them everywhere you go? That’s the law of attraction, what you focus on is what you will see in that instance or in the case of email get. The more you send out the more email you will get.
Try the following: Consider whether email is the most appropriate way to respond – would a phone call save an email chain, or in the case of a customer interaction, would it produce a better outcome?
It’s OK to go offline regularly, in fact it is important you do! Whilst many of us think we can multi task, reality is we do much better when we focus on one task at a time. Ever been talking on the phone whilst driving only to realise when you get to your destination, you can’t remember how you got there? Scary isn’t it?
Too hard? Consider going offline for set periods of time when you have activities that require your complete and undivided attention, a detailed monthly report, a tender response etc. You may even want to try setting up dedicated times when you read and respond to email – some of our clients even note this on their email footers!
I know this sounds strange, and you are probably thinking, how do I stop others from sending me emails? I regularly speak to conferences about reducing the volume of email you receive in minutes by making a team commitment. A team commitment to minimising or clarifying the use of cc or bcc emails and to STOP SENDING thank you emails. I worked with one executive team and their volume of email dropped by 30% by implementing this one tip alone!
Communicate with others – when you liaise with your colleagues, tell them you prefer they update you face to face in your next meeting or a quick scheduled phone call. Not only are you building a relationship, but you get immediate responses and can easily go off on a tangent if necessary.
So rather than drown in your email, why not send out an email SOS. Not only will it reduce the volume of email you receive, it will help restore your sanity.
Donna Hanson
Donna Hanson is a specialist in productivity with technology. A Certified Speaking Professional, she works with organisations to reduce stress and increase productivity, performance and profits with everyday technology.
One of only five people outside the US accredited to deliver an email productivity process to Microsoft Staff, Donna Hanson makes regular appearances on radio and TV in discussing technology. For more information on Donna visit www.donnahanson.com.au
“We are the change we seek ”… it’s a popular quote that’s truth when applied, has the power to change the world.
It may be a fairly simplistic view of social change, but what if we are more powerful than we recognise? Is it really possible for everyday people to influence conversations and change perceptions? To quote Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” One of the positive changes social media has given our society is the platform for everyday people to discuss their experiences and contribute to the narrative around issues in a way that has not been seen in recent history.
There is a growing movement of citizens who, feeling disengaged from the popular discourse or disheartened by a negative narrative around difference and diversity, have started social media campaigns to bring change.
The past 12 months has seen a number of high profile incidents that have highlighted the negative portrayal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in the media and our society generally. Perth’s Mikayla King an Aborignal and Islander Education Officer, Trainee Teacher and former Youth Worker, collaborated with Miss NAIDOC Perth and Indigenous business advocate Shelley Cable, to show the world the diversity and richness of contribution made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in Western Australia.
Mikayla King & Shelley Cable
“Sharing these stories of our mob showcases the incredibly resilient, strong and powerful people we are.”
100 Days of Deadly Mob – a Facebook page dedicated to sharing the personal stories and accomplishments of some of Western Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizens, posted their first story which received more than 10,000 reads. The projects launch coincided with the death of a young Aboriginal boy that was portrayed negatively by the mass media and through social media.
The page follows the style of projects like Humans of New York. A picture is accompanied by a personal story highlighting the challenges and accomplishments of the interviewee.
Ms King, who along with Shelley, has volunteered her time for this valuable project says, “Sharing these stories of our mob showcases the incredibly resilient, strong and powerful people we are.”
Interviewee occupations range from politicians, health professionals, artists and foster parents to name a few. The thing that stands out reading the stories each day over the past six months is both the diversity of experiences and accomplishments, and the common focus on community and family.
100 Days of Deadly Mob has recently profiled its 100th community member and will be taking a little
break from daily posting while Mikayla and Shelley decide what direction to take it in future. One things for sure, the page as it stands is an incredible social history of some of Western Australia’s great contributors.
In addition to the wonderful personal stories a read through the comment section highlights the readiness of Indigenous and nonIndigenous Australians for a more balanced and honest portrayal of First Australians. Further testament is the over one million overall views the page has received since starting 6 months ago.
The project tackles issues like Stolen Generation, skin colour, welfare dependency and cultural identity. It is a snapshot of the issues that affect the daily lives of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in Western Australia and showcase the resilience and achievement of descendants from the oldest living culture in the world. A strength that all Australians can be inspired by.
Sharna Mensah
Personal experience with fibromyalgia led Rachael West to study Yogic Education at university in France. She runs Yoga for Pain Care Australia to help all people with pain access the benefits of yoga.
When someone visits the doctor with pain, they may really be saying, “I’m worried”. For most people with persistent pain there is no visible tissue damage. This can be confusing. They may worry there is something very wrong that hasn’t yet been picked up; that the pain will just get worse; that they’ll never be able to do things they hoped for their life.
Here are ways you can help friends and family by understanding the social side to pain:
People tend to tell our pain-sensitive yoga teachers they are at their class to reduce pain. But when things improve, they say the benefits were things like finding acceptance, confidence and a sense of hope.
Try to find out what your friend with chronic pain is really worried about and offer simple antidotes. If your child fears he will never finish school because pain makes him miss so much, how could you celebrate the life learning he gets from a book he may never have read otherwise?
If a friend fears missing out on important social activities, can you schedule a regular catchup that’s easy for them to access.
Many people with persistent pain become socially isolated. This is due in large part to their personal capacity to spend time out. However friends and family may extend fewer invitations out of frustration. By understanding that your friend may have limited energy you may be able to organise events that are more meaningful for both of you. Instead of a 2-hour lunch on the other side of town, a 15-minute stretch and cuppa may be a better fit for both of you.
In our social impact report we write about evidence that yoga can help with the physiology of pain. But more and more we are realising the real impact is its capacity to transition people out of medical care
and into community. Imagine isolated pain patients having somewhere they felt comfortable going every week, could get exercise, and receive dashes of pain education. If your family member is really struggling, be creative about what you could do to help. It might not be what you think.
For a copy of our whole impact report email info@yogaforpaincare.com
Rachael Westhttps://www.yogaaustralia.org.au/
Available in paperback or ebook format.
This book debunks some of the common misunderstandings around mental health and mental illness and provides practical strategies for you to use to support your own mental health as well as support those around you.
$22 INC GST
Available in paperback or ebook format.
This book will provide knowledge about the relevance of mental health issues, a brief overview of common mental health issues and possible functional impacts and a range of proactive strategies and resources that may assist both the employee and the organisation.
$25.00 INC GST
Feeling stressed? Overwhelmed? In a funk? Need some support for your mental health?
This guided 52 week journal will give you practical ideas and guidance to enhance your wellbeing through two strategies. Each week a new journal activity will encourage you to continue actively enhancing your mental health over the next 52 weeks.
You can choose from two different formats – a printed a5 journal or weekly emails delivered straight to your inbox.
$17.60 INC GST
The personal reflections journal provides a guiding hand in reviewing your values. Based on these values you will then set daily intentions and cultivate your gratitude.
Carrying out those two simple steps each day can make an incredible difference to your life.
$24.20 INC GST
You can develop your organisation’s mental health culture through a targeted information program that includes integrated articles in your newsletter, informative posters, information on your intranet to develop awareness, and skills to recognise and respond to mental health issues in the workplace. The pack is designed around a 12-month campaign to raise mental health awareness in your organisation and focusses on building the individual resilience of your employees.
Educational videos for your intranet about how to have appropriate workplace conversations in relation to mental health and wellbeing.
This pack includes short guidelines suitable for inclusion on your intranet.
Titles:
• What is mental health and mental illness
• General impacts of mental health issues in the workplace
• How to respond if you have concerns about a colleague or employees mental health
• Strategies for managing mental health issues with an employee
• Responding to an employee or colleague who may be at risk of suicide
• Resources and supports for looking after your own mental health and wellbeing
This course delivers an overview of common mental illnesses, reasonable adjustments, privacy requirements and balancing people needs with business needs. This course is delivered as four online assessed modules selfpaced with individual assessment of learning. Each module has videos, recorded lesson, support notes and an assessment.
Concerned about someone’s mental health and not sure how to approach them?
“I've noticed…”
(State observable facts)
“Have you noticed..?”
(Ask for their perspective)
Ssshhh
(Be quiet and listen) Your Logo Here Your EAP Information here
Having high emotional intelligence will encourage you to establish and maintain helpful levels of empathy that will help you to relate to and connect with individuals around you that are within your professional network and community. Decisionmaking, time management, healthy and effective communication patterns, anger management, being assertive, flexible, trusting, and accountable are all attributes that help to support a well-rounded lifestyle. Overall, emotional intelligence helps you to focus on responding rather than reacting, which is a very empowering way to get what you want and to also serve the needs of others around you simultaneously.
Pursue your passion regularly: this often serves as the strongest engine for retaining forward momentum. It is critical to ask yourself, “why am I doing what I am doing?” on a regular basis.
Keep your goals clear and be respectful of other people's need for productivity whenever you can to maintain a healthy balance.
Find a coworker, friend, spouse, technology tool, or application to hold you accountable whenever possible. Report to them regularly.
Automate processes such as timing tasks and scheduling short burst interval exercises in between chunks of work whenever you can. Hacks such as making appointments automatically by linking your calendar to services like “You Can Book Me” and including the link to your profile in your email signature can save
you a ton of accumulated time and energy (that way if someone wants to meet with you, tell them to reserve a spot on your calendar by clicking the link that automatically generates with each email and reflects when you are available). Hacks like these are valuable because little jobs creep up on us- we may think that an email doesn’t take much out of us, but the average number of simple email exchanges between parties agreeing on a time and place to meet is typically 7! If you cut that hassle out you can meditate in that time saved instead! Make tools work for you not the other way around!
STOP FOR THREE MINUTES TO FOCUS ON YOUR PATTERN OF BREATHING:
Take conscious deep breaths in and out and keep a solid spinal sitting and standing posture whenever you can with your heart forward and shoulders down and back. This simple exercise will help to calm your central nervous system down and this in turn will help you to be more productive in a controlled and non-hectic / reactive way. Try setting a reminder to check in on yourself every two hours and to also take a minute to run up a flight of stairs or stretch your body.
Ingredients
1kg firm white fish fillets
“Give a person a fish and they eat for a day, teach them to fish and they eat for a lifetime” Chinese Proverb
500g prawns/mussels or any seafood you prefer
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
3 celery sticks, trimmed, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled & finely chopped
400g can diced tomatoes
125ml fish stock
Fresh mint leaves, to serve
Lemon wedges (optional), to serve
Chermoula
¼ cup fresh coriander, chopped
¼ cup fresh continental parsley, chopped
1 large red chilli, halved, seeded & finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Large pinch saffron
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 lemon, juiced
Method
1. To make the chermoula; combine the coriander, parsley, chilli, garlic, saffron, cumin and lemon juice in a large glass or ceramic bowl.
2. Cut fish into strips about 6cm long and 4cm wide. Add to the chermoula. Toss to combine. Cover and place in the fridge for 2 hours to marinate (or in class 20 minutes).
3. Heat the oil in a 28cm flameproof tagine over medium heat. Cook onion, celery and carrot, stirring, for 8 minutes or until onion softens.
4. Add the tomato and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Place the fish on top of the onion mixture. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the fish flakes when tested with a fork.
5. Top with mint leaves and serve with lemon wedges, if desired.
How does a human transform? They may have had the blindingly obvious waved in their face for years, however until that moment, a moment no one knows will happen, when the pop-corn pops do they get it for themselves and take action!
Well my greatest joy is the moment someone realises they can cook a dish, at home on their own! Oh my god, I can now make bread, or pasta, it’s so exciting, they will be able to make it for the rest of their lives! That’s why I love what I do!
Sophie Budd is chef and owner of Taste Budds Cooking Studio. She is passionate about teaching people to cook and feeding people! Her resume includes working for both Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver.
http://www.tastebudds.com.au/
Sophie Budd
For the past few years I have been trying my best to learn Italian. Its not easy and I can literally feel my brain cells straining at the effort, despite apparently being one of the easiest languages to learn in the world. Unless you count first year high school French (and I don’t) I have never delved into the world of foreign language. I knew that I couldn’t speak any language other than English but I was blissfully unaware of the depth of that ignorance until I started lessons.
This is a classic example of “You don’t know that you don’t know” or “Unconscious Incompetence” in the Conscious Competence Ladder. This ladder (attributed to many possible originators) is a popular approach to managing your feelings and transforming behaviour during any type of learning process, sometimes dispiriting like mine right now. When you are attempting to acquire any new skill or behaviour it is important to be aware of what you don’t know. Discovering this can be incredibly depressing if you are not very good at what you are trying to do. Of course this is understandable when you first start to learn something.
If you look at acquiring new skills in managing your health like losing weight, improving energy levels, beginning an exercise program, reducing stress levels or managing a disease, you may discover that you have been lolling about in the “You don’t know that you don’t know” pool for a while.
Unfortunately it often takes a MOMENT OF TRUTH (a critical or decisive time on which much depends, a crucial moment), negative health epiphany or ‘event’ like a heart attack, fatigue, collapse, continued low immunity or even having no clothes that will fit, to rocket us into this stage with a bang.
Once you determine what you do and don’t know, you move into Level 2 on the ladder - “You know that you don’t know” or Conscious Incompetence. Thankfully I have moved into this level with Italian,
although it can be a shock to discover how much better or competent other people are. When you realise that your skills or new behaviour are limited, like I did in approximately 1 nanosecond, confidence levels can drop to an all time low and this is where you may have to don the Superman suit and sail forth. If you are trying to lower your cholesterol levels or body fat and you don’t know where excess fat and saturated fats are lurking, it makes it pretty tough to reduce them in your diet. This is one of the toughest stages to wrangle and many warriors are lost in the battle. The rewards are worth it.
I strive each day for Level 3 - “You know that you know’ or Conscious Competence. For me that would mean having a real life conversation in Italian with the verbs and nouns conjugated correctly. Although I could get myself a coffee or find out the day of the week (in the event I had amnesia), my conversation skills suitable for rapid fire pace are not developed enough. For you this stage might mean nailing four exercise sessions in a week without rolling over when the alarm goes off.
The nirvana, Level 4 - “You don’t know that you know” or Unconscious Competence is the lovely place where this new skill of your is just plain easy. Your new skill has become a habit, you don’t need to think about it anymore and you perform it without conscious effort. If you are an ex-smoker and your main trigger is alcohol, this last stage would mean that you could go to a bar and have a drink without the slightest thought about how you are going to top yourself from having a cigarette. This is the Mt Everest of skill development and behaviour change.
A nutritionist and dietitian, Julie Meek is one of the most respected sports dietitians in australia with over 15 years’ experience in public, sports and corporate nutrition. www.juliemeek.com.au
ADULTS Illness
Do you need mental health training for your busy managers that they can access where and when they want?
Find out more with our new online course Mental Health in the Workplace for Leaders plus in-house training options.
managers
“A healthy working environment is one in which there is not only an ABSENCE of HARMFUL conditions but an ABUNDANCE of health-promoting ones”
W ORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION
43% only have an understanding of MENTAL ILLNESS
$
Australian Businesses $ $ $ $$ $ LOSE each year to in the Workplace Billion
PRE-SEMINAR SURVEY TO DETERMINE CURRENT LEVELS OF KNOWLEDGE AND NEED FOR SEMINAR CUSTOMISATION.
MENTAL ILLNESS
ACCESS TO BLOOMERS MEMBERSHIP SITE WITH ONGOING RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS TO DEVELOP YOUR ORGANISATIONS POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH CULTURE.
$1 $ 2.30
Do you want specific strategies to implement for employees and managers?
The Workplace Mental Health for Leaders Seminar will develop leaders skills and give frameworks to follow to develop your organisation’s positive mental health culture.
Are your managers confident to talk about mental health issues and provide appropriate support in your workplace?
Do your managers and supervisors: Know how to recognise and respond to mental health issues in their employees?
Understand their obligations for privacy and confidentiality?
Get positive examples of how to achieve this with our Demonstration Video Pack.
Know how to design reasonable adjustments for staff with mental health issues that support both the individuals’ and the business’s needs?
REGISTER bloomingminds.com.au/leaderseminar
managers
Through this seminar participants will:
• have increased awareness and understanding of the common mental illnesses of anxiety, depression and of psychosis
• recognise the possible symptoms and functional impacts in the workplace of each of these illnesses
• obtain awareness of their roles and responsibilities when responding to mental health issues in the workplace
• develop strategies to approach and address staff with mental health issues
• understand how to develop reasonable workplace adjustments for mental illness
• develop strategies and the language to use to talk to their staff appropriately about mental illness
• learn how to develop and implement a Workplace Mental Health Strategy with take away planning tools to assist them to create a mentally healthy workplace
• learn about resources available to assist Managers and Supervisors to support employees with mental illness.
Tasha is the Director and lead facilitator for Blooming Minds. She has been providing mental health and wellbeing training programs throughout Australia for 16 years.
Holding a Principal Master Trainer status from the MHFA Australia program, Tasha is accredited to deliver the Mental Health First Aid program. She has delivered this renowned course to more than 200 groups over the last 11 years, including: teachers; psychiatric nurses; HR personnel; mental health consumers and carers; aged care staff; disability staff; vocational rehabilitation providers; case managers and various government departments. Tasha’s work has been recognised with the ICCWA Suicide Prevention Award in WA and recently as a finalist in the national Life Awards for Excellence in Suicide Prevention.
Tasha has published a number of books focused on both personal and workplace mental health, including her latest entitled “Bloom at Work – A Mental Health Guide for Leaders”. She is currently completing Masters of Mental Health Psychology.
$1 $ 2.30
Blooming Minds provides group training and individual consultancy services to assist organisations to understand the impact of mental health problems in their workplace and to minimise the human and economic impacts of employee stress, anxiety and depression.
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Every year we lose more people to suicide than the number of people who die in traffic accidents. More than twice. Yet, many people do not know how prevalent suicide is until we lose someone close to us. How we respond to and talk about these two risks to life, is very different.
Many people having thoughts about suicide do not want to die. They just don’t always know how to stay alive. Sometimes they might feel as though there is no other way out of their pain and distress. When suicide is a taboo topic it can make it harder for them to reach out for help and support.
People who have a loved one or friend who they think is at risk of suicide often report that they don’t want to talk to them about it in case they say something wrong. So instead, they might say nothing.
If they had more confidence in what to say, they might be able to connect with a person at risk, and then connect them with personal help.
Professional help is not always on hand and so we as friends, family, colleagues and neighbours may be the one who identifies the risk and can then offer support to the person. If suicide is a taboo topic then we are less likely to feel comfortable offering support.
Mythology about suicide abounds. Misinformation sometimes affects helping behaviours. For example, a common myth is that ‘those who talk about suicide are not really at risk, it’s the quiet ones you should be worried about’. This is not accurate. People who talk about their risk may be confident in their decision and that no-one can stop them, or they might be communicating their distress and fear that
they will have no other option without support, or they may be asking for help because a part of them still wants to live and is hoping they can get through this scary time. Those who don’t talk about it, but have other risk factors, may also be at risk.
Another common myth is that if you ask someone about their suicide risk you will put the idea in their head. Again, this is not accurate. If you ask a direct respectful appropriate question you increase the chance of connecting with the person and then being able to connect them with professional help.
Another myth is that suicide occurs without any warning. For some there may be no apparent warnings; nothing they’ve experienced that to the outside world demonstrates a risk. However, in many cases there are warning signs, we just may not know what to look for
People often feel shame for their suicidal thoughts which can add to their sense of isolation and distress. If we could talk more clearly about how people sometimes feel this way and that there is help available, we might encourage more help-seeking.
Loved ones often feel shame for not having helped the person they lost to suicide. They wish they’d know more about how to help, they wish they’d know where to call for advice, they wish they knew more about suicide before losing someone they loved rather than learning all about it afterwards.
When someone comes out and tells us they are thinking about or planning suicide we often don’t know how to respond. We might inadvertently dismiss their feelings and try to rush them towards all the reasons we see that they have to live. We don’t know how to hold the space and respect their distress and help them to connect with support. We risk isolating them by not connecting with them and really hearing their distress. This is an understandable reaction – we want them to live. We are scared of their feelings and we want to convince them not to act on them. But sometimes this makes them feel unheard, and they may be less likely to then engage with us in seeking help.
Sometimes people will confide in someone they trust that they are thinking of suicide and they make that person swear to keep it a secret. The taboo and secrecy can increase the person’s risk. If you’re not sure how to help, call a support service and they can help you.
When someone loses a loved one to suicide we somtimes don’t know how to support them. Again, the taboo might create awkwardness in our desire to reach out and support them.
We lose people we love to suicide. That alone should be enough reason to learn all we can to better understand and engage with people at risk and hopefully help them to get support.
*WATCH a demonstration of how to talk to someone you are concerned is having suicidal thoughts or READ more about identifying suicidal risk factors.
Mental health can be a serious topic but with almost half of us experiencing mental illness in our lifetime, it is a subject that we need to talk openly about in our homes, workplaces and communities.
Given how many of us lose loved ones, friends and colleagues to suicide each year, this is also a topic that we need to talk about. We do not want to be careless in our conversations and increase risk for those who are vulnerable to suicide. However sensationalised and stereotypical ideas are perpetuated when we are afraid to talk about it. Talking honestly, openly and with compassion can help us to connect with people who are at risk, to then connect them with professional help.
I would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to you on a job well done…your presentation was informative, thought provoking and interesting. Students who attended the course were impressed by your professionalism and knowledge. Comments such as, “you have no idea how much this has helped me”, “I learned how to handle stress more effectively and how to recognize it”. These comments attest to your level of ability in delivering the material. Students were left with a lasting impression that they will take into their future careers. Thank you
A. Watkins, Notre Dame University
Very practical and informative course. Excellent way to upskill front line leaders in mental health management in the workplace. Received feedback from other participants that this should always be offered to new supervisors. Great job.
J. Bruce, Human Resources, CliffsI was hooked from the beginning to end. I was continuously learning new stuff about how I can help others and myself.
F. Mitchell, CSO, Workpower Inc.Practical tools and advice to identify and manage mental illness in the workplace in a way that supports the individual and the business needs. Excellent presentation, good examples, entertaining.
C. Bam, Manager, Department of Commerce