Wellbeing: HR's Crucial role to play

Over 200 participants with an interest in creating psychologically safe workplaces joined the HRNZ HR Virtual Summit on Workplace Wellness in September. Kathy Catton reviews the highlights and captures some of the learnings.

Every single day was a challenge for me. I was mentally and physically exhausted. There was so much tension in me, I would shake. I had suicidal ruminations. But then someone said to me, ‘You’ve got a good heart’.

These were part of the opening words of Sir John Kirwan’s keynote speech at the HRNZ HR Virtual Summit on Workplace Wellness. It was these words, ‘You’ve got a good heart’, that set JK on a path to saving his own life and turning his attention to being a force for good in the world.

Sir John, or ‘JK’, Kiwi legend, ex All Black and Founder of Mentemia, started the Virtual Summit by sharing his own journey to mental health. “At first, I did a lot for my physical health – taking anti-depressants, being careful what I ate and getting massages, for example,” he said. “But I wasn’t looking after my brain. It was my doctor, Dr Louise

Armstrong, who gave me clarity. Just as I would treat a tight hamstring with physio, I needed to treat my brain with specific actions.”

Role of HR

It is becoming clear that HR is wellplaced to drive positive mental health in the workforce. HR needs to be at the forefront of supporting its people.

But where to start? That is often where HR professionals get stuck, when wanting to introduce a wellbeing strategy to their workplace at the same time as looking after themselves. JK pointed out that prevention is essential to setting up a mental health policy with three main areas of focus:

• empowering individuals

• lifting leaders (to put wellbeing on their agenda)

• optimising the environment.

As JK quoted, “It’s no use fixing the fish if the water is toxic,” meaning leadership needs to be on board with the business case for wellbeing. We know that suicide rates in New Zealand are climbing, and workplace productivity is declining due to stressed out, anxious employees. And we also know that physical health is not the only factor contributing to a happy, engaged workforce.

Engaging speakers

The practical application regarding employer obligations was discussed by Elise O’Halloran, solicitor from Tavendale and Partners. She spoke about the requirements of employers in providing psychologically safe workplaces and the necessity of solutions, not just the “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff”.

Bridget Jelley and Jay Barrett from The Effect, talked about their journey in shaping how we do wellbeing in Aotearoa and the importance of keeping things simple, meeting people where they are at and genuinely listening to people’s needs.

With many participants listening from a locked-down Auckland (still in alert level 4 during the broadcasting of this event), the topic of social connection was well received. Gary Hewson and Gaynor Parkin, registered clinical psychologists from Umbrella Wellbeing, talked about creating a culture of wellbeing and connection amongst dispersed teams.

Financial wellbeing

A piece of the wellbeing offering that is often missed is financial wellbeing. Hannah McQueen, Founder of enable.me, whose aim is to “help Kiwis do better”, provided practical insights into how financial problems can affect overall wellbeing. According to her research, 93 per cent of employees believe financial wellbeing influences their overall wellbeing. Hence, Hannah spoke of the insidious noise that is often in the minds of employees around financial stresses.

Introducing a wellbeing strategy into the workplace may have the following framework.

Leading by example:LE

Looking after yourself

Experiment with different ideas

Adapt to your environment and staff

D Develop habits by building small actions into your day

Bringing others with you:S

Set an example

H Help and suggest different ideas to try

O ObserveW Work as a team

Caring authentically:

C Check-in genuinely; provide a psychologically safe bridge’

A Actively listen

R Reassure with comments like “We’ve got tools, I’ll talk to the boss, Do you need time off?”

E Encouraging people to reach out

The seven pillars to unlock financial wellbeing:

• financial literacy

• wealth mindset

• financial plan

• accountability and support

• adaptability

• systems

• behaviour and execution.

“By starting to understand the issues and then having the confidence to use tools and identify the areas to focus on, people can start to challenge their mindset and build courage when it comes to creating financial plans,” said Hannah.

When employees are thriving, employers will enjoy the benefit of happier, more productive workers. That then flows on into a greater customer experience and, ultimately, business success.

Wellbeing index

Jane Kennelly, General Manager of Wellbeing at Skills Consulting Group, outlined the main findings from the 2021 Workplace Wellbeing Index. The index is the first of its kind in New Zealand. It will be rolled out on an annual basis, providing an indepth look at where Kiwi businesses are at across different regions and industries around Aotearoa.

“Gathering this data will help businesses really understand where they’re at with wellbeing within their workplace and within their particular industry,” said Jane. “But it is even more than that – by knowing what your people need as individuals, businesses can understand what is truly important to your people. And when employees are thriving, employers will enjoy the benefit of happier, more productive workers. That then flows on into a greater customer experience and, ultimately, business success. So it’s a win-win all round.”

Being vulnerable

This idea of genuine care was one of the overriding themes of the Summit. Many cite it as the number one indicator of wellbeing. It’s often just stopping to really see people, listen so they feel heard and knowing what’s going to help them when times are tough, that makes the biggest difference.

Jehan Casinader, journalist, author and mental health advocate, closed the Summit with a sincere and authentic telling of his own story. “I’m here to share my journey, but I’d also like you to reflect on your own wellbeing,” said Jehan.

On speaking about his coverage of the Christchurch terror attack, Jehan said, “As a journalist, you have to step into the worst day of someone’s life and to quickly build trust, so that you can receive their story and then share it with others.” But the dark irony was that, at this time, Jehan was living with despair and suicidal thoughts in his own life.

Jehan sought help but found the clinical language of ‘depression’ ambiguous and unhelpful. “When we have physical conditions, we can diagnose them with specificity. Either you have a broken leg, or you don’t. But there’s no way to test someone for depression.”

“We diagnose people based on their symptoms, but we often fail to account for their trauma, identity, values, beliefs, culture and personal history. Their story is missing,” said Jehan.

Through his journalism, Jehan had discovered a common theme in the lives of people who had survived difficult times: they had changed the story of who they were and where they were going.

“The Muslim community said they wanted the terror attacks to be a story of love, not of hate,” said Jehan. “Despite what had happened, they chose a different perspective that offered a more hopeful future.”

In a business context, Jehan said leaders can help their staff to understand that they are the authors of their own stories, and those stories have power. If people are carrying around toxic or unhelpful stories, they can learn how to rewrite them, said Jehan. He speaks to organisations about how to do this.

“What happens in life is less important than the story we tell ourselves about it,” said Jehan. “Each person has the power to construct a more hopeful story about their life.”

Jehan also outlined the importance of moving away from the binary framing of mental ‘wellness’ versus mental ‘illness’. He said we all experience mental distress, and this does not mean we are unwell. In most cases, it simply means we are human.

Powerful stories

1. You have a story, and it matters.

2. Our stories can always be changed.

3. Your story will include suffering.4. Your story can offer meaning.

Questions to ask yourself

• Who is writing my story?

• How can I tell a different story with the same facts?

• What would a good character do?

• How has conflict and suffering made me a better person?

This Summit explored the spectrum of employee wellness needs and looked at what leading employers will need to do to maintain a healthy and engaged workforce. Perhaps even more powerfully, the Summit provided the opportunity for us to reflect as individuals on what meanings we can create of our own to live more purposeful and fulfilling lives, for the benefit of others and ourselves.