Mental health in ‘hard-to-reach’ sectors

Human Resources magazine takes a closer look at the work of two organisations seeking to enhance mental health awareness in their workplaces.

Construction and transport are two industries keenly aware of the confronting issues relating to mental health in their workplaces, specifically the high rates of suicide and customer aggression. Fulton Hogan and Auckland Transport are working hard to make their mark on reducing these tragic events and supporting a more positive workplace culture, where people are encouraged to thrive.

Fulton Hogan

Headlines tell us that suicide rates for construction workers are rising, with statistics from the Chief Coroner showing 161 construction workers may have died from suicide between 2017 and 2020 in New Zealand. The construction industry has the highest suicide rate of any single sector in New Zealand. But Fulton Hogan is seeking to address this statistic.

“Typically, workers in our industry work long hours; they are doing physically demanding work, working outside in all elements and often far away from home. Loneliness is a big issue,” says Sarah Mason, Wellbeing Manager at Fulton Hogan.

By nature of the work they perform, workers often have to work next to roads and highways, and often face abuse from passing drivers and travellers, who are resentful of the work being carried out. “This abuse does impact our people,” says Sarah.

The combination of loneliness, abuse, fatigue and an ageing male workforce, who typically don’t like to talk about their feelings, means there was an absolute need for Fulton Hogan to act.

“Our leadership team are fully on board with ensuring our people are supported as best they can be,” says Sarah. “Yes, they need to be fit to do their job, but our executive team understand the wider impacts within Fulton Hogan; they see themselves as role models to encourage others to take their health seriously.”

Fulton Hogan works with Mates in Construction, a suicide awareness charity, which has been operating on worksites in New Zealand for over 18 months to help workers experiencing mental ill health.

“Mates in Construction has been a great programme for our company,” says Sarah. “The charity trains on-site ‘connectors’ to recognise the signs and symptoms of people experiencing mental ill health, and they have dedicated field officers who visit every single site.”

For Fulton Hogan, general mental health awareness training is provided to all sites, and everyone attends. From there, people can receive further training to become ‘Connectors’ or ‘ASIST’ reps. They wear a special sticker on their hard hat, meaning they can be quickly identified as open to help. To date, Fulton Hogan has over 100 connectors within the organisation. The idea is that, by helping people to be supportive and providing an environment that encourages positive wellbeing, this impact will go beyond the workplace and into their everyday lives.

The ambition for Fulton Hogan is to have 90 per cent of its sites accredited by Mates in Construction by the end of the 2022/23 financial year.

In addition, the organisation has recently reinvigorated its benefits offering. While it’s a developing portfolio, the company offers a dedicated mental health phoneline, EAP counselling and has a first-rate medical insurance policy, which provides free cover to all staff and their families. Discounts are also offered on gym memberships, My Food Bag, retail outlets and holistic therapies.

“The company recognises that some wellbeing benefits can appear tokenistic, so the discounts on offer for staff can be tailored to what works for them,” explains Sarah. “For example, if you enjoy cycling, there are discounts on e-bikes; if you enjoy going to the gym, there’s a gym membership package. It’s flexible, and that seems to work well.”

For Men’s Health Week in May this year, teams set up a ‘Beat the Boss’ competition with the intention of showing how their small daily actions and habits can build positive mental health. For instance, one team brought in a bread machine and used it to cook fresh bread each day to go with their soup rather than the customary pies. Others walked up mountains together and the GM Construction commuted on his bike all week, including trips to the office, airport and site meetings, covering significant kilometres.

It's an approach that’s working well. Fulton Hogan is fully on board with the concept that wellbeing is an integral part of productivity. “The pandemic has certainly aided the increased awareness around mental health, and we have been able to be more creative and flexible in our approach to addressing the issues,” says Sarah.

Tips from Sarah and Jess for HR professionals starting on mental health awareness raising.

• Listen. Even if you don’t know the answers. And let staff know that you don’t know the answers, but you’ll work with them to find the answers.

• Introduce mental health awareness first aid training. This is an excellent introduction to supporting mental health at work.

• Ensure you have the support of your leadership team when designing and implementing any wellbeing programme.

• Wellbeing is a unique concept for every person, make sure you have a range of offerings that people can pick and choose from and are accessible to all.

• Weave wellbeing into everything you do within the organisation: 1:1s, company communications, team meetings and so on.

Auckland Transport

Auckland Transport (AT) is a Councilcontrolled organisation (CCO) responsible for all the region’s transport services, from roads and footpaths to cycling, parking and public transport. The organisation has around 1,800 employees who are spread right across Tāmaki Makaurau. Because of this diverse reach of employees, with a multitude of backgrounds, it was essential to have a way of raising mental health awareness that each employee could relate to.

“With our new normal of living with uncertainty, there’s never been a better time for us to invest in our people’s wellbeing,” says Jess Hayes, People Experience Lead at AT. “We see that our people are tired, juggling work and home life and some are leaning towards burnout. Add to that the abuse our people experience from customers using our public transport network, and it’s crucial that we draw a line in the sand and raise awareness about mental health and wellbeing. As the recent Auckland Council campaign says (that all of the CCOs took part in), ‘There’s no excuse for abuse’.”

AT refreshed its wellbeing programme and launched Hauora – AT’s Wellbeing Framework and Programme – in August 2021, coincidentally right as lockdown began. It is designed with its people at the forefront, and aims to provide a holistic approach to supporting people to thrive in their work and home lives. The programme is built on AT’s values of Manaakitanga – We care… Full stop and Tiakitanga – Safe with us. The biggest challenge to implementing such a broad-reaching programme was ensuring it was accessible for all and fit for purpose. “Wellbeing comes in all shapes and sizes and has many layers of responsibility,” says Jess. “Throw into the mix a diverse bunch of people scattered across the region, and it’s a big task to tackle.”

The organisation decided to use the ‘Me-We-Us’ model to integrate wellbeing into everything that happens at AT. “The ‘me’ component is about empowering our people on an individual basis. ‘Me’ initiatives are typically self-led, and do not require involvement of others. It is about making sure our people have some accountability for their wellbeing and take action on their own accord. The ‘we’ component is all about our teams. These activities usually require input from others. Leadership plays a key role in the ‘we’ aspect of the model. We also have two Wellbeing Consultants, who are available for 1:1 counselling sessions or they can deliver workshops to teams on mental health topics such as burnout and stress and anxiety. Finally, the ‘us’ component is about what we need to do as an organisation to ensure optimal wellbeing, such as wellbeing initiatives and assessments,” says Jess.

AT also partnered with Groov (formerly known as Mentemia). Groov is an integrated mental health and wellbeing programme that gives individuals and leaders the tools and support they need to support their mental health. Since the launch in August 2021, a 26 per cent uptake of the app has occurred, equating to over 500 employees downloading the app to their devices and accessing tools to help them look after their wellbeing.

“From an HR dashboard, we can see the usage of the app and see what content people are searching for to help shape our wellbeing plan,” says Jess.

Under the me-we-us model, eight priorities were highlighted for the wellbeing squad to focus on. “It’s been a cross-functional ‘squad’ that has brought this programme to life,” says Jess. “A wellbeing wheel summarises all of the wellbeing offerings available for our people, with Groov acting as the ribbon that runs through everything and brings Hauora to life.”

One initiative is the roll-out of the 50:25 meeting movement. Instead of booking one-hour or 30-minute meetings, the Outlook settings have been changed to give people a 10 or 5 minute break between meetings to focus on their wellbeing, whether it’s grabbing a hot drink or doing some deep breathing.

“We also have meeting-free days,” says Jess. “For the team I’m in, that’s Wednesdays, so we can have those dedicated thinking, planning and doing days without the interruption of meetings.”

The success of this programme is measured in multiple ways. Quarterly checking-in surveys are used, as well as the Groov dashboard and surveys and the ‘Always On’ Weather Check, which gives real-time data on how people are feeling, what they need and what’s working for them.

Auckland Transport’s wellbeing messages to its people.

The programme continues to evolve as the team navigates the complexities it is dealt.

HR professionals have long highlighted why mental health must take centre stage within their organisations. And employers are recognising the need to offer practical support to their people, not just because it’s best practice, but because a healthy, happy workforce has been shown to benefit an organisation’s bottom line. Fulton Hogan and Auckland Transport are two such examples in their field.

To find out more about these programmes and initiatives:

• mates.net.nz: Mates in Construction offers workplacefocused programmes with the aim of reducing the number of lives lost to suicide in the construction industry

• groovnow.com: Groov helps workplaces drive a wellbeingfirst culture. Formerly known as Mentemia, the company was cofounded by Sir John Kirwan and Adam Clark

• mentalhealth.org.nz: The Mental Health Foundation has numerous resources on its website targeting workplace wellbeing

• tepou.co.nz/initiatives/ mental-health-first-aidaotearoa-new-zealand: Mental Health First Aid courses are internationally acclaimed and evidence-based, accredited training programmes that empower and equip individuals to support a friend, family member or co-worker experiencing a mental health problem or crisis.