4 minute read
MENTALLY HEALTHY WORKPLACES
Julian Pace
Happy people are the key to a sustainable & productive workforce. Happiness Co gets to work with some of the biggest companies across Australia, helping them improve the quality of their people’s lives by creating a culture of happiness, belonging and a positive focus on mental health.
Thursday 14th September is RUOK day; it’s an important day of the year absolutely, because it brings a heap of awareness to mental health.
One of the many things I love about my job is helping people understand personal performance. Which is all about how we feel, think and behave.
One of the things we always talk about with our clients is the way the world is changing. There is a huge focus on sustainability, environment, inclusion; just to name a few. So a great question we ask people is, what’s your impact on the environment? But an even greater question is what is your impact on your people? Are they thriving and happy people or are they burnt out and stressed…?
I’m a true believer in this… every single business and employer makes a difference in this world, the only question is, do you make a good one or not.
One of the things that has become apparent since COVID has begun is people are wanting health problem.
The impact of this is enormous, affecting workplace productivity, performance, and employee wellbeing.
Given that the average Australian worker will spend close to a encouraged to talk openly about mental health, seek support and look to take proactive action to make positive changes.
I love seeing so many organisations working towards positive changes for their employees.
5 tips to create a healthy workplace culture:
1. Prioritise preventative measures
Make it easy for people to ask for support and share their struggles. People become unhappy before depressed, and overwhelmed before hitting burnout. Have a plan in place to ensure the emotional and mental wellbeing of your team is prioritised with the intention of prevention. When we feel better, we take better action.
2. Have an inclusive approach
Ensure that HR processes and procedures are crowdsourced or openly contributed to by your people. Created by your people, for your people. This helps to ensure your processes are personalised to your team.
3. Be flexible and progressive
Standard box ticking is incredibly important, but more important is the ability to be flexible in your approaches. When it comes to people, positive culture and a mentally healthy workplace – a one size fits all approach won’t work! Every employee’s circumstances are different and it’s important to be able to be flexible to meet the needs of your team.
4. Provide growth and training opportunities
Place emphasis on effective communication training and development of trust in your team. Your relationships are determined by the quality of your communication, and respect and trust are a direct result of the ability to be able to effectively communicate. Better communication = better relationships = better outcomes.
5. Use the power of praise
Recognise workplace positive culture champions! A culture champion is someone who believes in, supports and cultivates a positive workplace culture. They inspire and influence others to make better choices and create positive change in your workplace.
Julian Pace is a Mental Health advocate. Through his social enterprise, Happiness Co, Julian has partnered with major organisations in Australia and diverse sectors, including corporates, justice institutions, mental health entities, schools, and non-profits.
Don't miss Julian's Forum session "Leadership and culture for happiness" on Friday 4th August. Register now at www.pharmacywa.com.au.
