The first day of the Workplace Mental Health Summit 2021 kicked off with Jim Kelly, Director of Health and Safe Design SafeWork NSW, and with Sean Hall as the Chair. Kelly started the discussion by sharing an important thought of priority for businesses which is to come up with programs for worker’s well-being and integrate it into the design of the work itself.
An important part of Jelly’s discussion during the summit was how leaders can provide better training, support and supervision through:
- Business as usual arrangements (Line Manager)
- Regular weekly feedback
- Performance development process
- Through good project management (not Line Manager)
- Clear Project Governance
- Sufficient Information and Resources
- Achievable Timelines
- Consider risks and issues upfront
Lucinda Brogden AM, Chair for the National Mental Health Commission, also reiterated Kelly’s perspective that a psychologically safe workplace is not just aspirational, it’s the law.
During her talk at the summit, Brogden discussed the National Mental Health Commission’s National Workplace Initiative approach.
- Consult and Listen
- Link Action to Outcome
- Engage Decision Makers Early
- Assign Accountability
- Integrate into Business As Usual
- Make Change Visible
- Use Data to Drive Decisions
- Continually Improve
Brogden also shared a few key pieces of information about the rise of the Gig Economy. Gig workers are heavily skewed on the younger generation and are 3.3 times per cent more likely to be students and 2.9 per cent more likely to be formerly employed.
Kim Grady, Head of Group Safety, Wellbeing and Governance at Australia Post, also shared how the Australia Post has managed to keep their employees mental health in check by promoting psychological safety teleconference education sessions which covered the following:
- Typical reactions to change and uncertainty
- How to support your team
- Self-care
- Tools and resources available
Also present as speakers during the first day of the summit were:
- Alexia Houston, Head of Insurance and Risk Clayton Utz
- Amanda Reid – National HSE Manager, Mirvac
- Meaghan Clarke – Business Unit Director, Neuroscience and Virology, Janssen Australia and New Zealand
- MITCH WALLIS – Founder and CEO; Heart On My Sleeve
- Megan Kingham – Director Staff Health, NSW Ambulance
- Deborah Yates – National Managing Partner People and Corporate Affairs, KPMG Australia
This is an ongoing article. More information will be added as the story progresses. Thank you!
Based on a city where the mountain meets the sea and where antique houses line the streets, my mind is free to wonder, to wander and to write.
