November 17, 2024 • 22 mins
In this episode, we discuss employee wellbeing and how it’s linked to mental health and employee loyalty.
We explore the types of wellbeing initiatives companies are adopting, and how these efforts are directly influencing employee loyalty. In today’s competitive job market, loyalty is a two-way street, and investing in well-being can make all the difference in retaining your top talent so we also offer practical strategies for you to enhance or introduce wellbeing programs in your business.
You can find the show notes for this episode here
Would you like to submit a question to the show? Let us know on our website or via LinkedIn.
Brought to you by Aster HR, the Work Wonders Podcast is hosted by Angela Gauci & Susan Rochester and is recorded at Launch Pad at Western Sydney University.
All information or advice included in this podcast is general, has been developed as a starting point for your business, and should be tailored to your specific requirements. It should not be considered legal advice. We have made every attempt to ensure the accuracy and currency of this information at the time of recording. However, references to things like employment laws are subject to change. For specific advice relating to your business, please get in touch with us.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the Work Wonders podcast brought to you
by Asta HR, where we simplifythe human side of business.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm Angela and I'm Susan, let's dive into today's
episode and find out what you'vebeen wondering about.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
In today's episode, we're continuing with the theme
of employee engagement andretention, and we're going to
spend some time talking aboutmental health and employee
wellbeing and how that might belinked to employee loyalty.
As workplaces evolve, we'rerealising that supporting the
wellbeing of your employees isnot just a nice-to-have.
It's actually essential formaintaining a happy and
(00:44):
productive workplace.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
So true, and we're going to explore how mental
health plays a key role inoverall wellbeing, the types of
wellbeing initiatives companiesare adopting, and how these
efforts are directly influencingemployee loyalty.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
So let's get started.
This is the Work Wonderspodcast.
Hi Susan, hi Angela.
So we're talking aboutwellbeing programs.
I know we've talked about a lotof programs, haven't we?
Retention and rewardingprograms, and all that sort of
thing.
So wellbeing is not just aboutphysical health.
(01:21):
If we think about itholistically, we're talking
about mental and emotionalhealth and social wellbeing as
well.
You know, in a previous episodewe talked about psychological
safety.
You know we're getting a lot ofthese things being brought into
the workplace andresponsibility put onto
employers.
So, yeah, that's why we'retalking about it today.
So mental health in particularhas become an important part of
(01:46):
safety and looking after ourstaff in the workplace.
If employees are strugglingwith stress or anxiety or
burnout even, it's going toobviously affect their
performance and how engaged theyare and their overall happiness
at work.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
And, more than that, whether they're going to want to
stay working for you.
I suppose True.
So, as we all know, the modernworkplace can be stressful.
There's plenty of statisticsabout increased workloads,
people working longer hours,there's issues with shift work
and there's always thatprecarious balance between your
(02:22):
personal and professional life.
Yeah, all those things add upto giving people stress.
Yeah, I don't know why I'mlaughing about it.
Maybe that's a nervous laugh,but according to the WHO,
depression and anxiety alonecost the global economy over $1
(02:44):
trillion in lost productivityevery year.
So these are things that wecan't afford to ignore.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Absolutely.
So we're not necessarilytalking about when an employee
might already have a mentalhealth challenge that they're
bringing to work.
Maybe they do, but we'retalking about trying to avoid
that happening because of aresult of work.
So it's definitely almost likea work health and safety issue.
So when mental health isn'tsupported, it's going to lead to
(03:13):
things like absenteeism,presenteeism, which is, or
resent-eism.
Okay, that's a new one.
I was just going to saypresenteeism is like when
someone comes to work with acold but they're sick, they
should be home having a sick day, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Or presenteeism, is also when the term first started
coming up.
When I was first talking aboutengagement a long time ago, was
people showing up for work butnot really engaged.
Ah right, so they're there.
They're going through the upfor work, but not really engaged
.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Ah right.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
So they're there, they're going through the
motions, but they don't reallycare.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Not actually contributing, but what was your
one?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Resentism, okay, yeah , and I think this might be an
even bigger issue, as we'retalking about cost of living
crisis and affordability ofeverything or unaffordability,
and people feeling like, well,I've just got to stick it out
this job.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So that would have an impact on your mental health if
you're really resenting beingthere, yeah, but look, any of
these things employees are atwork but they're not functioning
is sort of what we're gettingacross there.
Yeah exactly, and it can evenobviously learn to lead to high
turnover rates in some cases.
So addressing mental health inthe workplace and offering that
(04:33):
support is not just a HR issue.
No, it's not just up to us, no,something that all leaders
should be aware of.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yeah, exactly.
So supporting mental health inthe workplace is going to build
a culture where an employeefeels safe, valued and respected
, and this is what we talkedabout in the episode on
psychosocial safety.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yeah, that's the one that was in Season 4.
So just a few episodes ago,Season 4, Episode 10.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
So, because mental health is becoming such a big
issue in the workplace, it'scrucial that we reduce the
stigma around it and create anenvironment where employees can
feel comfortable seeking helpwhen they do need help.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
That makes me think of the guest interview that we
had with Bill Carson.
That was in season five.
Okay, yeah, I would recommend,if you haven't listened to it,
go back and have a listen tothat one.
He talked to us about mentalhealth and thinking about it
from a different perspective.
Even thinking about, you know,mental health as in keeping your
(05:36):
health, of your mental state,as you would your physical state
.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Exactly no, definitely worth a listen, so go
and find it.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Okay, so now we know what we're talking about here.
Let's dive a little deeper intoa wellbeing initiative, because
it is mental health, but it's alot more than that as well, and
it definitely links to employeeloyalty and engagement.
A wellbeing program can takemany forms.
It might be something likeoffering flexible work hours to
(06:06):
help people do what they need todo to, like you say, balance
the personal and theprofessional life.
Or it might be accessing mentalhealth resources, for example,
an EAP service or a counsellor.
That might be something thatyou extend to your employees if
the work requires that, actually, even if it doesn't require
that.
True, there might even bephysical wellness programs, so
(06:28):
you might offer a gym membershipor mindfulness workshops or
yoga or guided meditationsessions.
I've even heard of massages inthe workplace as well.
You know no massage tables,just at your desk.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Okay, not on your shoulders.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah, no, massage tables just at your desk.
Okay, not on your shoulders.
Yeah, so thinking about thosesorts of things because, look, I
mean we've talked a lot about,you know, things like family and
domestic violence, thepsychological safety, the
respect at work, legislationreally what's happening in our
communities.
It's kind of forcing its wayinto the workplaces and we're
being asked as leaders andemployers to really step up and
(07:05):
think more about our employeesas a whole and taking care of
all of them, not just you knowwhat they bring to work.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, exactly, we can't ignore that anymore.
And as well as the broaderwellbeing initiatives, which are
all going to help people'smental health, there are some
specific initiatives that arejust as important, or, you might
argue, even more important.
So they might include, as youmentioned, counselling services
or an EAP employee assistanceprogram allowing people mental
(07:34):
health days, or what do we callthem, a doona day doona day.
Yeah, yeah and yeah, allowingpeople to to declare you know.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I just need a mental health day.
I need a.
I just need a mental health day.
I just need a day.
I just need a break.
Give me a bit being safe to dothat.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yeah, exactly, but also training managers to
recognise and respond to mentalhealth challenges.
And, as you've heard us mentionbefore, we're also seeing
companies incorporateflexibility into their wellbeing
strategies.
So remote work options as wetalked about in the last episode
(08:09):
, for example, mental healthdays I just mentioned, and also
compressed work weeks.
Now this made me a bit morecurious about the four-day work
week and how much that is takingoff.
A four-day work week, ifanyone's curious, means that
people are working four days.
Yeah, however many hours, thatworks out to me usually it's
(08:30):
four eight-hour days.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
So 32 or it might be 30 or whatever hours a week and
getting 100% pay?
Yeah, so still getting the samepay, fewer hours, on the basis
that they're going to be moreproductive on those days.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Yeah, it was quite interesting.
There was a trial done in 2022in Australia which included 25,
26 companies and they wereacross professional services,
marketing and advertising andmanufacturing.
Okay, they all tried four-daywork weeks and, from what I can
gather, most of them are stilldoing the four-day work week.
(09:06):
Now you may be listening andthinking oh well, you know, big
companies can probably do that,you know, if they're an
insurance company or whatever,yeah, but my small business
can't.
Well, funnily enough, thecompanies included in these
trials had between 11 and 25employees.
Oh, that's fascinating so itwasn't necessarily the big boys,
(09:26):
it's doable.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yes, I think it's about expanding our thinking and
being open to differentopportunities.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Yes, I mean, that's just a side note on one
initiative, the compressed workthing.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
That is one great initiative, I think definitely,
and it shows employees thattheir company values their
wellbeing and that, in turn, isgoing to foster loyalty Again.
An employee is going to be moreengaged, feel valued and want
to stay if they're at the placewhere they feel happy and
healthy and all of that.
(10:00):
So obviously for an employer ora business that's going to lead
to less turnover, increasedsatisfaction in their employees,
which leads to betterperformance, and all those sorts
of things.
I feel like it's some obviousnow.
We keep saying it, but this iswhat we're aiming for, that kind
of we look after them, theylook after us.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yeah, exactly, and you know once again, you know,
it's not just us saying this.
There's research to show it.
Now, friends at Gallup havebeen able to demonstrate that
employees who feel theirwellbeing is supported by their
employer are 69% less likely tosearch for a new job.
How did you get into yourbusiness?
(10:41):
Sometimes it's because you'regreat at a particular thing or
you've got a passion forsomething and you know that you
can do a little better than whatother people are already doing.
Now that you're in business,you've discovered there's a lot
more to it than just having theright skills, especially when
you've hired a team.
You might have learnt thefinancial skills that you need
because you've had, you had to,basically but where do you go to
(11:04):
develop the HR and theleadership skills that you need?
If you're feeling overwhelmedin managing people and all the
other things that come withrunning a business, we can help
you.
We'll guide you through theskills you need to feel more
confident in leadership.
Go and check out the coachingpage on our website or schedule
a call with us at astorhrcomau.
Now it's back to the episode.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Okay, so let's get practical now, Susan.
Let's think about somestrategies what an employer can
do to improve an employee'swellbeing.
One of the most obvious thingsthey can do is look at their
culture.
Employee's wellbeing one of themost obvious things they can do
is look at their culture and Ithink we've said that, bringing
the mental health into thediscussion, where wellbeing is
(11:52):
prioritised for staff.
So that starts with leaders, aswe always talk about.
They need to lead by example,but they should also be trained
in how to recognise things likestress, burnout trained in how
to recognise things like stress,burnout and other mental health
issues with their teams.
I'm thinking again about peopleworking hybrid or somebody that
(12:12):
might be experiencing familyand domestic violence.
Again, it's been called upon us, as leaders, to go hang on a
minute.
Do you need to access thissupport or that help Did?
you know, you've got that leaveor whatever it may be and being
tapped into that.
We're not expecting leaders tosolve all the world's problems,
but just being aware to lookafter a person at work.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it?
Because, yeah, this is arelatively new development.
Yeah, you know in the past year.
We're quite happy for employeesto keep a list to themselves
and you themselves and keep itout of the workplace, sort of
thing.
But really we're not saying thatyou have to be into that
person's personal life or know alot about what's going on there
(12:56):
, but more about having thoseregular check-ins and fostering
that open communication so thatwhen there's a need for someone
to let you know that they'restruggling, then they're going
to be comfortable to do that andtrusting to do that.
And that can mean that it'salso important to establish
peer-to-peer relationships, soencouraging that people support
(13:19):
each other.
And some companies have evenintroduced mental health
champions, so there might be anemployee who advocates for
mental health and well-being andthey can act as a point of
contact for their colleagues.
So that can be all confidential, that people know that there's
someone they can talk to.
(13:39):
And it helps to normalise thoseconversations about mental
health, because if you're havinga conversation where saying,
well, this is what we're doing,because we recognise mental
health is something, is a thingthat all of us are going to
struggle from time to time whenyou look at the statistics,
right, but making it somethingthat's comfortable to talk about
(13:59):
.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Yeah, exactly Taking that stigma away.
Yeah, exactly Taking thatstigma away.
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm just reflecting on a timevery early on in my career where
a manager was really quite notokay.
You know, I felt uncomfortablearound the issue of mental
health and it's like don't tellme, like you said, don't bring
it to work, You're just here todo A, B and C, not tell me about
that.
And it was almost like theythen got that risk adverse to it
(14:22):
that they wanted to know whenrecruiting Does that person have
a mental health?
Speaker 2 (14:26):
issue.
I don't want to know about it.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
I don't want to hire them if they do, and that was a
person that felt very worriedabout that, maybe because they
were not sure what to do.
Well, I'm not sure.
But yeah, I think it's about,like you said, just trying to
break that down and go look, wedon't expect you to fix this,
just expect you to be a decenthuman and you know get alongside
these people and support them.
(14:48):
So work doesn't make it worseand I think that's a really
important thing.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
You're not expected to fix it.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Sometimes it might just be that they need someone
to listen.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yeah.
So we've talked aboutflexibility a bit as well, and I
think some employees in factmost of them would say that
allowing flexible work practicesalso helps with their wellbeing
, Because if you think about thepush and pull between personal
life and professional life, thatcan be really tricky, you know,
(15:18):
for some people if not all ofus, you know and so being able
to fit work around theirpersonal schedule.
Or you know, I've even heard ofpeople wanting to come in and
do a few hours early in themorning, go and have the rest of
the day while the sun's up, goto the gym and doing all the
things they want to do, and thenworking some more in the
evening.
You never know what works forsomeone, but being open to those
(15:41):
sorts of things, as long as thejob's getting done, can be
something that fits into aperson's wellbeing schedule of
their own.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Yeah, we're all different, aren't we?
And what's going to work forone isn't going to work for all.
It's interesting to see howmany companies are actually
implementing the flexible workpolicies as part of their mental
health strategy, if you like,or employee wellbeing strategy.
There's some tech companies Iwas reading about recently who,
(16:11):
as well as being fully remote,also offer unlimited paid time
off Wow.
So I was watching an interviewwith the CEO and I wish I could
remember which company it was,and he said I employ people to
do the job.
I employ them because I thinkthey can do the job.
I know they can do the job, sowhy do I have to check what
(16:33):
hours they're working?
Speaker 1 (16:34):
I love that.
I love it.
Just imagine, Susan, if welived in a world where employees
were completely trusted to dothe job.
Who cares how, when, where youdo it?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Well, just imagine we lived in a world where all
employees were trustworthy.
Oh yes, that too, as you knowwe've seen both sides.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
It's all a balancing act.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
I know.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
But the thought there of, yeah, having that trust in
your engaged workplacehigh-performing team, you know
all of the things.
Just imagine how easy thatwould be on a leader once it's
running like a well-oiledmachine, you know.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
They've got a team that are doing their thing.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
They're happy and healthy because you're giving
them what they need.
They're giving you what youneed.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah, it sounds good to me.
They're loyal and they're notgoing to leave you.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Yeah, makes business easier, right.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Well it does.
Are we just dreaming of someutopia?
That's never going to happenbecause of human nature Tell us
listeners.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
You're probably thinking that right now.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
What are they thinking?
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Well, we can all dream and I think, look, that's
really what we're talking abouthere.
Engagement and retention issomething that it's a big topic
and it's a lot of differentthings, and it's looking after
people and it's all the things.
But the aim of the game here isto make it easier for you to
have a high-performing team thatwill stay there, and everything
(17:58):
sort of affects one another inHR, doesn't it?
Speaker 2 (18:01):
So yeah, and I think you know, when you look at doing
things like introducing an AAPEmployee Assistance Program, if
it's a change for you to dothings like that or a change to
give people mental health days.
Change isn't easy, yeah, butit's a way of letting your
employees know that you'recaring about their wellbeing and
(18:24):
mental health.
So it might feel a bit awkwardand a bit of an investment at
first, but the payoffs aredefinitely there down the line.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Yeah, and I think it links back to values as well.
You know, this is the valuesthat you have, that you want to
look after your people.
We're all for that.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
We sure are.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
You know, I've even got an example of a manager who
was having to make a positionredundant and so the staff
member who happened to be inthat position was unfortunately
out of a job, and so, knowingthat that was going to be quite
impactful for that person, thismanager took the option to
prepay for, give the offer to,the option to prepay for, give
(19:05):
the offer to the employee toprepay for some counselling
sessions.
After the fact, yeah now youdon't have to do that.
I mean you can.
In this case, this employer sawthat that was a valuable thing,
wanted to look after thisemployee and knew that it was
going to be tough for them andthey took it up and it was
actually really beneficial.
So it doesn't always have to bejust during.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
It can be after, with those sorts of strategies as
well.
Yeah, and that's a greatexample because other staff are
going to get a sense of what youdo for people.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
And so there's a wider culture then of creating
that supportive environment.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Yeah, and other than that sort of example.
You might just give resourcesout to your employees, you know,
or you might want to have yourmanagers do a mental health
first aid course or things likethat as well, to give them the
resources they need to feelcomfortable to sort of broach
these topics as well, yeah, orthings like stress management
(20:06):
tools and different things foremployees as well, to, you know,
make them aware of their ownmental health as well and keep
it positive, yeah.
So look to sum it all up,mental health and wellbeing are
deeply connected to employeeloyalty, and we've talked about
some initiatives like flexiblework arrangements, access to
(20:26):
resources and talking about yourculture and de-stigmatising
mental health as well.
It's about creating anenvironment where wellbeing is a
priority and your staff arelooked after.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Yeah.
So we encourage you to take aclose look at what your
company's wellbeing initiativesare.
Are you providing the supportthat your employees need and
want?
Are there steps you can take toimprove mental health and
wellbeing in your workplace?
So remember that small changein how you support your
employees can lead to bigimprovements in engagement and
loyalty.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope that you found thisconversation around mental
health and employee well-beinguseful.
Please do all the things.
Don't forget to subscribe ifyou want to know when the next
episodes come out.
Leave us a review.
We'd love to know what youthought.
We'll jump over to our linkedinpage and chat with us there and
also let someone else know.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
If you know of someone else that would benefit
from this info, we'd love you tolet them know about us and
don't miss our next episode,which will build on this to some
extent, where we're investingin retention by employee
development and career growth.
Until then, remember,prioritising wellbeing is key to
(21:51):
a thriving and loyal workforce.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Thanks for listening to the Work Wonders podcast
brought to you by Aster HR.
Hit the subscribe button now tonever miss an episode, and if
you'd like to continue theconversation with us, you can
find us over at astahrcomau.
See you in the next episode.
Welcome to the Work Wonders podcast brought to you
by Asta HR, where we simplifythe human side of business.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm Angela and I'm Susan, let's dive into today's
episode and find out what you'vebeen wondering about.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
In today's episode, we're continuing with the theme
of employee engagement andretention, and we're going to
spend some time talking aboutmental health and employee
wellbeing and how that might belinked to employee loyalty.
As workplaces evolve, we'rerealising that supporting the
wellbeing of your employees isnot just a nice-to-have.
It's actually essential formaintaining a happy and
(00:44):
productive workplace.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
So true, and we're going to explore how mental
health plays a key role inoverall wellbeing, the types of
wellbeing initiatives companiesare adopting, and how these
efforts are directly influencingemployee loyalty.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
So let's get started.
This is the Work Wonderspodcast.
Hi Susan, hi Angela.
So we're talking aboutwellbeing programs.
I know we've talked about a lotof programs, haven't we?
Retention and rewardingprograms, and all that sort of
thing.
So wellbeing is not just aboutphysical health.
(01:21):
If we think about itholistically, we're talking
about mental and emotionalhealth and social wellbeing as
well.
You know, in a previous episodewe talked about psychological
safety.
You know we're getting a lot ofthese things being brought into
the workplace andresponsibility put onto
employers.
So, yeah, that's why we'retalking about it today.
So mental health in particularhas become an important part of
(01:46):
safety and looking after ourstaff in the workplace.
If employees are strugglingwith stress or anxiety or
burnout even, it's going toobviously affect their
performance and how engaged theyare and their overall happiness
at work.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
And, more than that, whether they're going to want to
stay working for you.
I suppose True.
So, as we all know, the modernworkplace can be stressful.
There's plenty of statisticsabout increased workloads,
people working longer hours,there's issues with shift work
and there's always thatprecarious balance between your
(02:22):
personal and professional life.
Yeah, all those things add upto giving people stress.
Yeah, I don't know why I'mlaughing about it.
Maybe that's a nervous laugh,but according to the WHO,
depression and anxiety alonecost the global economy over $1
(02:44):
trillion in lost productivityevery year.
So these are things that wecan't afford to ignore.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Absolutely.
So we're not necessarilytalking about when an employee
might already have a mentalhealth challenge that they're
bringing to work.
Maybe they do, but we'retalking about trying to avoid
that happening because of aresult of work.
So it's definitely almost likea work health and safety issue.
So when mental health isn'tsupported, it's going to lead to
(03:13):
things like absenteeism,presenteeism, which is, or
resent-eism.
Okay, that's a new one.
I was just going to saypresenteeism is like when
someone comes to work with acold but they're sick, they
should be home having a sick day, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Or presenteeism, is also when the term first started
coming up.
When I was first talking aboutengagement a long time ago, was
people showing up for work butnot really engaged.
Ah right, so they're there.
They're going through the upfor work, but not really engaged
.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Ah right.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
So they're there, they're going through the
motions, but they don't reallycare.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Not actually contributing, but what was your
one?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Resentism, okay, yeah , and I think this might be an
even bigger issue, as we'retalking about cost of living
crisis and affordability ofeverything or unaffordability,
and people feeling like, well,I've just got to stick it out
this job.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So that would have an impact on your mental health if
you're really resenting beingthere, yeah, but look, any of
these things employees are atwork but they're not functioning
is sort of what we're gettingacross there.
Yeah exactly, and it can evenobviously learn to lead to high
turnover rates in some cases.
So addressing mental health inthe workplace and offering that
(04:33):
support is not just a HR issue.
No, it's not just up to us, no,something that all leaders
should be aware of.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yeah, exactly.
So supporting mental health inthe workplace is going to build
a culture where an employeefeels safe, valued and respected
, and this is what we talkedabout in the episode on
psychosocial safety.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yeah, that's the one that was in Season 4.
So just a few episodes ago,Season 4, Episode 10.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
So, because mental health is becoming such a big
issue in the workplace, it'scrucial that we reduce the
stigma around it and create anenvironment where employees can
feel comfortable seeking helpwhen they do need help.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
That makes me think of the guest interview that we
had with Bill Carson.
That was in season five.
Okay, yeah, I would recommend,if you haven't listened to it,
go back and have a listen tothat one.
He talked to us about mentalhealth and thinking about it
from a different perspective.
Even thinking about, you know,mental health as in keeping your
(05:36):
health, of your mental state,as you would your physical state
.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Exactly no, definitely worth a listen, so go
and find it.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Okay, so now we know what we're talking about here.
Let's dive a little deeper intoa wellbeing initiative, because
it is mental health, but it's alot more than that as well, and
it definitely links to employeeloyalty and engagement.
A wellbeing program can takemany forms.
It might be something likeoffering flexible work hours to
(06:06):
help people do what they need todo to, like you say, balance
the personal and theprofessional life.
Or it might be accessing mentalhealth resources, for example,
an EAP service or a counsellor.
That might be something thatyou extend to your employees if
the work requires that, actually, even if it doesn't require
that.
True, there might even bephysical wellness programs, so
(06:28):
you might offer a gym membershipor mindfulness workshops or
yoga or guided meditationsessions.
I've even heard of massages inthe workplace as well.
You know no massage tables,just at your desk.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Okay, not on your shoulders.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah, no, massage tables just at your desk.
Okay, not on your shoulders.
Yeah, so thinking about thosesorts of things because, look, I
mean we've talked a lot about,you know, things like family and
domestic violence, thepsychological safety, the
respect at work, legislationreally what's happening in our
communities.
It's kind of forcing its wayinto the workplaces and we're
being asked as leaders andemployers to really step up and
(07:05):
think more about our employeesas a whole and taking care of
all of them, not just you knowwhat they bring to work.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, exactly, we can't ignore that anymore.
And as well as the broaderwellbeing initiatives, which are
all going to help people'smental health, there are some
specific initiatives that arejust as important, or, you might
argue, even more important.
So they might include, as youmentioned, counselling services
or an EAP employee assistanceprogram allowing people mental
(07:34):
health days, or what do we callthem, a doona day doona day.
Yeah, yeah and yeah, allowingpeople to to declare you know.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I just need a mental health day.
I need a.
I just need a mental health day.
I just need a day.
I just need a break.
Give me a bit being safe to dothat.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yeah, exactly, but also training managers to
recognise and respond to mentalhealth challenges.
And, as you've heard us mentionbefore, we're also seeing
companies incorporateflexibility into their wellbeing
strategies.
So remote work options as wetalked about in the last episode
(08:09):
, for example, mental healthdays I just mentioned, and also
compressed work weeks.
Now this made me a bit morecurious about the four-day work
week and how much that is takingoff.
A four-day work week, ifanyone's curious, means that
people are working four days.
Yeah, however many hours, thatworks out to me usually it's
(08:30):
four eight-hour days.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
So 32 or it might be 30 or whatever hours a week and
getting 100% pay?
Yeah, so still getting the samepay, fewer hours, on the basis
that they're going to be moreproductive on those days.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Yeah, it was quite interesting.
There was a trial done in 2022in Australia which included 25,
26 companies and they wereacross professional services,
marketing and advertising andmanufacturing.
Okay, they all tried four-daywork weeks and, from what I can
gather, most of them are stilldoing the four-day work week.
(09:06):
Now you may be listening andthinking oh well, you know, big
companies can probably do that,you know, if they're an
insurance company or whatever,yeah, but my small business
can't.
Well, funnily enough, thecompanies included in these
trials had between 11 and 25employees.
Oh, that's fascinating so itwasn't necessarily the big boys,
(09:26):
it's doable.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yes, I think it's about expanding our thinking and
being open to differentopportunities.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Yes, I mean, that's just a side note on one
initiative, the compressed workthing.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
That is one great initiative, I think definitely,
and it shows employees thattheir company values their
wellbeing and that, in turn, isgoing to foster loyalty Again.
An employee is going to be moreengaged, feel valued and want
to stay if they're at the placewhere they feel happy and
healthy and all of that.
(10:00):
So obviously for an employer ora business that's going to lead
to less turnover, increasedsatisfaction in their employees,
which leads to betterperformance, and all those sorts
of things.
I feel like it's some obviousnow.
We keep saying it, but this iswhat we're aiming for, that kind
of we look after them, theylook after us.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yeah, exactly, and you know once again, you know,
it's not just us saying this.
There's research to show it.
Now, friends at Gallup havebeen able to demonstrate that
employees who feel theirwellbeing is supported by their
employer are 69% less likely tosearch for a new job.
How did you get into yourbusiness?
(10:41):
Sometimes it's because you'regreat at a particular thing or
you've got a passion forsomething and you know that you
can do a little better than whatother people are already doing.
Now that you're in business,you've discovered there's a lot
more to it than just having theright skills, especially when
you've hired a team.
You might have learnt thefinancial skills that you need
because you've had, you had to,basically but where do you go to
(11:04):
develop the HR and theleadership skills that you need?
If you're feeling overwhelmedin managing people and all the
other things that come withrunning a business, we can help
you.
We'll guide you through theskills you need to feel more
confident in leadership.
Go and check out the coachingpage on our website or schedule
a call with us at astorhrcomau.
Now it's back to the episode.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Okay, so let's get practical now, Susan.
Let's think about somestrategies what an employer can
do to improve an employee'swellbeing.
One of the most obvious thingsthey can do is look at their
culture.
Employee's wellbeing one of themost obvious things they can do
is look at their culture and Ithink we've said that, bringing
the mental health into thediscussion, where wellbeing is
(11:52):
prioritised for staff.
So that starts with leaders, aswe always talk about.
They need to lead by example,but they should also be trained
in how to recognise things likestress, burnout trained in how
to recognise things like stress,burnout and other mental health
issues with their teams.
I'm thinking again about peopleworking hybrid or somebody that
(12:12):
might be experiencing familyand domestic violence.
Again, it's been called upon us, as leaders, to go hang on a
minute.
Do you need to access thissupport or that help Did?
you know, you've got that leaveor whatever it may be and being
tapped into that.
We're not expecting leaders tosolve all the world's problems,
but just being aware to lookafter a person at work.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it?
Because, yeah, this is arelatively new development.
Yeah, you know in the past year.
We're quite happy for employeesto keep a list to themselves
and you themselves and keep itout of the workplace, sort of
thing.
But really we're not saying thatyou have to be into that
person's personal life or know alot about what's going on there
(12:56):
, but more about having thoseregular check-ins and fostering
that open communication so thatwhen there's a need for someone
to let you know that they'restruggling, then they're going
to be comfortable to do that andtrusting to do that.
And that can mean that it'salso important to establish
peer-to-peer relationships, soencouraging that people support
(13:19):
each other.
And some companies have evenintroduced mental health
champions, so there might be anemployee who advocates for
mental health and well-being andthey can act as a point of
contact for their colleagues.
So that can be all confidential, that people know that there's
someone they can talk to.
(13:39):
And it helps to normalise thoseconversations about mental
health, because if you're havinga conversation where saying,
well, this is what we're doing,because we recognise mental
health is something, is a thingthat all of us are going to
struggle from time to time whenyou look at the statistics,
right, but making it somethingthat's comfortable to talk about
(13:59):
.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Yeah, exactly Taking that stigma away.
Yeah, exactly Taking thatstigma away.
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm just reflecting on a timevery early on in my career where
a manager was really quite notokay.
You know, I felt uncomfortablearound the issue of mental
health and it's like don't tellme, like you said, don't bring
it to work, You're just here todo A, B and C, not tell me about
that.
And it was almost like theythen got that risk adverse to it
(14:22):
that they wanted to know whenrecruiting Does that person have
a mental health?
Speaker 2 (14:26):
issue.
I don't want to know about it.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
I don't want to hire them if they do, and that was a
person that felt very worriedabout that, maybe because they
were not sure what to do.
Well, I'm not sure.
But yeah, I think it's about,like you said, just trying to
break that down and go look, wedon't expect you to fix this,
just expect you to be a decenthuman and you know get alongside
these people and support them.
(14:48):
So work doesn't make it worseand I think that's a really
important thing.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
You're not expected to fix it.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Sometimes it might just be that they need someone
to listen.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yeah.
So we've talked aboutflexibility a bit as well, and I
think some employees in factmost of them would say that
allowing flexible work practicesalso helps with their wellbeing
, Because if you think about thepush and pull between personal
life and professional life, thatcan be really tricky, you know,
(15:18):
for some people if not all ofus, you know and so being able
to fit work around theirpersonal schedule.
Or you know, I've even heard ofpeople wanting to come in and
do a few hours early in themorning, go and have the rest of
the day while the sun's up, goto the gym and doing all the
things they want to do, and thenworking some more in the
evening.
You never know what works forsomeone, but being open to those
(15:41):
sorts of things, as long as thejob's getting done, can be
something that fits into aperson's wellbeing schedule of
their own.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Yeah, we're all different, aren't we?
And what's going to work forone isn't going to work for all.
It's interesting to see howmany companies are actually
implementing the flexible workpolicies as part of their mental
health strategy, if you like,or employee wellbeing strategy.
There's some tech companies Iwas reading about recently who,
(16:11):
as well as being fully remote,also offer unlimited paid time
off Wow.
So I was watching an interviewwith the CEO and I wish I could
remember which company it was,and he said I employ people to
do the job.
I employ them because I thinkthey can do the job.
I know they can do the job, sowhy do I have to check what
(16:33):
hours they're working?
Speaker 1 (16:34):
I love that.
I love it.
Just imagine, Susan, if welived in a world where employees
were completely trusted to dothe job.
Who cares how, when, where youdo it?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Well, just imagine we lived in a world where all
employees were trustworthy.
Oh yes, that too, as you knowwe've seen both sides.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
It's all a balancing act.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
I know.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
But the thought there of, yeah, having that trust in
your engaged workplacehigh-performing team, you know
all of the things.
Just imagine how easy thatwould be on a leader once it's
running like a well-oiledmachine, you know.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
They've got a team that are doing their thing.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
They're happy and healthy because you're giving
them what they need.
They're giving you what youneed.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah, it sounds good to me.
They're loyal and they're notgoing to leave you.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Yeah, makes business easier, right.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Well it does.
Are we just dreaming of someutopia?
That's never going to happenbecause of human nature Tell us
listeners.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
You're probably thinking that right now.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
What are they thinking?
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Well, we can all dream and I think, look, that's
really what we're talking abouthere.
Engagement and retention issomething that it's a big topic
and it's a lot of differentthings, and it's looking after
people and it's all the things.
But the aim of the game here isto make it easier for you to
have a high-performing team thatwill stay there, and everything
(17:58):
sort of affects one another inHR, doesn't it?
Speaker 2 (18:01):
So yeah, and I think you know, when you look at doing
things like introducing an AAPEmployee Assistance Program, if
it's a change for you to dothings like that or a change to
give people mental health days.
Change isn't easy, yeah, butit's a way of letting your
employees know that you'recaring about their wellbeing and
(18:24):
mental health.
So it might feel a bit awkwardand a bit of an investment at
first, but the payoffs aredefinitely there down the line.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Yeah, and I think it links back to values as well.
You know, this is the valuesthat you have, that you want to
look after your people.
We're all for that.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
We sure are.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
You know, I've even got an example of a manager who
was having to make a positionredundant and so the staff
member who happened to be inthat position was unfortunately
out of a job, and so, knowingthat that was going to be quite
impactful for that person, thismanager took the option to
prepay for, give the offer to,the option to prepay for, give
(19:05):
the offer to the employee toprepay for some counselling
sessions.
After the fact, yeah now youdon't have to do that.
I mean you can.
In this case, this employer sawthat that was a valuable thing,
wanted to look after thisemployee and knew that it was
going to be tough for them andthey took it up and it was
actually really beneficial.
So it doesn't always have to bejust during.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
It can be after, with those sorts of strategies as
well.
Yeah, and that's a greatexample because other staff are
going to get a sense of what youdo for people.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
And so there's a wider culture then of creating
that supportive environment.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Yeah, and other than that sort of example.
You might just give resourcesout to your employees, you know,
or you might want to have yourmanagers do a mental health
first aid course or things likethat as well, to give them the
resources they need to feelcomfortable to sort of broach
these topics as well, yeah, orthings like stress management
(20:06):
tools and different things foremployees as well, to, you know,
make them aware of their ownmental health as well and keep
it positive, yeah.
So look to sum it all up,mental health and wellbeing are
deeply connected to employeeloyalty, and we've talked about
some initiatives like flexiblework arrangements, access to
(20:26):
resources and talking about yourculture and de-stigmatising
mental health as well.
It's about creating anenvironment where wellbeing is a
priority and your staff arelooked after.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Yeah.
So we encourage you to take aclose look at what your
company's wellbeing initiativesare.
Are you providing the supportthat your employees need and
want?
Are there steps you can take toimprove mental health and
wellbeing in your workplace?
So remember that small changein how you support your
employees can lead to bigimprovements in engagement and
loyalty.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope that you found thisconversation around mental
health and employee well-beinguseful.
Please do all the things.
Don't forget to subscribe ifyou want to know when the next
episodes come out.
Leave us a review.
We'd love to know what youthought.
We'll jump over to our linkedinpage and chat with us there and
also let someone else know.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
If you know of someone else that would benefit
from this info, we'd love you tolet them know about us and
don't miss our next episode,which will build on this to some
extent, where we're investingin retention by employee
development and career growth.
Until then, remember,prioritising wellbeing is key to
(21:51):
a thriving and loyal workforce.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Thanks for listening to the Work Wonders podcast
brought to you by Aster HR.
Hit the subscribe button now tonever miss an episode, and if
you'd like to continue theconversation with us, you can
find us over at astahrcomau.
See you in the next episode.
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