How to enhance mental wellbeing at work, Part 1

Workplace Wellbeing natters

Looking after our mental wellbeing, both our team’s and our own, is a key part of ensuring everyone’s safety at work. But how do we do that? What are the things that affect our wellbeing in the health and community services sector? How can we do more of the positive and less of the negative in our workplace? So many questions that this episode needs two parts!

In the first part of this two-part episode, Linda and Danielle take a look at the psychosocial hazards of work: what they are, their effects, and how they might be manifesting themselves at your workplace. We’ll look at what makes a workplace positive and supportive, and what that does for a workplace’s mental wellbeing. And finally, we’ll take a little look at job crafting: how to design our jobs to make them a little healthier for our mental wellbeing.

RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE
Curtin University Thrive at Work Toolkit Developed by the Future of Work Institute at Curtin University, the Thrive at Work Toolkit has been developed to help organisations mature their approach to employee well-being. The toolkit is aimed at any individual or group involved in the development of employee wellbeing strategies

Developing a Mentally Healthy Workplace: A Review of the Literature (Harvey, S., PhD., Joyce, S., Tan, L., Johnson, A, PhD., Nguyen, H., Phd., Modini, M., Growth, M., PhD. 2014. A report for the National Mental Health Commission and the Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance outlining research on mental health in the workplace.

Heads Up: What is a Mentally Healthy Workplace?
Information and resources on mentally healthy workplaces including legal rights and responsibilities and practical strategies for crating healthy workplaces.

Worksafe Queensland Mentally Healthy Workplaces Toolkit.
This toolkit provides practical tools and resources that employers, managers and leaders can use to create and maintain mentally healthy workplaces. It aims to help employers, managers and leaders eliminate and minimise risks to psychological health, and create workplace environments that are mentally healthy.

Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne; 2013 Workplace prevention of mental health problems: Guidelines for organisations. These guidelines consist of actions organisations can take to prevent common mental health problems in the workplace. Ths aim is to improve the practices of organisations as they work to reduce the risk of job stress and mental health problems in the workplace.

Guide to Moral Injury https://www.phoenixaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Moral-Stress-Healthcare-Workers-COVID-19-Guide-to-Moral-Injury.pdf This guide to moral injury during COVID-19 has been developed as a practical resource for healthcare workers and organisations to better understand the range of moral emotions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and to develop organisational and individual strategies to mitigate risks of lasting harm.

National Workplace Initiative Blueprint for Mentally Healthy Workplaces (see above)

Safe Work Australia: Work-related psychological health and safety - A systematic approach to meeting your duties. National guidance material This guide will help you meet your Work Health Safety duty to prevent harm to workers' psychological (mental) health. It provides a step-by-step process for eliminating or minimising psychological hazards so far as reasonably practicable as well as intervening early, and managing psychological injury.

DISCLAIMER

The information provided on this podcast is general in nature only and does not take into account your particular workplace needs, circumstances and objectives, therefore should not be taken as workplace wellbeing advice.

This podcast talks about mental and health and wellbeing, so take care while listening and reach out if you need support. In Australia, there are a number of services available to provide support, including Beyond Blue - 1300 22 4636, and Lifeline – 131114.

ABOUT WORKPLACE WELLBEING NATTERS:

Workplace Wellbeing natters is the podcast for wellbeing in the health and community services sector. If you’re working in primary care, mental health, disability, aged, community development, government, or any other part of the health and community services ecosystem, Workplace Wellbeing natters helps you look after yourself and your colleagues as you work to serve the community.

Hosts Linda and Danielle take you through some of their own insights from working in both the wellbeing, and health and community services sectors, and provide you with evidence-informed strategies to help foster wellbeing in your workplace.

Workplace Wellbeing natters is recorded and produced in Gippsland, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gunaikurnai and Bunurong peoples.

Linda’s Bio:

Hi I’m Linda (she/her). I’m based in Gippsland and work throughout Australia and have almost three decades of experience working with individuals & organisations in the not-for-profit, private and government sectors.

I specialise in workplace wellbeing, and hold qualifications in applied positive psychology, business wellbeing, neuroscience of leadership and am a Master accredited Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) trainer.

I provide tailored training and coaching to support workplaces to be well places and strengthen individual wellbeing through mental health and wellbeing strategies including profiling.

When I’m not working, you can find me line dancing, walking one of our many rail trails (Great Southern Rail Trail and the Warburton to Lilydale Rail Trail are in my top 3), or wandering the wetlands (Sale Commons is my favourite). If I am not out and about I frequently have my nose in a book or buried in my computer as I feed my love of learning by researching the latest theory that has caught my interest.

My qualifications include:

• Master of Applied Positive Psychology (University of Melbourne);

• Graduate Certificate in Business Wellbeing (Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong);

• Advanced Diploma of Neuroscience of Leadership;

• Graduate Certificate in Consumer Engagement;

• Certificate in Professional Coaching; <...