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Engaging workers with
maintaining their own
wellbeing
Frank O’Connor
1
Many larger workplaces now have
wellbeing programmes
o Small workplaces too
o What can we learn?
� Reports, experience and
observations from almost 100
New Zealand organisations
o Diverse aims / outcomes
� Aspiration and achievement
� Problems and expectations
2O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p2 of 19.
Information from …
Construction firms
o noticing and responding to change in mental health in self, workmates, contractors and customers in separate programme for staff and safety-accountable managers
Disaster responders
o training special assistance team members in recognising and responding to mental illness and distress symptoms found near critical incidents
Elite sportspeople
o player self-assessments of mental health, pressure or stress; symptoms of common illnesses with tools and strategies for each; giving and getting help from team-mates
Emergency services
o awareness of common mental illness symptoms and responses, self-care and fitness for work
3O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p3 of 19.
… and from …
Farming sectoro farm owner/manager awareness
of own and family mental health symptoms, strategies; sources of further help
Health promotion agencieso staff and stakeholders; how to
maintain and recognise what’s done now by individuals and teams to keep current levels of wellbeing; enhancing wellbeing; assisting recovery of wellbeing
HR & H+S managerso what mental health or illness
is; identify loss at work; managing alongside injury or wellness
Law keeperso challenging conversation
training for managers with employees about alcohol and drug use
Manufacturerso respond to mental distress
and illness; consent- and help-finding to risk-management
4O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p4 of 19.
… and also from …
Occupational health professionalso seminars on reducing their own
and their workforces’ losses to distress, fatigue and burnout
Power sectoro training all staff in recognising
change in mental health and safety behaviour; awareness of common illnesses and safety responses; intervening in bullying; managing fatigue
Safety-critical transport operators
o training to notice, assess and respond to changes in own and staff mental fitness for work; mental health awareness in self and others, including passengers
Territorial local authoritieso workshops on common losses
of mental capacity for work and using strengths still present; accommodating similar in members of the public
5O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p5 of 19.
Expectations
Obviously
o The case of each
organisation is different
o Any data available are / will
be incompatible
What gains or concerns
might we expect to find?
o To what extent can we say
it's money well spent? Did they spend it again?
6O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p6 of 19.
Diverse Aims … and Outcomes
o “Making workplaces, systems and staff the best they can be”
o “Reducing barriers and promoting the values of health and wellness”
o “Embed science-based wellbeing habits into your organisation that will increase the happiness of your team (at home and at work) and boost engagement, productivity and creativity”
Outcomes seem desirable:o Know myths and truths
about mental illness and mentally healthy workplaces
o Identify what ways of working are effective and safe every individual
o Find sources and kinds of stress and how to some can be used to good effect
o Pursue mentally healthy ways of working with others
7O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p7 of 19.
A Taste: “Working Well Together”
“Research shows that a major source of workplace stress is other people”
o “Reflect on the impact of behaviour on others in diverse, complex work settings”
Outcomes:o Know what affects
relationships at work
o Recognise positive and negative influences of stress when working with others
o Use positive communication tools in their own situations at work
o Have strategies for dealing with difficult situations
o Understand what makes a resilient person
8O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p8 of 19.
… and in Call and Contact Centres
Call and contact centre
work has grown rapidly
o But shift-work causes fatigue
which:
� Increases accidents
� Decreases productivity
� Affects mood and eating
� Lowers resistance to illness
� Reduces effective teamwork
Practical and effective tools
and strategies:
o Maintain or regain good
mental health
o Sleep and eat well
o Reduce stress and fatigue
o Reduce impact of shift
work on social and family
life
o Keep relationships with
people working differently
9O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p9 of 19.
For Manager’s Leading Staff
Balancing ‘risk management’
in the light of:
o ‘mental harm’ section of HSE Act
o employees’ rights to health and privacy
o cost-effectiveness & productivity
Managing to get work done
while managing the impact of:
o organisational stress
o individual distress
o myths and misunderstandings
o ineffective communication
Outcomes:
o Describe mental healthiness in this workplace
o Notice positive and negative stressors and stress responses
o Recognise the characteristics that keep a person resilient
o Work with tools to help people to “rise again” after a setback
o Communicate better
o Maintain what is working well for staff in this workplace
10O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p10 of 19.
Managers’ Guide to Mental Illness
“Mental illness is more common in the community and … it makes sense that it is a growing issue at work”o “Unfortunately there are a lot
of myths and fears around people who experience mental illness”
o “… increase managers' ability and confidence in dealing successfully with the issues that may (or may not) arise”
Outcomeso Understand how and
where mental illness occurs
o Know their role with respect to staff with a mental illness
o Aware of stigma and discrimination
o Manage at-risk employees
o Take action when needed
o Familiar with workplace law relating to mental health
11O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p11 of 19.
Perhaps that is too much …
Rising to the challenge of
real work:
o Balancing personal and
workplace needs
o Knowing what to do when the
pressure is on
o Maintaining safe ways of
working for all
Self-assess and discuss:
o How I am – at work and
beyond
o How I maintain well-being
o What “balance” looks like
Find ways to:
o Use stress positively
o Keep life in balance
o Address key challenges
o Cut unhealthy practices
12O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p12 of 19.
Aspiration and achievement
With goals of improving
the work and the
workers, what do they
actually achieve?
o Aspirations and results rarely compared
Anecdote prevails
Unwilling to ask?
Unwilling to pay?
o Most achieved: recoveryMeasures of increased resilience?
Weak link from engagement?
Are aspirations too diverse?
13O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p13 of 19.
Good Delivery in Summary
Wide range of topics
o Work and family balance
o Capacity for working smarter / better
o Shift work and sleep
o Food and mood
o Innovation and creativity
o Productivity and balance
o Aging in the workplace
o Coping with change
o Common illnesses: distress, depression & anxiety, abuses
o Capacity for safe work
Competing goals
o Maintain and recognise current levels of wellbeing
or
o Build and enhance wellbeing organisation-wide
or
o Assist recovery of employees who have lost wellbeing
Variances matter
o Examples vs population data
o Issues raised vs strategies
o Practical tips vs intentions
o “Mental health” vs “illness”
14O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p14 of 19.
Notice … Assess … Respond
What do we do when our people become:
o Agitated
o Bullies
o Down
o Distressed
o Incommunicative
o Worried
O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p15 of 19.
Keys to Effectiveness
Limit your scope
o Work and family balance
o Capacity for working smarter / better
o Shift work and sleep
o Food and mood
o Innovation and creativity
o Productivity and balance
o Aging in the workplace
o Coping with change
o Common illnesses: distress, depression & anxiety, abuses
o Capacity for safe work
Clarify goals
o Maintain and recognise current levels of wellbeing
or
o Build and enhance wellbeing organisation-wide
or
o Assist recovery of employees who have lost wellbeing
What’s the matter?
o Examples vs population data
o Issues raised vs strategies
o Practical tips vs intentions
o “Mental health” vs “illness”
16O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p16 of 19.
What problems?Number of early terminations
o Are the results any good? Sometimes very durable
o How are the initiatives chosen?Sometimes very personal
o How are they evaluated? Do it again next year
o Where is leverage most easily
found? Presenteeism productivity impact
o What are the promises most
likely to be kept? Small, public ones
17
O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p17 of 19.
What’s Producing Well?
Promoteo Increasing health and
wellbeing as a contribution to motivation, capacity and then productivity
Maintain o Using sound practices to grow
and hold peer support, mental safety and fitness for work
Recovero Help those responding to or
recovering from losses of fitness for work or life in general
Frank O’Connoro +64 21 386-911
O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p18 of 19.
19O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p19 of 19.
Stigma Costs Productivity
Mental illness stigma
o Prevents disclosure
o Delays treatment
o Slows recovery
Pervasive effect
o Employment
o Healthcare
o Housing
o Social welfare
� Impacts contribution in the workforce and in keeping communities healthy
Ways to reduce stigma:
o Protest
o Educate
o ContactCorrigan and Watson (2002)
Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness
20O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p20 of 19.
Public Stigma …. and Self-Stigma
o Stereotypic negative belief
�Dangerousness
� Incompetence
� Character weakness
o Prejudice in agreement with belief, causing reaction
� Anger
� Fear
o Discrimination follows prejudice
� Avoidance
�Withhold help and employment or housing opportunities
o Negative self-belief
� Incompetence
� Character weakness
o Agreeing, and reacting
� Feels low self-esteem
� Feels low self-efficacy
o Self-discrimination
� Fails to pursue work and housing opportunities
Corrigan and Watson (2002) Understanding the impact of stigma on
people with mental illness
21O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p21 of 19.
Does a belief weaken if we pay
more attention to it? o Protest: Telling the public to
stop believing negative views
about mental illness may
increase stigma
� Instructing individuals to ignore
negative thoughts and attitudes
can increase them
� Suppression instructions reduced
negative attitudes, but not
discriminatory behaviour
o Educating on mental illness
often reduces stigmatizing
� May reduce stigma toward
persons with severe mental
illness in general, not
toward specific individuals
o Contact with persons with
severe mental illness is
associated with less stigma
� Allows others to get to see
beyond labels and mythsPenn & Couture (2002) Strategies
for reducing stigma toward persons with
mental illness
22O'Connor (c) 2016 - Engaging workers with maintaining their own wellbeing p22 of 19.