What’s on your workplace wellbeing agenda for 2022?
4 people leaders share their workplace wellbeing plans for 2022.
We recently hosted a live webinar called Planning for 2022: What’s On Your Agenda? featuring Sir John Kirwan in conversation with four amazing people leaders.
The panelists shared many laser-sharp insights, which we’ve summarised below. We hope these insights will inspire you to plan your own wellbeing initiatives for the year ahead.
“We’re making mental health a priority” - Rita Slogrove (Fletcher Building Australia)
Rita Slogrove is the Learning and Organisational Development Manager at Fletcher Building Australia. She leads workplace wellbeing initiatives for over 5,500 employees from the factory floor to the executive level.
Fletcher Australia’s focus for 2022 is ‘mental health every day’.
“We’re making it commonplace for our people to talk about mental wellbeing. We’re focusing on mental health every day – it’s a non-negotiable. This is how we roll now,” says Rita.
She offers advice for organisations looking to do the same: “Decide that mental health is a priority and keep it visible until it becomes commonplace. Give it the respect it deserves.”
Some people might take longer to engage in these conversations than others, says Rita, but keep persevering and momentum will come.
“Not everyone’s going to be on board at once, and that’s okay. Find your first followers, embrace them and take them on the journey, and then you’ll find momentum.”
“We’re giving people Nice Days” - Kimberley Sterling (AskNicely)
Kimberley Sterling is the People and Culture Director at AskNicely, a global SaaS firm. AskNicely’s focus for 2022 is employee engagement. One of their new initiatives is giving each employee five ‘Nice Days’ per year in addition to their standard leave.
“Employees can use Nice Days however they want. Nice Days are for hiking, going to the beach, watching movies, spending time with family – anything that helps you refresh,” says Kimberley.
“We really want to cultivate an environment where people feel like they can take the time they need to stay happy and healthy. When your employees are happy and engaged, everything runs smoother, companies are more effective and more profitable, and work is more enjoyable for everyone.”
“We must create work environments that are psychologically safe” - Dr Hillary Bennett (Leading Safety)
Dr Hillary Bennett is the Director of Leading Safety and a registered psychologist with over 30 years of experience in workplace wellbeing. She works across multiple organisations delivering innovative, customised solutions.
One of Dr Hillary’s aspirations for 2022 is helping organisations create psychologically safe work environments where people feel safe to speak up about mental wellbeing.
“We need to address the work, not just the individual. We need to look at things like workload issues and relationship issues. You can’t just toughen up your people – you have to also address causes of poor mental wellbeing in the workplace,” she explains.
Dr Hillary suggests leaders make time to sit down with employees and ask how they are going.
“It’s important to address what each individual has on their plate and whether there’s anything that can be done to improve their work environment.”
“We’re leading by example” - Dr Fiona Crichton (Groov)
Dr Fiona Crichton is the Clinical VP at Groov, a science communicator, and a health psychology specialist. She has hands-on experience designing effective programs to improve health behaviour in the community.
She believes it’s essential for leaders to set the tone for their workplace’s approach to mental wellbeing.
“It has to start with leadership. If people see leaders under the pump, not taking breaks, or functioning at a pace that’s unsustainable, they will think of mental wellbeing as performative,” Dr Fiona explains.
Leading by example can be as simple as acknowledging you’re learning as you go.
“Vulnerability could look like a leader saying: hey, I don’t have all the answers, but I’m working on myself to try and make things better. These honest conversations help to create a psychologically safe environment.”
Dr Fiona also advises to assume everyone is struggling at the moment.
“Assume mental wellbeing is a problem in your organisation. Stop looking for it and start planning for it. Everyone is likely to be at risk of burnout at the moment, so it’s important for leaders to start these conversations. Don’t wait for employees to raise the issue with you.”
Key themes to keep in mind
Here are three key themes from Rita, Kimberley, Hillary, and Fiona’s conversation. If you want to dive deeper, be sure to watch the replay.
Happy and engaged employees lead to better business outcomes and a workplace you genuinely want to be around.
Assume mental wellbeing is an issue in your organisation – and address it.
You can’t just toughen up people, you need to create a psychologically safe work environment. And that starts with leaders.