Craig Furness, Chief Executive Officer - Gallagher Bassett (GB) New Zealand, recently spoke at Wellbeing at the Front-Line Conference.
The conference provided attendees with an opportunity to gain practical insights into how organisations can build and maintain mental health resilience and improve wellbeing of front-line workers by developing proactive strategies and programmes.
Speaking on the importance of placing workplace mental health at the centre of organisational strategies, we've outlined the key takeaways from Craig's session below:
- Mental-ill health costs the NZ economy $10.4B, anxiety costs another $1.75B. For every dollar spent on mental wellbeing programmes, there is an average return of $4.20.
- From workplace gyms, resilience training, to flexible working programs, it’s the same message: regardless of what benefit you prioritise, you will see a reward in the wellbeing of your people and to your bottom line by implementing a focus on mental wellness.
- Proactive approach: placing mental health at the centre of your organisational wellbeing strategy will be foundational to any success.
- It is important to provide the tools your people need to help them understand what mental health issues are and the sort of potential challenges they may face, to see greater shared understanding between employer and employee.
- Five design principles; (1) Physical - promoting the mental health benefits of physical activity and good health, (2) Mental - encouraging awareness through training, mental wellbeing leave and encouraging transparent dialogue, (3) Space and Role - creating positive organisational design that directly influences employee motivation and happiness, (4) Culture - nurturing a positive workplace culture that is transparent, inclusive and has workload balance, and (5) Ecosystems/Partnerships - developing partnership and alliances between all parties to improve communication, engagement and mental health recovery.
Craig illustrated the urgency for employers to be taking active action on addressing the mental health challenges their workforce faces and said:
"After all, thousands of studies have shown that psychological and mental issues will last far longer than our physical injuries, so just as we have safety measures in place for our people if they were to break their leg at work, we must start protecting the minds of our people."
To learn more about how GB can help improve your workplace's mental wellbeing, contact us today.