icare has featured Google, Optus, and Fire & Rescue NSW in its inaugural Being Well at Work event. The event aimed to provide NSW employers with insights into new strategies, management tools, and resources to aid them in addressing employee mental health challenges.
In a statement, the insurance and care provider said the event is the culmination of 70 senior business leaders learning how world-class organisations approach workplace motivation and well-being.
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The strategies showcased in the event included the following:
- Fire & Rescue NSW's launch of a peer support network and practical mental health training for all managers in metropolitan and regional locations;
- Google’s evidence-based, data-driven approach to taking the mental health ‘pulse’ of its employees across multiple Asia-Pacific sites, and how the company leverages that data to build tailored mental wellness programs for different cultures and generations; and
- Optus’ award-winning ‘Healthy Minds’ program, a tailored wellness program that meets the needs of a varied workforce in terms of location, gender, work type, age, and ethnicity.
icare CEO Vivek Bhatia said employers need to take an active role in supporting workplace wellness in today's hyper-competitive business environment, where employees are “under pressure to always be 'on.'”
“These factors combined with managing the differing needs of a culturally and geographically diverse workforce are all contributors to mental health challenges in today’s society,” Bhatia said. “Investing in the wellness of the human capital in your organisation and building people’s resilience is key to business sustainability and improving the social fabric of our community. A healthy workforce with a resilient mindset drives business growth, so it is incumbent on all employers to ensure their most valued asset, their people, are mentally well for the long run.”
Bhatia also said it is relevant that business and community leaders work to remove the stigma surrounding mental health issues.
“The goal behind this initiative is to normalise mental health issues and arm employers with new ideas, frameworks, and tools to better gauge, monitor, measure, and change how we manage and support our peoples’ mental wellness,” he said.
Attendees were from the private and public sectors, including Virgin Australia, ING Direct, Western Sydney University, and Fantastic Furniture.
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