Creating safe spaces with tailored resources

Providing an accessible and safe space for communication and for staff to seek help is imperative to supporting employee wellbeing.

Equally as important are the resources you have to arm yourself to do this, ensuring individuals feel heard and connected.

It begins with a healthy culture 

According to The University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health Centre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing Deputy Director and Principal Research Fellow Nicola Reavley, a mentally healthy workplace needs to be top down before it can be bottom up, which is why resources helping leadership to do this is crucial.

“If a leader is not managing their mental health appropriately, or they are using stigmatising language, it creates a culture where, if people do have problems, they don’t feel able to speak up,” she said.

“How leadership tackles and models its approach to mental health is incredibly important.”

R U OK? Workplace Engagement Manager Julie-Anne Whitfield agreed, saying leaders needed to lead and organisations needed a holistic approach to mental health and their employees.

“Often, the best people to spot the signs that someone might be struggling are the people closest to them, which is why the R U OK? message can be so effective in the workplace,” she said. 

“For people to feel comfortable sharing how they’re really going and to have that sense of belonging, they need to be able to trust the person who’s asking, to feel the person asking genuinely cares and to feel that person is authentically prepared to listen.

“Modelling these behaviours and encouraging them amongst your team builds a supportive culture, and that’s when you will get people looking out for one another.

“It has to be led by organisations and it has to be led by leaders.”

Helping you to help others

Advocating for connection and support through purposeful conversations, R U OK? provides free resources for companies to use on a year-round basis, helping to build a culture of acceptance, connection and a sense of belonging within the workplace.

Ms Whitfield said with major changes to mental health rules and regulations in the workplace and industry in the last 12-18 months, plus busy schedules to stay abreast of, it was understandably hard to make sure your company was delivering on its psychosocial health and safety obligations – let alone doing it well.

This is where R U OK? steps in.

“If organisations like ourselves can assist in providing free tools, resources and activities to use all year round, it’s going to relieve their burden a little bit because it’s very hard to stay on top of compliance, legislation and – more importantly – to look after your team in the best way you want to as a leader,” Ms Whitfield said.

“Besides our legal responsibility of providing a safe and healthy workplace, these conversations can make a real difference to staff going through a tough time.”

A targeted approach

According to Ms Reavley, targeting various industries is about relating to individual fields and organisations specifically.

“Workplaces vary a lot, and there are of course commonalities, but there is a maxim of any intervention – anything you’re doing needs to meet the needs of the people who might want to engage in it,” she said.

“For example, resources aimed at white-collar workplaces, if supplied to those in mining or farming, are unrelatable for that workforce. 

“They won’t be able to see themselves there and they are going to be less likely to engage.”

Ms Whitfield said research had shown people wanted to feel seen and heard, with direct reference to their industries and struggles. 

“If somebody can pick up one of our resources and see themselves and their own workplace challenges within it, it can validate how they’re feeling,” she said.

“This is what we are all about – getting that connection.

“Employees can look at the resources and think ‘oh, wow, they get what I’m feeling – that’s what I’m feeling daily and these are some steps I can take’. 

“It can have a real impact because, for these resources to make a difference, they need to be able to connect with people and those people need to be able to see themselves.”

R U OK? resources in action

While mental health is a priority across all workplaces, Ms Whitfield highlighted some sectors that benefited immensely from its targeted, industry-specific resources.

“We work very closely with TrackSAFE Foundation,” she said.

“Its mission is to prevent suicide and reduce accidents and injuries on the rail network, as well as looking after and improving the wellbeing of rail employees.

“Safe Work Australia identifies rail drivers as one of the most at-risk occupations for work-related mental disorders. 

“Incidents on the rail network can cause trauma and work-related stress to rail and recovery staff. 

“In addition to this, those working in the rail industry experience life’s ups and downs in both their personal and professional lives, which happen to all of us.

“In partnership with TrackSAFE Foundation, we created Rail R U OK? which speaks directly to the employees within the rail network, helping to break down stigma and empower staff to start a meaningful conversation with a colleague if they think they are struggling. 

“Resources include a conversation guide, workplace posters, a year-round activity planner, conversation cards and posters to display in the workplace.”

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Rail R U OK? which now engages more than 100,000 rail employees across 135 organisations nationwide. 

Importantly, research shows the initiative successfully motivates individuals to support their colleagues, with a 2021 survey finding seven in 10 workers who were aware of Rail R U OK? had checked in with someone.

“We also work with Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds, which supports those working in the road transport, warehousing and logistics industries,” Ms Whitfield said.

“These industries face some unique challenges such as tight deadlines, long hours, shift work and isolation.

“In the last three years, we’ve created R U OK? in Trucks & Sheds. 

“Resources include a free interactive workplace guide full of tips and tools to help organisations build a supportive workplace culture. 

“Across all our campaigns, we seek feedback from voices of lived experience to ensure our resources are useful and practical.”

Similarly, Ms Whitfield said frontline workers were constantly in exceedingly challenging workplaces and situations, with the Are They Triple OK? campaign tailored to the industry.

Aiming to increase the levels of peer and social support for police and emergency services personnel, Are They Triple OK? provides tips and resources to promote meaningful conversations at home and in the workplace, encouraging early intervention and help-seeking.

The resources feature real stories from frontline workers, volunteers and family members, and demonstrate the life-changing impact a meaningful conversation can have. 

“Within the campaign, we also talk to family members of those first responders because they are often the first to spot the signs their loved one might be struggling,” Ms Whitfield said.

Small business, rural and remote workers – specifically fly-in, fly-out – are other areas R U OK? provided targeted resources for, with Ms Whitfield saying research from the last six months has indicated the need for support in the hospitality sector.

R U OK? is actively working with the hospitality industry to build on The Mateship Manual to ensure the industry is equipped to handle the pressures which come with what is an exciting, yet demanding, workplace.

“Hospitality is on our radar again this year,” Ms Whitfield said.

“It is aimed at a relatively young group of employees, who are struggling with workplace engagement and the pressures of working in a hospitality business, as well as the highs and lows, and the casualness of the industry.

“We are hoping to build on our existing resources to assist those working in the industry with the tools to look out for each other.

“That’s the most important thing – building the confidence of family members, co-workers and managers to look out for one another, start a meaningful conversation and lend a listening ear.”

Fostering positive change

According to Ms Whitfield, no matter what industry you are in, fostering positive change is important – not just one day a year, but every day.

“You might be fine for nine months of the year, and then all of a sudden, you go through a tough time, but the culture around you means a colleague checks in with you and you feel supported – we want to be in this proactive state, checking in regularly, rather than waiting until somebody is in crisis,” she said.