As an employer, people leader, HR or H&S professional, you’ll know it's your people who provide your greatest potential for business success.  

Research from the Mental Health Foundation shows your whole business benefits when mental wellbeing is supported. In New Zealand, around 1in 4 businesses report themselves as thriving and it’s the businesses whose leaders prioritise their own mental health. These organisations also see higher productivity, improved retention, fewer health costs, and more commitment from their teams.

Education Unlimited Director Tina Rose says that’s why supporting employee wellbeing and nurturing workplace mental health needs to be a top priority for every organisation. It’s also why Education Unlimited is passionate about delivering the GoodYarn Mental Wellbeing Workplace Programme –a three-hour workshop that makes it easier for people to talk about mental health at work.

When your people have awareness and tools, you’ve made a commitment to building a safe, strong and supportive workplace.

Xero and the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research found that "For every dollar a small business owner invests in company-wide wellbeing initiatives for their staff, they can expect to see are turn of up to 12x within a year."

AJ Scorringe manages training at On Demand and believes supporting staff wellbeing is a wise investment. "It will pay back in dividends if you look after the mental health of your staff," he explains.

The training affirmed that senior leadership at On Demand share expectations for their role.

"It's our responsibility to take care of our own staff because if they're not in a good mental space, they can't be there to help our learners".

Tina explains, “GoodYarn workshops give people the skills they need to be the first line of support with their colleagues. We don’t all need to be psychologists; we just need to know how to have an effective conversation and then direct people to further help if needed. The first step in addressing mental health in the workplace is being able to talk about it –and that’s exactly what this workshop teaches people to do.

Learners come away with a greater understanding of how to manage their mental health, how to have conversations about it, and where to get support. It also covers things that influence our mental health, common signs of mental health problems, suicide prevention and self-care.

Since becoming an accredited partner provider with GoodYarnProgrammes Trust in 2019, Education Unlimited has delivered the training to numerous organisations across the country, from REINZ (Real Estate Institute ofNZ) and Competenz/MSD through to BCITO, Cassidy Construction, Metro Glass andViridian Glass. The feedback from both the employers and the course attendees has been overwhelmingly positive.

REINZ Head of Education Chris Campbell said he saw a clear impact. “Participants say they are now much more aware of the signs and symptoms of mental illnesses and have much more confidence to start a conversation with someone they might be worried about.”

“The workshop improved their awareness of the signs and symptoms of common mental illnesses and gained confidence to start a conversation with someone they might be concerned about.”

“The team felt inspired by the open and sometimes difficult discussions in the delivery of this workshop; there is a general feeling that if these difficult discussions are to be had, this course has provided some essential guidance.  This course is excellent for those less confident dealing with or having these conversations. The overall feedback has been fantastic.”

The programme is based on the Māori health model, Te Whare Tapa Whā. This recognises the four cornerstones of wellbeing. Tina believes the workshop should be a available in every New Zealand workplace.

“Mental health awareness should become a ‘have to have’ not a ‘nice to do’ in workplaces,” she says.

Read more about the GoodYarn programme here.

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