We all want to belong, and our workplaces can offer a safe place to carry out meaningful work with people we trust. This sense of belonging has been challenged over the past couple of years with the steps to combat COVID of social distancing and lockdowns.  A sense of social isolation has been felt by many. And now lockdowns are ending, and with high vaccination rates, we are starting to see each other again, in real life.

As we start mixing once more, it’s important to keep in mind that lockdown has affected us all in different ways – everyone is different. For some, it has been incredibly hard, as they battled loneliness and isolation, or perhaps found it hard to juggle the demands of home-schooling, family and work expectations without the break of getting out of the house or going to the office. For others, they happily worked from home. As we reconnect, reaching out in a way that is appropriate to the person’s needs requires a good dose of empathy and listening.

Empathy and listening underpin all healthy workplace cultures and help create a psychologically safe workplace. Being aware and accepting the diversity of opinions, attitudes, and backgrounds helps us become more nuanced in the ways we reach out and interact with others.

I believe Inclusion and diversity in a workplace is vital for engagement. Just like in the natural environment, a monoculture of thinking and viewpoints is not healthy or sustainable. The following definition resonates with me: “the difference between diversity and inclusion is that diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance”. Diversity in the workplace refers to a workforce that’s made up of people from different ages, cultural backgrounds, geographies, physical abilities and disabilities, religions, genders, sexual orientations. And this diversity brings together people with differing perspectives and thinking styles, preferences and characteristics. Inclusion is the procedures organisations implement to allow differences to coexist in a mutually beneficial way so that employees feel accepted and comfortable, ready to share their opinions and thoughts.

I need my ideas to be challenged and my thinking to be tested by talking with others with differing viewpoints who look at the world in a way that is different from my own. It’s the way I keep my thinking fresh and creative and how I become a better leader. Diversity and inclusion in the workplace help this to happen. Walking the Talk is what makes people believe that an organisation is serious about inclusion. 

The AccessEAP 2022 Wellbeing in Focus Calendar has launched!

The AccessEAP Wellbeing in Focus Calendar is a great way to plan monthly activity around the areas that may be of particular importance to your organisation while making sure you are aware of a wider range of topics. Our Annual Planner gives a great overview while the quarterly themes help you to deliver information in manageable parts, highlighting importance and focusing attention.

This year we will have expanded our offering with an additional quarterly Wellbeing Spotlight and Connection Tool.

Our 2022 Wellbeing in Focus Calendar is available through the Employer Login Area of the AccessEAP website. The Wellbeing Tools will also be added to the Employee Login Area and AccessMyEAP App.

The H.O.P.E. Program continues to be the main recipient of our charitable funding for vulnerable families and children. At AccessEAP, we are very proud of the donation of more than $1,000,000 for HOPE and programs to support vulnerable families, which was announced last month. Our contribution has been able to grow substantially each year, and AccessEAP would like to recognise the support of our customers in making this donation. Through partnering with AccessEAP, you not only support your employees’ wellbeing but you also directly contribute to our chosen welfare programs in Australia.

Renee's Story

"My name is Renee, I'm 24 years old and I’m a single mum to my baby boy Rory. The H.O.P.E. program has been so wonderful for me. It has given me such great support and has helped me to be a better mum to Rory. They set me up in a house to help me get on my feet, helped me with budgeting, food planning and set me and my mum up with counselling to help our relationship."

Read more about the H.O.P.E Program and Renee's story here.

We are pleased and proud to report that over the past 12 months, the H.O.P.E. Program and other vital support programs continued to exceed targets, and these are very special targets because they are about helping more mums, bubs and families. 

Relationships do many things, but the research is clear – they extend the length of our life. Close personal connections promote health in a variety of ways, for example, a reduction in stress, increase in personal growth and healthy activities (e.g., better diet and more exercise). 

Within our workplaces, we all have our favourite colleague/s that we naturally gravitate towards. They become our 'go-to' person. Whether we have been affected by restrictions or not, connecting with our colleagues and nurturing these relationships is important to our development and success. Developing these skills can also help us with our personal relationships outside of formal work settings.

We've created Personal and Leader Tools that reinforce the power of positive relationships. The Leader Tool highlights the power of connection for teams and how to make improvements. Find our wide range of Leader Tools and Personal Tools, in the Employer and Employee Login Areas of our website.  

The above postcard can be found in COVID-19 Support under AccessEAP Wellbeing Postcards in the Employer and Employee Login Areas.

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There is a growing body of evidence to demonstrate that the food we eat affects our mental health. AccessEAP Nutrition Coaching gives you access to advice on how dietary changes can support wellbeing.

• A little planning goes a long way when it comes to food and research tells us that the food we eat affects our mental health and impacts our overall wellbeing.
• Weekly meal planning to avoid last-minute shopping when stressed and hungry.
• Put a little excitement back into meal planning with inspirational recipe blogs.
• Make your dollar go further with budget and time conscious menus from supermarkets.
• Plan meals using the weekly specials catalogue to benefit from seasonal fruit and vegetable prices
• Share the love (and the work!) – if your family or housemates are involved in the planning anyone can start the preparation.
• Connect with family and friends with regular mealtimes.

Find out more about eating well and feeling good here.

Counselling support can help you set goals and identify when stress and anxiety are affecting your choices and impacting your health. Start now and benefit from this free and confidential service. Call AccessEAP on 1800 818 728 to book a session.

Eating well and feeling good about food

There is a growing body of evidence to demonstrate that the food we eat affects our mental health. For example, dietary changes have been successfully trialled in the treatment of clinical depression. The positive effects of good gut health also extend to improved mental performance, something to think about!

AccessEAP offers employees the opportunity to receive a consultation with a nutritionist for advice about dietary changes to better support wellbeing. One nutrition consultation is part of your EAP session entitlement.

The nutrition coaching service can assist with:

• understanding the impact of food choices on brain function and emotional health
• identifying impacts associated with food choices
• understanding desired health outcomes
• healthy eating tips to optimise wellbeing
• diets for health conditions.

It’s easy to put off looking after yourself. There seem to be so many other priorities that keep getting in the way. However, taking some time to notice and act on how you are coping with added demands, could help in all areas of your life. Self-care becomes particularly important when you work in a job that requires a lot of emotional energy. Often the day to day nature of this work can leave you feeling that you have few resources to take care of yourself and little time for the people who are important in your life. It can be common to feel tired and lethargic by the end of the day or week. Sometimes switching off from work can be difficult. Jobs that typically require a lot of emotional energy are also often very rewarding and involve making a positive difference to individuals or communities, and there are ways you can make this work sustainable for you.

Signs that you really need to take care of yourself better may include:

• Too little or too much empathy for others
• Resentment toward responsibilities
• Adopting a negative view of people in general.
• Difficulty controlling your reactions to others.
• Reduced job satisfaction.
• Harmful behaviour to avoid or escape thinking about work. Could include drinking more alcohol than usual.
• Distancing yourself from people, withdrawing from social situations where you need to talk to people.
• Increase in complaints or conflict at work.

There are things you can do to take care of yourself to ensure that you are able to keep up the meaningful work that you’re doing now and into the future. 

5 Tips for Self Care
Here are some tips for creating and maintaining a self-care routine:

1. Find the Time
The day-day demands of life can become overwhelming and we may feel that we have little control over how we spend our time. Do an inventory of how you spend the hours of each day for one week. You may be surprised at how much spare time you actually have, focus on the things you choose to do and those which you must do. A good way to measure this is by the consequences of not doing them.

Here are 6 tips to make sure you don’t blow your budget!

1. Actually, have a budget!
We rarely sit down and work out what our Christmas budget is. Make a list of everyone you need to purchase a gift for and then estimate your spend. Check this against your budget to make sure you can afford it.

2. Don’t charge to a credit card
Save for Christmas expenses by putting money in a Christmas savings account or buying a $10 gift card each week to spend on Christmas.

3. Secret Santa
Arrange a secret Santa present for family members to avoid having to purchase many smaller, less expensive presents. Giving gift cards means the receiver of the gift can get even more value at the post-Christmas sales.

4. Make thoughtful gifts yourself
Gifts such as photo collages or family calendars are so personal and make great keepsakes. You can create these in the comfort of your own home saving you time and money.

AccessEAP is delighted to announce the appointment of Fiona Mackenzie as CEO, commencing 1^st February 2022

We are pleased to announce that Fiona Mackenzie has been appointed the new CEO of AccessEAP. An experienced business leader, Fiona will succeed Sally Kirkright and assume responsibilities on the 1^st of February 2022. After 11 years as CEO, and successfully leading the growth of AccessEAP to become a leading EAP provider in Australia and New Zealand, Sally has decided to take a sabbatical and will be relocating to country Victoria.

Fiona brings more than 20 years senior leadership experience across multiple industry sectors including Financial Services, Aged Care, Human Services and Business Consulting. This experience includes her current role with Anglicare, a respected for-purpose business, where she is currently Executive General, Manager Customer Strategy and Retirement living.

AccessEAP Chairman Greg Mackay said that Fiona was chosen after an extensive and thorough search and recruitment process. “Fiona is an outstanding choice, bringing experience from financial services, consulting and for-purpose organisations and is well-positioned to help us continue our current strategic journey and be aligned to the culture and values of our business” he said.

While at Anglicare, Fiona re-engineered Retirement Living sales capability to be more agile, professional, data-driven and technology-enabled. “Fiona will bring proven abilities to deliver transformational change in response to changing business environments. Our mission, to help create mentally healthy thriving workplaces and communities, is more important than ever before as we continue to support organisations manage the people challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Fiona holds an MBA (Exec) and Graduate Certificate in Change Management from AGSM, a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

As we approach the December period and prepare for the festivities, it’s easy to become distracted with long ‘to-do’ lists; calendars booked up with extra social events whether that be socially distanced or virtually; and perhaps finalising work in preparation for a well-earned break. These distractions can impact on our relationships with the people we care about most, so here are some tips for maintaining positive relationships during the festive season.

1. Take Time to be Present: During busy periods, it’s so easy to be on auto-pilot and not notice the passage of time. Stop yourself from just going through the motions by paying attention to the moment. Observe without judgement the sounds, smells, sights, and people around you.

2. Acknowledge Feelings First: When someone you care about is upset, you may find yourself offering them solutions only to have them become more upset. Consider whether, in trying to fix the problem, you’ve forgotten to first show you understand why it’s upsetting for them. Studies show that understanding another person’s emotions is key to maintaining effective relationships.

3. Give Compliments: You may be confident that the people you care about are fully aware of your positive feelings about them and there is no need to tell them. Don’t leave them guessing. Tell the important people in your life the things that you like or love about them, often.

4. Re-connect: Consider when was the last time you connected with someone important in your life that you don’t see often. Do you know what they did yesterday or what their plans are today? Take the time to call, send a message, or visit if you can, someone you have lost touch with.

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This is the month of Movember – named because men around Australia are encouraged to grow moustaches to draw awareness to and raise funds for men’s mental health, suicide prevention, as well as their physical health. Over the years Movember has become a leading charity helping to change the approach to men’s wellbeing. Their aim is to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25% by 2030.

Awareness around Men’s health needs improvement. In Australia, men under 75 are twice as likely as women to die from preventable causes (Falster & Jorm, 2017), and in 2019 men accounted for more than 75% of all suicide deaths (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2020). At AccessEAP we have over many years cultivated a culture of acceptance, openness and welcoming of vulnerability for all our staff, and, in this month of November, I am proud to see this reflected in the attitudes and interactions I observe in the men who work here. We are aware that there is much still to be done to encourage men in organisations we work with to reach out for assistance, especially mental health support.

How can you help the men you work or live with to focus on their wellbeing? Positive Psychology has some answers. You can encourage all staff to complete the free PERMAH survey. This will result in your people receiving a set of results that highlight their strengths. Research supports that working with our strengths, rather than focusing on improving weaknesses, can be a an effective way to improve wellbeing and effectiveness. And at an organisational level, we can help you work with the PERMAH results. Also effective is encouraging and having conversations around mental health and wellbeing, particularly men’s wellbeing during November. Leading by example, leaders who are more open about their feelings and who don’t need to always be seen to have the answers, or be right, are seen as authentic and encourages others to be more open.  

As I consider, our culture at AccessEAP, I see every day the benefits for all staff of bringing a strengths-based approach to work and life. I also see how a culture of inclusivity of diversity enriches our workplace in so many ways. It helps us all think more broadly, more creatively, and act more compassionately. It helps us challenge assumptions, include differences of opinion, and highlights our value proposition of “making a difference”.  

I am proud to be a part of this organisation and proud of the work we do to support your people to be the best they can be in life and work. For more information and tips to help men reach out in times of need, click here.

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We're here to help

Supporting your organisation to respond to
Domestic and Family Violence during the pandemic and moving forward

25th November is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women with White Ribbon Day being observed on Friday, 19th November.

At AccessEAP we strongly support these awareness days, particularly with the severity and frequency of domestic violence reported increasing as a result of the pandemic. Often the workplace is known to provide a safe place for victims of domestic and family violence. Working from home and other restrictions has increased isolation and the natural circuit breaker that leaving the home provides for both victim and perpetrator. Organisations have a vital role to play by raising awareness of this issue, understanding when and how to offer support, and addressing attitudes in the workplace, which perpetuate violence against women.

How we can support you

At AccessEAP, we are sensitive to the complexities of Domestic and Family Violence and encourage you to reach out for support especially at this difficult time given the unique pressures created by the pandemic.

November is the month of the moustache! Movember is about supporting and encouraging positive mental health behaviours for men. It is an opportunity for us to help men destigmatise accessing mental health support (read more in our attached tools, Reducing Stigma in the Workplace and Men, it's time to start talking). Our own experience demonstrates that men are traditionally less likely to seek help and less likely to engage in wellbeing initiatives. Men can be reluctant to ask for help – we sometimes think we should have all the answers – but it’s OK to say you need help with your wellbeing. Get started supporting Men’s Wellbeing this November with the launch of our new learning module.

New Men’s Wellbeing module

This module can be run for your people face to face, virtually, or as a pre-recorded webinar. The topic is aimed at a male audience or anyone who wants to understand how to positively support men’s wellbeing. Attendees will learn:

• what men’s wellbeing is about,
• how to help men seek support,
• a framework to impact on wellbeing,
• how to access services.

If you have any questions or require support, please reach out to your Relationship Manager or call 1800 818 728.

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World Mental Health Day is this October 10^th, and the 2021 theme is “Look Up, Look Out & Look Forward"

This year, of course, we have had the stress of COVID and the uncertainty created by lockdowns as a background to all the usual ups and downs of living, along with reading and seeing the regular reports of world events. I certainly need time out for me in the midst of all of this so I can recharge my mental and physical batteries to remain an effective, empathetic leader and a support to my friends and family.

But how do we take time out when we feel so many demands on our time? There are little things we can do every day – and those little things can add up to feeling and being healthier and more resilient in mind and body.

Keeping a routine comes top of my list. Things like going to bed and getting up at around the same time every day helps establish good sleep. Making time for exercise, catching up with friends - FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, calls, texts (or face-to-face if possible) - and doing things that are just plain fun are important for all of us so we can move away from constantly doing and thinking about work or worrying about things we can’t change.

On the topic of having fun, putting together a feel-good toolkit is a great investment in feeding your wellbeing. When you’re in need, you can go to your feel-good toolkit for an emotional lift. It might contain a list of your favourite comforting music, a soft cushion to lie on, a chocolate treat, essential oils, an inspirational book, or a list of quotes. We can be creative about how we can help ourselves feel good. Along the same lines, we can look for the good. It’s important to counterbalance the heavy information with the hopeful. There’s still so much good and beauty in the world if we choose to pay attention to it. And try forgiving others and accepting yourself. I know it’s easier said than done. But acknowledging many people are on edge at the moment, for similar reasons that you may also be feeling on edge, can help us find the ability to move on when in the past we might have reacted. Similarly, acknowledging the stresses we are living with can help us find self-acceptance and self-forgiveness when we act in ways we later regret.

When checking in on those around us, there are certain signs to watch out for and things you can do if you notice a change, see our Mental Health Awareness Wellbeing Tool which explains this further. It's important that we look after and be kind to ourselves and others after such a long year.

As a part of our Wellbeing in Focus Calendar Care theme, we released a Mental Health Awareness Tool that we think is even more important this World Mental Health Day.

Like our physical health, there are signs that we are not emotionally 100%, and we can observe those signs in friends and colleagues. When we feel some of the symptoms of poor mental health, the earlier we intervene, the better our recovery.

Download the below Wellbeing Tool for:

• Signs to look out for
• What to do when you notice these changes
• & How to help others

1 in 5 of us experience a mental health issue every year. Mental Health Awareness across October is an opportunity for us to advocate for and raise awareness of mental health. With the COVID-19 pandemic still impacting the lives of our communities, we need to continue to give mental health the focus and attention it deserves.

Organisations that create and harbour a culture of understanding, empathy and trust allow people to be open about the issues impacting their lives. And it is especially important for people with mental health conditions to feel safe and comfortable in discussing their experience and obtaining appropriate support. Please contact your Relationship Manager to discuss what Mental Health Awareness options we have to support you and your people.

World Mental Health Day is on the 10th of October, check out their website for some great resources. Depending on your location, Mental Health Awareness may be marked by a week or a month. Click here to find out more.