25 BACK TO NAVIGATION 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Mental health first aid training Confidential professional psych support RUOK programs participant Beyond Blue programs participant Signatory to the TJMF Black Dog programs participant Resilience stress management training Industry collaboration & leadership Awareness training Memorial Foundation Workplace Wellbeing Best Practice Guidelines for the Legal Profession which is unchanged from last year. Sixty-four percent of firms allocated the responsibility for their policy implementation to a partner at the firm and fifty percent maintained workplace based committees to help embed implementation in the firm. Both these elements are strong symbols of a firm embracing the implementation of their policy with a stronger potential of improving awareness of the issues and shifting firm culture. Firm based activities and initiatives to address mental illness and support psychological wellbeing were common with all surveyed firms participating with the average firm having five different initiatives in place. Confidential psychological support delivered through employee assist programs was the most popular program provided with an eighty-seven percent response. Eighty-three percent of firms participated in RUOK programs and events and seventy-seven percent conducted mental health first aid type training. Firm’s participation in a range of awareness programs grew including thirty-seven percent for Beyond Blue programs and thirty-three percent for the Black Dog programs. Challenges and Opportunities Healthy wellbeing is more likely in an environment which is physically and psychologically safe. This safety is built from experiencing a caring and supportive workplace culture which relies on the leadership team modelling appropriate values. There are dangers in not making healthy wellbeing part of strategic planning. These dangers include: • Resources are applied ineffectively • Complacency from the responsible managers who mistakenly believe the issues are being effectively managed • Sending signals to affected staff members that the firm’s concern is superficial, token or maybe even cynical • Ineffective or unsustainable improvements in mental health • Opportunity cost from higher impact changes based on a deeper understanding and knowledge of mental health. The next challenge is for workplaces to build a culture that truly owns their mental health issues, accepts there are new things to learn and embraces appropriate change. All change in organisational culture should be driven from the top through accountability, advocacy and modelling changed behaviours. This should be supported with robust systems and programs that transparently reinforce this change. The truth is that preventing mental health impacts and improving wellbeing is an innovative process that requires high levels of commitment and some willingness to take measured risks to think and do things differently. Effective leadership in this area requires a significant commitment to research and listen, in order to develop a well-grounded approach that staff will find credible. Leaders cannot sustain this position of credibility without investing in a deeper understanding of the true nature of the problem, its causes and confronting the challenges required to improve the problem. It is an old management adage that what gets measured gets managed and this is also true of workplace mental health. It is difficult to measure an organisation’s mental health status and to assess the effectiveness and benefits of changes over the longer term. However, developing a relevant baseline of psychological wellbeing including the collection and expert analysis of sick leave, annual leave, absenteeism, complaints and grievances, incidents and injury records is an important step in recognising and developing an understanding of the issues. Over time improvements in understanding develops the firm’s capacity to identify risk areas to prioritise, evaluate program impacts and to provide early warning of emerging issues or trends. INITIATIVES 57% 23% 13% 7% Yes No Currently in Development Not Reported SURVEY Number of firms