Each year approximately one in five Australians report experiencing a mental health issue and around 45% of Australians will experience a mental health condition over their lifetime. (ABS 2007). Given that most Australians are employed at some point in their life, it is expected that every Australian worker will be directly or indirectly affected by mental health issues in the workplace. The workplace therefore provides an ideal setting to promote positive mental health and wellbeing so all Australian workers are supported to thrive at work
SuperFriend’s Indicators of a Thriving Workplace survey has set a new benchmark across Australia using a set of 38 desired state indicators. The latest survey measured the views of 5,000 Australian workers revealing we are just over halfway towards the optimal state in Australia.
Across the four key domains (which the research identified as key components impacting workplace mental health and well-being) it was discovered that workers perceive the areas of Leadership and Connectedness to be more progressed in workplaces compared to Policies and Practices and Capabilities and Culture.
Interestingly, there are some organisations who stand out from the crowd. A group of workers (12%) reported that 80% or more of the desired state indicators were definitely present at their workplace. These findings help us understand what the best organisations are doing to promote optimal health and wellbeing. Key characteristics include…
- Employees being friendly and courteous (92%)
- Managers are accessible and listen (86%)
- The organisation prioritises work life balance and are sensitive to the needs of those who have children or others to care for (85%)
- The organisation makes an effort to help employees find purpose and meaning in their work (84%)
- They have policies and practices against workplace bullying and harassment (82%)
- Creating a culture which encourages open discussion about issues that affect mental health and wellbeing (80%)
This research has provided valuable insight about the current state of the Australian workforce and the results can be used to assist business leaders to identify what a mentally healthy workplace looks like, how they can progress their organisation towards it and what they can do to support their workers to thrive.
Dr Nerida Joss (Former Insights Strategist at SuperFriend) and Paul Di Marzio were pleased to have presented the results to this research at the 2018 AMSRS Festival of Research Conference in August. You can click on the image below to find out more details.
To download a copy of the report you can visit the SuperFriend website:
www.superfriend.com.au/resources/indicators-thriving-workplace/