A safe headspace

You’ve probably heard a lot about ‘employee wellbeing’ over the past few years, as employers increase their investment into workplace engagement. There is no doubt it’s a worthy cause. However, turning that investment into meaningful and healthy results can be a big challenge in our industry.

For now at least, construction is male-dominated. Men make up 88% of people in the Australian construction industry. It might sound stereotypical to say that men aren’t comfortable talking about their feelings – but sadly, with old-fashioned ‘gender roles’ still so influential in our society, it’s often true. And it’s also true that men represent three-quarters of all suicide deaths in Australia. Throw in remote area construction projects, which increase the risk of feeling isolated and lonely while separated from family, friends and normal routines, and you can see why the construction workplace isn’t the easiest environment to have a supportive and private conversation in.

BADGE has taken some steps in this space. For example, we engage Mates in Construction to train our people in mental health awareness, and we provide free confidential counselling 24/7 through OCAR. We also have a full-time HR team member with Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). But we know there is still a lot more we can do, so we are moving towards a company-wide Employee Wellbeing Program that is tailored to our industry.

It is personal

I believe it’s an HR leader’s job to make sure their people can come to work in a supportive and happy environment, and as HR Manager for our Group with over 270 employees, I take the wellbeing of our people personally.

In my view, one thing that sets BADGE apart from other companies is the sense that you belong to a family. Our people genuinely care about their team, their colleagues, their managers and their leaders. So if someone is struggling with personal issues, it doesn’t only affect them. We know we work in a dangerous industry, and if an accident happens, the impact stretches far wider than the site project team.

Over my time in the industry, I’ve been confronted by accidents resulting in the serious injury or death of colleagues, as well as suicide. The effect of these incidents can be life-changing. If we can empower our people to deal with situations such as this – let alone prevent them in the first place – that is worth the energy and time it takes to implement a robust Employee Wellbeing Program.

What’s happening at BADGE?

We know that our partnership with MATES in Construction helps employees who are struggling with mental health challenges, and raises awareness among those who are most at risk through an external channel. So our next step is to build on that internally and make everyone across the business a patron of mental health. In other words, our culture will support wellbeing proactively, on top of catching major issues reactively.

Our Employee Wellbeing Program will drive this cultural shift. We’re lucky enough to already have a friendly and understanding workplace – but now we’re taking it a step further, and defining it as a safe environment that encourages us to talk. If everyone buys into keeping the team happy and healthy, we will all operate in a clear mind space and make good decisions, which is good for our business as well as ourselves.

We are upskilling our people as much as possible to lead the shift by example. Senior staff in all areas will act as role models, with adequate preparation to provide support and assistance, and direct people to an appropriate professional service if necessary. My HR team will attend Mental Health First Aid Training and monitor the Employee Wellbeing Program to make sure it takes effect everywhere within the organisation.

Meanwhile, it’s important that we make sure our people have regular opportunities to engage directly with the Employee Wellbeing Program. For example, we will run “Lunch and Learn” sessions on wellbeing across our sites and offices. We will also be surveying all employees about what flexibility looks like to them in their role, so we can make sure our Flexibility Policy is in line with employee wellbeing across the variety of roles that exist in our business. We believe that having ‘work-life balance’ should be more than just talk.

I’m looking forward to seeing the positive impact the Employee Wellbeing Program will have on our culture. My time as a ‘Badger’ is one of the major highlights of my career, thanks to the people I work with – so it’s a pleasure to help take care of them.