Focus on mental wellbeing at business lunch

The Collaborate Moreton Bay Metal Wellness Business Lunch gave business owners, managers and employees tools to create workplaces that foster mental wellbeing.

The event, at The Komo hotel on October 17, featured presentations from rugby league legend Shane Webcke and Queensland’s Mental Health Commissioner Ivan Frkovic. See the photo gallery at the end of this story.

Ivan said building stronger businesses through positive mental health and wellbeing, was vital for business but also the broader community.

“We (small businesses) are the first line of defence for picking up when someone is not their usual self ... encouraging them to seek help,” he said.

“Small and family businesses are the backbone of the Queensland community. You shape local identity, you drive regional jobs and economies, but you also offer purpose to yourselves as business owners and also the people who work for you.”

He said the way work was structured could support wellbeing or increase the risk of harm, and he outlined the legal requirement to manage the risk appropriately.

“It’s not just about compliance, no matter how important that is. Promoting mental health and psychological safety in workplaces is also smart business strategy that strengthens productivity, increases attraction and retention but also builds resilience in both individuals, the collective but also our community,” Ivan said.

Ivan said statistics showed one-in-two Australians would experience mental illness in their lifetime, and one-in-five would experience mental health problems in any one year.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for people aged 15-44 years. Last year, 769 people died by suicide in Queensland, with 75 per cent of them men.

The National Productivity Commission found poor mental health costs the Australian economy $220 billion a year.

“Prevention and early intervention are not only essential for people’s wellbeing, but also critical to our economy and also to our businesses,” Ivan said.

“You don’t have to be a mental health clinician, you don’t have to be a psychiatrist. What we need is people who will be there to listen, but also to have a conversation with people that are in distress.

“By leading with empathy and understanding, we can create resilient teams and thriving businesses where people enjoying coming to work and performance follows naturally.”

He said stigma remained a significant barrier to people seeking support.

“Businesses can be stigma disrupters by normalising conversations around mental health and wellbeing, protecting privacy and ensuring non-discriminatory practices across recruitment, retention, progression and most importantly return to work,” he explained.

Visit qmhc.qld.gov.au/ to find out more.

Focus on mental wellbeing at business lunch

Value of genuine empathy

Rugby league legend Shane Webcke, known for being a no-nonsense straight-talker, said employers and managers needed an understanding of mental fitness, and how to support their staff in a modern workplace.

He said the brain, like other parts of the body needed activity and care.

“The physiotherapy for the brain, if you like, is communication,” he explained.

Shane said a willingness to have genuine conversations, which showed you cared about your employee or your mate, could have a positive impact.

He also explained the value of physical activity in boosting mental fitness.

“I still train four days a week with a group of blokes ... who are not necessarily from sporting backgrounds. We train intensely for 45 minutes (four days a week) ... I’m talking ... when your heart is beating so hard you can’t think about the problems you’ve got because you’re thinking about breathing,” he said.

“Follow that up with a good old-fashioned chinwag and three cups of coffee ... that is the greatest therapy in the world.”

The combination of exercise, routine, social connection and sharing perspectives and problems made a tangible difference.

He spoke about the death of his father, when Shane was in his late teens, the impact it had on him and how his father’s friends helped him work through grief.

The experience showed him the importance of sharing problems and the value of genuine empathy and communication.

He said heartache and tough times were guaranteed, in life, so it’s important to know how to deal with them.

“That painful experience taught me that there is nothing, there is not a problem that someone else who is smarter than me can’t help me fix,” he said.

He spoke about the impact Wayne Bennett had on him and other young players, through genuine empathy.

“What he worked out before a lot of other coaches did ... if he fixed them (trouble players) off the field, he fixed them on the field,” Shane said.

The former Australia, Queensland and Brisbane Broncos footballer, who retired from playing in 2006, said he understood the pressure of small business.

A trucking business he launched, soon after his retirement and just before the Global Financial Crisis struck, failed and his family has weathered the ups and downs of running a farm since he was a child.

“I think if you get to a point where it feels like there’s no way out, you’ve probably got to get out and you’ve probably got to think about doing something different,” he said.

Vital tools for business

The Collaborate Moreton Bay event also included a panel discussion and other expert speakers.

Mayor Peter Flannery said there were more than 32,500 small businesses in the City of Moreton Bay.

He spoke about programs available to support businesses, which aimed to reduce stress cause by poor cashflow, the changing digital landscape and risks posed by natural disasters.

“We recognise the importance of the role chambers of commerce play and business groups in supporting mental health and wellbeing through connection and peer support,” Mayor Flannery said.

“Council is committed to working alongside these groups to ensure our business community feels heard, supported and empowered.”

“We know the mental health challenges you have in operating go on top of the normal daily living mental health challenges you have through family, friends ... the issues you go through in life,”

“We want to try to help support that. We want to make sure your businesses not only survive but thrive in the City of Moreton Bay.”

Find out more about Collaborate Moreton Bay via its Facebook page.