HRD talks to First Gas on keeping employees healthy in a fast-paced world
With many organisations asking their teams to do more with less, work-life balance has come under threat for many employees.
In fact, it’s gotten to the stage where psychologists and workplace researchers have warned that if staff don't reclaim control over the hours per day they spend doing "work", they risk doing damage to their physical and mental wellbeing.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recently addressed rising concerns.
In a Facebook video, she urged Kiwis to explore a diverse range of options on returning to work, including the possibility of a four-day week.
“I hear lots of people suggesting we should have a four-day workweek. Ultimately that really sits between employers and employees,” she said.
“But as I’ve said there’s just so much we’ve learnt about COVID and that flexibility of people working from home, the productivity that can be driven out of that.”
To that end, HRD spoke to First Gas.
Headquartered in New Plymouth, but with its staff of 360 working throughout the country, First Gas is New Zealand’s largest owner and operator of gas networks.
Their approach began with First Gas acknowledging that the world is moving faster and that with rising rates of mental illness, suicide and family violence, some of its employees will inevitably be living with challenging issues. Statistics back this up and it only seems to have gotten worse since the pandemic.
Read more: Health & safety: Top challenges in 2019
During COVID-19, GPs in New Zealand working on the front line have reported that “generalised anxiety” is proliferating in the community, and putting a strain on mental health services that are already overburdened.
At First Gas, the initiative Got Your Back was designed in-house, bringing in experts and tools tailored specifically for employees.
The company’s established physical-wellbeing focus provided annual check-ups, flu vaccines, cancer checks, self-defence classes, and other initiatives, often based around physical fitness.
“We realised if we were serious about supporting our people, we needed to take a broader approach that incorporated not only the body, but the whole person,” said general manager, people and culture, Kellie O'Sullivan.
She told HRD that the new approach built on the Māori holistic model of health, te whare tapa whā, with a tailored model drawing on all the different aspects of life to support wellbeing.
Furthermore, First Gas developed an intranet site that offers articles, tools and links to providers, grouped under the wellbeing pillars of mind, body, habits and relationships.
The initiative also involved senior management leading a 24-month programme based on taking a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, ensuring what was offered was employee-centric, and supporting the company’s wider community.
Its formal roll-out began with the launch of mental-health and financial-awareness programmes, however more are planned on topics such as addiction, family violence and suicide prevention.
In order to build a successful work-life strategy that centres around wellbeing, O'Sullivan said it’s important to focus on the whole self.
“It is crucial to acknowledge that there are so many facets to our lives that impact our wellbeing and balance,” said O’Sullivan.
Read more: COVID:19: WHO offers physical and mental health advice
“It’s also essential to know your people, their backgrounds and their demographics so that you can design and target initiatives that won’t just be a good investment, but will also get good uptake, and make a real difference.”
O'Sullivan added that it’s especially important to focus on getting feedback, tweaking and refining initiatives with your people, and partnering with quality providers.
The holistic approach appears to be paying dividends. Already-low sick-leave use is down and positive staff engagement is up. First Gas has also noticed more and better candidates applying for jobs.
“We believe this is linked to our reputation of genuinely supporting our people,” said O'Sullivan.
First Gas’s approach has been so successful that they were a finalist at the recent 2020 Diversity Awards.