We've put together a list of some ways to save time in our everyday lives. Not all will suit everyone but you may find one or two that can make a difference!

1. Don’t procrastinate when it comes to tasks that can be done in under 5 minutes, just get up and do it.

2. Make important decisions early in the day when you are fresh rather than trying to do this at the end of the day.

3. Play an up tempo playlist to get you moving and up the pace. It can reduce boredom and add some fun.

4. Keep distractions at bay – if you need to focus on a task turn off your sound notifications and put your phone out of sight.

This month’s newsletter theme focuses on stress and how to manage it. However, in light of recent tragic events in Christchurch, my attention is lamentably drawn to how we manage stress and grief relating to events far beyond our control.

On behalf of everyone here at AccessEAP, I would like to extend our sympathies to everyone affected by the tragic events that took place in Christchurch on Friday, 15th March. 

Later that Friday afternoon, when the enormity of what was happening in Christchurch became evident, my team went to work establishing what was happening on the ground and getting support to our customers as soon as possible/practical (due to lockdown). Our aim was to remind our customer’s that we are here to support their workplace wellbeing every day but especially when devastating events such as this challenge all involved. We were able to provide an outline of what would be happening over the next few days and also provide guidance on how to support employees initially and over time.

The messages are becoming more familiar to us all as we partner with our customers through drought, floods and bushfires as well as man-made traumatic events. Everyone processes trauma differently and even if we consider that we know each other well there are still events that will trigger unexpected responses. The guidelines we provide are intended to give room for all such responses. Within the AccessEAP team, we have New Zealander's and those with very strong ties with New Zealand and particularly Christchurch, a city that has had more than its fair share of adversity in the last few years. Their grief and sadness is very real and they are being supported now and will continue to be – there isn’t an expiry or end date to all this – it does, however, get better. What we are looking to do is to create the environment to proactively support employees and encourage them to process and work through the trauma to aid in recovery.

Often people will not want to speak to a counsellor in the initial days or weeks as they support each other. It is in the longer term when people need support from a counsellor or their Employee Assistance Program. Here are a few messages I would like to recap from our recent communications:

- Intake/Triage focus

- Apply and Further Develop your Skills

- Make a Difference Everyday

At AccessEAP our mission is to create thriving workplaces. We partner with each customer to promote, positive organisational behaviour, enhance employee well-being, improve workplace productivity  and effectively manage the mental health of every employee. As an Australian owned not for profit Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provider, our emphasis is on understanding the unique needs of our customers and tailoring our services to support and prevent mental health issues in the workplace. Due to continued growth we are expanding the clinical services team and seeking  a passionate and committed professional  to help achieve our goals and continue our ambitious journey.

• Apply your EAP and OD skills
• Help make a difference every day
• Strong team environment

At AccessEAP our mission is to create thriving workplaces. We partner with each customer to promote, positive organisational behaviour, enhance employee wellbeing, improve workplace productivity  and effectively manage the mental health of every employee. As an Australian owned not for profit Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provider, our emphasis is on understanding the unique needs of our customers and tailoring our services to support and prevent mental health issues in the workplace. Due to continued growth and an expanding service offering we need to  recruit a passionate and consultative Organisation Development practitioner to help achieve our goals and continue our ambitious journey.

Your role will be to develop strong relationships with key customers to understand their needs and work on tailored solutions to solve specific or complex people issues. You will provide clinical information and support to the customer experience teamand provide a range of clinical services including: conflict management, training, manager support, and organisational consultancy.

With a degree in clinical or organisational psychology your track record of success will be matched by your desire to make a genuine difference and your ability to engage with a broad range of Managers and Executives. Your key strengths will include your influencing, negotiation and planning and organisation skills. Most importantly you will enjoy working in a team environment that is driven by respect, collaboration  and accomplishment and where expressing your ideas and opinions is truly valued

For more information call David Williams on 0414 551 795 or to apply send your resume to dwilliams@kurtispaige.com.au

Traumatic events such as the mass shootings in Christchurch disrupt lives physically and psychologically, creating intense emotional distress for individuals, families and whole communities. Organisations play a vital and valuable role in assisting and supporting their employees and their families in the immediate aftermath and in the days, weeks and months following this tragic event.

The immediate focus is to ensure that your employees and their loved ones are safe. At this present time, particularly with intense media coverage and access to information on the internet, it’s important to acknowledge that this is a heightened state of emotion for everyone involved. It’s important to be aware that everyone will respond differently and everyone’s needs will be different, initially and over time.  Being prepared to provide initial and long term support for people will enhance and promote their own personal coping strategies and resilience.

What your people will need right now is (download pdf version here):

• If needed, allow additional time at home to spend time with family and friends - this helps them to feel safe and connected, and reassure others of their safety
• Make sure your employees or students have access to support information and numbers - specifically the EAP and any other services you may have in place.
• Give people assurance that affected families will be supported in some form or another.

The people of Christchurch have recently experienced and lived through the trauma of the earthquake. Many people are still dealing with the aftermath. This tragedy will have the potential to re-trigger feelings of trauma and loss and memories will surface. Over the coming weeks, it is important to reassure, support and connect with each other. Patience is required as everyone will feel and respond differently. People will need time, to acknowledge their responses and to process.

Over the coming days, and in time, what your people will need is for you to provide simple and accurate information on how to access services, specifically encourage, and make it easy for, employees/students to speak with a professional counsellor. Most people will not want to speak to a counsellor in the initial days or weeks as they support each other. It is in the longer term when people need support from a counsellor or their Employee Assistance Program.

- Market Leader enjoying significant growth

- Make a difference every day

- Strong team environment

At AccessEAP our mission is to create thriving workplaces. We partner with businesses to promote positive organisational behaviour, enhance employee wellbeing, improve workplace productivity and effectively manage the mental health of every employee. An Australian owned profit-for-purpose Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provider, our emphasis is on understanding the unique needs of our customers and tailoring our services to support organisations engage and manage their human capital to its full potential. We live by our values and put ‘People in Focus’. Our surplus profits are distributed to our community programs to support vulnerable children and families.

One of our values at AccessEAP is curiosity, this is particularly relevant when it comes to good relationships, mental health and diversity in workplaces. It’s easy to make quick judgements about people based on stereotypes. Psychologists say that its common for people to jump to conclusions about others, as it provides a short-cut for our thinking processes and means we can focus our mental efforts on other things.

There are many ways that mental health issues can manifest in a workplace, and some of these behaviours can be very challenging. This can create misunderstandings, assumptions and even conflict between people. For instance, someone who is frequently absent from work or irritable when they are at work, will most certainly have an impact on their team and the people responsible for managing them. It’s easy to become frustrated with this type of behaviour and label a person as “difficult” or “hard work”.

The challenge for all of us is to stop and ask questions, to be curious about the behaviour. It takes time and effort to look below the surface of someone’s behaviour. An analogy which psychologists commonly use to encourage us to better understand one another is the iceberg. Often we only see that which is above the water surface, the proverbial tip of the iceberg. We don’t see what lies beneath, and we certainly won’t understand what is under the surface if we don’t ask questions. This is where an attitude of curiosity becomes important.

If someone in your workplace is behaving in a way that bothers, frustrates or concerns you, take a pause to try to understand what’s going on. Remember our tendency to take short-cuts in thinking. Next time you find yourself doing this, pause and ask if there could be alternative explanations. Our own biases tend to come into our interpretations and assumptions. The only way to really understand why someone is behaving a certain way is to ask.

Look around at the people in your work environment and try to name three things that you know about them based on conversation or questions you have asked. What do you know and understand about them as a person? Recently we used a technique during Feel Good February. All employees were invited to use G.L.A.D as a guide to write something anonymously to another employee. G -what am I grateful for about the other person? L- what have I learned from this person? A - what do I appreciate? and D, what delights me about the person or their behaviour. Employees could write something about one or all of these. This exercise was rewarding especially because it was anonymous and a great way to inspire curiosity and to focus on the positive in each other. For more information see our G.L.A.D. blog post here.

Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values. Held every year on 21 March. The Day coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

For more information, please check out the Harmony Day Website which has so many resources for you to host your very own event.

At AccessEAP we hold a Harmony Day Lunch where everyone brings a dish and shares the background behind it. It is such a wonderful opportunity to learn something new about your colleagues and of course try some amazing food!

Don't forgot to check out our Tips on Managing Diversity.

 At AccessEAP we love curiosity, being curious is one of our values and can really help to create a thriving workplace. This morning I received a card (like the one below) with an anonymous, personal message from one of my colleagues. Themed GLAD it highlighted four positive things about me. I must admit it not only made me feel good - it made me feel happy, proud, humble and overwhelmed – it brought a tear to my eye. It was a deeply emotional experience. Around our state offices these cards were being opened and experienced by all our people. I have included some of the reactions below and pictured are some smiling members of our Client Services Team!

This Feel Good February initiative was the work of our Wellbeing Champions. Informed by feedback from our Employee Engagement Surveys and as part of our internal wellbeing strategy we have recruited a team of Wellbeing Champions. These champions represent each of our divisions so bring a wealth of clinical, marketing, service, financial and management experience to the table. There brief is to implement initiatives which are valued and enhance the wellbeing of our people.

Each month the Wellbeing Champions work with their teams, creating initiatives to remind us to focus on our own mental health and wellbeing. Not every initiative will hit the mark and that’s OK but when they do they have a powerful, positive impact on mental health and workplace wellbeing. We will share these gems with our customers via our Wellbeing In Focus Calendar.

Initiatives such as these increase engagement and satisfaction related to recognition for work accomplishments; relationships with coworkers and supervisors. Organisations that are the best in engaging their employees achieve earnings-per-share growth that is more than four times that of their competitors. Compared with business units in the bottom quartile, those in the top quartile of engagement realise substantially better customer engagement, higher productivity, better retention, fewer accidents, and 21% higher profitability. Engaged workers also report better health outcomes.^1.

^1.Gallup Employee Engagement Poll. These findings are based on a random sample of 30,628 full- and part-time U.S. employees working for an employer from January to June 2018.

• Educate managers on how to respond appropriately to different reactions
• Group and individual sessions through your EAP, within a few days post event, allows people to share their experience, to be heard and hear others and to promote a culture of support and understanding
• Onsite sessions help to minimise the disruption to the workplace and promote organisational sense of wellbeing
• Educate managers and employees on how to identify changes in workplace behaviours that might signify a lack of coping in self or in other staff
• Encourage employees to support one another throughout the working day as people resume their normal activities
• Encourage communication between staff whilst acknowledging the difference in styles – some people want to talk, others may not 
• Reinforce the importance of support networks outside the workplace
  Do not expect normal productivity as people process the incident and accommodate changes to workload, work routines, access to leave
• Symbolic gestures to acknowledge the event, such as setting up a donation fund to support the victims, good to consult employees what they would like
• Provide training/education forums around trauma to normalise experiences and highlight the availability of support structures
• Revisit the impact three to six months after the event through training and information sessions
• Promote physical activity and healthy eating habits in the workplace. Encourage ongoing professional assistance for those individuals in need.

At a time such as we are now experiencing, support for our clients and their employees is paramount. Over the coming days situations will change dramatically and people will feel the need for support at different times. Some may not feel the need for support at all.

We have provided the information below to assist organisations. We have also put together some information to assist your employees which you may find useful to distribute to as many people as possible. Please also remember to remind people that if they need counselling services to call 1800 818 728 where someone will be on hand to help.

Natural disasters like cyclones, disrupt lives physically and psychologically, creating intense emotional distress for individuals, families and whole communities. Organisations play a vital and valuable role in assisting and supporting their employees in the immediate aftermath and in the days, weeks and months following a disaster.

It’s important to be aware that everyone will respond differently and everyone’s needs will be different, initially and over time. Being prepared to provide initial and long term support for your employees will enhance and promote their own personal coping strategies and resilience.

• If needed, allow additional time at home to tend to family matters.
  
  
• Establish an open door policy that allows employees to seek the appropriate care when needed.

• Create an environment that allows employees to talk amongst themselves about fears and hopes related to the disaster. Openly sharing with others has been known to promote personal recovery.

• Be mindful and respectful of individual needs. Some employees may feel uncomfortable sharing their feelings. Remember that there is no right or wrong way to feel.

• Encourage employees to communicate their needs, rather than assume you know what their needs may be.

• Promote self-efficacy by engaging people in meeting their own needs by helping them regain their confidence and ability to manage their current and future situations.

• Maintain communication if an employee is away from the workplace for any length of time.

• Give employees assurance that affected families will be supported in some form or another. A disaster such as the floods has the power to entirely consume everyone involved, especially when it has an impact on one’s family.

• If possible and when appropriate try to establish normal routines as soon as possible. This aids recovery by providing employees with an opportunity to be active and return to a sense of normalcy.

• Provide simple and accurate information on how to access services, specifically encourage, and make it easy for, employees to speak with a professional counsellor from their Employee Assistance Program. 

How to access the Organisational Support services

From time to time we all encounter situations where we dislike a person’s behaviour and we feel we need to say something, but actually having the conversation is a different story. With the integration of technology into the workplace it is much easier to avoid a potentially uncomfortable conversation by sending a quick email and ‘dealing with it later’.

Whilst these conversations are necessary the immediate impulse for many of us is to avoid, avoid, avoid. Hiding behind technology may seem like a good idea at the time but communicating with the absence of tone and body language may make the situation worse.

Once you have decided to have a courageous conversation, consider your approach. Learn more from our CEO's monthly feature article, Timing is Everything.

Here are some tips for initiating a potentially difficult conversation whether it’s face to face or over the phone:

To create a thriving workplace leaders are encouraged to focus on mental health and wellbeing and to better understand the importance of harnessing emotions in the workplace.

Emotions in the workplace and organisational culture

Today workplaces need to engage and motivate their employees by understanding what employees need from their work. We know employees want to grow, want to be valued, involved, and to feel part of the organisation. Each generation may have differing needs and not factoring in employees’ values, needs and expectations leads to strong emotions at work which can lead to decreased productivity.

Emotions and customer experience

Acknowledging the emotions and impact of a challenging customer interaction and working towards a resolution is more effective than deciding who is right or wrong. This requires a skill set involving de-escalation and staying calm. We can support you to manage angry or disgruntled customers, respond in a way that builds relationships, learn how to make customers feel heard and meet their emotional needs.

Have you or your staff been in a situation where you had to manage challenging behaviours when dealing with the public? An understanding of your own response as well as some skilful moves may help to improve the outcome.

 AccessEAP’s Tailored Trainings aim to provide information and tools to assist staff to keep psychologically safe whilst working with the public.

Participants will learn to assess the level of psychological risk present in any given situation by better understanding their individual stress signature and signs of distress so as to identify what sort of action to take during an incident. They will learn techniques to de-escalate or diffuse a situation to the best of their ability, and will identify when best to walk away from a situation and seek additional support. Participants will also have an opportunity to look at ways to build resilience and manage their wellbeing generally, particularly following a confronting incident.

Please contact your Relationship Manager for more information or to book in this training.

The theme of our wellbeing calendar this month centres on having courageous conversations. There are many contexts in a workplace that require us to find courage and have discussions that feel uncomfortable. An example which comes to mind is a manager providing feedback on an employee’s work performance or behaviour. Whilst these conversations are necessary the immediate impulse for many of us is to avoid, avoid, avoid.

How appealing is it to think that if we just ignore it, and carry on as if nothing is wrong, the issue will eventually resolve itself? The reality we see at AccessEAP is quite different. People begin to feel resentful when issues are left unacknowledged or unresolved. Tensions often build up and people ‘blurt out’ their frustrations at inappropriate moments and in an unconstructive manner.

It is tempting to want to avoid hurting or upsetting the person we are speaking with, by blaming someone or something else. While this may seem like a gentle approach which may take some of the heat out of the discussion, often the other person can detect the lack of honesty in our response. It takes courage to have a genuine and transparent discussion around sensitive issues or concerns as they may respond with anger, tears, or distress.

One of our role’s here at AccessEAP is to guide and coach people how to have brave workplace discussions which require honest and clear feedback. What I have learned from our clinical professionals is that timing and planning of conversations is crucial to their success. Grabbing a moment with someone as you pass them in a corridor, for example, or at the end of stressful working day is almost inevitably going to set you up to fail. Arranging a time, preparing for the conversation, choosing the right words, reflecting on the outcome I want to achieve and managing my emotions so they will not limit me are all necessary for a successful conversation.

I am reminded of the phrase to ‘test the waters’ when entering into one of those potentially tricky discussions. What this means, is to get a sense of the emotional state of the person I’m speaking with and to check in with myself. Emotions are powerful and can derail conversations. It is vital that a conversation is had sooner rather than waiting too long although it’s never a good idea to talk to someone if you feel angry. We cannot always avoid angry feelings; the other person may become defensive and upset, so equipping oneself with techniques to de-escalate or manage angry responses is worth considering.

With the new year upon us why not take the opportunity to get to know your peers. Welcome a new employee or get to know a person in a different department.

If you're stuck for ideas, why not try the below activity.

• Leave "Conversation starters" in lunch/break rooms to help encourage discussion between colleagues. "My first ever job was…" "My favourite holiday destination is…"

This could be a new question each week or a once off activity to get people talking around a certain topic or time of year! Awareness days provide a great opportunity to start these kinds of conversations.

Coming up in March:

• Friday, 8 March: International Women's Day 2019
• Thursday, 21st March: Harmony Day 2019

Don't forget to get creative with technology to connect those who can't be present physically.

Published in HASHTAG, a NewsCompany.com.au publication on 19th Dec, 2018

The answer lies in effective goal setting says Marcela Slepica, Clinical Director of AccessEAP. It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of setting a new goal, without thinking about the big picture. While having a common goal is great for team morale and motivating employees, the goals you set need to be realistic and in line with your organisation’s vision and values.

Read More

The start of a new year is a great opportunity to take a fresh look at the goals you’d like to set for the next 12 months. For businesses this could range from financial growth to improved staff retention, or new service and product offerings. However, with only 8% [1] of people achieving their New Year’s resolutions, how can management and HR professionals hope to inspire entire teams to find year-long success?

The answer lies in effective goal setting says our Clinical Director, Marcela Slepica “It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of setting a new goal, without thinking about the big picture. While having a common goal is great for team morale and motivating employees, the goals you set need to be realistic and in line with your organisation’s vision and values.”

Here Marcela gives more details on some of the tips we use to help organisations reach their goals.

S.M.A.R.T Goals

Organisational goals are like personal goals in that they provide structure to help us move in the direction we want to take. Within organisations, it can be easy to come up with ‘big picture’ ideas or strategic direction, however setting goals can be more challenging. The S.M.A.R.T. model is a great way of keeping your goals on track and giving them the best possible chance of success.