Resilience refers to the process of adapting while facing adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or other sources of stress. Resilience is not a trait people are born with, rather it involves behaviours, thoughts and actions which can be learned and enhanced.

10 Tips for Resilience:

1. Make and maintain connections

2. Remember that some things are beyond your control

3. Accept change is a part of life

We understand that work and family challenges impact each other. Here are some resources to help navigate the ever changing landscapes of parenthood.

iParent- Where you can learn about the digital environment and how to help your child have safe and enjoyable online experiences.

Reachout- Helping parents support their teenagers through everyday issues and tough times.

AccessEAP offers a Supporting Working Parents Workshop specifically designed to assist participants to address the challenges and benefits of being a working parent, understand the impact of high stress levels on parenting and to identify practical strategies and skills to manage these competing roles. The workshop can be organised by contacting your Relationship Manager and is ideal for up to 15 participants.

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.

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 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.

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.