Jul 2nd, 2018
Newly incorporated into the HR Help Desk Service, the Wentworth Advantage Employee Wellbeing Program is an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which is designed to enhance the emotional, mental and general psychological & physical wellbeing of all members and includes services for immediate family members.
The Wentworth Advantage Wellbeing Program:
- provides information & support to assist our HR Help Desk Service clients with work-related and personal mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, stress, trauma and grief as well as a broad range of other health & lifestyle issues such gambling, drug & alcohol abuse, obesity & general physical health.
- aims to ensure that all members who experience mental health and other well-being issues are supported, and that they work within positive workplace cultures that are conducive to their mental health and wellbeing.
- provides a confidential portal through which members can access a range of professional mental health and well-being services at no cost to them.
- All our Workplace Relations Advisors have completed the ‘Accidental Counsellor’ training designed and delivered by Lifeline, with whom we have a close alliance. This enables our Workplace Relations Advisors to ‘recognise’, ‘respond’ and ‘refer’ clients to the appropriate support service.
Our research suggests that many people feel unsupported when mentally unwell, and that less than half of workplace managers understand mental health issues.
Many are also worried about the impact disclosing mental health issues will have on their employment and are fearful of being discriminated against.
The Wentworth Advantage Wellbeing Program: Hotline & Online Technical Resources Database is divided into two sections.
Trauma Support
- Depression, anxiety & suicide
- Domestic violence & sexual assault
- Drug & alcohol abuse
- Gambling Problems
- Financial management problems
- Seniors/Over 55's: Elder abuse; dementia
- Health issues: Strokes, Smoking, HIV
- Carers' support
- Child safety & protection
Lifestyle Support
- Life Events
- Healthy Living Program
- Under 25's
Mental Health in Australia
In Australia one in five adults or 3.2 million individuals will experience a mental health difficulty in any one year, with nearly 50% of the adult population experiencing a mental health difficulty at some point in their lives.
Mental health issues account for 13.3 % of Australia's total burden of disease and injury and are estimated to cost the Australian economy $20 billion annually in lost productivity and labour participation. The cost to businesses for depression alone is $12.3 billion a year.
Australian workers with job-related stress and mental illness are absent from work for 54 days a year. More workers are absent from work because of stress and anxiety than of physical illness or injury.
Mentally healthy workplaces contribute to the mental health of all Australians and result in increased productivity and other benefits to businesses, including being more innovative and more likely to recruit and retain the best and brightest staff.
Launched in early 2018, The Employee Wellbeing service has already made a significant impact on the lives of some of our members.
- One of our members has a son who is a drug addict and sought help in dealing with the problem. We put her in touch with Family Drug Support and gave her access to our online database of information on drugs and addiction. She is receiving ongoing help from Family Drug Support and has joined a local support group of parents and friends of addicts. This is giving her much needed assistance in the ongoing problems with her son.
- A member rang our Workplace Relations Advisers deeply concerned about a staff member who was displaying signs of severe depression. Normally well presented, this person was arriving at work late, often dishevelled and withdrawing more and more from interactions with other people. We directed the member to our website with information on depression and recommended calling Beyondblue for advice on the best approach. The member now reports that the staff member is seeing a counsellor and, feeling supported and understood, is starting to make headway.
- A member has an employee who is in a physically abusive relationship and sought advice as to the best way forward. We spoke to the employee and directed her to our online resources on Domestic Violence. We put her in touch with the Domestic Violence Hotline, which has helped her to navigate this difficult time. Her employer was extremely supportive and gave her some time off work to organise alternative accommodation. She has now joined a support group and is receiving ongoing guidance and encouragement.
- A member wanted help to start a 12-week challenge at work to encourage her staff to get healthy. We directed the her to our website which has a section devoted to healthy living. She was also able to access the NSW government program that supports workplaces in running a ‘Get Healthy at Work’ 12-week challenge and signed up. She reports that her workplace is six weeks into the program and going well!
- Noticing that a young person in her employ was living pay to pay, a member wanted some advice on helping them manage their money better. We gave the contact details of the Commonwealth Financial Counselling Service and directed them to our website which has information and links to managing money and saving. The member continued to work with their staff member to support them in money management strategies.
To view a small sample of the over 600 resources that we have available to members go to
our website
Contact us for further information.
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