Speaker: , Managing Director and Principal Psychologist, CommuniCorp

Terms like Workplace Mental Health, Mentally Healthy Workplaces, Psychosocial Risk, and Psychological Health and Safety have increasingly gained prominence in the international corporate lexicon. Globally, there has been a surge in interest in how the workplace can influence psychological health and the psychosocial factors that need to be addressed to not only mitigate stress and the risk of work-related psychological injury, but to manage and support mental health.

The costs and impact of mental –ill health in the workplace have been well quantified, and there has been somewhat of an evolution in how corporate workplaces are tackling this complex issue. CommuniCorp has been at the forefront of best –practice for over a decade, working with major organisations to tackle the increasingly complex issues inherent in the workplace mental health domain.

With industry and regulatory change occurring in New Zealand, many organisations are focusing on what they can practically do to develop, support and manage the mental health of their workforce and limit the emergence of workplace psychological/stress related injuries and issues. Looking at lessons learned and international best practice, this seminar will cover contemporary trends in workplace mental health, debunk many of the myths around workplace mental health and demonstrate the critical importance of moving beyond low-impact community, diagnosis and symptom reduction reliant approaches to more systemic and quantifiable efforts.

This candid, informal, interactive and practical seminar will cover the various policies, procedures, systems and people capabilities required to positively influence workplace psychological health at the individual, team/business unit and organisational level. It is designed to help senior HR/OHS executives avoid the pitfalls and traps associated with many well-intended, but often misguided workplace mental health approaches and guide them in terms of identifying sustainable, strategic approaches for developing psychologically safe and healthy workplaces.