While R U OK? Day is indeed just one day a year, it’s about promoting conversation and openness about mental health all year round.

Today, we’ll look at how you can take steps to create more open and positive conversations about mental health in your workplace, and provide the people around you with the support they need.

R U OK? Day is a day that encourages Australians to open up about how they’re feeling and start conversations about mental health.

The R U OK? organisation aims to reduce the number of suicides in Australia, by urging people to reach out to each other and create supportive networks across our communities. It’s about being prepared to ask friends, family and workmates who may be struggling “are you ok?” and then knowing how to respond appropriately and safely to anyone who says that they’re not.

As the R U OK? organisation says, “a place where asking the question “are you ok?” can really work is in the workplace. As employers or staff, we can all create a culture where people feel confident asking and answering this most important question.”

Pedro Diaz, Workplace Mental Health Institute founder, talks about the impact of workplaces on mental health:

“We spend most of our time at work and it can be a really good place. You can give to others and that can be good for your mental health. But it can also be a place where we are judged a lot. Are you good enough? Are you part of the tribe? If you don’t behave in a certain way, you may not be. It can be a place where you are rejected a lot.”

These negative thoughts can contribute to feelings of self-doubt, rejection and isolation – all of which are very detrimental to our mental health and sense of wellbeing.

It’s no secret that people are often reluctant to talk about how they’re feeling, particularly when they’re not coping. And particularly to their boss or co-workers. R U OK? Day doesn’t dismiss this fact – what it does do is act as a reminder, and an opportunity, to share mental health concerns with our managers or employers. And that it’s ok to do so.

Establishing zero tolerance for discrimination or harassment

For managers and employers, it’s also vital to make sure that your company has proper policies in place against bullying, harassment and all forms of discrimination. In Australia, it’s your responsibility to create a safe work environment for all staff. Having strong policies in place, that show zero tolerance for discrimination, will help you create a more open and positive work culture within your organisation.

In addition to these legal requirements and policy matters, there are things you can do to make the workplace environment more comfortable for workers experiencing low mental health. And the fact is, at any given time 1 in 5 Australian employees are likely to be suffering from depression, anxiety, OCD or other mental health concerns. By being flexible, providing support and creating safe spaces, people can feel more comfortable raising their concerns and reaching out when they need it.

The R U OK? organisation’s website has steps on how to ask someone if they are ok and is well worth looking at.

“You don't need to be an expert – just a great mate and a good listener. So, if you notice someone who might be struggling – start a conversation.”

By starting the conversation, and showing that you’re there and present for them, you could help that family member, friend or workmate open up.

It’s also really important to know how to respond if someone says they’re not ok. If they confide that things are tough for them at work, or in life in general, right now. When a friend, family member or workmate opens up to you that they are not ok, it’s important to know how to proceed with that conversation. The R U OK? website provides help with clear steps you can take to show someone that they’re supported, and also how to help them find strategies to cope during this time.

Sometimes, you might also need to acknowledge that a situation is too big for you to take on alone. And that you can’t help someone as well as an expert can. If someone’s been really low for more than two weeks, or is talking about suicide or self-harm, encourage them to contact a professional as soon as possible. It’s not palming them off, or dismissing their feelings – it’s the responsible thing to do in this scenario.

That part is really critical: “if you're not in the right headspace or you don't think you're the right person to have the conversation, try to think of someone else in their support network who could talk to them.”

Because before you can look out for others, you need to look out for yourself. And that’s also ok.

Keeping the conversation going all year round

So before you dismiss it as something that’s ineffective, or a token gesture, think about how it’s opening up important dialogue for Australians that can be carried throughout the whole year. As the people behind R U OK? Day are the first to admit, “conversations need to happen every day.”

There is never any harm in asking someone if they are ok. Because if they are ok, they’ll know you’re someone who cares enough to ask. And if they’re not, you could significantly change their life with just one question.

Please remember, if you are experiencing significant distress, please reach out to Lifeline 131 114 or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636. If you, or anyone you know, is feeling suicidal you can also call the Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 for immediate support.

How to Talk About Mental Health in the Workplace

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

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Steps to create more open and positive conversations about mental health in your workplace

In this article, we’ll look at how you can take steps to create more open and positive conversations about mental health in your workplace, and provide the people around you with the support they need.

With many people now working from home, both employers and staff members need to consider how to work safely and comfortably.  

Research conducted by the World Health Organization also states that lower back pain is among the top ten diseases and injuries that account for the highest number of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). This measurement assesses the number of years of productive life lost due to disability.

Various studies have also concluded that spending too many hours sitting is detrimental to your health. Inactivity for long periods raises the risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, deep-vein thrombosis, and metabolic syndrome. 

Employers have a responsibility to ensure that their staff members can complete their work safely and comfortably. While the rules and expectations vary in different countries, it should be a top priority for all managers to set their employees up for success. 

Here, we give a brief introduction to ergonomics and list some tips you can share with staff members to minimize injury, pain, or strain while working from home. 

In simple terms, ergonomics is the study of people in their working environment. The goal of an ergonomic assessment is to reduce or eliminate discomfort and risk of injury due to work. 

Ergonomists consider a job using three main criteria known as “Ergonomic Stressors”: the force required to complete a task, any awkward or static working postures adopted in completing a task, and the repetitiveness of a task. These factors, or a combination of these factors, can place an employee at high risk for discomfort. 

The University of Queensland has a thorough ergonomics self-assessment tool for working at a desk, which employees can use as a checklist to ensure they are sitting or standing in a comfortable position. It is surprising the difference a few simple adjustments can make to relieve tension. 

How to set up your home office ergonomically

If working from home is new to you, the aim is to set up your seat and desk to support your body, just as you would at the office. 

Many people will be working at kitchen tables on a laptop, as this might be the only option available. However, it is crucial to ensure you position your body correctly. 

If possible, invest in a larger screen to avoid putting unnecessary strain on your neck and back. Your employer might be able to contribute to the cost of this. 

Correct positioning will limit the negative health impacts of sitting for most of the day. Consider the following to make your workspace as ergonomic as possible: 

At first, working from home can feel quite informal. You might be wearing more casual clothes, and you are generally used to relaxing at home. In this mindset, it can be easy to slump and forget the position of your body.

Try to keep your spine in an upright position. Having the correct alignment goes beyond benefiting your posture. It can also help to prevent chronic pain.  

To help with this, think about creating right angles with your joints, at your elbows, knees, and ankles. If you can, adjust your chair to create better alignment. 

Keep your focus at eye level. Ideally, the top of the screen or monitor will be at or slightly below eye level. Your eyes should be looking slightly downward towards the middle of the screen to avoid putting pressure on the neck. 

Scroll as you work to ensure what you are looking at is roughly in the middle of the screen. 

The monitor should also be approximately 50cm away from your eyes, or arm’s length distance directly in front of your body.

After you have adjusted your chair, and your body is in the correct position, your feet should be flat on the floor. If they aren’t, you may need a footrest to relieve pressure on the spine. 

You can either buy a specially designed footrest, use an empty box, or a few books. The goal is to ensure your feet are flat when you are in position.

If you have positioned your chair correctly, your elbows will be at right angles. They will be at the same height as your desk, not higher or lower.  This alignment can prevent strain in your shoulders and neck. 

Position your keyboard close to the edge of the desk, so you aren’t reaching out towards it, but far enough away so that your forearms and wrists can rest when you have a break from typing. Position the mouse at the same level as the keyboard, either to the right or left. 

Ergonomics is also concerned with work practices. Taking regular breaks is considered part of an ergonomic approach to desk work, as long periods spent sitting or working at a screen can be detrimental to both physical and mental health. 

The Pomodoro technique can help you to take regular breaks and remind you to check-in with yourself. This video from Trello explains how to use the method effectively. The idea is to take a short break every 25 minutes, followed by a more extended break after two hours, as this is proven to make you more focused and productive. 

You can use your short breaks to walk into another room and move around, or maybe even do a few simple yoga poses to get your spine moving. Your upper body is an area to focus on, as this gets very little attention when you are sitting for long periods.

Sophia is a freelance writer who specialises in thought leadership, opinion pieces and content creation for learning publications. Her work focuses on the latest research in learning theory and practice. She regularly contributes articles on workplace learning and personal development to the Go1 blog. You can connect with her on LinkedIn. 

Thinking about ergonomics in your home office

In the modern world, unlimited access to technology puts our brains in a state of constant stimulation. Notifications, alerts, and reminders help to keep us on track, but they can make it difficult to switch off at night.  

A Gallup poll in the U.S. found that 40% of Americans get less than the recommended 7-9 sleep per night. Yet, sleep is essential to our health and optimal performance at work. 

We have looked at the science and put together some advice for your team on the benefits of getting a good night’s sleep. 

In the international bestseller, Why We Sleep, neuroscientist Matthew Walker explains how sleep can boost our intelligence, make us more attractive, and improve our moods. 

Not only is sleep an essential process to the body’s everyday functions, it can also help to ward off cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. 

Our brains use around 20 percent of the body's total energy consumption. One of the main functions of sleep is to replenish the hard-working brain circuitry. This process helps to protect us from brain-related illnesses such as dementia and mood disorders. 

The REM phase of sleep helps the brain to connect unrelated ideas, which boosts our creativity and problem-solving abilities. Think back to the time you miraculously solved a problem or completed a task with ease after a good rest. 

Sleep can also enhance learning. Our waking hours are the best time for learning something new, but the dreams we have during REM sleep improve memory consolidation. 

For this reason, we are primed for problem solving and creativity when we first wake up. While we have been asleep, our brains have been able to make new pathways and connections with the information we have taken in the previous day.  

Tips for getting a better night’s sleep

Despite the proven benefits of sleep, many people find it difficult to get a full, unbroken night’s rest. Here, we have put together some tips to help your team improve sleep hygiene, and reap the benefits of increased brain function: 

Our brains are wired to chase rewards. We feel sleepy, and we want to feel more alert, so we have a coffee and get the kick we need. This pattern of cue, routine, and reward is fundamental to human behaviour - a process that psychologists have labelled the habit loop. With knowledge of this cycle, it is possible to reprogram the most reluctant mind to repeat the desired behaviour effortlessly - including falling asleep at the same time each night. 

If you complete the same rituals before going to bed, like flossing, brushing your teeth, or reading for twenty minutes, your brain will learn that this is the time you sleep. The pattern will trigger the release of melatonin, the hormone we need to start feeling sleepy.

The Sleep Foundation states that ninety percent of people admit to using a technological device in the hour before bed. They add that “using electronic devices before bedtime can be physiologically and psychologically stimulating in ways that can adversely affect your sleep.”

Devices interfere with our body’s internal clock, or circadian rhythm, and suppress the release of melatonin. This effect is due to the artificial blue light they emit.  

Avoid using any technology in the hour before bed, and allow your brain to become relaxed and ready for sleep.

Our body temperature fluctuates at night, just as it does during the day. But we sleep better when we are cool. The ideal temperature for adults is around 18.3°C. One study in 2012 found that room temperature is one of the most critical factors for achieving a quality night’s sleep. 

As we prepare to go to sleep, our body temperature also drops, so it is best to avoid high-intensity exercise before bed if you have trouble falling asleep. Keeping blinds down in your bedroom during the day can also be an effective way to prevent heat build-up. 

The circadian rhythm, or body clock, is an internal system designed to manage our feelings of sleepiness and wakefulness over 24 hours. This system is controlled by the part of the brain that responds to light. 

However, this internal rhythm can vary between people. Our sleep patterns can be divided into two main “chronotypes”: the morning larks and night owls. Approximately a third of the population are morning larks, a third are night owls, and the other third are somewhere in between. There is nothing we can do to reset our natural inclinations. 

As a result, in a 9-5 world, night owls are often more tired, less active, and more susceptible to poor health. They have higher rates of depression, anxiety, diabetes, cancer, heart attack, and stroke.

Because of this, opportunities for remote work have real potential to be beneficial for productivity in the workplace. If employers are understanding, we can work with our chronotypes and switch on for work during the hours when we are most alert. Work in sync with your circadian rhythm wherever possible.   

Caffeine is a stimulant that works on our central nervous system. It can boost energy and improve mood. 

The half-life of caffeine varies between people but is approximately 5-6 hours. If you consume 10mg of caffeine, you will have 5mg in your system five hours later. In light of this, The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that you avoid drinking caffeine at least six hours before bedtime.    

For more helpful tips, you might like to take a look at our Go1 Mental Health and Wellbeing pathway, a collection of curated courses to help you stay healthy, alert and connected when working remotely.

Why getting enough sleep is more important than you think

With greater numbers of employees working remotely from home in response to COVID-19, it’s now more important than ever to stay connected. 

With this in mind, we hosted a webinar in collaboration with R U OK? - a non-profit organisation aiming to reduce the number of suicides in Australia, by urging people to reach out to each other and create supportive networks across our communities. 

Webinar replay | Staying connected in the new landscape

As R U OK? says, “it is now even more important that we all promote a sense of community, reach out and ask our friends, family and colleagues, “Are you OK?”

In the webinar, Go1’s Social Impact Manager Cam Cliff was joined by Go1 co-founder Vu Tran, and R U OK? CEO Katherine Newton, to discuss:

the key challenges facing organisations during this time

the potential impact of remote work on employee mental health

steps workplaces can take to create open and positive discussions around mental health

how to check in with teammates when working remotely

some of the signs someone may be struggling during this time

Attendee Jessica Hennessy summarises some key takeaways from the webinar:

1. Anxiety manifests physically first. Even if you're not an overly anxious person, recent events may have brought that anxiety to the surface. Be mindful of physical cues, in yourself and in others and offer an ear where you can to help alleviate that anxiety. Now is not the time to forget that mental health is still important!

2. When speaking with someone, ask them if they're still doing something they love. For example, I love keeping fit and getting a workout in. If someone has stopped doing the things they have always loved doing, this could be a sign that they're struggling. Offer some support.

3. We CAN make a difference as employers. Don't underestimate the roles we play in changing the trajectory of where our employee's lives go. Even if you need to make the hard decision to let someone go, do it in the right way and offer them open lines of communication and support in SOME way.

To help people #stayconnected we've also curated and released these additional free wellbeing resources for businesses.

Go1's Vu Tran and R U OK? CEO Katherine Newton get together to discuss the potential impact of remote work on employee mental health and the importance of staying connected during this challenging time. 

Staying connected in the new landscape of remote work

With many of us now working from home to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, we all need to consider alternative ways to remain physically active. 

In the office environment, there are opportunities for incidental exercise. Perhaps you popped out for lunch to a nearby cafe or went for a walk with colleagues. Working remotely reduces these opportunities - but it can create new ones.  And it doesn’t have to be detrimental to your physical health.  

This is our guide to help everyone on your team get moving. 

Exercise benefits the body in many ways, including boosting the immune system. Because of this, regular activity can help to flatten the curve and reduce the number of people getting infected with the virus.

The World Health Organization recommends varying levels of physical activity for different age groups. The general guidelines for adults aged 18-64 are to find time for at least 150 minutes per week of moderately intense exercise. Whether we are heading out for work or staying at home, this remains unchanged.  

Social distancing measures can make it challenging to know which types of exercise are appropriate. While this will depend on the restrictions in your country, any activity you can do while maintaining at least one meter between yourself and others will ensure you are limiting the spread of infection. It is also essential to wash your hands and disinfect any equipment others might use afterwards. 

If working from home is new to you, set up your seat and desk to support your body, just as you would at the office. Many people will be working at kitchen tables on a laptop, which is fine, but it is essential to ensure the spine is supported. Paying attention to this will limit the negative health impacts of sitting for most of the day. To make your workspace as ergonomic as possible, consider making the following changes: 

Try to keep your posture upright. To help with this, think about creating right angles with your joints. At your elbows, knees, and ankles. 

Keep your focus at eye level. If you are working with a laptop, this can be hard, but you can raise it with a few books, or invest in a specially designed stand. 

If you can, invest in a few critical pieces of kit for your home office. A screen, desk, and a good chair are all you need to stay comfortable. If you are using a laptop, also consider buying a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Working at home has advantages. You can attend urgent appointments, and your day becomes more flexible.

However, creating a new routine for yourself is not easy. Perhaps you are used to going to the gym after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If possible, stick to this, and move your gym membership to somewhere local. Keeping as many parts of your old routine as possible will help to maintain momentum with physical activity.

If you started your workday with a walk as part of your commute, re-create that when working from home. Make it easier for yourself by working with existing habits. 

It can take some time to adjust to working from home. Try to accept this fact, and don’t worry too much if it feels a little chaotic or unsettling at first. 

You might also miss out on some physical activity while you are getting used to your new way of life. In this case, don’t panic. You will soon get into new habits and ways of operating that work for you and help you achieve your fitness goals.

It’s easier to be more creative with your movement when working from home than in the office. You can lie on the floor, jump up and down for 10 seconds - whatever your body needs. Just make sure you have finished the Zoom call first!

The Pomodoro technique can also help you to take regular breaks and remind you to check-in with yourself. This video from Trello explains how to use the method effectively. The idea is to take a short break every 25 minutes, followed by a longer break after two hours, as this is proven to make you more focused and productive. 

5. Use any extra time you’ve gained wisely

A great benefit of remote work is no longer having a long and expensive commute. If you had a long journey, this could add up to a significant amount of extra time during the day. 

Try to avoid using this time for extra work. You most likely wouldn’t have been working while travelling to the office, so allocate the time for yourself to be active.

How to stay physically healthy when working from home 

In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, ensuring that your employees stay mentally healthy is now a top priority. Nobody will have experienced a crisis on this scale before, and for some team members, the pandemic may have severely affected their family or close friends. 

With the majority of staff now working from home, it's important to consider how working remotely can impact an employee's mental health. Here, we have some advice for managers and leaders to help you offer the right support for your teams during this time. 

A sense of belonging is integral to being human. Social distancing measures have severely limited our ability to connect with others.

In modern life, we form many different tribes. Our families, sports teams, book clubs - these are all groups we can belong to. They help us connect to something greater than ourselves.

Our work teams are also a kind of tribe. Although there are ways to remain socially connected with colleagues online, working remotely undoubtedly makes this harder. 

In research conducted by Buffer in 2019 on the state of remote work, participants noted that their biggest struggle is with maintaining wellbeing. 22 percent found it challenging to switch off after work, 19 percent feel isolated, and eight percent can’t stay motivated.

There is a risk that employees working outside the office can become socially isolated. Ideally, companies would carefully design their remote work programs. Under the current circumstances, we don’t have the luxury of time to plan in this way, but there are steps we can take to improve the experience for employees. 

Social isolation is also proven to have adverse effects on both mental and physical well being, although why this happens is not yet fully understood. 

In light of the impact working remotely could have on employees, I have put together some tips on managing mental wellbeing. 

1. Accept that there will be a period of adjustment

Getting used to the new social distancing measures in place across the world will be challenging. There will be a period of adjustment for everybody. The uncertainty around how long the rules will need to be in place adds another layer of difficulty. 

All we can do is accept this new situation as best we can, and work with what we have. 

Accept that your colleagues will take time to get used to it. They might also know people who have been severely affected.

Even if you are busy, staying connected socially is essential. When you are in the same space in the office environment, informal conversation and socialising happen incidentally. Working online is different. Most interaction is organized, and often formal. 

While this saves time to focus on work, we do lose something if we don’t allow some time for chats about the weekend or life in general.  These kinds of conversations are important for team morale, and mental health. 

3. Set boundaries between work and home 

Now that we are all spending the majority of the day at home, we need to set clear boundaries between work and downtime. Having a designated space can help with this, and if possible, only use this space for work. 

When you have finished for the day, leave the room or space, and don’t return to it until you start to work the next day.  This approach might take some discipline to begin with, but it can help with switching off from the workday.

Some people will find it more difficult than others to adjust to social isolation. People need varying levels of social interaction.

Extroverted team members will find the adjustment to working alone the most challenging. They thrive on being around other people and may find it difficult to motivate themselves in isolation. 

Perhaps check in with more extroverted team members more often, and do your best to look after each other. 

It is all too easy at the moment to become overly focused on the negative. Our built-in negativity bias helps us to stay safe from danger, but it can lead to anxiety and depression when left unmonitored. 

Being overly positive and ignoring the danger isn’t helpful, but try to keep negative thoughts in check and detach from them. 

Limiting the amount of time you spend consuming the news is an effective way to do this. Some news is crucial, but there is a lot of it out there, so focus on the snippets of information you need from reputable sources. This will help to keep things in perspective and maintain a more balanced mindset.

We are currently experiencing a significant challenge as a global community. Now, more than ever, we need to check in with our thoughts and feelings and do our best to manage them. 

For you, this might mean going for a walk to reflect, listening to music, meditating, or journaling. Whatever it is that you do to stay mentally healthy, take the time to do it, and take care of yourself. 

Checking in is particularly important if you suffer from mild to moderate anxiety or depression, or if you have in the past. For more support, the Australian not-for-profit Beyond Blue offers advice and services to those needing additional support with their mental health. 

Managing mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic - Go1

How to manage employees’ mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic

In a relatively short space of time, the outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in significant changes to the working day for many people. Nobody is sure when, or if the workplace will return to what it was. 

In these uncertain times, we all have to learn new ways of operating at work. Those already accustomed to working from home will have techniques for remaining engaged. For those new to the process, it will be a challenging adjustment. 

Here, we outline the ways you can lead your team through the transition, helping them to stay socially connected.

Working with others has many benefits. We can collaborate more efficiently, connect with others, and their intentions are more apparent.

According to research, 93% of communication occurs nonverbally, through body language and tone of voice. Only seven percent of understanding is received through words. This data shows how much we are missing out on when using email and messaging platforms instead of talking to each other face-to-face. 

Social interaction is also essential for learning. According to the 70:20:10 model of workplace learning, 20 percent of what we learn happens when we engage with others. 

While employees can use instant messaging platforms to converse, it is crucial to be aware that much of what is said is lost, and misunderstandings could happen quickly without talking things through on a call. 

There are also plenty of ways to interact socially, but employees may not be accustomed to having informal chats or asking each other questions when working from home. It is essential to encourage your colleagues to keep talking to each other, and to interact as frequently as possible. 

Social isolation can also affect both mental and physical well being, although it is not yet understood why. 

Suggestions for connecting with team members

There are steps we can take to mitigate the adverse effects of fewer social interactions. I have outlined them below to help your team stay connected and to boost morale.

While many people adjust to their new work situation, team leaders need to check in regularly. Equally, you'll need to get the balance right and give employees enough space to complete their projects.

Some team members will need more instruction than others. Certain people will be happy to create their projects and self-initiate. Others will need a little more guidance, especially if they are young or in a more junior role. 

Some people are also more extroverted than others. These team members will most likely find the adjustment to working alone the most challenging.  Extroverts thrive on being around other people and may find it difficult to motivate themselves in isolation. 

2. Encourage your colleagues to have informal catch-ups

Even if you are busy, it is critical to keep up team morale. In the office environment, informal conversation and socializing happen incidentally, because you are in the same physical space. When working online, most interaction is organized and often formal. 

While this saves time to focus on work, we do lose something if we don’t allow some time for chats about the weekend or life in general.  These kinds of conversations are also essential for team morale and mental health.  

3. Ask those who already work at home for their advice	

In many companies, some employees will already be used to working from home. It could be helpful to chat with these people and ask them how they manage socializing with their colleagues online. They have the experience and could share it with others who aren’t so used to working outside the office. 

If any team members are struggling, you could buddy them up with a seasoned remote worker to ask for advice and help them adjust to the process. 	

While it is relatively easy with modern technology to connect with a team member or a small group of people on a conference call, it can be harder to get the whole team together. Team members might be used to after-work drinks on a Friday night, or regular dinners with colleagues.

In this case, it might be worth putting it to a vote and seeing whether your staff would like to do an end of week call. Using video call software, everyone can dial into the call. Employees who feel comfortable could take it in turns to lead the call. This strategy works well to connect the remote members of the team at Go1!

5. Make an extra effort to interact with people 

When at work in the office, we organically interact with people we sit next to, or people on other teams. We might pop to the kitchen to make a coffee or tea and have a chat with our colleagues.  When working from home, particularly if you live alone, this is unlikely to happen. You might go the whole day without speaking to anybody.

Being social when working remotely requires more effort. You won’t just bump into people, so you need to organize catch up calls, and initiate conversation more than you otherwise might.  

Equally, if you know a colleague who is working from home and living alone, check in with them more regularly or give them a call. Just five minutes of conversation might make a real difference to their day. 

How to keep your colleagues socially connected for extended periods of remote work

In Australia, October is recognised as Mental Health Awareness Month - a month to raise awareness about mental health and shine a spotlight on what we can do to look after our mental health and reach out to those who need support.

At Go1, our objective is to highlight the importance of a mentally healthy workplace through learning.

We also believe that the more open we are about discussing mental health in the workplace, the more we can help to support one another, while also reducing stigma around it. 

The facts about mental health in the workplace

With concerns about mental health continually rising in Australia, it’s never been more important for organisations to know how to support their employees, while providing a positive work culture and environment for all staff.

The fact is, at any given time 1 in 5 Australian employees are likely to be experiencing a mental health condition. With so many people suffering in silence from the effects of anxiety, panic disorders, OCD, and depression – possibly even that person you sit next to every day who always seems ‘fine.’

It’s really important for managers to support any employee who appears to be struggling. And if you’re in a leadership role, you need to make sure that mental health is being considered as part of your organisation’s workplace wellbeing strategy.

Steps you can take to raise knowledge, awareness, and support

Many Australian organisations are eager to address employee mental wellbeing but don’t know where to start. 

Online training courses can be a very effective way to educate employees, managers, and employers on the importance of building mental health awareness within the workplace. While online courses can’t replace the guidance and expertise of a mental health professional, they can help employees of all levels to understand more about mental health in the workplace. 

eLearning can help individuals to establish new ways of thinking about and improving mental health, through proven techniques and strategies, while also recognising that they are not alone in dealing with these issues. 

Online training is also really important for employers and managers. Investing some time into more learning will help managers to feel more equipped and ready to help staff who may be experiencing the problems of low mental health. 

Keen to get involved in Mental Health Awareness Month?

To support Australian workplaces throughout Mental Health Awareness Month, we have curated five highly relevant and informative courses to educate and raise awareness. 

We encourage you to explore online training over the next month, completing the following courses - one each week - for the duration of October.

Mental Health Awareness (for Managers, for Employees)

We will bring you the first of these online training courses next week - stay tuned! 

If you have access to our content library, you will have full access to these courses. Reach out to your customer success manager for more information.

Please remember, if you are experiencing significant distress, you can reach out to Lifeline 131 114 or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 for immediate support.

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Australian businesses are failing to support employees when it comes to mental wellbeing, with some people alarmingly still being told to “toughen up”, according to new research released today.

The Go1 Workplace Wellbeing 2019 survey polled more than 1000 working Australians on how well their workplace manages their mental health. 

Alarmingly, 7% of bosses tell employees to "toughen up" when they approach them regarding their mental health. Only 28% advise staff to see a doctor, and 40% simply "do nothing."

Only a third of employees are comfortable talking to their manager about their mental health, with 16% "uncomfortable" and 28% "very uncomfortable."

Employees are also more likely to talk to coworkers (20%) or "no one" (32%) about their mental health, than their manager (18%) or HR (10%).

The national survey was conducted in August 2019 by Go1.com, the world’s largest online training marketplace.

GP and Go1 co-founder Vu Tran said the results are very concerning.

"Australian businesses clearly need to do better. We know that more than 40% of all workers have their productivity, health and family stability impacted substantially as a result of high stress at work, and 50% of all employees leave a workplace because of it being a poor mental health environment," Dr Tran said.