Supporting the wellbeing of your team
With the working year coming to a close and the holiday season ahead of us, it is important to support our peers and colleagues at this potentially stressful and intense time of year. Ensure that you are checking in on your team members, and checking if they are okay, or if they require some extra support.
We recognise that these past few years haven’t been easy. When we left the extended lockdown of 2021, things started to feel a bit more normal for a while, but 2022 has brought new obstacles. We’re adjusting to living with Omicron in the community, along with other stressors, and many of us are feeling tired and overwhelmed.
Feelings can change day to day, and you may be going through ups and downs right now. You might feel out of sorts, uneasy, down, and happy! All these emotions are normal, and they are many ways to look after ourselves, and each other through the busy holiday season.
It is important that we monitor our own wellbeing and remember self-care to identify and/or process our own emotional responses:
- Eat, sleep and exercise in a healthy manner
- Do things we enjoy on our days off
- Spend time with people whose company we value
- Strengthen bonds with family and or other social supports
- Minimise alcohol and smoking
- Talk with someone that we trust
- Discuss with Welfare Officer or a Peer Supporter
If you notice someone in your team may be struggling, having a kōrero with them is a good place to start. Consider using the psychological first aid tool M.A.N.E.R.S as a guide to start those discussions.
Use phrases like:
- Just lately I have noticed…
- You seem less chatty than normal…
- I notice you don’t come to morning tea anymore…
Look out for changes in the 'normal' behaviour of both yourself and your team.
- Are you grumpy and short with your team or whānau?
- Is one of your team becoming increasingly withdrawn?
- Are people showing levels of increased fatigue and poor concentration?
Connect with the Safety, Health and Wellbeing team to assist in any wellbeing discussions or to guide you through the M.A.N.E.R.S model. You can also access the model via Learning Station(external link).
Sometimes holding space and letting people know you are there to support them is enough, you don’t need to fix the issue. It is important to remember that there is further wellbeing support should you or any of your people need it.
- Your GP
- Our Peer Support network
- Confidential counselling support through Vitae 0508664981
- Free call or text 1737(external link) any time for support from a trained counsellor
- Contracted psychologists via the Safety, Health and Wellbeing team
Other great sources of information, support and wellbeing toolkits include: