This November Support Act is partnering with triple j and the Australian Recording Industry Association for AusMusic T-Shirt Day. It's a great way to show support for Australian music - and the people who make it. The day will be held on Friday the 18th of November and will help raise funds to provide crisis relief and mental health services to artists, crew and music workers who are doing it tough.

"Ausmusic T-Shirt Day is an annual day of fun and awareness to celebrate Aussie music and raise urgently-needed funds for music workers in crisis. After the last few shocking years of bushfires, pandemic, floods and now the sky high cost of living, the music industry needs your help more than ever before." Visit the AusMusic T-shirt Day Website here.

The Support Act Wellbeing Helpline is a free, confidential counselling service that is available to anyone working in Australian music (all genres), or the Australian Performing Arts, who needs to talk to someone about any aspect of their wellbeing. It is delivered in partnership with AccessEAP, and is staffed by professional counsellors who offer expertise in all areas related to mental health (e.g. depression, anxiety, addiction) as well as issues which can be mental health-related (such as loneliness, relationship breakdown, financial worries, illness and workplace conflict).

The service is accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days per year by calling 1800 959 500 within Australia. Find out more information about the Support Act Wellbeing Helpline here.

November 18th is White Ribbon Day. It's an opportunity to bring people together – in person or online - to raise awareness and commit to action to prevent violence against women. Learn more about the day and how you can keep the momentum going forward on the White Ribbon Website here.

On October 17^th State and Federal governments released the National Plan to end violence against women and children. This is a 10-year plan that includes a framework of actions to end violence against women and children in one generation. It highlights how all parts of society including governments, business and workplaces, media, schools, and communities must work together towards a shared vision of ending gender-based violence.

Read more about the plan and how Newport & Wildman can support you and your organisation in our article- Release of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032.

We’ve all done it. It seemed like the right thing to say or do at the time – maybe we thought it would sound witty or be deeply appreciated. Or maybe it was a knee-jerk reaction. Whatever the circumstance, we have all experienced those moments when the outcome is so very different to what we imagined, and then when we ask ourselves “Why did I just do that?” we don’t have an answer… and we then criticise ourselves for acting in the way we did.

A lot of those moments come down to not paying thoughtful attention to our and others’ emotions. Emotional Intelligence is “The ability to monitor your own and others’ feelings, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide your thinking and actions” (Salovey & Mayer, 1990).

Let’s unpack that.

First, it’s the ability to be aware that you or someone else is feeling something. We are always feeling something. Even feeling neutral about something is feeling something. So it’s the ability to recognise that feelings are always with us and to pay attention to this.

Second, it’s the ability to discriminate what you or someone else is feeling. You notice you are feeling something, and then you pause and ask yourself – what is that? Aim to put a label to it. Is that tightening in your stomach anger, anxiety or excitement? When we practice, we can get quite good at assigning labels to emotions. We might be able to label an emotion as ‘embarrassed anger’ or ‘nervous anxiety’ or ‘fearful excitement.’ Getting more fine-grained in identifying how we and others might be feeling helps us with the next step.

Third, we treat emotional information as data. In other words, we use our emotions and our perception of others’ emotions to inform us about what is going on, and then use that information to help guide what we say or do next. Emotions evolved as ways to let us know what is important to us and what actions to take. But not including our emotional data from a thoughtful approach as to what is the next step can lead to us regretting that next step. Feeling angry and simply shouting at someone, or feeling nervous and running from the room are not actions that are going to lead to you being valued in the workplace. So Emotional Intelligence is making thoughtful use of our emotions and our perception of others’ emotions to inform what we do next and how we treat others.

For more information see our tip sheet Building Emotional Intelligence on the AccessMyEAP App. Human emotions have evolved over millions of years to help us make good decisions. Ignoring them just doesn’t make sense.

To arrange an appointment, please call Newport & WIldman on 1800 650 204.

Stephen Malloch, Senior Clinician

Photo by Ann H

Newport & Wildman is proudly part of AccessEAP.

Our Reconciliation Action Plan is an important part of our journey of cultural responsiveness and sensitivity, enabling us to sustainably and strategically take meaningful action to advance reconciliation.

We recognise the need to offer the opportunity to speak with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Counsellor or a Culturally Sensitive Counsellor. We have an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Dedicated Support Line to facilitate a culturally safe experience for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. We partner with a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Organisations and are currently offering EAP services to the staff of an Aboriginal community organisation, working with them to ensure our training is culturally appropriate and is being delivered by either an Indigenous facilitator or co-facilitator.

We are on this path with the guidance of Aunty Gail Daylight, a proud and strong Aboriginal woman from the Kamilaroi Nation.

 Aunty Gail is a proud and strong Aboriginal woman from the Kamilaroi Nation, is married and has 2 children and 2 grandchildren.

She has worked within Aboriginal health since 1978.

Throughout Aunty Gail’s working career, she has been involved in the drafting, development mentoring and monitoring of many Reconciliation Action Plans for both government (GO) and non government (NGO) sector.

Title: Mum + Dad

Artist: Kayelene Slater

The story shows Aunty Gail’s Mum & Dad with their 14 children.

Aunty Gail is the 6^th symbol from the bottom right and is shown between her 2 brothers who have spears beside them.

Newport & Wildman acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the First Peoples of the lands we live and work on throughout Australia. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community as we pay our respects to the Elders past, present and future. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples who connect with this page.

The words ‘Self-Care’ are used to describe those things we do to sustain ourselves through difficulties and help us feel buoyant. A useful way to think of it is that we have various ways in which we can nourish ourselves. There’s the way that is most obvious – the food we eat.  And then there are other ways – the music we listen to, the books that we read, the artwork and scenery that we look at, the conversations that we engage in. All these activities feed us through our senses.

How to start:

1. Take a moment to remember a conversation or interaction that really nourished you. What were you talking about? Who were you with? Perhaps it was with close friends or colleagues talking about a topic that really mattered to all of you? Maybe you came away from it feeling calmer, or clearer, or more alive?
2. Then take a moment to remember a conversation or interaction that left you feeling drained – perhaps you felt somehow diminished by it.
3. You can apply this same exercise to the music you listen to, the books and articles that you read, what you spend time looking at (which can include what you wear), as well as, of course, the food that you eat.
4. Having made a mental (or actual) list of what nourishes you and what doesn’t – the next step can be to decide what a really healthy, sustaining way of living looks like for you – food, reading, conversations, music, what you look at, what you wear.

Nourishing ourselves like this helps us face and work with the inevitable difficulties of life and work. Rates of burnout and fatigue are rising in Australia. The latest ELMO survey of Australian workers (reported in April this year) found that almost half are feeling burnt out – a 10% increase on the same period last year. The increase is attributed to our increased workloads – 24% said they had taken more responsibilities in their jobs, and 32% feel overwhelmed with the amount of work they need to do. This is coupled with 44% of survey respondents saying they want things to change and are seeking greener pastures – they are planning to look for a different job this year.

Self-care is an activity we can do both individually and collectively as a whole organisation. As an individual you can ask yourself what ways of living nourish you. As a leader or manager, you can ask your employees how they are finding their workplace and workload, and what nourishes them.

We’ll never get it perfect – but we can nudge things along, paying attention to what is in our control, so our circumstances improve, and we feel more nourished by our life.

To arrange an appointment to help you through this process, please call Newport & Wildman on 1800 650 204.

Stephen Malloch, Senior Clinician

The Mission Statement for R U OK? is to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them and support anyone struggling with their life circumstances. R U OK? has resources to help create the skills for great conversations that are a normal part of your everyday check-ins with colleagues and friends. It was started by Gavin Larkin, whose father committed suicide in 1995. In 2009, Gavin chose to champion just one question - “are you OK?” - to honour his father and to try to protect other families from the pain of suicide. Working with Janina Nearn, the R U OK? movement was born.

Asking R U OK? is not just for R U OK? Day (held each year, nationally, in early September). It’s a habit for all of us to cultivate every day of the year. Checking in on someone when we notice they might not be OK assists people to feel connected, supported and hopefully prevents them from spiralling downwards.

In addition to us as individuals checking in on the people around us, we can help create an R U OK? workplace culture. An R U OK culture means that you feel comfortable asking your colleagues how they are every day - and mean it! Be ready to have a chat if they say they’re not ok – take the time to be with them to listen. Trust your gut instinct if you sense someone isn’t OK – reach out to them and have a chat.  It’s a workplace culture where leaders role model caring behaviours towards others, taking time to listen. An R U OK? culture is having time for each other and asking someone if they’re ok if you sense that they aren’t.

What are you doing to contribute to the creation of that sort of culture?

It might be that a colleague’s behaviour changes in some way. They may seem withdrawn, not their usual chatty self, they may have taken a few days off work unexpectedly, or seem irritable, and this change in behaviour continues for a week or two. It’s important to be aware that if these signs continue to be present for more than a couple of weeks it is advisable that someone see their GP or make contact with a counsellor (perhaps through their EAP program).

Asking someone R U OK? might just change a life.

For more information on how to have an R U OK? conversation, click here or to arrange an appointment for yourself, please call 1800 650 204.

There are many different personal boundaries at work that, when acknowledged and respected, make for a fairer more equitable work environment. Here, we focus on the importance of respecting workload boundaries - an issue we are hearing more of.

What is a boundary? The dictionary definition is “a line which marks the limits of an area; a dividing line”. So inherent in the word boundary is knowing our own and other people’s limits.

Let’s look at two examples.

• After Jim said ‘yes, sure, I’ll take care of that’ to the sixth person that day, he realised he had a problem. How was he going to get all this done? There was still his own work to do, and he’d promised to help all these other people. Another late night…
• Sarah was great at strategy and planning – came as second nature to her. She had risen up the ranks fast. She liked working long hours, and expected others to do the same. It wasn’t unusual to receive an email from Sarah that had been sent after midnight asking for work to be completed that same day, regardless of the other work the person had planned.

While there are many differences in their behaviours, one thing that is similar between these two people is their lack of acknowledgment of and respect for workload boundaries.  In Jim’s case, it’s lack of acknowledgement of his own boundaries. There is a saying that any strength, when taken to extremes, becomes a weakness. Jim’s wish to help others is commendable – we all like it when a colleague offers to assist us with something. But in Jim’s case, he is helping so much that his own work is suffering – and it’s quite possibly negatively affecting his own wellbeing.

In Sarah’s case, again, the ability to work long hours and bring others along for the ride can certainly help boost productivity and produce great results – but taken to extremes, it leads to others burning out, and perhaps becoming resentful that their own priorities are not being acknowledged.

Do you relate to either of these two examples?

At Newport & Wildman we counsel many people who feel pushed to do more and more, and feel it is in some ways their own failing that they can’t get all the work done. “If only I were better at time management” they say, or “If only I could be more efficient,” where the truth is that they are constantly overstepping their own boundaries, taking on more than they can handle. The other side of this is wanting others to be more resilient so they can do more. Again, absolutely nothing wrong with building a resilient team. But, acknowledging that building resilience can go hand-in-hand with looking at systemic ways that work is handled more effectively and efficiently, plus acknowledging that people have limits that if crossed impacts on their health and wellbeing, will help create a healthier organisation.

Working together to design healthy, sustainable work practices, especially as we get used to the post-lockdown combination of working from home and the office, is important so that we an all find our balance, and, in the words of positive psychology, find ways to thrive.

To arrange an appointment, please call Newport & Wildman on 1800 650 204.

Stephen Malloch, AccessEAP Senior Clinician

Photo by RODNAE Productions.

#WomensHealthWeek 5-11 September 2022

With the stress COVID has placed on everyone's lives, along with other challenges faced in 2022, it’s now more important than ever to look after your overall health and wellbeing. This September, Women’s Health Week will be a great reminder to take time out to check in on your health and to keep making positive changes that can last a lifetime.

For more information and resources visit the Jean Hailes' Women's Health Week Website. It's time to put your health first.

With so many competing demands and expectations, the struggle to keep up with both work and home commitments can be extremely stressful. When stress persists to a point that a person feels they aren’t coping, it can affect the functioning of their day-to-day life as well as their overall wellbeing. The stressors of too much ‘juggling’ together with trying to do things well and be ‘good’ at everything is impacting women and their ability to sleep, think clearly and make decisions.

If you would like to arrange an appointment for yourself call us on 1800 650 204. Find out more about our counselling service here.

It’s ok not to be ok. It’s even more ok than ever to not be ok through our current pandemic. When you find yourself consistently challenged in ways you’ve never really experienced before, over an extended period of time, it’s easy to feel drained. We are in a period of time that we can say is unique for most of us as our lives change and evolve in response to the pandemic. At the moment that you find yourself reading this take a pause and acknowledge that in spite of all the challenges you have done the best you can do, and that’s more than can be expected. Remember, “It’s ok not to be ok”.

If you need to prioritise your self-care download our Personal Tool for Keeping Mentally Healthy.

Support is available. Reach out to us here at Newport & Wildman on 1800 650 204.

Life is always unpredictable and to some degree, confusing. And for many of us, this is one of those times. With the ongoing pandemic, natural disasters and personal changes in our lives, it can be hard to find a way of being that doesn’t draw us into feelings of anxiety and uncertainty.

And this is where Positive Psychology comes in.

Positive Psychology is not about pretending that everything is OK, and it’s not “look on the bright side!” That sort of ‘positivity’ is not helpful and can be upsetting in certain situations. Positive Psychology is the scientific study of what helps us to flourish. And when we flourish, we are much more likely to be more creative and be better at solving complex problems and meeting adversity. The term ‘flourish’ is often used in positive psychology. It means more than just managing and getting through life. Martin Seligman, one of the founders of positive psychology, talks about flourishing as finding fulfilment in our lives, accomplishing meaningful and worthwhile tasks, and connecting with others at a deeper level.

These are ways of living that we can pursue, whatever is happening around us. Ways to move towards flourishing are summed up in the PERMAH model. You can read about PERMAH and other ways of living that help us live a full and meaningful life in our Positive Psychology tip sheet (access through the AccessMyEAP App).

Along with cultivating flourishing, it is also important to be kind to ourselves. All of us will, at times, face adversity. By cultivating self-kindness, self-forgiveness, and self-compassion, we are better able to handle and recover from adversity, and we are better able to practice kindness, forgiveness and compassion towards others. These, together with pursuing a flourishing life, can create a sturdy raft on which we can navigate unpredictable and confusing times.

We know we need sleep but how do we get a good night's sleep? 

It's important to have sufficient, regular, good quality sleep so we can function effectively in our busy lives and help to maintain strong, robust immune systems. Nine hours a day is the standard health professionals suggest while realising that for many people, because of multiple competing demands, this is often difficult to achieve. The importance of short “nana naps” cannot be underestimated, as well as short, still “zone out times” during the day to help us to refresh our brains and bodies. If we review our sleep pattern there are probably some small things we can do to make our routine healthier – and we’re likely to then be surprised by the difference they make.

Some Useful Tips

• Aim to go to bed at a similar time as often as you can so you can have enough hours to help repair and heal the body from the stressors of the previous day.
• Spend a quiet period immediately prior to turning in to help your body and mind settle.
• A warm bath or shower before bed can trick the body into calming down, loosening.
• Get to know your body and the effects of alcohol, spicy food and other stimulants too close to your bedtime.
• It is preferable to keep your bedroom as distraction-free zones - no phones, TVs, iPads etc.
• Darkening the room so your body automatically prepares itself for rest can be helpful.
• If listening to music, keep the volume low enough and the type of music soothing enough, so you are likely to drift off.
• If you regularly wake up during the night and have difficulty falling back to sleep, remember that it may help to get up, have some water or a soothing tea, sit and quietly breathe, rather than lying in bed tense and frustrated that you are awake. Once we notice you are feeling more soothed and settled return to bed.
• Some people find it helps to read for a while or have a shower before trying again. It is to do with interrupting the pattern of tension and trying something different that may help to soothe your mind and body.

It is worth formulating your own list of practical, healthy, accessible, common sense ways to soothe your body and mind, so you can get optimised times of rest and rejuvenation.

We all know it's essential to prioritise eating well, exercise and relaxation in this incredibly stressful year but it can be a little easier said than done. Looking after yourself requires a multi-layered approach so below are some tips to help get you back on track.

Exercise 

• Exercise provides a mood boost and a more energised outlook on life thanks to the release of endorphins. Exercise can help to lift low mood.
• Exercising with a buddy, or as part of a team, provides a sense of belonging through the sharing of common interest. It also helps motivate and keep you on track toward your health goal.
• Participating in a sport or reaching a personal physical goal promotes a sense of mastery, accomplishment and increases self–esteem. Set yourself a physical goal no matter what your current fitness level is. Remember tackling small ‘chunks’ of a larger goal will see you mastering your chosen activity in no time! For example, commit to a 20-minute power walk each morning and increase this by 10 min increments each week until you are walking an hour a day.
• Exercise improves cognitive function. It has been proven decision-making and problem-solving ability improves after exercise. We all know the feeling of going out for a walk and coming back with a ‘clear’ mind. Some may even choose to use their lunch break as an hour to hit the gym, go for a jog, walk or train in a group.

Sleep

• A good night's sleep helps foster both mental and emotional resilience. Chronic sleep disruptions set the stage for negative thinking, depression, anxiety and emotional vulnerability. Being physically active throughout the day can help you get a restful sleep. See here for more tips to sleep well. 

Nutrition

• There is a growing body of evidence to demonstrate that the food we eat affects our mental health. For example, dietary changes have been successfully trialled in the treatment of clinical depression. The positive effects of good gut health also extend to improved mental performance, something to think about!
• Newport & Wildman offers the opportunity to receive a consultation with a nutritionist for advice about dietary changes to better support wellbeing. One nutrition consultation is part of your EAP session entitlement.

Water

• An adult can lose up to 2.5 litres of water daily through the lungs as water vapour, through the skin as perspiration, and through the kidneys as urine. If you do not drink enough fluids to replace this loss you will get the symptoms of dehydration, including irritability, loss of concentration and reduced mental functioning. Replace fluid with drinks such as water and non-caffeinated herbal teas. Aim for about 2.0 litres each day, and increase water consumption on very hot days or when you have been exercising.

Alcohol

• Alcohol has a depressant effect on the brain and can result in rapid worsening of your mood. Also, the body uses important nutrients to process alcohol; those who consume alcohol excessively may suffer from vitamin deficiencies, which can in turn impact mood and overall health. Limit your alcohol to special occasions and drink moderately, avoid binge drinking altogether.

For more information or to arrange an appointment, please contact Newport & Wildman on 1800 650 204.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

We’re kind to friends and our colleagues. We encourage our children to be kind. So why is it hard to turn that lens of kindness back onto ourselves? Are we are being selfish, wasting time with self-care? We know how hard it can be, especially during a pandemic, to be nice to ourselves but if we drive ourselves on relentlessly, something will give.

At Newport & Wildman, we talk to a lot of people about their ‘stress signature’. How do you know if you’re stressed? Stress shows up in our bodies (headaches, racing heart, insomnia), in our thoughts (excessive worry and catastrophising), behaviours (drinking to relax, not sleeping well) and relationships (being snappy with people, reactive to situations that normally slide right past us). 

Stress can be pretty awful, but it has reasons for putting us on edge. That surge of adrenaline when we are in danger tells our heart to pump blood to our limbs. Non-essential systems like digestion shut down (hence that sinking feeling in our gut when we are scared). This allows us to fight our way out of danger, or flee. Which is good when confronted with something dangerous but not so useful in our day-to-day lives. If we are constantly on edge, our fight or flight status leaves us exhausted. The stress hormone, cortisol, is key to this defence system but long-term it plays havoc with our bodies – blood sugar and blood pressure skyrocket, memory is affected, higher levels at night create insomnia.

By identifying our personal stress signatures, we can try and intervene to minimise the short and long term impacts on our lives. This can be as simple as taking a lunch break (not working while you eat), or making sure you have a real weekend with people you care with (not always checking emails). We all know the concept of self-care; eat well, exercise, relax, social connection, get enough sleep. It’s hard to fit what feels like downtime into our busy lives, but the benefit is huge in terms of our health, sanity, quality time with family and friends, and increased clear thinking, which means higher productivity.

For more tips on Self-care and managing stress during the pandemic, click here.

Productive conversations take time. They contain personal reflection and emotional self-management, perhaps also preparation. They certainly utilise active listening, a desire to be clear, to collaborate and to follow-up. Rushing is the enemy of a constructive conversation.

Yet conversational skills are almost never taught in schools, and are actively being eroded with the ever increasing modalities available to us to communicate in short-hand – texting, emailing, instant chat (often with auto-suggest). Actively building your conversational skills, and taking time with others to have these conversations, takes effort. But it’s effort well spent. It says ‘I want to understand you and build ideas and ways forward with you, it’s important to me, and I’m willing to invest the time to do it.’ As a leader, the way you converse with those around you lets people know the degree to which you value them (or not).

There are important elements in a constructive conversation. Here are some of our top tips-

Most important is the ability to listen. Listening is not just something we do as we impatiently wait our turn to speak next. Active listening is something that feeds our understanding of the other person and the situation they are describing. We listen with our ears and eyes – not jumping to conclusions, and not being busy in our mind creating the next thing we are going to say. We are curious and patient. As the saying goes, active listening is not listening to respond. It’s listening to understand.

Empathy and compassion are important. Empathy is our ability to take the perspective and feel the emotions of another – to stand in another’s shoes. Compassion is when those feelings and thoughts include the desire to help. A constructive conversation has within it the wish to help the other person express themselves clearly. Perhaps we ask questions to help this process, perhaps we check our understanding of what the other person is saying and feeling – for example, “it sounds like you are disappointed because...”, or perhaps we simply stay silent and listen without judgement.

Don’t over-talk. If you have explained what you want to say, stop. There is no need to say the same thing in three different ways just to fill the space (unless the other person asks for clarification). Over explaining can deaden a conversation.

Be genuine. Ulterior motives are often felt before they are heard. It puts people on guard and diminishes trust. Trust is built when the emotions you express are authentic, and your actions are in harmony with your words.

All these elements in a constructive conversation become even more important when there is conflict – actual or potential. To find out information about constructive conversations when there is conflict, you can refer to our tip sheet “Conversations that help us move through conflict.” (This resource can be accessed via the AccessMyEAP App or Login Areas)

Constructive conversations are focused on more than winning an argument or getting your point across. They are about deepening understanding and building ways forward. They enliven us. For more information or to arrange an appointment, call us on 1800 650 204.

Cover Image - Pexels Photo  by Ketut Subiyanto

It's Men's Health Week from the 13-19 June. The focus is on Building Healthy Environments for Men and Boys. It is an important opportunity to highlight the importance of men's health, and to promote and support the health and wellbeing of men and boys in our communities. Find out more on the official website.

At Newport & Wildman, we often hear from men that they feel pressure to be seen as invulnerable, stoic, and fearless. This can lead to unrealistic expectations that as a man you should be able to cope no matter what, and "get on with it". Emotions become synonymous with weakness and powerlessness. Men may also dismiss their feelings as unimportant and worry about burdening other people with their concerns.

Men experience emotions just as much as women do, however, the pressure not to show emotion or vulnerability means that emotions will build-up and result in what appear to be random and unexpected behaviour. Reluctance to talk about or acknowledge emotion can manifest in all sorts of unhelpful ways including:

• Excessive alcohol use
• Addiction to gambling or betting
• Ending relationships prematurely
• Resigning suddenly from their job
• Stopping activities of interest e.g. sports
• Neglecting friends and family
• Working longer hours
• Communication only via emails or text messages
• Aggression or violence
• Excessive time watching fantasy films, or gaming

What can Newport & Wildman do to help?

We can provide a comfortable and private space to talk where there isn’t pressure to bottle things up. A person who is experienced in understanding human emotion and behaviour can listen without judgment and without consequence. We can even offer tips or strategies if that’s what is wanted or needed.

EAP sessions are free and confidential. You choose how much you want to say and what you want to focus on in the sessions.

How to arrange an EAP session

All that you need to do is contact us on 1800 650 204 and our Client Services Team will book you in for an appointment with one of our clinicians.

The creation of your workplace culture comes from all the everyday interactions between everyone who works at your organisation. From the way people say good morning when they arrive at work or join an online team meeting, to all-employee email communications, all these interactions help create your particular organisational culture. And placing the practice of diversity and inclusion as a central part of your people strategy helps shape these everyday interactions, encouraging a workplace where respect and trust are top of mind.

Diversity is who we are. It’s the mix of visible and invisible differences such as differences in gender, age, mental or physical ability, ethnicity, and values. Diversity is endless and can be compared with an iceberg: there are aspects that are very visible, such as gender, age, and skin colour; and other aspects that are under the surface, such as education and thinking style. Diversity in an organisation brings the differences in thought and perspectives that come with all different life experiences, backgrounds and demographics.

Inclusion is how we make people feel. Inclusion is helping people feel valued and free to be themselves, even if they look, think or behave differently from the majority. Diversity and inclusion go hand-in-hand. It’s been said that ‘diversity is being invited to the party, and inclusion is being asked to dance.’ One without the other leaves the process of creating a workplace where difference is embraced incomplete.

Did you know…

• The most inclusive and diverse companies are 6x more likely to innovate^[1]
• Diverse teams are 87% more likely to make sound business decisions^[2]
• Companies with the most ethnically diverse leadership teams deliver 33% higher returns to investors^[3]

Therefore, a culture where diversity and inclusion are regularly talked about, practised and advocated not only makes for a more equitable work environment, it also makes excellent business sense. Research shows we tend to prefer the familiar. Creating and supporting a diverse workplace is a conscious choice. Whatever your role, you can make a difference. Leading by example and encouraging others to do the same is vital – for example, you can aim to always respect and include others and encourage openness to hearing, discussing and debating differences of opinion. Importantly, it’s about noticing our own unconscious bias – the kneejerk assumptions and responses towards others who we perceive as different. It might then take conscious effort to consider the world from their standpoint, and to consider their ideas. This doesn’t mean you have to agree with everyone you meet – but it does mean you strive towards respectful dialogue. Inviting this dialogue, actively pursuing diversity and inclusion, benefits business, benefits those who may become marginalised, and benefits us as we see the world through different lenses.

• ^[1] Deloitte
• ^[2] Cloverpop
• ^[3] McKinsey

There are many ways to exhale, and one particularly helpful one is cleaning out the unnecessary and outdated information in our brains. Like a spring clean in our house or car, a cleanout of the mind requires taking time and reflecting on all aspects of life to see where you are at right now. When looking at the five pillars of health (social, emotional, physical, financial, and spiritual), the exhale starts by reviewing all five aspects. Looking and rate each pillar from one to five (5 being the best); how well do you think you are doing the following?

When completing the rating, try to avoid comparison or judgment and just take some time to sit down and think. If you prefer pen and paper, use an exercise book to write down each pillar and its rating. Then list ideas of what may need to happen next with the above categories. Have a think about what is in balance in your life, what you are generally drawn to and what helps you heal – this may be a road map to assist you to see what you can do more of to get all five to a rating of 5.

Taking the time to reflect on how you process what is happening in the world and in your close environment (colleagues, family, and friends) is a big part of the exhale. Thinking about your approach to people and how you interact with them is a way to move after a big event. The reason being that those who are self-aware appear to have more empathy towards others; they are better listeners, can think more critically and report that their decision making improves. These all appear to be useful skills in a post-pandemic world.

If you are not sure where to start with your life audit, improving your wellbeing or would like some suggestions on how to self-reflect, start with our app, AccessMyEAP. Inside it has a wellbeing tracker that allows us to keep an eye on how we are carrying out our day-to-day wellbeing. Also, our friendly and supportive clinicians can also assist you with face to face, video or phone appointments focussing on self-reflection, growth or wellbeing. Contact Newport & Wildman on 1800 650 204.

AccessMyEAP:

We all know logically that time is a finite resource. Yet many of us live as if it can be stretched so that we can fit more and more into a 24-hour day.  Sometimes we sacrifice sleep so we can get more done. Or we live our life imaging we can fit more in than we actually can, so we spend a lot of time rushing to complete tasks that actually need more time or apologising when we miss a deadline.

When we don’t manage our time and energy well, life can feel out of control, and we are constantly chasing our own tail. On the other hand, when we do manage these resources well, we find we can better prioritise, have a better balance in life both at work and outside of it, and have more time to relax, unwind, and do things that are simply fun, adding to our enjoyment and wellbeing.

Time management is something we can learn and improve. It can be defined as “the decision-making process that structures, protects, and adjusts the way we spend our time.” There are three key skills to do this well.

• Awareness: we think realistically about time by understanding that it is a limited resource.
  • This includes bringing self-awareness to how we prefer to schedule our time. Do we like to have thinking time first thing in the morning or later in the day? When do we prefer to do our regular admin tasks? It’s better to organise the day so it fits with the way we work most effectively. Being aware of time can help us act more autonomously, rather than simply reacting to others’ demands.
• Arrangement: design and organise goals, plans, schedules and tasks to effectively use the time that is available.
  • The urgent-important matrix is a way to think about priorities. The horizontal axis goes from urgent on the left to not urgent on the right. The vertical axis runs from important at the top to not important at the bottom. Arrange tasks in this matrix to help decide how to organise your time. For example, anything that is urgent and important is prioritised. Anything that is not urgent and not important is put at the end of the to-do list, or perhaps let go.
• Adaptation: monitor use of time while carrying out activities, including adjusting for interruptions and any changes in priority.
  • For example, try to reduce the errors made in estimating how long something will take; break down long-term challenging goals into smaller parts that are easier to achieve one at a time over shorter periods of time; create do-not-disturb time slots for concentrated effort.

Being more organised with time management takes discipline and effort – you may need to create new time-management habits. Also, note if there is any emotional pay-off from not organising yourself well. For example, If you leave things till the last minute, do you get an adrenaline rush when you make it over the finish-line just in time?  You might have to give this up if you want to be more time-organised.

Counselling support can help you to identify when stress and anxiety may be affecting your time management skills and how to move forward. Start now and benefit from this free and confidential service. Call Newport & Wildman on 1800 650 204. 

As managers and leaders discuss and plan for a transition back to the workplace, many of us may be starting to think and experience a range of feelings at the thought of what this means. We also recognise the many people that have continued to go to the workplace over the last two years.  All our thoughts and feelings during these uncertain times are normal as we are all different, and there is no right or wrong way to feel. For those of us who may be feeling a little anxious or uncertain about returning to the workplace, here are some ideas to think about while you are preparing for the transition:

1.  Acknowledge your feelings and anxieties. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to process your feelings. Do not judge yourself and tell yourself how you “should” be feeling.

2. Identify your concerns and think about what you can control and what is out of your control. Focus on what you can control, e.g. how will I manage being around more people? What can I do to keep safe? Plan and think about what will help you.

3. Take it day by day - you are not returning to “normal” there may not be a normal like it was. Recognising that things will be different is important. Try to go slow and avoid doing too much. Give yourself time to adjust, share stories and talk about how you are feeling. This is reassuring and helps with the awkwardness of the transition, which doesn't feel normal or comfortable yet.

4. Ask your manager for information, ask questions, share your concerns, connect with peers and share problem-solving. Others are probably feeling similarly, and there is comfort in sharing and problem solving together.

5. Remember your self-care routines which helped you before, regular breaks, eat healthily, get exercise, sleep well, engage in enjoyable activities and relaxation. And importantly, with the easing of physical distancing restrictions connect socially (and safely) with people who are important to you.

6. If you continue to struggle, ask for help from your peers, friends, family or a professional.

Remember, as your EAP, we are here to support you whatever the nature of your concerns. For a confidential conversation with one of our experienced clinical professionals, please contact Newport & Wildman on 1800 605 204.