Building a Resilient Workforce - WayAhead Workplaces€¦ · Building a Resilient Workforce Presented by Mr Tony Cotton Manager AFP Wellbeing Services . Human Resources Wellbeing

Building a Resilient Workforce

Presented by Mr Tony CottonManager AFP Wellbeing Services

Wellbeing ServicesHuman Resources

Scope

• Understanding resilience• Recruitment• Primary Interventions• Secondary Interventions• Developing a Wellbeing Strategy


Resilience

• Different approach• Studied well people

• Post-traumatic growth

• Linked to positive psychology


Resilience

• In workforce:• Commitment

• Control

• Challenge


Resilience

• In workplace:• Supportive relationships

• Workplace that encourages mastery

• Workplace problems framed as challenges


Recruitment

• Hard to identify those who are resilient, easier to identify those who are vulnerable:

• Positive selection• Negative selection


Recruitment

• Characteristics to look for:• Experience in dealing with difficult situations• Ability to reframe difficulties• Preparedness to seek support within the workplace

(not from specialists)• Internal locus of control


Primary Interventions

• Healthy workforce.• Workplace interventions:

• Educating staff• Educating managers

• Workforce interventions:• Staff training


Workplace Interventions

• Educating staff:• Importance of supportive workplace• Team building activities

• Educating managers:• Impact on the workplace.• Impact on staff.• Impact on resilience – supportive leadership• Communications skills


Workforce Interventions

• Staff training:• Stress inoculation.• Cognitive reframing• Arousal reduction• Help-seeking• Communications skills


Secondary Interventions

• Identified risk• High-risk workplace• Screening and “debriefing”


Screening

• Most people are well, but might have symptoms.• Immediate efficacy.• Triage system• Educate


Screening

• Instruments:• Standardised

• Brief

• Symptom inventories

• Public domain


Screening

• Process:• Routine and on-occurrence

• Mandatory or not?

• Normalises process.

• NOT counselling, but an intervention.


AFP Wellbeing Strategy

• Move to a more proactive approach• Demand-control-support• Work context vs work content• Resilience fits neatly in this.


Impact of the workplace• Workplace cause strain• Strain, if too long or too acute, causes stress• Stress causes a decrease in performance• Psychological injuries


A little theory…• Work performance is a function of:

• The DEMANDS of the workplace…

• The CONTROL people think that they have…

• The SUPPORT that they get…


Causes of psychological injuries

• Work content or work context?

• Hart and Cotton examined drivers of employee behaviour and health.

• Negative workplace experiences low in impact on withdrawal behaviour.



• Negative impacts moderated by work context variables such as:

• Supportive leadership

• Individual morale

• Team climate

• Individual susceptibility



• Decrease in morale is a stronger driver of psych injury claims than increase in distress.

• High morale increase resilience and acts as a buffer against operational impacts.

• Supportive leadership strongly related to morale.• In a supportive environment people are more likely to

seek help, in a less supportive environment people are more likely to lodge a claim…


AFP Wellbeing Services

• Five elements:• Psych services

• Chaplaincy services

• Wellbeing Network

• Family Liaison Network

• Employee Assistance Program (external provider)

• Sits within HR portfolio• Need for overarching strategy



• Definition:• There are many

• Positive and multi-dimensional state of being.

• A state in which the individual has a generally positive perception of the physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects of their life.



• Principles:• Management responsibility, WS role.

• Evidence-based practice or practice-based evidence.

• Recognise role for primary, secondary and tertiary interventions, but focus is on primary.

• Multi-disciplinary and multi-function.



• Stakeholders:• AFP Management

• AFP Workforce

• AFP Families

• Australian people

• Australian government



• Governance:• AFP Wellbeing Steering Group

• National Manager’s Group

• Internal to portfolios

• Local committees for State Offices

• Policy framework



• Workforce Elements:• Selection

• Mental Health Promotion

• Mental Health Education



• Workforce Elements:• Preventative measures

• Treatment

• Return to work program

• Families



• Workplace Elements:• Organisational Culture

• Work Context

• Work Content



• Key elements:• Resilience

• Screening

• Practice-based evidence

• Collaboration

Q, D, F, W, Cs?

Documents

Building a Resilient Workforce - WayAhead Workplaces€¦ · Building a Resilient Workforce Presented by Mr Tony Cotton Manager AFP Wellbeing Services . Human Resources Wellbeing