RUOK day is coming up this Thursday!
It is RUOK? Day this Thursday. The overarching theme this year is ‘Are they really OK?’
Being available to those you care about and being willing to have meaningful conversations about how they are doing/ you are doing, is something we all can do, and RUOK? Day is a good reminder of this.
Even the most socially gifted of us don’t always necessarily feel confident about how to initiate such conversations with friends and family, so the RUOK? Day website has become almost like a mini training ground for offering support to others. There are videos and posters and instruction guides on how to ask someone if they are OK and how to respond if they aren’t.
Build an R U OK? Workplace and Culture
To ensure you provide your employees with the best opportunities to impact their mental health positively it is important to build a safe environment and open resources in the workplace. R U OK? day is great but let’s focus on becoming an R U OK? workplace champion and building a culture where every day your employees feel comfortable to be open about their struggles and seek help if necessary. Building an R U OK? workplace culture will encourage everyone to talk about life’s ups and downs and create a supportive community at work. You don’t need a large budget to build an R U OK? workplace, in fact you can do this with little to no budget. All you need to do is promote life-changing conversation and encourage everyone to ask R U OK? whenever it is needed. Let’s look at what an R U OK? culture in your workplace would look like.
Ensuring there are programs and resources available to employees who might be struggling which they can access at any time for the appropriate help to assist their recovery.
Actively identify and manage situations that can cause unnecessary stress for your team members.
The Senior leadership team promotes a supportive culture and believes that this is critical to long term success.
R U OK? is endorsed as part of leadership development and is integral to the culture of the business so that it trickles down to the employee level.
Encourage and recognise individuals in the organisation who support the implementation of an R U OK? culture.
Create a formal peer support program that develops your R U OK? champions.
Share stories that demonstrate the power of conversation and inspire everyone to be a better human.
R U OK? Activities Ideas
Host a digital event: in certain situations, we need to make use of technology that can bring people together virtually. Organise a virtual gathering and encourage employees to turn their cameras on. If you register your event with R U OK? they will assist you and send you a pack to facilitate your event.
Distribute information via email and social channels: this is important as it shows people that even though you may not be able to reach out face to face it is important to check in with people any way you can. Publish blogs and create a company vlog or social media post that shows the power of connections and conversation.
Meet outside the office: perhaps organise to go on a walk and talk with your colleagues. If exercise is permitted use the opportunity to go for a walk with someone and ask them if they are ok.
Create a conversation quiz: Create an online quiz for employees to participate in. There are many free tools such as Kahoot which is a great way to interact with your workforce online.
Engagement Survey: Conduct a well-being survey this may encourage employees to be honest about anything that is bothering them or affecting them mentally.
Organise a guest speaker: This can be organised in person or online. An experienced guest speaker may be able to provide employees with the courage to speak up as well as provide other employees with the right skills to identify struggling employees.
Online Training: Offer online training to employees around mental health to raise awareness of the issue and to assist them in picking up when someone is suffering from mental health issues.
R U OK? day is now more important than ever after the 2 year isolation period experienced due to the impact of the coronavirus. It is important that organisation implement all measures possible to ensure the mental wellbeing of their employees.
References:
https://www.employeeconnect.com/blog/ruokday2022/
https://blogs.flinders.edu.au/student-health-and-well-being/2021/09/07/ruok-day-is-coming-up-this-thursday/