Hauora Matters: Mental Health Awareness Week

Prioritising mental wellbeing is part of our DNA at Switched On Group. One of our core values, created by our kaimahi, is‘ Hauora matters’. We put wellbeing front and center and we ensure that we always show we care, before taking action.  

For Mental Health Awareness Week this year, we focused on simple steps that our kaimahi could take to put wellbeing front and center during their workday.  

To get our kaimahi thinking about their wellbeing, we created three mindfulness posters for our offices to encourage mini check-ins throughout the day. These posters focus on practical, proven tools that our leaders can use with their teams; tools that our leaders have been learning about through regular Performance Wellbeing workshops.  

 

 

One of the Five Ways to Wellbeing is connect ‘me whakawhanaunga’. We started a kōrero with the team and asked what they were doing during MHAW to embrace the Five Ways to Wellbeing. Here’s what some of them had to say on our company Teams channel... 

“Wellbeing in our team is a regular feature in our Huddles. We talk about how we are taking care of ourselves this week and what we need support with. This encourages making space for wellbeing activities in our week. On the tough days, I like to turn up with kai for the team just to show that I'm here, I get it and I appreciate their efforts! We also take team walks at the local Te Waoku Kahikatea Walk, which is a beautiful way to connect with nature.” - Hannah McKnight, GM Communications, Engagement and Impact 

“I've just spent the weekend in my garden, a hobby I've picked up in the past year that brings me so much joy! I think it's a form of mindfulness, taking notice of the plants, what they need and how they change throughout the season. I'm particularly keen on growing cut flowers so I can share beautiful bouquets with my loved ones” – Bayley Corfield, Communications and Engagement Specialist 

During MHAW, we also released the first of our kaimahi values videos to give an insight into how our team members show that they care at work. In this video Quality Manager Nicola Tse shares her insights on what ‘Manaaki at mahi’ means to her personally and what this looks like in her work. She speaks about the importance of respect, collaboration and empowerment, and the role that plays in the workplace.