As an Australian manufacturing company and national distributor of steel products, we operate as a team of 750 people across 30 locations throughout the country. In our industry the competition is strong, the market expectations are high and every dollar counts on a daily basis. We, as a company, ask a lot from our people, and modern day society asks even more. During 2016, amidst a period of significant organisational change we sensed stress within our teams and felt poorly equipped to know how to respond. Dr. Thompson guided us through how people are ‘hard wired’ to deal with change and worked with us to help our teams via education of key leaders and conducting supportive workshops with small groups of people. The confidence we gained from this experience has resulted in Dr. Thompson providing a range of value-added guidance for our company by working with us on work-life balance, mental health and wellbeing programs, demystifying how people deal with the demands of modern life and better equipping us, as leaders, with the knowledge and confidence to lead more holistically. Of particular importance, our work with Dr. Thompson has helped nurture an environment whereby it is now OK for people to call out if they are not OK and we’re so much more capable, as leaders, to respond in an empathetic and practical manner. Whilst most occupational health and safety programs focus on the prevention of physical injury, I am of the belief that, via a better understanding mental health and wellbeing, industry will have an increased capability to prevent the emotional injury that permeates modern life. We are a better organisation via the programs and support provided by Dr. Thompson and I am available to discuss our experiences in detail with all interested parties.
