ACTU: Mental Health Equal to Physical Safety

The Age today reports that the Australian Council of Trade Unions has identified Mental Health as a key priority on the back of the Productivity Commission report on mental health. Mental Health sick days are estimated to cost the Australian economy up to $10bn per year. On average, workers taking mental health  leave averaged 10-12 days per year but this under-represents absenteeism (turning up but not working to capacity).

The construction industry has been a flag-bearer in addressing physical health in the workplace and is now challenged with being an equal leader in addressing mental health. The obvious challenge is that mental health doesn’t necessarily start with psychological wellbeing… mental health issues are often the result of other factors be they social, physical, organisational, spiritual, practical or mental.

Construction Advisor is proud to be at the forefront of this challenge with the OptimiseQ program now entering its third year. OptimiseQ (OQ) is an organisation diagnostic, monitoring and action program that focusses on workforce wellbeing. We conduct an initial audit of workforce wellbeing factors (within an company or project) and identify the factors that can lead to wellbeing issues. The results of the audit provide a quantitative benchmark that drives actions to address specific issues, ongoing monitoring allows an organisation to measure the success of its interventions.

Find out more about the OptimiseQ program here.