R U OK? Day Activities for Every One, Every Day

If you work in a place with more than 10 people, there’s a good chance at least one or two people in your team is living with a mental illness. Further to that, an additional one in six of us will have symptoms associated with mental ill health – such as worry, sleep problems and fatigue – affecting our ability to function well at work.

That’s one in every three people in each Australian workplace currently experiencing some kind of mental health challenge.

Aurion joined the nationwide R U OK?Day this year on Thursday 9 September, because the health and wellbeing of our team members is one of our key values, modelled everyday by our leadership team.

For employers, investing in employee wellbeing makes economic sense. Did you know that mental health conditions like depression and anxiety are costing Australian businesses between $11 and $12 billion dollars each year through:

• staff being absent from work (sick days)
• reduced work performance and productivity (presenteeism – at work but not working well)
• increased staff turnover rates and associated recruitment and training costs
• compensation claims.

The Black Dog Institute has some great resources for promoting workplace wellbeing and resources to help health practitioners learn skills to enhance mental wellbeing and resilience, they’re really useful for anyone who wants to build relationships based on trust and compassion.

R U OK? is a harm-prevention charity that believes a conversation can change a life, and they offer self-care tools and guidance on how to support someone yourself.