A survey we conducted revealed that the greatest cause of employee disengagement was “change fatigue”. The cost of this disengagement and burnout is enormous with a 2017 survey of 614 HR leaders showing that 46% of them believed this was responsible for up to half (20 to 50 percent, specifically) of their annual workforce turnover. […]

Are you overwhelmed with busyness and the constant demand to do more with less? It seems you are not alone.  This week I ran a webinar for employees that work in the community care sector and 53% stated that their greatest obstacle to personal vitality was that they did not have enough “me time”. Later […]

Why don’t leaders take mental health seriously? As mental health month approaches in October, I’ve been reflecting on the question I hear most often from Human Resources and OH&S professionals: “Why don’t our managers take the mental health of their employees seriously?” I know from first-hand experience, that most managers would like to create a […]

Asking R U OK? during mental health month After I tell the story of my depressive episode during my presentations, I ask people to raise their hand if they know someone – either in their personal life or at work – who lives with depression or an anxiety disorder. To everyone’s amazement they find that most of the audience raises their hand. This isn’t surprising when a survey by the Wesley Mission revealed that 85% of Australians know someone close to them who lives with a mental illness. In the workplace, the Medibank report Sick at Work showed that mood disorders account for 34% of all lost productivity through absenteeism and presenteeism (people are at work but not fully productive). Despite this, in research I completed with over 4000 people living with a mood disorder, only 15% felt comfortable discussing their condition with their work colleagues.

Over the last 5 years I have been obsessed with researching proven mood enhancement strategies for individuals. After writing the best-selling BACK FROM THE BRINK book series, and interviewing over 5,000 people who have overcome adversity, this lead to me creating my Bounce Back & Thrive program which includes “10 things science says will make you thrive”.