Understanding and supporting mental wellbeing is increasingly a priority for organisations – and with good reason. It has a profound effect on our workplaces – not only for employees, but also for overall organisational performance.

But for leaders and organisations to make any substantial impact in this area, we need to go beyond simply paying lip service. We need leaders and organisations to truly value the importance of mental health and wellness.

Many of you will know already that for the last few months, I’ve been knee deep writing a book about burnout from a leadership perspective – packed full of practical learnings around how to recognise and address burnout in the workplace, and how to proactively and consciously create cultures that reduce it.

The research surrounding burnout overseas is plentiful (believe me, I’ve pored over heaps!) but there’s a lack of definitive studies focused on Australasia. It’s important we change this.

So drum roll please…I’m excited to introduce Cogo’s newly-launched Workplace Wellbeing Survey that will provide us with valuable insights into workplace wellbeing in New Zealand and Australia.

That’s where I need your help.

This is 100% an independent and anonymous research programme run and owned by New Zealand agency Cogo. But I will be the first to receive the results, which will be unveiled in my book that’s due to be published by Penguin Random House New Zealand in the first quarter of 2021.

We want to see as many responses possible – this will give us the most robust insights that will also help to inform my book.

So now I’m appealing to you. Please click the link below and fill out this completely anonymous survey (it’s short and sweet, promise) and share it with your teams and networks too. Getting behind this shows your support for a greater understanding of the state of mental wellbeing in our workplaces. The scope of the survey stretches far beyond stress and burnout; it will help us to understand more about wellbeing across different occupations, including providing insights into what is causing stress in the workplace and what wellbeing initiatives employees actually value.

You might also want to talk with the researchers at Cogo about running a tailored version of the programme in your own business, to not only evaluate the specific policies and initiatives that you offer, but also to see how you compare to the rest of your sector, or the country as a whole.

Mental health and wellness becomes more challenging during a crisis, and we don’t doubt that the events of the first half of 2020 have had an impact, not to mention the mountain we still have to climb as we face the economic reality that is following those events. I hope that you will have your say and encourage others to add their voices too.

Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/CogoWWSurvey. Please note, to thank you for your time, Cogo are offering the chance to win one of six $150 VISA gift cards, to be drawn on July 10th.

Thank you so much!

Suzi

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