Mental Health Without Question – R U OK?
Workplace giving donors supporting R U OK?, through the Good2Give platform, have directly contributed to the development of a new workplace campaign designed to encourage workmates to trust their gut instinct when they’re concerned about a colleague and to start a meaningful conversation.
In celebration of International Day of Charity and the new R U OK? campaign we spoke with some of the R U OK? team who were on the road with the charity’s ‘Conversation Convoy’: a six-week travelling education program visiting rural and regional communities around Australia.
The statistics are both staggering and devastating. According to R U OK? an average of eight people die by suicide every day in Australia and for every death, it’s estimated another 30 people will attempt to take their life.
R U OK? is an Australian suicide prevention charity that aims to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them and to support anyone struggling with life.
You’ve Got What it Takes
R U OK? is encouraging workmates to get talking and ask, “are you ok?”, with the help of their new workplace toolkit.
The resources, including posters, videos and email content, use images of funny and awkward moments that we often find ourselves in at work – think, toilet paper attached to a colleague’s shoe or a piece of food stuck to your boss’ teeth – to get the conversation going.
The resources are a reminder that we’ve all got what it takes to start a conversation with someone we’re worried about.
“Our campaign is highlighting that mental health issues are likely to affect almost half of the Australian population at some stage in their lives, so encouraging these conversations at work is the right thing to do. Beyond that, there’s also a legal imperative. Workplaces have a duty of care to their staff,” says Anastasia Symons, Brand and Communications Manager at R U OK?
“We wanted to keep our focus on workplaces fresh and by going with a message that is around trusting your gut instinct we felt this would resonate within workplaces, from the hospitality sector to financial services and the law sector – and every other workplace in between.”
R U OK? encourages a four-step conversation when connecting with a workmate (or anyone else you are worried about):
- Ask R U OK?
- Listen without judgement
- Encourage action
- Check-in
“We spend a lot of time at work so often our colleagues or managers can notice the slight changes in someone they work with. We ultimately want to encourage workmates to help unburden each other before it gets to crisis point,” says Anastasia.
Workplaces Giving to Workplaces
R U OK? works with a number of corporates and businesses around Australia with the ultimate aim of encouraging more Australians to connect and be there for one another, through life’s inevitable ups and downs.
“Financial support from businesses and their employees, which make up around a third of our income, allow us to start more life-changing conversations and continue working toward our vision of a world where everyone is connected and protected from suicide,” says Brendan Maher, CEO at R U OK?
“We channel workplace giving contributions, which are relatively new as a funding avenue for us, towards the development of new campaigns and free toolkits. We’re reaching more schools, workplaces and communities because of these resources, which go a long way towards spreading the message and equipping people to have regular and meaningful conversations.”
R U OK? Day is being held on 14 September this year – R U OK?’s national day of action held on the second Thursday of September every year.
CEO’s from some of Australia’s leading companies share why they promote mental resilience and R U OK? in the workplace.
If your company has Good2Give’s workplace giving program in place, you can donate to R U OK? while you work. If not, visit the charity’s website to support their terrific programs and initiatives.
You can also watch the ABC’s Australian Story program on Gavin Larkin, the creator of R U OK? Day, which aired on 4 September 2017.
