ACTIVE & THRIVING

What did we achieve ?

OUR PERFORMANCE

Employee wellbeing , engagement and satisfaction was a key focus this year as the impacts of COVID continued to take a toll on staff . We introduced a new Employee Assistance Program as staff seeking help for mental health increased .

We launched our new Merri Health Enterprise Bargaining Agreement providing sectorleading leave to support and respond to the needs of our diverse workforce .

Keeping our staff connected and fostering a shared culture was also a priority . We were delighted to finally hold our first in person event for all staff since 2019 .

With over 330 in attendance , Merri employees were able to meet with new colleagues they ’ d only seen virtually , see familiar faces they hadn ’ t seen in a few years and enjoy good food and company .

It was also an opportunity to thank and reward staff for their hard work and commitment through some challenging years .

Staff use of our ‘ Active & Thriving ’ 24 / 7 wellness app increased this year , with more team members setting personal challenges to improve their sleep , physical activity or mental fitness via the app , and using the library of health and wellbeing resources .

What did we achieve ?

60 active users completed 58 challenges

1830

Healthy Habits logged

resource information library accessed

629 times

continued uptake of the program and attendance to special webinars and activities

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ( EAP ) LIFEWORKS

We partnered with Lifeworks to launch a new holistic EAP with increased benefits for staff and volunteers in response to changing requirements of our workforce . It offers : 24 / 7 specialist counselling ; resources on mind , body , personal finances and relationships ; wellbeing videos , podcasts , articles , online toolkits and interactive programs .

introduced new EAP with 50 % more counselling for staff

41 employees accessed the new EAP

56 % of employees said both personal and work stress contributed to seeking support

117.75 hours of support provided through 111 appointments ( 64 % relating to personal issues compared to 36 % work related issues )

Challenges

• maintaining engagement / retention of employees for Active & Thriving

• small increase in wait times to access appointments as demand rose

What ’ s next ?

• finalising and endorsing the Wellbeing @ Merri Strategic Plan and embedding a culture of holistic wellbeing and support for employees

• addressing and proactively respond to incidents of violence and aggression through our Violence and Aggression Action Plan

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