Human Resources - Winter 2021 (Vol 26, No 2) - Wellness

New Zealand’s Magazine for Human Resources Professionals

Wellness Fact or fiction: Building resilient teams Moving past the fruit bowls A leadership approach to psychological safety

Winter 2021

ENQUIRE NOW! Steve Mooney Membership Manager steve.mooney@hrnz.org.nz

Got a team of 5 or more?

HRNZ Organisation Membership is ideal

Consolidate your team’s membership into a simple, single package •

Transfer membership when staff members leave or change roles

•

Discounted membership rate available

•

All staff get access to the Human Resources magazine and HRNZ Member discounts for HR101 and HR Foundations courses ($200 – $400 pp.)

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Shaping the Profession

52

Research Update What has the pandemic taught us about wellbeing?

– Anna Earl, Paula O’Kane and Fiona Edgar summarise their insights into the latest research

2

Top of Mind Nick McKissack – HRNZ Chief Executive

3

From the Editor Kathy Catton

4

News Roundup The latest news to keep you up to date

6

18 Sustainability Putting HR in sustainability – Bridget Williams from Bead and Proceed explores how HR can grapple with sustainability

NZ HR Awards A night of celebration for our recognised HR professionals

10

HRNZ Member profile Kirsten Patterson in the limelight

24

12

HR in a COVID world Communication for all at the New Zealand Automobile Association

54

Am I Managing Natalie Barker, Southern Cross Health Insurance, shares her heart-warming insights into being a manager

Employment Law Update Bereavement leave changes – Jack Rainbow, Dundas Street Employment Lawyers, looks at the employment laws at play when someone dies

30

HR Technology Redefining wellness now – Stephen Moore, from Ceridian, looks at wellness in the context of the data

32

Learning and Development Measuring DEI is not DIY – Tania Domett of Cogo asks how we measure diversity, when the world is moving fast

34

38

Diversity and Inclusion Growing Pasifika talent – Antony Hall from Auckland Transport shares successes of a recent diversity strategy Immigration Law Update Remotest of remote – Rachael Mason, Lane Neave, looks at ways to support offshore workers

40 Insights Employees at the heart – Kathy Catton shares the practical experiences of three organisations integrating wellbeing into the workplace 48

50

Employment Law – Case Review Medical incapacity, a last resort – David Burton from Cullen Law outlines a recent case involving medical incapacity Professional Development Spotlight How to reduce stress – Kathryn Finn and Julia Shallcrass from KiwiBoss tackle workplace stress and how to deal with it

People Powered Success

Features 14

Fact or fiction: Building resilient teams – Dr Lucy Hone from the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience shares how we can build resilience in our teams.

20

Moving past the fruit bowls Bridget Jelley from The Effect explores psychological hazards and what we can do about them

26

Connecting wellbeing and inclusion Laurna Munro explores how wellbeing and inclusion link together

36 A leadership approach to psychological safety

Jenny McDonald from Continuum Consulting

addresses ways for leaders to improve psychological

safety in the workplace 44

Exhausted from the pandemic?

Michael Hempseed provides crucial steps to help those facing burnout

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

1

FROM THE HRNZ CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Top of mind Nick McKissack is Chief Executive of HRNZ. Nick is passionate about people development and sharing the success of members and organisations leading the HR profession in New Zealand.

O

n being complimented for writing an erudite, entertaining and educational letter to a national newspaper, Mark Twain said, “Thank you. If I’d had more time, I would have written a shorter one”.

I’ve always enjoyed this quote although its attribution to Mark Twain is debated.

In a similar vein, I’m a great believer in Einstein’s ascending levels of intellect. The idea that simplicity is the highest level of intellect. If you’ve really understood something deeply, you will be able to explain it in few words.

I was pondering these ideas one day as I thought about our Chartered Membership process. We always have a lot of interest in chartering but receive many requests from Members for workshops, webinars and coaching to help them through the application process. Clearly, the need for this type of support suggests we have challenges with the simplicity of our process for our members.

With this in mind, we’ve recently made important changes to our Chartered Member application process to save Members from complexity and reduce the time it takes to complete an application.

This doesn’t affect the standard that needs to be achieved to be awarded Chartered Membership, but it does remove the need for an advanced competency level in understanding HRNZ processes.

2

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

Albert Einstein’s five ascending level of Intellect Simple Genius Brilliant Intelligent Smart

We’ve trialled this new approach with a couple of our Members, and we’re now ready to make it available to all Members. Over the next few months, we’ll be promoting this to Members in a campaign called ‘Get 5 Steps Ahead with HRNZ’. This is a reference to our much easier application process, which involves the following steps: • completing the Code of Practice module on our eLearning platform • updating your CV • filling in a simple application form • obtaining two referees • submitting the application.

So, it’s a much more straightforward process. We’ve also set up a template to more simply obtain references via email and increased the size of our Chartered Assessment Panel to accommodate a higher number of applications.

We’re planning to offer whole HR teams the opportunity to go through this process together. Some teams

will have a mix of Emerging HR Professionals along with those at Chartered Membership level, but the aim is to adopt professionalism at a consistent standard across the whole team.

We expect to receive a large number of Chartered Member applications over the coming months. We’ll be encouraging Members who have had their applications in the pipeline for some time to get to the front of the queue and submit their applications early.

Raising the professional status of HR practitioners in New Zealand remains a key objective for HRNZ. We’re hoping these changes remove obstacles for competent HR professionals when applying for Chartered Member status.

We’ve had Chartered Membership in place for a while now, so it’s good to have rewritten the story and, this time, we’ve made it a bit shorter.

Nick McKissack Chief Executive HRNZ Nick.McKissack@hrnz.org.nz

MANAGING EDITOR Kathy Catton Ph: 021 0650 959 Email: kathy.catton@hrnz.org.nz

From the editor T

his issue looks at the topic of wellness. I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I have a bit of a bugbear with the word ‘wellness’. To me, it smacks of fruit bowls and back rubs, which doesn’t really cut it for me when talking about people’s mental health and psychological wellbeing.

For those familiar with appreciative inquiry and its positive framing and philosophy that ‘words make worlds’, I tend to be extra cautious in how I use my words. I guess it comes with the territory of being a writer and editor, too.

So, in the interests of calling a spade a spade, instead of ‘wellness’, I would like to endorse the use of the term ‘wellbeing’. No hyphen required. And not a burning fragranced candle in sight. Let’s take this topic seriously.

We’ve known anecdotally for a while how vital employee wellbeing is for the success of organisations. Now we know that science and factual data sit behind this link.

In this issue, we share research and information on the practical application of wellbeing from Dr Lucy Hone, Director at the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience. Also, Dr Bridget Jelley, from The Effect, shares her angle on psychological hazards in the workplace and asks what can we do differently to make a shift for our people. Michael Hempseed looks

at how to cope with burnout, and Laurna Munro explores the link between wellbeing and diversity and inclusion strategies.

We hope you enjoy reading our new regular columns, including HR in a COVID world, the ER case review and an introduction to sustainable development goals: how HR can play a crucial role in turning these goals into a reality.

Kathy Catton Managing Editor Kathy.Catton@hrnz.org.nz

ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP Steve Sheppard Ph: (04) 802 3954 Email: steve.sheppard@hrnz.org.nz DESIGN Selena Henry, Crux Design Ph: 022 417 6622 PROOFREADER Jenny Heine Email: jenny@heine.co.nz SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES Email: comms@hrnz.org.nz

PUBLISHER Human Resources is published quarterly

by Human Resources New Zealand PO Box 11-450, Wellington Ph: 0800 247 469

comms@hrnz.org.nz www.hrnz.org.nz nz.linkedin.com/company/hrinz instagram.com/hrnzphotos

The views expressed in Human Resources are not necessarily those of Human Resources New Zealand, nor does the advertisement of any product or service in this magazine imply endorsement of it by Human Resources New Zealand.

Copyright © Human Resources New Zealand Inc. Vol 26 No: 2

ISSN 1173–7522

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

3

NEWS ROUNDUP

Across the ditch

W

ith the opening of transTasman travel, ‘bubble uncertainty’ still exists for many employees and employers.

Most employment lawyers agree it is reasonable for an employer to ask employees to tell them if they are travelling overseas and thus are at greater risk of catching COVID-19 due to their travel. However, this must be done reasonably and must not unreasonably intrude on their personal affairs. Any personal information collected for the

purposes of COVID-19 must be kept confidential in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.

An employer can withhold consent to an employee’s request for annual leave. However, this must not be unreasonable; as stated in the Holidays Act 2003, section 18. It is unlikely to be reasonable for an employer to decline annual leave simply because an employee wants to go overseas.

It’s prudent to identify and make contingency plans, so both employers and employees have some certainty if things go wrong during travel.

Discussing remote working options, payment entitlements, expectations and obligations should all be factored into discussions.

When in doubt, it’s always worth seeking the guidance of an employment lawyer.

Climate action toolbox

A

new climate action toolbox will enable business action on climate change and help to overcome the 80 per cent of smallto-medium enterprises that don’t know where to start.

For the first time, smaller businesses now have access to a free, comprehensive tool to help them act on climate change. Created by the Sustainable Business Network in partnership with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, New Zealand Transport Authority, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, BNZ, Meridian Energy and DNA Design, the tool provides tailored advice and support in five major impact areas, such as moving people, moving goods, office operations and designing products.

It has over 40 actions, including switching to electric vehicles, installing LED lighting and converting

4

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

to clean energy equipment.

Businesses will be provided with case studies on other companies in their community undertaking actions under relevant impact areas.

For more information, visit: business.govt.nz This comes in the month that the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister, David Clark, says New Zealand has become the first country in the world to introduce a law that requires the financial sector to disclose the impacts of climate change on their businesses and explain how they will manage climate-related risks and opportunities.

The Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosure and Other Matters) Amendment Bill received its first reading in April.

Minister Clark said, “It is important that every part of New Zealand’s economy is helping us cut

emissions and transition to a lowcarbon future. Becoming the first country in the world to introduce a law like this means we have an opportunity to show real leadership and pave the way for other countries to make climate-related disclosures mandatory.”

The Bill will make climate-related disclosures mandatory for around 200 organisations, including most listed issuers, large registered banks, licensed insurers and managers of investment schemes. Once passed, disclosures will be required for financial years starting in 2022, meaning the first disclosures will be made in 2023.

More information is available at: www.mbie.govt.nz/ business-and-employment/ business/regulating-entities/ mandatory-climate-relatedfinancial-disclosures

Vaccination roll out

T

he COVID-19 vaccine roll out is Aotearoa’s largest-ever vaccination programme. What are the implications of the roll out on employees?

The COVID-19 vaccination is free, available to all New Zealanders and not mandatory. Employers can’t force someone to get vaccinated.

They can make it as easy as possible for them to get vaccinated, for example, by giving them paid time off to get vaccinated.

Business.govt.nz has issued guidelines on assessing whether a specific role needs to be performed by a vaccinated worker.

Employment New Zealand also has

detailed guidance on employment implications of the COVID-19 vaccination. Further information is also available from the Ministry of Health and the Unite against COVID websites or by calling Healthline on 0800 3585 453.

Up to date?

F

ollowing the recent minimum wage increase, now is the ideal time for you as an employer to ensure your business’s employment agreements (contracts) are up to date.

You can use this as an opportunity to ensure you are meeting your legal obligations and build stronger staff relationships. Also, consider potential impacts of the minimum wage increase on internal wage relativity, external benchmarking and staff current and future pay expectations.

By law, every employee must have a current written employment contract.

FREE*

It must state the wage rate or salary payable, which must be equal to or more than the relevant minimum wage. With any changes of wages, the employer must send a contract variation letter advising of the new wage. If negotiated and used fairly, such contracts can be a great foundation for win–win, productive employment relationships with your staff.

The Employment Agreement Builder tool can help you easily create new contracts. It covers what you must do by law and sets out common

On 1 April, the adult minimum wage increased from $18.90 to $20.00 gross per hour, and the startingout and training minimum wage increased from $15.12 to $16.00 gross per hour.

CUSTOMISED WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION TRAINING

Tell us what your people development goals are, and we will work closely with you to tailor a bespoke training solution that will make a real difference to your organisation.

CALL us NOW on 0800 423 888

mistakes and how to avoid them.

The tool notes three types of clauses: ‘Mandatory’, ‘Recommended’ and ‘Optional’. The Employment Agreement Builder has been used for an estimated 950,000 contracts since it was launched five years ago.

business

$37,000 worth of training to businesses for FREE!

aspire2business.co.nz WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

5

HR NZ AWARDS

In May, New Zealand’s leading HR professionals gathered to celebrate industry success at the NZ HR Awards ceremony.

Human Resources magazine reviews this glamorous and prestigious night.

F

inalists, sponsors, fellow HR professionals and their guests enjoyed a special night as people celebrated in person, and joined via live stream, for the first time.

Postponed from March, due to the COVID lockdown in Auckland, attendees commented on how exciting it was to be able to network face to face once again.

in-person contact. The role these HR professionals and teams played was vital to the survival of many New Zealand organisations, and these awards reflect that.

Nick McKissack, HRNZ Chief Executive, summarised the special feeling on the night, saying, “HR professionals throughout New Zealand really rose to the occasion in 2020 as workplaces experienced massive disruptions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been great to take some time to celebrate the truly amazing achievements of the HR community at our annual Awards Ceremony. Our heartfelt congratulations [go] to all the finalists and winners.”

The awards were split into two categories: individual and organisational. The Individual Awards recognise the contributions of leading HR professionals across New Zealand. Our congratulations go to all the deserving winners and finalists. The Organisational Awards recognise the contributions of HR teams and organisations across New Zealand.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw HR teams pushed to the frontline of response, having to adapt systems and processes with limited or no 6

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

Sake Hitman, Country Manager, LHH

Sake Hitman, LHH New Zealand Country Manager and Principal Partner of the Awards, extended congratulations to the winners and finalists. “We often forget that the work our HR professionals do directly impacts individuals and members of our community,” said Sake. “It’s an honour and a pleasure to join with HRNZ in recognising the positive impact of and excellence in HR initiatives that demonstrate innovation and responsibility. On behalf of LHH, I’d like to, once again, congratulate all of our award winners.”

In association with Principal Partner LHH, HRNZ announced the following winners of the prestigious NZ HR Awards for 2021.

Lifetime Achievement Award recipient – Frances Tweedy

Leadership Award winner & HR Person of the Year – Amy Clarke, Statistics NZ

Organisational Awards winners

HRNZ Branch of the Year – Auckland Branch

Best Wellness Programme winners – Chorus

Individual Award winners

• HR Student of the Year: Rebecca Ralph (Victoria University of Wellington) • Emerging HR Practitioner: Sona Valesyan (Tonkin + Taylor) • HR Generalist of the Year – Natasha Holloway (Fulton Hogan)

• HR Specialist of the Year: Bonita McCarthy (Fonterra) • Leadership Award in association with Sorted at Work: Amy Clarke (Stats NZ) • HR Person of the Year: Amy Clarke (Stats NZ) • Lifetime Achievement Award in association with Strategic Pay: Frances Tweedy.

• Diversity and Inclusion: SkyCity Entertainment Group • HR Innovation: Jade Software • Learning and Development Capability in association with Open Polytechnic: New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research • Organisational Change and Development in association with LHH: Whangarei District Council • Technology in association with Ceridian: Vodafone • Talent Acquisition in association with Aims Global: Summerset Holdings • Best Wellness Programme in association with Southern Cross: Chorus • HRNZ Branch of the Year: Auckland It was a big night for Amy Clarke from Stats NZ, who was a finalist in the HR Generalist Award, won the HR Leadership Award and the prestigious HR Person of the Year Award (which is selected from the winners of the individual awards).

The judges were impressed that Amy WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

7

actively leads a generalist HR team while simultaneously operating as the organisation’s subject matter expert in diversity and inclusion, for which it is clear Amy has a major passion.

In announcing Amy as HR Person of the Year, the Chief Judge commented, “Amy deserves this award because she operates at a very senior and effective level as a proven HR leader, an effective HR generalist manager and as a committed and passionate subject matter expert in diversity and inclusion. Amy makes a meritorious people contribution within her organisation and in the wider community.”

The new HR Student of the Year Award attracted a lot of entries, with four deserving finalists named.

Rebecca Ralph was named Student of the Year, with the judges commending her proactive approach to networking, in particular, her role as student ambassador in the Wellington region.

Sona Valesyan from Tonkin + Taylor was awarded the Emerging HR Practitioner Award. The judges were impressed with Sona’s willingness to take on specialist tasks, such as involvement in wellbeing and diversity and inclusion teams. She also operates significantly outside of the business, involving herself in many external groups relating to HR and engineering, and in community groups, particularly focusing on youth and employment.

The HR Generalist of the Year Award went to Natasha Holloway from Fulton Hogan.

Without any formal qualification in HR, Natasha followed her passion working to build her knowledge through practical on-the-job training.

The judges commented, “Natasha has risen to a senior role providing the highest quality of people leadership whilst externally working in community initiatives relating to apprenticeships and other youthfocused activities.”

The HR Specialist of the Year Award went to Bonita McCarthy, who operates the 8

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

reward management, mobility, performance, and people analytics speciality globally for Fonterra. The judges were impressed that Bonita’s complex specialist activities span the entire company and include operating at the highest strategic level on a regular basis, making a real difference to the company and its people.

The Lifetime Achievement Award, in association with Strategic Pay, was presented to HRNZ Distinguished Fellow Frances Tweedy in recognition of her lifelong dedication to the human resources industry in New Zealand and her incredible achievements throughout her career.

SkyCity Entertainment Group took out the Diversity and Inclusion Award for Project Nikau.

The main objective of Project Nikau was to achieve their Character and Culture goals and deliver on their sustainability strategy, ultimately enhancing their social licence to operate, while also building a pipeline of talent for SkyCity.

Jade Software won the HR Innovation Award for its “Hybrid Way of Working” or HWoW initiative.

Described as a reimagined way of working, HWoW enabled Jade staff to define where they work from and have a level of flexibility on when they do their hours, to better enable them to balance their lives.

The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research won the Learning and Development Capability Award in association with Open Polytechnic for its mentoring programme. In formalising the natural mentoring relationships that were occurring, Plant and Food Research brought together a focus on career values aligned to creating a smart green future with a collaborative workforce.

Whangarei District Council won the Organisational Change and Development Award in association with LHH for its Our Korero initiative, which led to the formation of a group tasked with

developing a strategy set by staff.

Both the tikanga and action plan were made up of the things that mattered most to their people.

Vodafone won the Technology Award in association with Ceridian for its Vlife app. The Vlife app was enhanced to reduce disruption during the changing COVID alert levels, and additional and innovative functionality was added to Vlife to support the new ways of working.

This ensured teams stayed connected when working remotely and enabled digital management of the health, safety and wellbeing of their people.

Summerset Holdings won the Talent Acquisition Award in association with Aims Global for the implementation of its iLearn learning management platform.

The Summerset Learning and Development team fast-tracked iLearn. They repurposed it so new staff could begin their on-boarding and orientation programmes from home while they self-isolated. This ensured they met their clinical risk-mitigation plans, ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of Summerset’s people.

Chorus won the Best Wellness Programme in association with Southern Cross for the overhaul of its wellness programme, to develop a wellbeing support model focused on Courageous korero, a dedicated intranet space, the development of a mental fitness network (monthly support group) and participation in national awareness campaigns, such as Pink Shirt Day. Auckland Branch was awarded the HRNZ Branch of the Year for 2021. The Auckland Committee worked tirelessly to continue delivering a variety of quality events online during the COVID-19 lockdown. With a focus on putting faces to names, Auckland Branch Committee Members created profiles, sharing them to the Auckland LinkedIn group page, to increase the profile of the Committee and provide greater connection with its Members.

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

9

HRNZ MEMBER PROFILE KIRSTEN PATTERSON

HRNZ member profile Human Resources magazine caught up with Kirsten Patterson, Chief Executive of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand. She shares insights into her key achievements and learnings, and offers practical advice for Members.

A

n HRNZ member since 2001, Kirsten (KP) was a member of the HRNZ Grading Panel from 2004 to 2010 and was appointed Chartered Fellow in 2010. KP is a judge of the New Zealand HR Awards and a strong advocate and spokesperson for HRNZ. KP is a qualified lawyer, Co-deputy Chair of the Global Network of Director Institutes, Chair of the Brian Picot Chair in Ethical Leadership advisory board and previous Chair of the Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust. With extensive governance and leadership experience, she is actively involved in community initiatives.

A strong advocate of diversity, KP was a founding member of Global Women’s ‘Champions for Change’ (a group of senior executives and directors who commit to diversity in the workplace) and Women in Sport Aotearoa (an organisation promoting women in sport). She also mentors several business leaders.

“The nickname, KP, is from my almost ten years working at the New Zealand Rugby Union. Once

10

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

you made the ‘team’, you were anointed with a nickname, and mine has somehow stuck.

People are often surprised to hear that I am an introvert. When they see me in the media or on stage at conferences, they are often seeing the role and not the person. I sometimes call myself a high-functioning introvert. Too often, we judge people or measure ourselves against them when we see them standing on the summit – we forget about or don’t see the climb along the way.

When I made the finals of the school speech competition in high school, I hid in the bathroom and didn’t go on stage. Public speaking still makes me feel sick to my stomach, and when I first started on my career, I literally used to throw up beforehand. The ability to make an impact in a meeting, to be seen, to be heard, or to have a voice for others is one of the essential skills in your leadership toolbox. It can be learned. I am living proof of that.

I was only five years old the first time I was suspended from school, about three hours after I started on my very first day. Some adult in my life must have told me that you didn’t legally have to go to school until you were six (which is actually correct).

So, on my first day at school, I led a student rebellion by telling all the other kids that we should go home because they couldn’t legally make us be there. Everyone believes school starts at five, and everyone sends their kids to school when

they’re five. They do that because it’s the norm, what we’ve been told to do, and because everyone else does. Somehow, accepted practice has tied us into a regime that isn’t necessarily required and that doesn’t necessarily suit the needs of every child. Beware of ‘best practice’ in HR just because it’s what everyone else does – forge your own path.

I’ve really valued my involvement with HRNZ. Membership bodies can be a crucial partner for your development and connection to the industry. I still have in my office a faded quote I cut from an HRNZ magazine years ago: “Every HR person wants to be at the table discussing strategy, but the reality is if you don’t have your operational house in order, you won’t get invited to the table in the first place.”

Some of my best leadership lessons, learnings and biggest leadership impacts have been in what others would consider the smallest roles.

The unpaid ones I have done in the community, for example, as President of my local Plunket or Chair of the Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust. Don’t underestimate the leadership value in what are considered the little moments.

Low profile doesn’t mean low importance. Those roles helped me develop the skills I needed to step out of my HR roles into broader management positions.

We seem to have had this picture from the 1980s that CEOs look or sound a certain way. Charismatic,

inspirational, male. Thankfully, that picture is changing, and we are seeking a new leadership model, one based on authenticity and connection and diversity. We need more CEOs and directors with HR experience.

One of the stand-out speakers for me at an Institute of Directors conference a couple of years ago was UK economist, John Kay. He made a statement that really affected me:

“Too long have we been in the hands of people who see leadership as a prize and not as a responsibility.”

“Instead of focusing so much on your TO DO list, start working on your TO BE list.”

Most members of HRNZ live privileged lives where we are given the ultimate power in the world: the power of choice. We get to choose, within some pretty reasonable boundaries, how we spend our time and resources. Not all members of New Zealand are as lucky as us."

Kirsten (KP) Patterson is Chief Executive of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand.

She was recently presented with her Distinguished Fellow accreditation by HRNZ Board Chair, Baubre Murray.

Congratulations, KP, this was well deserved, and thank you for your ongoing support of HRNZ.

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

11

HR IN A COVID WORLD

HR in a COVID world – email for all With over one-third of its 1,000 employees not having New Zealand Automobile Association (NZAA) email accounts nor access to company computers, NZAA found itself without a universal method of communicating to each employee directly at the time of the 2020 COVID-19 nationwide lockdown. Human Resources magazine looks at what the organisation did to turn this around.

N

ZAA is an incorporated society that provides various services to its members, including breakdown services, vehicle repairs, driver licensing, insurance and finance.

The organisation has over 1,000 employees country-wide, across several different sectors.

When New Zealand went into lockdown last year, the NZAA encountered a unique dilemma, it found itself without a universal method of communicating directly to its employees.

In response to this unique situation, the People Experience (PX) team

12

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

created new technology initiatives to respond to legislative requirements, organisational processes, employee engagement activities and communication needs, all under significant time constraints.

The organisation found itself without a universal method of communicating to each employee directly.

Implementation

As New Zealand moved through the different COVID-19 response levels, the need to stay connected in realtime on health, safety, wellbeing, pay, employment and remote working issues was essential. Government requirements around the Wage Subsidy Claim and Safe Working Declarations also required verifiable information, acknowledgment and consent from each employee.

Furthermore, the annual performance review, scheduled to start during lockdown, was hosted on technology that required access to the NZAA’s network: the usual process and system was not going to be a viable option.

Working remotely, the PX project team and wider PX group collaborated to create different solutions based on need: from design to testing, piloting through to execution. They sought support and feedback from other relevant stakeholders around the business, including the Communications and Health and Safety teams. The organisation formed a COVID response committee early in 2020, and members played a collaborative role in implementing the solutions.

The PX project team used the existing onboarding system Enboarder, re-engineering it to account for each new process and its requirements.

This involved the manipulation of workflows, data, logic, communications and sequences.

Three separate workflows were created, which enabled real-time communication to be sent to relevant people as and when required.

The PX project team used the existing onboarding system Enboarder, re-engineering it to account for each new process and its requirements.

The design basis was a timeline methodology, and content focused on remote working, use of technology, learning, wellbeing and keeping in contact. The design allowed NZAA to reach all of its people either via AA emails or personal emails with relevant, timely and essential information.

The PX project team took Enboarder to a new level by using the system for annual reviews, a first for Enboarder in any company.

The design also included an automated process where managers and the PX project team could follow up with all people. The main design element was that everyone needed access to information, to execute and validate processes, be it remotely or onsite.

The PX project team compiled a comprehensive list of email addresses (personal and NZAA) from various sources to create a workable distribution list. The data was extrapolated into different categories and bulk uploaded into Enboarder.

Once this was triggered, NZAA’s

people would receive messages on a daily, weekly or ad hoc basis unique to their workflow.

The content was fluid and adaptable, and timelines shifted if required.

Tailored communications were sent to different divisions, managers, employees, remote workers and essential workers.

Impact

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, NZAA did not have a system in place to reach its 1,000-plus employees. This new method tailored communications to specific employees (remote workers, essential workers and managers), keeping them up to date on relevant topics.

NZAA’s COVID-19 Pulse Check showed the effectiveness of the system designs and initiatives. Ninety per cent of NZAA’s people stated they were aware of the health and safety requirements, showing how effective the re-engineered communication process was.

the same tool and received prompts and information from Enboarder along the way. Furthermore, the new process meant a centralised system for managers and employees to use.

Feedback from managers on this exercise and other initiatives during lockdown was positive, and the team is proud of what it has achieved in such a short timeframe and while working remotely.

The PX project team took Enboarder to a new level by using the system for annual reviews, a first for Enboarder in any company. The review process shifted from being manual to an automated exercise.

Everyone completed their review on

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

13

WELLBEING LUCY HONE

Fact or fiction: building resilient teams?

Whatever your interest in human resources, no doubt your inbox is flooded with companies offering resilience training right now. To help you sort the wheat from the chaff, we asked Dr Lucy Hone from the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience to share her insights on how to build resilience.

B

ack in 2008, during the Global Financial Crisis, I became fixated by the concept of resilience. I recall being told the economy needed to be more resilient, leading me to---- ponder, what did ‘being resilient’ mean and was this something we could build? Three years later, in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes, it became the zeitgeist word for the region, as organisations realised (often too late) they needed to review their risk registers and boost the resilience of their infrastructure and systems. If forced to shut up shop tomorrow, could their businesses cope? Fast forward to the current day, and resilience is the hot topic again. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses around the globe are now wondering how best 14

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

to ensure teams are resilient, asking what steps they can take to help employees adapt and cope.

resilience that science shows to be true for most people, in most places, most of the time.

I’ve been investigating the answers to these exact questions since 2008, studying what scientific research can tell us about resilience.

• Who’s got resilience?

• What builds it?

• What detracts?

• Can it be learned?

• Can we train people to be more resilient?

The basic definition is easy to get.

Resilience enables us to cope with, or steer through, adversity. It’s not about toughing it out and not about avoiding negative emotions or negative experiences. Instead, it’s about coping in the moment and learning from the challenges that face us. It’s not a fixed trait (that some people have and others don’t) but a capacity that can be built.

What is more complex to grasp is that this capacity comes from a highly individualised combination of what we refer to as ‘nature, nurture and culture’. Yes, nature does play its part: psychology has identified key personality traits influencing our ability to adapt and cope with challenges (google the Big Five Personality Traits). For instance, being extroverted and open to experience makes you more likely to grow from trauma. Conversely, being a diehard pessimist – always expecting the worst to happen, viewing setbacks as permanent and taking them overly personally – is strongly associated with hopelessness, depression and adverse physical health outcomes, including reduced immunity.

My research encourages human resources to think beyond employee engagement and EAP schemes towards developing organisational cultures that foster sustainable high performance, which new research shows has an ROI of 8:1 compared with 3:1 of EAP schemes (NZ Institute of Economic Research (2021), Wellbeing and Productivity at Work report).

Nature, nurture and culture

For clarity’s sake, let’s start with the basics. You cannot hope to nurture resilient teams without a fundamental understanding of what resilience is and how it is built. Because I’m a social scientist, let’s stick to the facts here, these are the aspects of

But our genes are not our destiny. In addition to the ‘nature’ element, we can do a lot to boost our resilience day in day out. The way we choose to think and act has a significant influence on how we feel and function moment by moment; the fact it is possible to train people to think and act more resiliently comes under the ‘nurture’ umbrella. For example, several studies show that people can be trained to spot their reflexive pessimistic thinking patterns, question their accuracy and conjure alternative or more realistic explanations.

My co-director at the Institute, Dr Denise Quinlan (part of the team that rolled out the Penn Resilience Program to schools internationally), has not only seen this done but also readily acknowledges that teaching others to dispute their overly pessimistic thinking styles helped her to override her own natural pessimism. As people leaders, it is absolutely possible to coach employees not to personalise problems, to communicate better, nurture high-quality connections, and promote hope, confidence, trust and other leadership skills. All of these fall under the ‘nurture’ component of resilience.

Too many resilience programmes, however, focus exclusively on those

aspects that can be nurtured at the individual level. They don’t focus enough on building resilienceenhancing cultures that boost equity, diversity and inclusion, belonging and psychological safety, all the while ensuring systems prevent, not promote, burnout. Burnout is, after all, an individual response to unsustainable pressures and insufficient support and resources at the systems and organisational level.

So, what can you do to nurture resilience in yourself and your teams?

What does research show is effective?

Here we share lesser-known practical insights from psychological research you can implement – immediately, at no extra cost – to build the type of cultures that prevent burnout and cultivate sustainable high performance.

Mental agility – teach the CAN method

Mental agility – being able to think flexibly and accurately – is foundational for resilience. Given more work is continually being added to our plates (and everything feels urgent and important!), training teams in the art of ruthless prioritisation is a core mental agility skill.

Every people leader, team and employee needs to have an agreed rank order of work priorities. We train people to start each week with two lists: on the right-hand side of the page, put down everything that’s on your plate and cluttering up your mind – get it out and don’t worry about the order; then, identify five to ten things that are your priorities and add them to the left-hand side of the page. When you look at the left-hand column, you should gain comfort from knowing that, if you achieve those things by the end of the week, you’ll feel satisfied and know you’ve prioritised important work. If someone asks you to deviate, adding more to your plate, ask, “Which of these existing priorities do you want me to delay or not do?”. In other words you’re asking, “Where does this fit in the order of priorities?”.

Another way to teach mental agility is by training teams to use the CAN three-step approach to challenging situations and adversity: What can you Control? What do you have to Accept? Now, what purposeful action can you take? (See https://nziwr. co.nz/hr-can/ for a step-bystep guide.)

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

15

CONTROL

ACCEPT

Write a list of the things you can Control – where you have some leverage or wiggle room.

This is where your focus should be. Make this list as long as you can.

Then write a list of the things you can (or have to!) Accept – these are the things that are fixed, that you have no influence over, you can't change, and just have to accept.

Build your teams’ social capital

One of the most effective ways to build resilience is by nurturing broad, strong supportive relationships. The more connected we are, the more we can cope with tough times. Studies show the COVID-19 crisis shrunk people’s social networks during 2020, meaning we are losing vital social capital, those broad (often casual) connections we draw on to help us be more creative, resourceful problem solvers.

Build social capital by allocating five minutes to identify who are you missing bumping into at the watercooler, who did you used to catch up with after work who you wouldn’t get the same support or information from via a virtual meeting? With the ANZAC bubble opened up, we encourage clients to rapidly rekindle any neglected casual connections – both internally and externally – by making a hotlist, picking up the 16

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

NOW ACT Next, consider what purposeful action can you take? Write down what you can do Now.

phone or orchestrating ‘bumping’ into them to catch up on lost information and opportunities.

Be a ‘good news’ amplifier

Research shows that how we respond to other people’s good news predicts the quality of our relationships and fewer conflicts (see diagram on p17). Only when we respond actively and constructively to shared good news does a relationship flourish.

Work through the insert box, asking yourself, who at work would benefit from some active constructive conversation (ACC) practice? Who in your team do you need to have an ACC with?

Tiny noticeable things that make work relationships better When I was at the University of Pennsylvania, I enjoyed working with Paula Davis, author of Beating Burnout at Work: Why Teams Hold the Secret to Well-Being and

Resilience. Paula was part of the team that trained resilience skills to more than 40,000 soldiers and their families. Here are some of her TNTs (tiny noticeable things) that, when modelled consistently by leaders, foster resilient teams.

• Saying thank you more (probably much more) than you currently do builds trust and is a profound way of saying “I see you”.

• Offer in-time feedback to peers and direct reports: make it specific and actionable so they can create winning streaks (positive feedback) or make the necessary adjustments (constructive feedback).

• Make assignments clear (“clear is kind” says Brené Brown) and keep people informed of changes: transparency drives a stronger sense of trust and inclusion within the team.

• Ensure senior leaders minimise conflicting requests and ambiguity (two known accelerants of burnout) so no one has to guess about assignment priorities and deadlines; adding a couple more sentences to an email can be a simple way to boost clarity.

• Keep track of and share small wins and successes regularly; checking items off of your to-do

"I got a promotion"

DESTRUCTIVE

CONSTRUCTIVE

ACTIVE "That's brilliant! What's your new role?

When do you start? What did your boss say about why you got it?"

Joy multiplier Enthusiastic, eye contact, genuine

"Wow. How are you going to fit in all that extra work? You already do so much."

Joy thief Quashing the event, dismissive, demeaning

list motivates us and prevents burnout by making us notice that we are making progress.

• Provide a rationale or explanation for projects, goals and big-picture vision; providing context helps teams get the bigger picture and creates buy in.

• Prioritise ‘you matter’ cues like calling people by name, making eye contact and giving colleagues your full attention; it might not seem like such a big deal, but your brain is constantly scanning your environment for signs of belonging.

I’ve got nothing against EAP schemes or resilience training – indeed, resilience training is a big part of what we do at the Institute – but these two alone will not create a culture of sustainable high performance.

To do that, you have to look at how your workplace system is enabling or inhibiting wellbeing and resilience.

Only when we examine all of our practices at the individual, team

PASSIVE "That's nice"

Conversation killer Delayed response, low energy, quiet

"Nice one. Hey did I tell you Andy is coming over for dinner tomorrow night!"

Conversation hijacker Avoids and ignores speaker, turns focus on self

and organisational level, through a ruthless lens assessing ‘is this helping or harming’ can we claim to really care about our human resources and their lasting resilience.

Nurturing resilient teams with Active Constructive Conversations

How you commonly respond to good news is more indicative of the future outcome of relationship outcomes than how we respond to bad news.

Over the course of the next week, try to monitor which of these four response styles (see above) you commonly fall into. Don’t beat yourself up, but start to notice which relationships and types of conversations prompt these four different responses in you. We all fall into these different quadrants with different people, over different content, and even at different times.

What might you change?

Whether it’s writing academic articles, books, columns or blogs, creating conferences and online courses, delivering training, or consulting for nongovernmental organisations and government agencies, Dr Lucy Hone has been on a long-term mission to bolster population health by busting myths and bringing the best of science to the masses.

Trained by the thought leaders in wellbeing science at the University of Pennsylvania, and now an adjunct senior fellow at the University of Canterbury and co-founder of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience, Lucy’s research is published internationally, and her PhD was acknowledged for its outstanding contribution to wellbeing science.

See www.nziwr.co.nz WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

17

SUSTAINABILITY BRIDGET WILLIAMS

Putting HR into sustainability Bridget Williams, from Bead and Proceed, explores where and how HR professionals can start to get to grips with sustainable development goals (SDGs).

A

ccording to Forbes, sustainability is one of the 10 biggest business trends for 2021 everyone must be ready for. However, ‘trend’ suggests more of a fashion statement than a practice that determines our future. We’re hearing and seeing this word more often, and we know it’s important. It’s a term we all connect with but often find it hard to put into action, so, where should we start?

Where to start

In 2015, the New Zealand Government adopted a framework to help New Zealanders action sustainability: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs focus on 17 diverse goals ranging from climate action to gender equality, to poverty, life on land and below our waters, to name a few. The SDGs are a blueprint and organised framework for international cooperation to help achieve global sustainable development for the 18

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

period of 15 years to 2030 (the SDGs’ deadline).

Before you start thinking, “Oh, great, another framework”, the SDGs are different and have unique elements that make them particularly special: • because all 193 United Nations member states adopted the SDGs, they are the largest globally recognised framework for sustainability • they focus on sustainability in all its forms: economic, social and environmental, making them relevant to every industry • they hold developed nations accountable for helping developing nations achieve the goals by the 2030 deadline • the United Nations does not own the SDGs: we all do, which makes it the responsibility of everyone to take action.

Taking action towards the SDGs starts by understanding them and connecting to the goals personally.

At face value, the goals seem like colourful, fluffy aspirations. They are not! Like any SMART goal, they are defined and measured by their 169 targets and 232 indicators.

Next steps

Be sure to review the targets that sit behind the SDGs you align to,

and when selecting those you can focus on, be honest about how you can make a realistic and tangible contribution towards the goal. Think about the connections, platforms and resources you can leverage to take you from passively working in that SDG space to having a real impact.

Then I encourage you to go one step further and align the SDGs to your workplace. Already we’re seeing the SDGs being weaved through organisational and business strategies and being reported against.

HR is about people, and so are the SDGs. They are also known as the People’s Goals, and essential to the SDGs is the notion, ‘leave no one behind’. Forbes might tell us ‘sustainability’ is trending, but let’s turn that trend into action. We can start by connecting with the goals personally and using HR as a tool to take all staff on the journey – a journey to achieve the world we want and need by 2030.

As quoted by Francois-Henri Pinault: “Sustainable development is a fundamental break that’s going to reshuffle the entire deck. There are companies today that are going to dominate in the future simply because they understand that.”

Enough said.

Why businesses and HR are stepping up to be SDG champions 1. The SDGs can help communicate and illustrate company values.

Link your wellbeing programmes and diversity and inclusion workshops back to the SDGs. 2. The SDGs are an effective tool for recruitment and retention.

Weaving the SDGs through your business not only attracts talent but helps retain it when staff feel they are part of a collective mission and their values and input matter.

3. The SDGs are a helpful framework to discuss essential issues in a safe environment.

The SDG framework is a wonderful way to bring up issues of wellbeing (SDG 3), diversity and inclusion (SDG 10), feminism and gender equality (SDG 5) and climate action (SDG 13). This is a framework that covers all these challenges and more, serving as an effective feedback loop on issues staff

care about but might need help to articulate and communicate.

4. The SDGs are linked to employment law and HR obligations that already exist.

One only has to look at the relevant legislation that concerns HR to see how interconnected the framework already is. For example the: • Minimum Wage Act 1983 – links to SDG 8 • Equal Pay Act 1972 – links to SDG 8 and SDG 5 • Human Rights Act 1993 – links to SDG 5, 8, and 10 • Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 – SDG 8 and SDG 3.

5. Investing in the SDGs is good for business.

The United Nations estimates that achieving the SDGs by 2030 could generate US$12 trillion in economic activity across the global economy and create 380 million new jobs by 2030.

Bridget Williams is the founder of the social enterprise Bead and Proceed, which exists to educate people about the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and inspire action towards them. Her passion for sustainability and using creativity as a tool for innovation has made her a recognised SDG expert, helping organisations with sustainable strategy and SDG reporting.

Bridget is a selected World Economic Forum Global Shaper and member of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network, which has led her to become a creditable global change maker. Her efforts have been recognised and endorsed by the Rt Hon Helen Clark and the JCI Osaka Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the Year programme.

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

19

WELLBEING BRIDGET JELLEY

Moving past the fruit bowls Bridget Jelley shares how we can support leaders in identifying and managing psychological hazards in the workplace.

T

he COVID-19 pandemic has brought psychological health in the workplace into sharp focus.

Wellbeing and mental health have perhaps been viewed in the past as a bit ‘fluffy’, ‘soft’ or ‘abstract’, and not relevant to organisational productivity or the bottom line. However, COVID-19 has provided a tangible example to many of us on how our people’s mental health and wellbeing are vitally important to business.

Thanks to COVID-19’s magnification of the role of mental health in contributing to a healthy, happy workforce, now is the time to move beyond the fruit bowl and ad hoc approaches to wellbeing in the workplace. Leaders now need to take a more strategic approach to really understand what risks exist in the work environment and how to better manage them.

What’s the state of play in New Zealand?

In positive psychology, we look at wellbeing on a continuum. We can 20

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

be anywhere on that continuum, from flourishing to languishing.

In New Zealand, how wellbeing has been traditionally measured is through mental health data.

The following is a sample of the most recent findings from across a range of New Zealand surveys.

• In the 2020 General Social Survey, nearly 20 per cent of New Zealanders were identified as having poor mental wellbeing.

These data were collected postCOVID-19 alert level 4 and are consistent with findings from previous years.

• These results are echoed in the 2019/20 New Zealand Health Survey, which shows that 20 per cent of the population suffer from a mood or anxiety disorder. This number has been steadily climbing since 2006 when it measured a more reserved 12.7 per cent.

• Data from the 2015, 2016 and 2018 New Zealand Mental Health Monitor and the 2018 New Zealand Health and Lifestyles Survey show that almost 31 per cent of people have had a personal experience of mental distress.

• Thirty-six per cent of people who were currently experiencing

high mental distress reported being discriminated against because of their mental distress, and that discrimination was most commonly encountered in the workplace.

• A 2018 review of studies conducted in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the EU-15 showed the annual economic costs of work-related stress to range between US$221.13 million to US$187 billion. The costs were primarily due to productivityrelated losses, followed by healthcare and medical costs.

• The Southern Cross Workplace Wellness report specifies the cost to the New Zealand economy, with NZ$1.79 billion due to absenteeism, which makes up an estimated third of the hidden cost of presenteeism (when workers are at the workplace but not mentally engaged with work).

These findings demonstrate some important points.

• Poor mental health remains an issue in New Zealand and its workplaces.

• The fact that many still fear opening up about experiencing mental distress, whether mild or severe, is almost ironic given that this human experience is so common. Most people know someone (77 per cent) who experiences mental distress.

• Poor employee mental wellbeing takes a significant toll on the employee, the team, the organisation and the economy.

It affects productivity, turnover, sickness and absenteeism. It affects employee life satisfaction, job performance and physical health, which places a further financial and workforce burden on an organisation.

• Poor wellbeing has a considerable cost to businesses.

Unwell employees cost businesses in absenteeism, presenteeism (estimated to cost three times that of absenteeism), reduced work performance, increased turnover and, of course, poorer health.

The good news is that investing in wellbeing has been associated with an increased return on investment, evidenced by current literature (Deloitte, 2017). Improved wellbeing often results in: • reduced absenteeism, an area in which New Zealand organisations

experience on average per employee per annum of $1,500 (Southern Cross and Mental Health Foundation, 2017).

• increased productivity of up to 31 per cent reported in some research (Community Mental Health Centre, 2013).

• increased retention and a significant reduction in employee turnover (Mental Health Foundation, 2016).

All of the above provide strong evidence that investing in mental health and wellbeing is a priority and that the right approach will yield positive outcomes for organisations.

What are our obligations?

So, what exactly are our obligations?

Should organisations be solely responsible for the wellbeing of their employees? Well, the short answer is we can’t possibly be 100 per cent accountable for everyone’s wellbeing at all times. However, we can do our part and put in place processes and initiatives that ensure people have everything they need at work to be happy, healthy and well.

What exactly is leader accountability for mental health in the workplace?

The Employment Relations Act 2000,

the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, the Human Rights Amendment Act 2001 and Health and Safety at work Strategy 2018–2028 all assign a duty of care and protection by organisations and their selected leadership to the mental wellbeing of their workforce.

While the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 does not make it mandatory to implement steps to minimise or eliminate risks of psychological harm in the workplace, legally, employers are liable where evidence finds that reasonable steps were not taken where a risk was known.

The reality is that the risk of psychological harm and injury to employees is just as likely, if not more likely, than the risk of physical injury given the pressures, insecurity and cognitive load that comes with modern-day jobs.

All evidence points to the value of taking employee mental health seriously and acting early. Managers are ideally placed to do just that.

Leaders need to adopt a new mindset

Without addressing this third arm of leading with mental health in mind, we are missing a huge opportunity to reduce the need to use the skills of WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

21

identifying and supporting. We may well be taking a Band-aid approach, neglecting potential sources of employee distress and missing the opportunity to focus on prevention over cure.

This is equivalent to trying to dry off while standing under a running shower! Or using a water bucket to empty a boat with a big ‘ole hole in its hull!

The aim here is to protect employee mental health.

Identifying and supporting are fantastic secondary and tertiary mental health intervention approaches, but nothing beats the value of a proactive, preventionfocused primary intervention approach. What we are talking about is identifying and managing psychological risks in the environment. It often costs less than secondary and tertiary measures, such as training, counselling, assessments, or filling employee gaps. But, more importantly, it is the approach that most minimises the risks of psychological harm to your people.

Assessing the risk of psychological hazards

What we can’t know without having a closer look is the magnitude of

psychological risks and their potential adverse impact.

Psychological hazards or risks, also commonly termed psychosocial hazards or risks, are not necessarily apparent to a leader.

When referring to work, the term ‘psychosocial hazard’ refers to the “aspects of the design and management of work, and its social and organisational contexts that may have the potential for causing psychological or physical harm” (Cox, Griffiths & RialGonzalez, 2000).

Not all hazards are equal in their impact, and not everyone is affected the same by specific psychosocial risks, so not all hazards require the same urgency to address.

The questions leaders need to be asking themselves are as follows.

• How likely is it that someone will be exposed to the identified hazard?

• How regularly may they be exposed to it?

• What is the harmful impact of an exposure to the hazard?

• How many of your team may be exposed to it?

2. Next is to understand what risks are relevant to your workforce and measure them.

You can do this by simply asking your people through check ins or more structured surveys.

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

4. Then, it’s checking in again with your people to evaluate how your interventions are going.

While I have given a snapshot of information in this article, it’s also important to ensure you engage the right people and employ the appropriate protocols to safely and successfully implement risk management of psychological risks in the workplace. A lot of information is coming out now to support organisations and their leaders on this very important topic.

An ISO standard, ISO 45003 Psychological Health and Wellbeing, will be released on 7 July to provide guidelines.

This year is the year to put psychological health at the front of our leaders’ minds.

Once you’ve identified the hazards and assessed their associated risk level, it is time to take steps to prioritise and manage the risk.

1. First of all, everyone needs to get familiar with what constitutes a psychological hazard. See graphic, below.

22

3. Once you have identified the risk areas, it’s about putting in place evidence-based initiatives to ensure you mitigate this risk as best as possible. For example, if isolation is an issue, it’s putting in place things like regular check ins, opportunities to connect, having multiple channels of communication.

Bridget Jelley is a registered psychologist, and her passion is in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of organisations, professionals and senior executives so that they can thrive. She is experienced in educating leaders on mental health in the workplace, building resilience, assessing psychological health, professional supervision and psychological risk management. Bridget has been fortunate to have worked within many sectors, including government, mining, utilities, research and development, agriculture and construction.

Gain Recognition as a Leading HR Professional

HRNZ is committed to promoting the highest levels of professionalism in Human Resources practice, through professional accreditation.

Benefits of Professional Accreditation • • •

Professional accreditation demonstrates your commitment to professional, ethical practice. It positions you as a leading HR Professional. It is an ideal way to showcase professional achievements and career-long development.

HRNZ supports HR Professionals in New Zealand to achieve recognised standards of excellence and competence in HR practice through accreditation.

Support your HR team members to develop their capabilities and achieve a portable and nationally recognised standard of competence in HR.

Which accreditation is right for you Early career HR professionals – HRNZ’s new Emerging Professional Member accreditation is the ideal accreditation for you right now. It signals to employers and your colleagues that you are committed to pursuing HR as a career. For more information and how to apply, please visit hrnz.org.nz/emerging.

Experienced HR professionals – gain the recognition you deserve for your competency and professionalism with Chartered Membership accreditation. Chartered Members are champions of the HR profession in New Zealand. Download the Chartered Membership information booklet and for more information please visit hrnz.org.nz/getchartered.

Recently Accredited Members Emerging Professional Members 2021 Cindy Swanepoel

Auckland

15 March

Sarah Bruckhaus

Wellington

24 March

Jennifer Kemp

Otago

13 April

Hannah Friedrich

Otago

19 April

Samuel Turner

Otago

11 May

Chartered Members 2020 Sarah Caunter

Auckland

19 April

Danni Williams

Manawatu

22 April

Allan Davidson

Wellington

26 April

Tarl Barnes

Southland

1 May

Kate Batkin

Queenstown

15 May

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

23

EMPLOYMENT LAW JACK RAINBOW

Bereavement leave changes Death is an unfortunate reality of life, and it is human nature to need time to grieve and mourn the passing of a loved one. Jack Rainbow, Solicitor at Dundas Street Employment Lawyers, looks at New Zealand’s employment laws relating to bereavement.

C

alls to update our bereavement laws have been increasing.

Questions are being raised about whether minimum bereavement leave entitlements are fit for purpose, including whether they encompass the full range of bereavements and sufficiently accommodate differing cultural practices.

The law as it stands

Current law is reasonably prescriptive about when an employee becomes entitled to bereavement leave, how much leave they are entitled to, and which bereavements they can take leave for.

Under the Holidays Act 2003, employees are entitled to paid bereavement leave after they have completed six months’ continuous service with their employer.1 Once eligible, the Act creates two categories of entitlement:

1. Three days’ bereavement leave following the death of a close family member, which is limited to a spouse or partner, parent, child, brother or sister, grandparent, grandchild or spouse or partner’s parent.

2. One day’s bereavement leave if the employer accepts the employee has suffered a bereavement as a result of any other person’s death.

In deciding whether an employee should be provided with the second category of leave, an employer must consider several factors as set out in the legislation: • the employee’s closeness to the deceased • the degree of responsibility the employee has for the funeral arrangements • any cultural responsibilities the employee may have in relation to the death.

The regime’s rigidity often means employees do not receive sufficient support or time to grieve following bereavement.

The untimeliness of death

Death does not wait for the most convenient time to occur. It can be sudden and unexpected, and it will often require a person to drop

everything at a moment’s notice and for some time.

This already difficult time is particularly hard for new employees, who are not necessarily entitled to paid leave of any kind from the outset of employment. That can mean individuals have limited options at a point where they need time and support to grieve.

In practice, many employers understand and provide some form of paid leave or an advance on leave entitlements. However, this is not always a given, and some employees do miss out.

Culturally appropriate?

The narrow remit of bereavement leave entitlements gives rise to genuine and important questions about how well different cultural practices, particularly regarding familial relationships and funeral or ceremonial arrangements, are accommodated within our increasingly diverse workplaces.

Different cultures celebrate and grieve bereavements in a variety of ways, including lengthy funeral ceremonies, depending on the closeness of the relationship with the deceased, and the requirements of fundamental cultural and religious customs and traditions around death.

1 An employee may also be entitled to bereavement leave if, over a 6-month period, they have worked for an employer for at least an average of 10 hours a week during that period, and no less than 1 hour in every week during that period or no less than 40 hours in every month during that period. See section 63(1) of the Holidays Act 2003.

24

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

Existing entitlements come from a time when a monocultured and Eurocentric view was prevalent and have not changed to reflect our very different current attitudes.

Existing minimum entitlements are now insufficient for many to properly process their loss and attend to important funeral customs or rituals.

The most obvious example of this is tangihanga – Māori funeral rites.

Tangi often take place over several days and can place significant pressure on employees who need to take extended leave from work. If the deceased is an aunt or a cousin, the issue becomes more acute, because those relationships do not fall within the first category of entitlement.

Cross-cultural confusion can occur when employers are unaware of the differing cultural expectations their employees face and should be entitled to take part in. This can have a significant impact on an employee’s wellbeing in already sensitive circumstances.

The impact can also be particularly damaging where an employee must prove to their employer that they have suffered a bereavement, or if evidence of the death itself is required.

Miscarriage and stillbirths

On a more positive note, the Government has recently addressed at least some of the uncertainty within, and unfitness of, our bereavement leave regime.

In March 2021, Parliament unanimously passed the Holidays (Bereavement Leave for Miscarriage) Amendment Act 2021, which clarified that an employee is entitled to three

days bereavement leave following a miscarriage or stillbirth. This addresses the difficult and upsetting debates that arose around the extent to which the definition of ‘child’ within the Holidays Act encompassed bereavements of this kind and that, for perhaps obvious reasons, has not made its way before the Employment Court.

Future reforms

It appears that at least some of the other problems posed by our existing bereavement leave law have been recognised, and change is on the horizon.

The Holidays Act Taskforce, which was set up by the Government to provide a comprehensive review of the Holidays Act, has released its recommendations. The Government has in turn accepted these in full, although an implementation date, and the legislative amendments themselves, have yet to be released.

The recommendations deal with all aspects of the Act, but, as far as bereavement leave is concerned, minimum entitlements will shortly: • provide employees with paid bereavement leave from their first day of employment • outline a new test for determining a likely broader eligibility for bereavement leave, with bereavement leave being provided to all employees with agreed hours and an expectation of continuous employment • provide any employees who do not meet the new eligibility test with bereavement leave entitlements after six months’ continuous service.

Critically though, the recommendations will extend the list of relationships to which bereavement entitlements apply, to reflect a far more modern understanding of family.

This means the three-day bereavement leave category will be expanded to include: • stepfamily members • additional family members by marriage (sons, daughters, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law) • cultural family groupings (eg, whāngai relationships – adoption and fostering) • aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

The future

The Taskforce recommendations go some way towards addressing the concerns our bereavement leave regime raises, particularly by better recognising the impact death has on individuals and the many relationships that make up modern families.

Only time, and inevitably, trial and error, will tell whether or not these reforms go far enough. Concerns still exist around whether such a prescriptive minimum-focused regime is the right approach for dealing with something as complex as human relationships and bereavements, but it is a good start.

Jack Rainbow, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa (Tapuika), is a solicitor at Dundas Street Employment Lawyers. He provides legal advice to both public and private sector clients, including in relation to disciplinary processes, investigations and dispute resolution. Jack also volunteers at Community Law and previously worked at a law firm specialising in Māori legal issues, particularly Waitangi Tribunal claims.

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

25

WELLBEING LAURNA MUNRO

Connecting wellbeing and inclusion Laurna Munro explores the connection between wellbeing and inclusion and how this will improve inclusion and diversity outcomes while increasing productivity.

W

hen we make the connection between wellbeing and inclusion, we strengthen our story of why we need to change the way we work, we create more hooks to bring people on the journey of change, and improve inclusion and productivity outcomes.

Your employees can’t perform at their best if you are not looking out for their wellbeing

• ‘I am so busy; I don’t have time to look after myself.’

• ‘I have so much to do; if I just skip lunch, I can catch up.’

• ‘I have a cold, but the team are counting on me.’

• ‘I should do some exercise, but…’

• ‘I know I am tired, but I just need to push through.’

• ‘There is no way I’d bring that up with my manager.’

If you hear statements like this in your organisation, your employees 26

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

are putting the wellbeing of their loved ones, the people they work with and themselves at risk. When we are stressed, hungry, fearful, overworked or tired, we tend to make bad choices and resort to undesirable behaviours. We need to flip our thinking from ‘work is the priority, I’ll look after myself later’ to ‘wellbeing is part of my job’.

The world we live in is becoming increasingly complex and, for many, the separation between work and personal life has become fuzzy.

This rapid and unexpected change is taking a toll on our wellbeing.

When people are well, they are more capable of drawing on the resources

they need to help them make good decisions in this complex world and have positive interactions.

Inclusion can drive wellbeing and wellbeing can drive inclusion

Wellbeing and inclusion are connected. When our wellbeing efforts consider the unique needs of employees and our inclusion efforts recognise wellbeing as an inclusion and diversity issue, you will start to see ways you can design expectations, solutions and offerings that are more meaningful to your employees.

This does not mean they are the same, but the overlap is significant

When you set the expectation and permission for employees to look after their wellbeing as part of their job, being tired, hungry or stressed is no longer an excusable reason for disrespectful and antisocial behaviour.

It is about creating an environment of trust for people … where they feel included, able to learn, contribute and challenge without losing their sense of environmental safety.

enough that they have a codependency. When we ignore the co-dependency, we won’t see the change we are expecting.

Don’t let low employee wellbeing have a limiting effect on inclusion

You may have provided your employees with the knowledge and skills to speak up when misconduct, such as bullying or harassment, occurs, but if your employees have a low sense of wellbeing, they are less likely to use their energy or risk their sense of safety to speak up. Research

by Rongjun Yu on a stress induced deliberation-to-intuition model

identified that, when we are stressed, we tend to make more habitual responses instead of goal-directed choices, which means we are more likely to apply decision biases.

When part of an employees’ identity means they are likely to experience blatant discrimination, relentless (often unintentional) micro-aggressions and pressure to ‘fit in’ day after day, a strong sense of wellbeing is important to helping them respond to your work environment and draw on their resilience while your other employees are still learning their new inclusive skillset.

Wellbeing is an inclusion and diversity issue

Many of your employees will experience an impact on their wellbeing during their career that will be significant enough to prevent them from participating fully at work. This might be in the form of absenteeism, presenteeism or early departure from the workplace.

When you look at research conducted by Statistics New Zealand, social disparities frequently show up for people who identify as LGBTQIA, disabled, Māori and Pasifika. Some of these poor outcomes are because of bias within our justice and health systems. Others are because of the WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

27

relentless exclusion experiences these people find themselves navigating each day.

Considering the wellbeing of all staff is essential to enable them to contribute their best at work. The social disparities relating to health outcomes mean the inclusion lens is critical to designing an effective workplace wellbeing programme and vice versa.

When we are stressed, we tend to make more habitual responses instead of goal-directed choices, which means we are more likely to apply decision biases.

Workplace wellbeing is about the way we work

When I ask employees about their workplace wellbeing programme offering, it is usually focused on how to eat well, sleep well and be active. These things are important, and it’s great that employees have these resources available to them.

This, to me, describes a workplace wellbeing approach of ‘how to stay well despite your workplace stress’.

We need workplace wellbeing programmes to think more about how they can work to reduce workplace stress.

Typical workplace stressors include: • change management • ambiguity (lack of clarity) • management practices • organisation culture • physical work environment • relationships at work (including lack of care, respect and dignity).

Benefits of reducing workplace stress: • improved mental and physical health • fewer injuries • reduced sick leave, absences and staff turnover 28

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

• reduce cases of misconduct • greater job satisfaction and employee engagement • increased productivity.

Because this is an article and not a book, let’s look at an example of one workplace stressor and one benefit in more detail.

Improving relationships at work

When we include the expectation of showing respect and care for each other as part of workplace wellbeing, we increase self-esteem and a sense of integrity. When we are explicit about these expectations, and it is reflected in our interactions, we make it possible for employees to trust our policies and processes.

They will feel safe asking their manager or peers for what they need to enable their ability to contribute, such as: • support to prevent or manage bullying, harassment, discrimination and other destructive behaviours • a flexible working arrangement • clarification about their role • help to address concerns about their workload.

• gain the courage to look for opportunities where they previously saw none • gain work–life balance • experience social connectedness and belonging • prevent and reduce discrimination, prejudice and harassment • increase pro-social behaviour.

The outcome for your organisation is employees who are engaged and invested in doing the right thing without the distraction of fear and exhaustion.

It is about creating an environment of trust for people to work within where they feel included, able to learn, contribute and challenge without losing their sense of environmental safety. This is known as psychological safety.

Wellbeing and inclusion are two requirements for improving productivity

New Zealand’s business productivity is being held back by the low wellbeing and inclusion of employees and their families. As we improve the wellbeing and inclusion experiences of employees, through addressing workplace stressors, they will: • see their capability flourish as their self-esteem increases

Laurna Munro is an experienced facilitator who is passionate about enabling highperformance workplaces.

She has a background as an inclusion and diversity programme management, organisational development advisor, senior ICT business analyst and career mentor. Laurna advocates for evidence-based change and, where the evidence is not apparent, encourages innovation through human-centred design practices.

July 14__________

Culture First 2021 Create a better_________ world of work

Culture Amp’s flagship event is back!

Join our first-ever virtual, free one-day event.

ENGAGE IN SESSIONS TO:

• Understand________________ your employees • Build_______ high-performing cultures • Develop__________ your people

Connect with thousands of global thought leaders, HR industry experts & practitioners, & workplace culture advocates, to connect with like minds & create a better world of work.

Register now: culturefirstglobal.com/apac

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

29

HR TECHNOLOGY STEPHEN MOORE

Redefining wellness Many lessons have been learned over the past year, but perhaps none resonate as deeply as the need for employers to support employees’ holistic wellbeing.

Stephen Moore, from Ceridian, looks at how a thriving, healthy workforce will be a priority for any organisation wanting to support business continuity and workplace productivity.

N

ow is the time to highlight the wellbeing of employees and the critical role companies play when it comes to supporting their physical, mental and financial health. From being asked to stay in one place to learning overnight how to work remotely, workers have navigated unchartered territory personally and professionally over the past year.

term strategy rather than a short-term reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the right thing to do for workers and business itself, because it creates a thriving and engaged workforce with a strong foundation for future resiliency and success.

Sixty-nine per cent of New Zealanders are concerned about their money, with that figure rising to 74 per cent of women and 85 per cent of those aged 18 to 34.

What’s the research saying?

In helping to support employees during this turbulent time, many companies have prioritised employee wellness through an expanded range of offerings, such as extending benefits to include mental wellbeing, and providing engagement programmes tailored to virtual environments.

Given current realities, it’s no surprise that findings from the Black Dog Institute suggest up to one third (25 per cent to 33 per cent) of individuals have experienced higher levels of stress and anxiety since the pandemic. The mental and physical effects of stress show a clear need to prioritise employee mental health in the workplace. Research from the New Zealand’s Institute of Directors suggests 81 per cent of New Zealand company boards are discussing workplace mental health issues, compared with only 62 per cent in 2019.

It’s important these types of changes are considered as part of a long-

These discussions are critical, and employers should offer holistic

30

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

wellness programmes that include mental health benefits. This will help ensure employees have access to the type of care needed to prevent, treat or manage psychological distress.

It all starts with understanding employee needs to create wellness programmes with impact. This, in turn, leads to lower turnover, lower absenteeism, higher productivity and higher revenue. Understanding employees begins with data.

Taking advantage of data-driven decision making

Innovative cloud-based solutions like Dayforce provide critical datadriven insights to identify trends and patterns and uncover opportunities.

Integrated sophisticated predictive technologies can take data from sources, such as tracked absenteeism, unscheduled overtime, and anonymous employee surveys, to create actionable insights. Data can be shared in the form of interactive dashboards so HR decision-makers can make informed choices about the actions they should take and programmes to implement.

Productivity versus burnout

While many reports suggest the rate of productivity has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for those working from home, workplaces must reflect on these insights and uncover the real rate of

their employees' productivity versus their rate of burnout. The correlation between these two factors in the workplace has a direct impact on an employee’s wellbeing. According to a recent McKinsey survey, almost half (47 per cent) of employees are at least somewhat burned out. This figure, as reported by McKinsey, is likely to be underrepresented because employees who are experiencing burnout are less likely to respond to survey requests. It’s important for workplaces to use human capital management (HCM) platforms that create a single source of truth for every employee, to track and address these trends.

programmes. Recent research from New Zealand’s Commission for Financial Capability found that a majority (69 per cent) of New Zealanders are concerned about their money, with that figure rising to 74 per cent of women and 85 per cent of those aged 18 to 34. Concerns around finances are known to be a source of stress, and distraction, for workers. It’s essential decision-makers consider financial wellbeing as part of a comprehensive wellness offering. A simple path forward for employers is to ensure they pay their workers and administer benefits accurately and on time, every time.

Importance of financial wellness

Although every workplace is different, a broad view is needed of wellbeing to ensure workplace wellness conversations are happening now.

Today’s business leaders and HR

With widespread economic uncertainty, it is becoming vital for employers to take financial wellness into account in employee

professionals need to be finely tuned to how they can support their workforce now and in the future. It is not only the smart thing to do, it is the right thing to do.

According to the research, 81 per cent of New Zealand company boards are discussing workplace mental health issues, compared with only 62 per cent in 2019.

Stephen Moore is responsible for overall leadership of the Asia Pacific and Japan region at Ceridian. His focus is to deliver world-class innovations and experiences to customers, helping them optimise performance using Ceridian’s intelligent HCM and deep business insights.

People powered success

Calling All Students!

Don't let being on a budget get in the way of kick-starting your career in HR become a member of HRNZ today for only 10% of the general price.

visit hrnz.org.nz/membership for more info

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

31

LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT TANIA DOMETT

Measuring DEI is not DIY Tania Domett looks at how organisations can support a diverse and inclusive workplace when the world is rapidly changing.

M

ost organisations already know they need to commit to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) if they want to thrive. The evidence is clear, with four decades of academic and practitioner studies from across 20 countries all showing DEI improves employee engagement and satisfaction, resulting in less staff turnover, lower recruitment costs and increased productivity and innovation (among other benefits).

New Zealand’s situation

Rapid demographic shifts also provide a compelling reason for getting behind the DEI drive.

For example, the number of New Zealanders working past the age of 65 has doubled in the past decade. One-in-four New Zealanders has a disability, which is likely to increase in step with our ageing population. And Māori and Pasifika populations are growing rapidly; by 2038, over 50 per cent of New Zealand’s population will be Māori, Pasifika and Asian.

32

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

These dramatic population shifts are affecting labour and consumer markets, and organisations need to ensure their workplaces are able to respond.

Social norms and expectations are also changing with movements like #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and Pride, and the push for pay equity is changing the environment in which we live and work. Women are no longer content with lower-level, part-time work just because they’ve had a baby – they no longer want to pay the so-called ‘reproductive tax’. Increasingly, people with a disability – and that’s a great many of us – expect to have decent, meaningful employment. People now expect to be able to be openly gay or gender diverse in the workplace and for this part of their identity to not count against them. All employees now expect their workplaces to be inclusive of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age and disability.

Consumers, clients and investors are also demanding that organisations in Aotearoa show a commitment to DEI. NZX listing rules increasingly require more, with issuers needing to provide, at minimum, a breakdown of the gender composition of their directors and officers. To top it all off, the COVID-19 pandemic is

challenging every organisation to operate differently and be inclusive in how it responds.

Multiple aspects of identity

A diverse workforce reflects the communities in which an organisation operates. The goal is to have demographic representation of multiple aspects of identity – for example, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, age and disability – at all levels of the organisation, including senior levels.

An inclusive organisation is one that provides a work environment in which all demographic groups are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and are in a position where they can contribute fully to the organisation’s success.

Properly committing to and engaging with DEI in your organisation requires measuring demographic diversity at the level of the organisation as a whole, and by level of seniority.

It also requires measuring levels of inclusion to find out: how far, and in what ways, your people are feeling included, which demographic groups feel less included than others, and what all your people would need to really thrive.

What gets measured gets managed, and it’s only by understanding

the numbers that you’ll know where to best focus your efforts for improvement (and your investment).

How you gather this information from your people is critical.

You can’t assume anything about an individual’s identity. Fifty-three per cent of disability is not easily noticeable (see Cogo’s Access 2020 Survey for Be. Lab).

Not even gender and ethnicity can be assumed, and many diversity dimensions can change over time, for example, responsibility for dependants, disability, relationship status.

Objective measuring

People are highly unlikely to disclose personal and sensitive information – or provide honest feedback for measures of inclusion – directly to their employer. It’s inappropriate, or even illegal, for organisations to ask their employees specific questions about their identity, for example, their sexuality or whether they have dependants. And staff engagement surveys aren’t always a reliable measure of whether your people are happy or not and whether they feel included in the workplace.

Engaging with an external DEI research provider has proved essential for gathering the

information organisations need to measure diversity and inclusion.

Third-party providers can provide complete confidentiality and a safe environment for honest feedback, resulting in more employees feeling comfortable sharing private and sometimes highly personal information about their lives.

All organisations are different, and the priorities that emerge for each from the research results will also tend to be different. One thing is for sure: a one-size-fits-all approach to DEI investment doesn’t work, and selecting which ‘ticks’ you wish to achieve based on what other organisations are doing won’t necessarily be right for your people.

The type of information required to properly commit to DEI adds a level of complexity that needs external expertise. Many organisations are making their move on DEI, and those that are investing in informed, well-targeted strategies are reaping the benefits.

Tania Domett is the Founding Director of Cogo, a research agency with a strong reputation for insights research and evaluation.

Cogo works with a range of clients across the private, public and non-governmental organisation sectors and is expert in DEI research.

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

33

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ANTONY HALL

Growing Pasifika talent The team at Auckland Transport (AT) has recently launched a new Pasifika strategy. Antony Hall, Head of Organisational Effectiveness, shares successes of this strategy.

M

alo e lelei, talofa lava, kia orana, malo ni, fakaalofa lahi atu, ni sa bula vinaka, fakatalofa atu, namaste, kam na mauri and tēnā koutou are greetings you will start to hear more of at. The organisation employs about 1,700 people and is responsible for all the region’s transport services, from roads and footpaths, to cycling, parking and public transport.

As diverse as Auckland

Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world. Pasifika are among the top three fastest-growing ethnicities in New Zealand. They represent 15.5 per cent of the Auckland population and are an essential group of people that AT serves every day. AT has recognised the importance of this group is growing and it must respond to their transport needs.

Significantly, AT has recognised it can only do this if the organisation reflects the diverse communities in 34

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

which it operates and serves, that their people are culturally intelligent, and they embrace the diversity that Tāmaki Makaurau offers. This means making AT a place where all the different groups that make up the community can thrive.

If we get this right, we’ll be better off when it comes to supporting Tāmaki Makaurau, says CEO Shane Ellison.

Shane Ellison, CEO, believes AT’s Pasifika strategy is an enabler in helping the company create an

inclusive culture where people feel valued and supported, regardless of any differences. “If we get this right, we'll be better off when it comes to supporting Tāmaki Makaurau,” he says.

AT has a range of diversity and inclusion initiatives. These include a focus on growing female leadership, improving Māori employment outcomes, an unconscious bias programme and various internal networking groups, such as the Rainbow Network, Incredible India and Chinese AT Heart, to name a few.

The Pasifika strategy was created by AT’s own internal Pasifika network and recognises and values the kinship and cultural connections of Pasifika and Māori. The strategy focuses on four priorities:

Well-established partnerships with organisations such as TupuToa, the Pacific Cooperation Foundation and the First Foundation are already opening up untapped pathways into careers in engineering, planning, law and many other corporate roles.

1. grow Pasifika talent

Ava ceremony

Pasifika strategy

2. create a culture where Pasifika thrive 3. ensure equity and fairness 4. engage with our communities, partners and stakeholders to create opportunities for Pasifika through AT’s activities.

The impact this made was monumental. It took the team out of the board room and their comfort zone, it left a long-lasting impression.

This strategy will change AT’s approach to developing Pasifika talent. Over the past few years, AT has already doubled the number of its Pasifika employees. This is a call to lift up, empower and grow Pasifika employees and ensure they are sitting at the decision-making table.

An Ava ceremony was used to launch the strategy to the executive team and board. Not only was this a significant cultural milestone, it provided an opportunity for the Pasifika group to open up and share a sacred and important tradition.

The impact this made was monumental. It took the team out of the board room and their comfort zone, it left a long-lasting impression and, above everything else, all the recommendations in the strategy were endorsed.

Plans are under way to hold another Ava ceremony to communicate the strategy to the whole organisation.

Kakala model

A fundamental cornerstone of the strategy is the Kakala model.

This year, AT will introduce the Kakala model into its leadership development framework. Lynette Reed, Organisational Effectiveness Consultant and leader of AT’s

Pasifika Connect group, says, “The Kakala model is a potent analogy that introduces many Pasifika ideas and traditions into leadership theory and practice.”

With strong support from the board and executive teams, AT is confident the strategy, which sets out specific actions and goals, such as a minimum of 75 per cent of its people leaders attending the Kakala leadership workshop, will improve outcomes for AT’s employees and the community it serves.

Antony Hall has a background in human resources and cultural transformation in both private and public sector organisations, including Spark, TVNZ, Air NZ and Auckland Transport. He has had various senior leadership roles across a wide range of portfolios, including generalist HR, employee experience, diversity and inclusion, design thinking, product management, system implementation, talent management, talent acquisition, strategy, future of work and workforce planning. He is passionate about the role people play in an organisation and believes that great employee experiences lead to great customer experiences that in turn lead to greater business outcomes. If you’re starting your own journey or would like to find out more about AT’s Pasifika strategy, feel free to contact Antony Hall (antony.hall@at.govt.nz) or Lynette Reed (lynette.reed@at.govt.nz). The team would love to share their approach and learnings.

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

35

LEADERSHIP JENNY MCDONALD

A leadership approach to psychological safety Jenny McDonald, Director at Continuum Consulting Group, explores psychological safety and what role leaders can play to ensure teams are supported.

main elements of highly effective teams at Google. To the surprise of the researchers, the top-rated element was psychological safety, before any of the more traditional elements.

he term ‘psychological safety’ has become familiar in organisations, and the concept has become increasingly important during these times of a changing world, with impacts on individuals and teams.

But what does it really mean, and how can we ensure our people experience high levels of it?

Amy Edmondson, the Harvard academic who coined the term, defines it as:

Why is it important for organisations?

Google undertook an extensive internal research project, called Project Aristotle, to determine the 36

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

Work from the Academy of Brainbased Leadership has identified six domains that influence people’s Psychological S.A.F.E.T.Y™.

Each of us has a unique mix of triggers and rewards that we bring to our interactions with colleagues.

A Psychological S.A.F.E.T.Y™ threat can create as strong a response as a physical threat, just on an internal level, so it might not be obvious to people around us.

T

“Being able to show and employ one’s self without fear of negative consequences of self-image, status or career. It can be defined as a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.

In psychologically safe teams, team members feel accepted and respected.”

likely and immediate challenge than in today’s world.

How do we build Psychological S.A.F.E.T.Y™?

Psychological S.A.F.E.T.Y™ is determined by how we experience the world, and this begins with our brains. From a mix of life experience and upbringing, we decide what is safe and what poses a potential threat. Our brains have five times more threat circuitry than reward circuitry – a legacy from the days when physical danger was a more

How can the leader support the team in being psychologically safe?

A team discussion about these domains and how our own profile affects our wellbeing at work will let people have robust discussions about ways to decrease negative psychological impacts and maximise the benefits from all team members feeling they are safe to contribute and feel valued, which in turn enhances team decision-making and effectiveness.

One of the first organisational conditions for Psychological S.A.F.E.T.Y™ across the team is team leader behaviour: how does the leader demonstrate openness and appreciation of all views? The role of the leader can both demonstrate and support psychologically safe work practices and conversations.

By way of starting a team discussion and identifying the strengths and

weaknesses of the current level of psychological safety factors, the following simple quiz, if completed by members of the team using a 1–5 rating scale, will inform where the team conversation needs to start.

1. If you make a mistake on this team, it is often held against you.

2. Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues.

3. People on this team sometimes reject others for being different.

4. It is safe to take a risk on this team.

5. It is difficult to ask other members of this team for help.

6. No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts.

7. Working with members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and utilised.

Source: Amy Edmondson Discussing the responses to each of these items, coupled with an understanding of the team members’ personal S.A.F.E.T.Y™ drivers, will lead to the ability to identify and agree the collective role in making work a place where psychological safety is taken as seriously as physical safety, for both the wellbeing of individuals and the team as a whole.

Giving everyone a chance to feel safe and to contribute fully creates a place for greater contribution to the effectiveness of the organisation.

Jenny McDonald is Director of Continuum Consulting Group.

If you are interested in learning more then please go to https://ablsafety.com/.

If you are interested in getting a high-level S.A.F.E.T.Y profile for yourself then please call Jenny 021 499 3320.

Have you watched these popular podcasts?

•

What role does wellbeing play in today’s organisations? – watch HR chats

•

HR issues for Directors right now – watch HR chats

•

How HR practice is vital to the wellbeing of Māori – watch HR chats

•

Why HR needs to pay attention to Sustainable Development Goals – watch HR chats

•

HRNZ’s business plan for 2021 – HR Chats

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

37

IMMIGRATION LAW UPDATE RACHAEL MASON

The remotest of remote Remote working, where the employee is based outside New Zealand, presents significant challenges for employers and HR professionals in ensuring the health and wellbeing of employees as well as ensuring effectiveness in their roles. Rachael Mason, Partner at Lane Neave, explores ways to support remote workers.

in most cases is to exhaust all avenues for enabling their entry to New Zealand. Make sure you get good advice about what options are available to secure a border exception. Sometimes, the easier and more certain route for securing a border exception may be through a family-based category rather than an employer-led category. This may be the case if either the candidate or their partner is a New Zealand or Australian citizen or resident or if their partner’s employer can make a stronger claim for an exception.

O

The introduction of the transTasman bubble also offers further opportunities for potential entry to New Zealand. In some cases, your candidate (or their partner) may be able to secure entry to Australia, which then opens up the option of New Zealand entry via the bubble.

A lot of moving parts need to be considered, so getting good advice is very important.

ver the past year, many employers will have had employees who have been affected by the border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, where they are stuck offshore and unable to gain re-entry to New Zealand. A further scenario is where candidates have been offered employment before or during the border closure and cannot enter the country, so they have started their role working remotely offshore.

New Zealand employers have already made good progress in successfully enabling remote working.

Employees stuck offshore – is a border exception possible?

If you have an employee who is stuck offshore, the first consideration 38

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

If you are thinking of making an appointment for someone who is offshore, consider getting advice about the possibility of successfully securing a border exception before making an offer so you and your employee can have realistic expectations about what the next few months may hold.

Supporting employee wellness for remote workers overseas

While some roles may be carried out remotely, we have worked with several employers (and their employees) who have struggled with the effects of working remotely.

Some of the issues encountered include time differences, leading to fatigue (which can then lead to issues of effectiveness, increased risk of errors and so on); IT issues such as connectivity problems and security; greater difficulty assimilating with the New Zealand business culture; challenges in building relationships and working collaboratively with internal colleagues and external stakeholders.

In addition to the above, the overall impact on employee wellbeing due to the cumulative nature of all these issues and the effect that sustained work in another time zone can have on their personal, family and social lives cannot be underestimated.

If you have employees (or prospective employees) stuck overseas who currently do not have an option to secure a border exception, you can do some things to help support their wellbeing. Bridget Romanes, Global Mobility Specialist and Principal of Mobile Relocation, has delivered virtual wellbeing programmes for

several New Zealand employers and their employees in this situation and recommends the following.

• Be open and make it OK for international remote employees to share their concerns and struggles. They are likely to be worried about job security or performance and may be reluctant to speak up and ask for simple changes to improve their situation.

• Bring in specialist expertise either one-on-one or in group sessions to give international remote employees strategies to tackle the unique challenges they face before more serious mental health issues emerge.

Ensure international remote

workers know about and have access to your organisation’s EAP programme if they need further help.

• Support and connect the managers of remote workers within your organisation, so they have a full understanding of the implications of international remote working. They won’t have had to deal with this situation before either.

Conclusion

Although some positive moves have occurred with the opening of the trans-Tasman bubble and the introduction of recent new border exception categories for reuniting family members, the reality is it is

still very difficult to secure a border exception for an offshore employee in most cases.

That position is unlikely to change for some time. On that basis, employers need to be proactive in thinking about how they will support remote workers and accessing expert help in that regard. Previous articles have discussed the different border exception categories at length. However, if you would like to enquire about the merits of a candidate’s potential request for a border exception, please feel free to get in touch. In the meantime, you can still offer support in many ways and show empathy to employees who are working remotely for the foreseeable future.

Rachael Mason is qualified in New Zealand, England and Wales, and has practised exclusively in the area of immigration law for several years. Rachael is a facilitator for HRNZ PD courses, virtual courses and webinars. Go to hrnz.org.nz/pd to see upcoming courses. She works with both multi-national corporate clients and smaller local employers across a range of industry sectors in managing their global and local migrant workforces and developing and maintaining compliance and legal right to work policies. Rachael is focused on providing highquality technical immigration advice that is both pragmatic and commercial.

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

39

INSIGHTS KATHY CATTON

Employees at the heart Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, employee wellbeing has been thrust into the spotlight. Human Resources magazine editor, Kathy Catton, spoke with three organisations that are taking wellbeing seriously. We share their advice on how to integrate wellbeing into the workplace.

Unisys: promoting holistic wellbeing

It took Unisys, the global IT services company, just 48 hours to move 98 per cent of its 18,000-strong global workforce to working from home in March last year. But, as many of us experienced, after working from home for several months, some negative aspects of the experience started to arise. Staying healthy and getting the same amount of exercise as they had before the pandemic restrictions kicked in was difficult for some.

“We wanted to give our people a tool to put their own wellbeing first,” says Andrew Whelan, Vice-President – Client Management, Unisys AsiaPacific. “So the HR and internal communications team developed an Asia-Pacific-wide voluntary step 40

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

challenge, called ‘U-Move’, that ran throughout September 2020.”

Step challenge

The objective was to get people moving away from their desks and to begin socialising again with their teammates. To implement the programme quickly (three weeks from concept to launch), the Unisys team used the 10,000 Steps mobile app, created by CQUniversity in Rockhampton, Queensland, to log daily step activity. The app also allowed other types of activity, such as yoga, to be converted into steps.

Participants were encouraged to form teams, both cross-functionally and

cross-geographically, using a ‘find a team’ service to help connect not only with people in the office but also new people in other locations.

“For some, that meant connecting virtually to train together, while others involved their families in extra physical activity,” says Andrew. “We had 368 people from 8 countries (including New Zealand) form 46 teams. Interestingly, 40 per cent of New Zealand participants opted to be in international teams.”

The results were very encouraging.

Polling after the challenge found that 77 per cent of participants said the U-Move programme had helped them be more active. In fact, the

proportion of employees participating in daily exercise almost tripled (from 24 per cent to 86 per cent).

The percentage of people who felt they had adapted to working from home increased from 24 per cent to 47 per cent, almost double.

Air New Zealand

The future

Me, we, us

“This initiative highlighted the importance of the physical side of wellbeing and its positive relationship to mental health and social interaction, as well as the need to ensure smart use of technology across a predominantly work-fromhome workforce,” says Andrew.

By encouraging diversified teams, people were exposed to others in the organisation they would typically not have the chance to interact with. All this was done in an open, collaborative, safe and social way.

Air New Zealand knows a thing or two about change. Having been through an enormous amount of change during the COVID-19 pandemic, Air New Zealand is clear about its wellbeing strategy.

“We have a multi-layered approach to wellbeing: Me, We and Us,” says Rachel Moon, Senior Manager, Wellbeing. “We seek to empower people with individual ‘Me’ tools and resources, as well as cultivating a culture of support (‘We’) through peer-to-peer connections and wellbeing leadership, and ensure organisational facets (‘Us’) such as work design, environment and policies all encompass wellbeing.”

Amongst these individual ‘Me’ tools and resources is a Wellbeing Hub.

Wellness tips for working from home

• Initiate a discussion with your teams about techniques they can use to create boundaries between work and home life (for example, packing up work zones at the end of the day and committing to screen-free personal time).

• Work with staff to define their core working hours. While some flexibility is essential, teams also need time to relax and reboot.

• Discuss options that can provide team members with a break from being at their desk for the whole day. A walking meeting, for example, can be a great circuit breaker if safe and practical.

• Remember your colleagues are human: ask how they are doing (and listen).

• Share something of yourself, for example, post a photo on your internal social channel of something that made you happy, see what response you get.

This is an online source of wellbeing information and resources, accessible from any device, anywhere, with wellbeing programmes and

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

41

recruits, manages and supports a network of volunteers who provide support to their colleagues and peers across the business. These volunteers are trusted people who employees can contact for support and advice and who sit alongside the other support services. It’s seen as a valuable option if employees are wanting to speak to someone they identify with, who understands the specific pressures and demands of their role, culture and life, as an alternative to EAP, their manager or HR. These volunteers are trained and supported collaboratively by the Wellbeing Team and Lifeline, which is a partner in this project.

“Also key here is encouraging and empowering leaders to have real and meaningful connections and conversations with the people, and ensuring they have the knowledge and skills to be able to listen and guide their people to the right support option available both inside and outside of Air New Zealand,” says Rachel.

Rachel Moon’s advice for HR

challenges, livestream sessions with wellbeing and financial experts, workshops (such as mental health awareness and stress and resilience) and EAP. “It’s important to Air New Zealand that the organisation considers how people feel and function every day – not just while at work, but also away from work,” says Rachel. “People’s mental and social wellbeing, as

42

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

well as their physical wellbeing, is important to the organisation, so that they can participate in meaningful activities and engage with evidencebased, easily accessible support for themselves, their whānau and their communities.”

Peer support network

In addition to the individual tools and resources, Air New Zealand also

• Ask your people and find out from them what they are struggling with. Use a survey or focus groups to hear from your people about what would help most enhance their wellbeing while at work.

• Don’t just rely on initiatives and programmes to improve people’s wellbeing or ‘patch up’ the problems; look at the root cause. Investigate the organisational factors that affect people’s wellbeing while at work, such as workload, environment, rosters, relationships and culture, and work to improve these.

Your initiatives will not create sustainable change otherwise.

• Establish a benchmark so you can continue to measure the impacts of your programmes and how you are tracking.

Foodstuffs North Island

Foodstuffs North Island has had an active wellbeing strategy for over three years. Until recently, though, the strategy was predominantly mental health focused, before the team shifted to a more holistic model, which encompasses physical, mental, financial and social wellbeing.

Quadrants of wellbeing

“Our business operates on four financial quarters, so we align our four wellbeing quadrants with the four financial quarters,” says Michelle Cooper, Head of Safety and Wellbeing. With more than 22,000 employees in over 350 stores and 2,500 in Head Office, it was important to find a way to reach all staff in a meaningful way.

Under the physical quadrant, the organisation facilitates a fitness or walking challenge for staff to get involved with. With mental wellbeing, Michelle and her team are working on the COVID-hidden pandemic of stress and feeling overwhelmed.

Using the Five Ways to Wellbeing slogan of “It’s okay not to be okay”, the organisation uses a simple approach: Recognise, Respond, Refer, and, as such, the co-operative has worked to modernise its EAP offering.

“We now have Clearhead’s online platform available to our team,” says Michelle. “It’s an integrated system that provides interactive wellbeing tools and educational information in the palm of your hand as well

as access to 200 therapists for counselling services, if required. The business also gets an anonymised analytics report so we can better understand our employees’ wellbeing needs and ensure our future initiatives are targeted to the needs of our people.”

Under the financial quadrant, Foodstuffs North Island offered superannuation workshops and budgeting information. And with the social quadrant, a gratitude programme has been started, allowing staff to appreciate their working environment, colleagues and home environment.

Tracking upwards

As with all wellbeing initiatives, it’s essential to measure success. With engagement survey results trending positively, it’s clear real progress has been made.

“We ask two key questions in the survey relating to wellbeing. One is ‘Does my manager care about my safety?’ and the other is ‘Does my manager care about my wellbeing?’,” says Michelle.

“For us, it’s about caring with credibility,” says Michelle. “It’s about providing meaningful support to staff, without doing it for them.”

According to Michelle, the CEO and executive team are now deeply involved and invested. “Everyone is human,” says Michelle, “and we are here to help staff figure it out.”

With this leadership from the top, people leaders are also trained in coaching and having difficult conversations. “It’s not common for Kiwis to play in this space, but we are supporting our people leaders through leadership development programmes to step up to leadership,” says Michelle.

Michelle Cooper's advice for HR professionals wanting to introduce a wellbeing strategy to the business

• Talk to your people about what they need.

• Make an effort to connect with people’s hearts and minds.

• Get buy-in from the top. It’s not about fluffing pillows and putting out fruit bowls; you have to show that you genuinely care at all levels of the organisation.

Conclusions

Looking after employees’ wellbeing is not just the right thing to do morally, a commercial bonus is also involved. The more an organisation looks after its people, the better and more valued they will feel, and the more engaged they will become. HR’s challenge continues to be how to integrate employee wellbeing strategies and initiatives in a values-driven way, getting senior leaders onside with the importance of wellbeing.

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

43

WELLBEING MICHAEL HEMPSEED

Exhausted from the pandemic?

It’s fair to say we are all aware of people who are struggling with exhaustion right now. Michael Hempseed shares some crucial steps to help those within our organisations facing burnout.

L

et’s face it, 2020 was a rough year for many. Recently, a lot of people have told me they are feeling tired, exhausted or burnt out. I am hearing that more and more people are ‘crashing’. Even if many of us in New Zealand weren’t directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects on the world and New Zealand have been emotionally draining.

Too often everyone thinks someone else will do something, and no one does.

Emotionally draining

Many would expect that the worst psychological impact of the pandemic would be at the beginning, then people would get better over time. This is not what international research suggests. The Canterbury Charity Hospital found that, if people needed counselling immediately after 44

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

the earthquakes, on average, they needed two to three sessions, which is almost nothing. But if they needed counselling five years later, they required 22 to 23 sessions.

This has been found with earthquakes, terrorist attacks, tsunamis and many other widespread disasters. All things considered, most people cope remarkably well with the immediate effects of a disaster, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

When a disaster strikes, many people have a lot of resilience, and they are ready to fight and battle the incoming disaster. However, over time, their resilience is worn away little by little.

This is why people who sought help from the charity hospital needed so many more sessions five years later.

Also, often when a disaster strikes, we are good at checking in on people in the days and weeks afterwards; it is thought this is very protective.

Many people will say New Zealand is far better off than other countries, so ‘we should be okay’. It is exhausting and emotionally draining watching COVID-19 ravage other parts of the world. The threat of more lockdowns or restrictions has many people on edge, not seeing close family who are overseas has been a source of great pain for many, especially if they are not able to attend significant

events such as births, weddings and funerals.

HR at the frontline

HR professionals have had a considerably challenging time in the past year. They may have been forced to make good staff redundant.

Many people have changed jobs, which requires considerable extra work, and industries affected by supply chain issues have had numerous headaches. Also, many HR professionals are discovering they are coming across increasingly complex levels of mental illness in the workplace.

A significant difference exists between feeling tired and being burnt out.

Someone who is tired can usually recover with a good night’s sleep.

Whereas someone who is burnt out often sleeps and sleeps and never feels rejuvenated. For other people, experiencing burn out can be feeling mind-numbingly tired but they just can’t sleep.

How can this be addressed?

One of the most straightforward steps is to make sure that managers and senior leaders are aware of the long-term impact of disasters.

Simply bringing more awareness of this means that senior leaders can look out for it and respond more

appropriately. I speak to many large companies, and I have been impressed to see that, when I mention the long-term impact of COVID-19, many leaders start taking this seriously and look for ways they can support staff.

Notice those around you

One of the biggest problems with burnout is the person who is burning out is least likely to notice it in themselves. Often people who burn out lose their self-awareness, and they work harder than before.

The best people to spot burn out are family, friends or co-workers. Other people around the person who is burning out will notice that they look tired and aren’t their usual selves. Too often, we are afraid to say something in case we offend the person. If we can help people when they are burning out or before they crash, then the impact can be minimal.

Often if we ask, ‘Are you okay?’, people automatically respond ‘yes’ even if they are not. A better way is to say what you have seen. For example, if you know someone used

to be early for work, they dressed well and looked happy, but there has been a change, you should say, “Lately, I’ve noticed you don’t seem to be yourself, you don’t seem to be as happy as you used to be and I’ve noticed you are coming in late. I’m not angry, but I am concerned about you. Have you noticed this too?”.

It is important if you notice this, that you make it your personal responsibility to approach the person.

Too often, everyone thinks someone else will do something, and no one does.

was proactive, and went ‘hard and fast’.

Impact on the whole organisation

Burnout can be a significant problem, especially because the good staff are the most likely to burn out. Too often, companies try small changes and hope that will fix the problems.

Whereas, usually deep changes are needed that put the wellbeing of staff first. I know of one company that gave an extra week’s leave to staff who were approaching burnout, on top of their existing sick leave and holiday pay. This was expensive, but a number of good staff would have almost certainly left if something wasn’t done and a considerable number of arguments were happening among staff. Often when people are burnt out, they become irritable and moody.

The extra week’s leave saved the company considerable stress, and it paid for itself many times over. It is important to note, this company acted before people were burnt out.

It is suggested that however long it takes someone to burnout is how long it takes to recover. So, a week’s leave for someone who is burnt out is not going to do much. This company 46

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

Maybe your company won’t need to give an extra week’s leave, but it shows the power of taking staff wellbeing seriously. One of the best ways to address burnout is to prevent it in the first place, by being alert to early warning signs and ‘going hard and fast’, so the devastating effects of burnout can be prevented.

Michael Hempseed is the author of Being a true hero: Understanding and Preventing Suicide in Your Community. Although he speaks on ‘dark topics’, the participants at his seminars say they walk away feeling inspired and hopeful, and they even have a few laughs along the way. Many non-professionals come to his seminars and say they learn a lot. But, professionals and experts in the field, such as medical doctors, psychologists and counsellors, also say they learn a lot. .

Download our latest whitepaper to find out more.

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

47

EMPLOYMENT LAW – CASE REVIEW DAVID BURTON

Medical incapacity – a last resort This case demonstrates the need for a fair process and reasonableness when it comes to terminating employment on the grounds of medical incapacity. David Burton from Cullen Law talks us through the details.

E

mployers have a duty to protect the wellness of their employees at work. However, there may come a time when it is reasonable for an employer to terminate employment because of health issues. The recent Employment Relations Authority decision in Zammit-Ross v Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki is a good example of an employer getting the process and justification for dismissing an unwell employee right.

Ms Zammit-Ross was a long-serving employee of Oranga Tamariki (OT). She was employed as a social worker in a youth justice facility that accommodates youth offenders who have been remanded or sentenced into custody.

In May 2017, Ms Zammit-Ross intervened between two youths who were fighting in the courtyard. Her hand became twisted in one of the

48

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

youths’ tops as she was attempting to restrain him. This resulted in her wrist becoming injured. After the incident, Ms Zammit-Ross continued working at the facility but undertook light duties involving less contact with youths.

From October, Ms Zammit-Ross was unable to continue working due to worsening pain in her wrist. A rehabilitation plan was developed in November for the wrist injury to help Ms Zammit-Ross return to normal activities at work and home.

However, in December, a further medical certificate was provided to OT advising that, in addition to the sprain, Ms Zammit-Ross was also suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which had been reactivated from the assault.

Ms Zammit-Ross had not disclosed a pre-existing disposition to PTSD. There was no evidence that OT had any knowledge that an incident such as breaking up a fight would have had the consequences that it did.

Ms Zammit-Ross then developed increasing mental health symptoms.

The first medical report prepared in January 2018 was not provided to OT due to the deeply personal information it contained. As a result, the meeting proposed to discuss

Ms Zammit-Ross’s situation was delayed to enable Ms Zammit-Ross to see her doctor again. The doctor’s second report confirmed Ms ZammitRoss was receiving treatment for PTSD and stated that she remained “highly symptomatic and significantly functionally impaired”. The prognosis for a full recovery was probably one to two years, with a very low likelihood of recovery to full fitness to work in her role within 12 months.

The report also advised that, if Ms Zammit-Ross were able to return to work within the next 12 months, further traumatic exposure would exacerbate her symptoms and prolong recovery.

The parties had discussions and attended mediation in July. In August, OT began the formal process set out in its collective employment agreement (CEA) for medical incapacity. Ms Zammit-Ross’ doctor’s opinion was that she “is medically unfit from today and will remain unfit for the foreseeable future”. OT’s doctor confirmed his earlier opinion and prognosis.

Following a meeting with Ms ZammitRoss, a decision was made to proceed to terminate her employment for medical incapacity at the end of October 2018. In November, notice

concluded that the evidence did not support a conclusion that there was inadequate staffing at the time of the injury. Importantly, the Authority commented that, even if there was fault, it was not satisfied that there was an obligation to continue employment until Ms Zammit-Ross was well. It did state that where there is responsibility by the employer for an employee’s condition, more emphasis may fall on an obligation to promote rehabilitation and the reasonableness of any timeframes.

of this was provided to Ms ZammitRoss, and her employment ended on 8 February 2019.

The Authority concluded that a fair and reasonable employer could have commenced the medical retirement process in August 2018. By way of contrast, the Authority also referred to an Employment Court case where it was reasonable for a large employer to commence a medical incapacity process after seven months. The Authority concluded that OT had followed a fair process and was justified for terminating

Ms Zammit-Ross’ employment for medical incapacity.

In support of her personal grievance for unjustified dismissal, Ms ZammitRoss raised several complaints. She said that she felt unsupported by OT. The Authority concluded that the amount of contact an employer has with an employee who is unwell is always a balancing act. Some may appreciate more frequent contact and others may not.

Ms Zammit-Ross also complained about staffing levels. The Authority

Whether an employer is justified in terminating an employee’s employment for medical capacity will depend on the circumstances, but it should be supported by the medical evidence and by allowing a reasonable period for the employee to recover.

David Burton is the Director of Cullen – The Employment Law Firm. David has over 30 years of employment law experience in New Zealand and overseas. His expertise is recognised by his peers.

For six years, he was appointed to the Employment Law Committee of the New Zealand Law Society. Before that, he served on the Workplace Relations and Employment Law Sub-committee of the Law Institute of Victoria, Australia.

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

49

PD SPOTLIGHT KATHRYN FINN AND JULIA SHALLCRASS

How to reduce stress Working too long hours? Faced with impossible deadlines?

Does climbing Mount Everest feel easier than dealing with the mountain of emails in your inbox? Julia and Kathryn, from KiwiBoss, look at how to tackle employee workplace stress.

E

mployers must provide a workplace without undue stress, where staff can cope with the demands of their job.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, employers have a lawful duty to take reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of workers and protect them from harm. Failure to protect staff from harm caused by stress may result in personal grievance claims or prosecution by WorkSafe.

Employee wellbeing programmes, such as free fruit and yoga at lunch are helpful, but are the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff if you are not addressing what is causing the stress in the first place.

So, how can you identify and manage stressors to comply with health and safety obligations?

50

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

Identify stress at work

Stress is linked to absenteeism, lowered productivity and workplace conflict. Many stress claims arise from work pressure and work-related conflicts like bullying and harassment.

In a recent survey, the biggest causes of stress among New Zealand workers included an excessive workload, long hours, pressure to meet work targets, change in the workplace, and workplace relationships.

Stress can present itself in physical changes, like headaches, stomach problems and insomnia, and emotional issues like anxiety, depression, lack of focus and irritability. Prolonged and chronic stress can lead to fatigue, burn out and physical health problems.

Managing workplace stress

Employers and managers have a duty to take appropriate steps to eliminate and minimise health and safety risks in the workplace. Some stress is unavoidable in any workplace, but you can take steps to eliminate or manage excessive workloads, dangerous work environments or workplace bullying. Select the most effective controls proportionate to the risk and appropriate to your situation.

How to identify stress at work

• Ask staff. Unsure if your staff are stressed at work? Ask them! In your regular catch ups with staff, identify any stressors and discuss ways to alleviate workplace stress.

• What if your staff appear stressed but haven’t spoken to you? Arrange an informal catch up over a coffee or a walk. It’s sometimes easier to talk away from the office and any prying eyes (or ears).

Start the conversation by saying something like, “I notice you don’t seem as happy as you were…”.

• Encourage staff to raise stressors. Staff need to come forward and say if they are struggling because it can be difficult for employers to identify stressed staff. You can’t fix it if you don’t know about it.

• Surveys and forums.

Identify stressors through staff engagement surveys, health and safety committee meetings and forums.

Monitor hours of work

Working too long hours can lead to undue stress, burn out and health issues, and personal grievance claims. In Ringrose v Brazin Ltd and Bras N Things New Zealand Ltd, an excessive workload of more than 60 hours per week caused the retail manager undue stress, resulting in depression and burnout. She was awarded $20,000 in compensation for hurt and humiliation as well as lost wages.

Monitor your employee’s workload by asking for accurate time records so you can check staff are not working long or unusual hours. Discuss their workload in regular catch ups. Try to eliminate or automate tasks or outsource work during busy times.

Failure to protect staff from harm caused by stress may result in personal grievance claims or prosecution

by WorkSafe.

Support staff from afar

Staff are likely to be more productive working remotely at least one day per week, free from office interruptions.

However, remote working can lead to staff feeling isolated. Meet your remote workers regularly so they can access support and aren’t ‘out of sight, out of mind’.

Manage inherent stressors

Some roles are inherently stressful because they are emotionally draining or have high consequences for errors, like policing, social work and surgery. While it may be impossible to eliminate all stressors, you can reduce the risk of harm by: • controlling the timing and duration of exposure • provide training to deal with demands posed by work • temporarily reducing workloads or moving staff to another area • promoting employee involvement.

Ask for health updates

If your staff have mental or physical health issues, you should ask them for medical updates. Ask your employee to discuss any issues like formal performance management with their medical professional.

Carefrontation

Consider a ‘carefrontation’ on their return to work following a period of sick leave. In a ‘carefrontation’, find out whether the employee is fit and able to carry out all tasks required of their position. Staff can discuss potential health and safety risks, such as workload and other workplace stressors contributing to their sickness or injury.

Wellbeing app platforms

Wellbeing app platforms, like the Kite Program, can be tailored to suit your organisational needs with content available on wellbeing, mental health and much more. Hannah HardyJones, the CEO and founder of The Kite Program created the product so “employees can feel cared for and have a tailored and considered solution with content truly applicable to their role”.

Kathryn Finn is an experienced facilitator and HR consultant for KiwiBoss and a consultant for The Kite Program. With a degree in psychology and sociology, a graduate diploma in HR management, and currently studying for her master of science in psychology, she is passionate about creating an engaging workplace that gets the best out of its people in a positive and productive environment.

Julia Shallcrass is the founder of KiwiBoss, an HR and employment law training company. Julia is an employment lawyer who provides in-house training to organisations throughout New Zealand. This year, she will present a brand new online course for managers: Leader’s Guide to Performance Management. She regularly presents half-day courses through HRNZ, including Effective Performance Reviews (the next one is on Wednesday, 7 July 2021), Managing Poor Performers, Managing Mental Illness at Work and Restructuring and Redundancy.

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

51

RESEARCH UPDATE ANNA EARL, PAULA O'KANE AND FIONA EDGAR

COVID wellbeing learnings The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increased research focus on workplace wellbeing, particularly among frontline health and other essential workers, operating in the eye of the storm. We seek to understand the main messages.

W

orld Health Organisation 2020 research identifies stress, depression and loneliness as the main issues facing workers, and last year the Auckland University of Technology surveyed 1,000 New Zealanders during lockdown, revealing 11 per cent suffered burnout. This has positively led to many organisations rethinking their HR policies, focusing on both physical and mental health.

So, what advice can be gleaned from research for HR practitioners when managing their workforce amidst, and beyond, the global pandemic?

Culture and climate

First, Hobfoll’s conservation of resources theory suggests that employees have a resource toolkit that can be stocked up and then used when needed. The benefit of this resource toolkit is that it boosts employees’ resilience, while 52

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

employees with depleted or empty toolkits have reduced resilience, leading to stress and depression.

So how can HR practitioners help employees to restock their toolkit after the COVID-19 depletion?

Research suggests this can be achieved by ensuring employees receive clear, unambiguous, consistent communication and messaging, that leadership and supervisory relationships should be imbued with authenticity, and training opportunities should be provided.

Last, the culture and climate of the organisation needs to be supportive so both the professional and personal needs of employees are addressed.

Auckland University of Technology surveyed 1,000 New Zealanders during lockdown last year, revealing 11 per cent suffered burnout.

Change of focus

Second, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted to both academics and practitioners the importance of wellbeing in workplace performance.

For many organisations, this has meant an extension to the remit of their health and safety policies, which research suggests need to be

sufficiently broad to include aspects related to the job, the organisation’s environment, and the nature of social relationships. This has turned attention away from a focus on physical harm and managing risk to creating both a physically and mentally safe workplace.

Coupled with this is the change to a shared responsibility between employers and employees for reduced harm under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. This means HR practitioners need to focus on opening up the channels of communication to solicit ideas and feedback from their workforce about how best their psychological wellbeing might be supported.

The bigger picture

Third, the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need for organisational and HR leaders to continuously review how they create a healthy workplace.

This means HR practitioners need to think about what a flexible and relevant wellbeing strategy might look like in their organisation. Central to this strategy is a safe working environment that supports employees to flourish and thrive when faced with ongoing uncertainty. Here, research suggests policies that address job security are important. So too is

workplace flexibility and giving employees control over their day-to-day work environment.

HR practitioners need to focus on opening up the channels of communication to solicit ideas and feedback from their workforce about how best their psychological wellbeing might be supported.

Balancing the positives and negatives

Finally, the period we spent in lockdown opened the eyes of organisations and employees to the potential benefits of remote work.

A University of Otago study suggested people were equally or more productive working from home and wanted to continue some form of remote working post-lockdown.

But this should not be considered a panacea for productivity. Issues around Zoom fatigue, health and safety, monitoring, setting performance goals, individual control and trust all need to be considered when designing a remote and flexible work policy that will be mutually beneficial for employees and employers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded HR practitioners the mandate to initiate and implement change. This gives us the potential to review HR strategies, policies and practices, potentially enabling HR practice to harness these opportunities to create a sustainable wellbeing agenda.

Anna Earl (PhD) teaches advanced human resource management. Her main research interests revolve around the relationship between government and multinational enterprises, and the practices of qualitative researchers. Her current research interests are in emerging economies, expatriates, and stakeholder relationships.

Paula O'Kane (PhD) is a senior lecturer in Human Resource Management at the University of Otago, Dunedin. Her recent research has explored social media in selection, remote working and performance management.

She is part of the Work Futures Otago group, exploring the Future of Work in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Fiona Edgar (PhD) is an associate professor in the Department of Management at the University of Otago, Dunedin. She teaches strategic human resource management (HRM) and is widely published in the HRM area. Her current research interests include HRM and, in particular, how this impacts on employees in the workplace, as well as the relationship between HRM and organisational performance.

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

53

AM I MANAGING? NATALIE BARKER

Our regular columnist Natalie Barker, Head of Transformation at Southern Cross Health Insurance, gets to grips with self-care for herself and her team.

T

his morning I booked myself a massage appointment. I have a troublesome shoulder, and, on advice from a suite of healthcare providers over the years, I manage it through stretching and strengthening exercises. When I saw my physio last year, she told me I should book in for a regular massage every two or three weeks as well. It’s taken me six months to get around to booking my first appointment. Why did it take me so long?

I’m lucky to work for a health and wellbeing organisation. At Southern Cross Health Insurance, our very purpose is to empower Kiwis to live their healthiest lives. That applies to our employees as much as our customers. Caring for the wellbeing of our people is part of our DNA. We have an incredible employee wellbeing programme, Switch2well, that encourages us to take care of ourselves physically, mentally and even financially. It offers rewards for Fitbit steps, participation in health checks, seminars, and for taking part in regular health-related challenges.

We can join meditation sessions, boot camps at the local park, and 54

HUMAN RESOURCES

WINTER 2021

have access to financial planning, EAP coaching and counselling.

We also offer ‘live well’ leave so our people can look after themselves during work hours. We can take a day’s worth of leave each year for medical appointments and other life admin. We’re removing barriers so our people can prioritise their health and wellbeing.

So why did it take me six months to book my massage? Why didn’t I prioritise looking after myself when I have so much support to do so?

We’ve been tackling this question in my team. It started at the beginning of the year when we shared our new year goals and noticed a strong wellbeing theme. For example, we listed goals such as going for lunchtime walks, listening to motivational podcasts, training for running events, putting work problems aside during family time, all focused on our wellbeing and all seemingly simple to do.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of work and home life and not quite get around to the activities that help us keep well. We realised that, to achieve ‘wellbeing’, we need a little more ‘welldoing’ in our habits.

Someone challenged me recently to think about why we’re successful in our work. It’s not just because we’re good thinkers, it’s also because of what’s in our heart. And you can’t bring your mind and emotions to

work and leave your body behind. So if we want to be successful and want our teams to be successful, we need to take a holistic view of what we contribute to our work.

In my team, we’ve decided that our wellbeing goals should have as much importance in our work conversations as our performance and development goals. We’ve made sharing them a regular event, using our team meetings to check how we’re doing. It was after one of those conversations that I booked my massage, a phone call that took two minutes and was prompted by telling my team I had sore shoulders and hadn’t done anything about it.

As a leader, if I really care about my team’s wellbeing, whether it’s their physical, mental, spiritual, financial or relationship health, I can actively encourage them to make it a priority.

I can create an environment that allows my team to share openly with each other, using the power of conversations and perspective to bring about positive change for all of us.

And I can finally go get that massage.

Natalie Barker is Head of Transformation at Southern Cross Health Insurance. She has been leading people for 15 years and believes that leveraging people’s strengths and passions is the best way to drive engagement and get stuff done.

Only available to

HRNZ

HRNZ Members

Mentoring Programme Mentors needed; mentees welcomed Benefits of being a mentor: • • • • •

Enhance your reputation and industry profile Gain recognition for your skills and experience Exposure to new perspectives and approaches Develop leadership and management qualities Gain satisfaction from ‘giving back’

Benefits of being a mentee: • • • • •

Gain valuable insights from leading HR professionals Practical career development advice Increase your professional confidence Exposure to different leadership and management styles Develop new skills and knowledge

For full information, please refer to the HRNZ Mentoring Programme Guide

WINTER 2021

HUMAN RESOURCES

55