Create a healthy, productive and fun workforce today!

Life in 2016 is already demanding, we often have too many tasks, and too little time. We are tired, stressed & disengaged. We are eating fast, moving less, sleeping poorly and letting devices distract us from the important things.We are not working or living as well as we could be. TriEx Wellbeing recommend a SIMPLE 5 STEP process to support changing old habits and replenish your people to create a positive workplace culture which is critical to success. Our clients are creating healthier, more productive workforces. They're creating great places to work, where employees feel respected and valued. NOW is the perfect time for you to join them!

1 - EMPLOYEE WELLBEING PROGRAMME (EAP) Allow your team to take control of their own wellbeing by providing an ongoing support system for employees to access independent, confidential & professional advice for their psychological & nutritional wellbeing.

2 - ONLINE WELLBEING SURVEY Get feedback first hand from your workforce. Give your team a voice and find out what they love about your workplace, what areas of their own wellbeing they would like to better, plus identify areas that could enable room for growth and improvement.

3 - QUARTERLY WELLBEING WORKSHOPS/SEMINARS Using survey results as guidance, create a strategy for targeting specific areas of interest for staff wellbeing throughout the year.

E.g. Stress Resilience & Relaxation Techniques / Nutritional Seminars / Workplace Yoga / Mastering Habits & Goal Setting / Physicality Support.

4 - WELLNESS & EXECUTIVE COACHING FOR LEADERS Leadership is a vital piece of the general wellbeing and positive culture of any workplace. Engage, inspire & motivate your leadership team to achieve the results and success you want for your business by providing regular Coaching. Read more here

5 - HAVE FUN! We spend so much of our time with our colleagues, having a little fun is a great way to keep the workplace a positive place! Create social events, run inter-workplace competitions, enjoy shared lunches, encourage communication & allow a space of belonging & value!

Are you ready to create a healthier, more productive workforce?

Give me a call on 03 341 4087 or email fleur.truscott@triexwellbeing.co.nz to have a chat about how we can help.

Stay well,

Fleur Truscott

Often getting your head around the idea of a Drug & Alcohol Policy can seem daunting, so I offer to have an initial discussion with organisations to chat through some important things to consider.

Today I received an email from an organisation in the construction industry - quite a common occurrence these days with the rebuild of Christchurch I must say. This particular email had a D&A Policy attached that was in the words of the sender "Ready to be implemented"

I took a very brief look through the policy and found myself getting carried away with a highlighter noting some quite substantial gaps. After a quick phone call to the sender overviewing & explaining the many areas that were questionable they admitted to downloading and altering a template document off the internet. I'm happy to say the template will be scrapped & we will have their new policy developed and implemented by a Professional in the field.

It made me wonder how many organisations have existing policies that don't quite meet up with the standards of the H&S Responsibilities of business in today's world.

Why does an organisation need a Policy?

The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 places a duty on an employer to provide a safe workplace. The Act specifically states that the term "hazard" includes a situation where a person’s behavior may be a source of harm, such as situations resulting from drugs or alcohol. This is especially the case where an employee’s actions (or inactions) could cause harm to themselves or someone else, for example people who drive vehicles, work at height, or operate machinery or dangerous equipment.

The use of drugs and alcohol, even if consumed outside the workplace, can lead to employee impairment while at work. Poor concentration, carelessness, risk-taking behavior and errors in judgment can occur. Drug and alcohol abuse not only affects work performance, but also results in higher rates of injuries, fatalities and absenteeism as well as reduced productivity.

In order to control the risk of impairment by drugs or alcohol, it is recommended for employers to have a policy that allows them to test for drug or alcohol use, especially for those with employees in safety sensitive roles.

Where to start?

Developing a Policy that fits with the goals & objectives of your organisation takes a combined approach. It doesn’t need to be difficult and having the correct planning and discussions from the outset will result in a policy that protects both employer and employees.

I recommend an initial scoping meeting with an expert in the field with the aim of gaining an understanding of your existing Health & Safety Policies and Procedures, the nature of your business, your organisation’s culture, and any anticipated concerns to ensure you end up with a policy that will best fit your needs.

A crucial component of any policy, is the awareness & understanding of your employees, and the education of Managers and senior staff who are enforcing the policy. Education sessions will compliment your team with the confidence and skills required for a successful implementation.

Let’s take the next steps together!

Contact Fleur on 021 396 310 for a FREE phone consultation or to discuss your needs.

The past few years have seen a slow but significant expansion of Employee Wellness Programs from a purely physical approach to other aspects of the human experience. While early Employee Wellness Programs focused on weight loss programs and smoking cessation, the past decade has seen a boom in group fitness challenges, healthy cafeteria options, walking meetings, fitness trackers, and the like. Even more recently, workplace wellness programs have begun to address the emotional health and wellbeing of employee, blurring the distinction between Wellness Program and Employee Assistance Program.

Sleep habits programs are becoming more popular, bridging the divide between physical and emotional health; they also have strong appeal to Risk Managers. Employers recognize a growing body of data showing a strong connection between lack of proper rest and diseases like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Exhaustion is also connected to emotional health like depression, and there is a strong correlation between fatigue and workplace accidents. Therefore, more and more employers are including sleep hygiene as something to study and address in their wellness offerings.

Some recent creative Employee Wellness programs include parenting classes, leadership training, and community aid projects, which really engage the whole person in the “wellness” definition. Recent research from the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans, which surveyed employers about what benefits they consider to fall under the wellness umbrella, shows that sixty-six percent cited vacation as the top nontraditional wellness initiative, followed by mental health coverage (63%), tuition reimbursement (63%) and community charity drives (57%).

As this trend evolves, look for more developments in workplace wellness which recognize and support the “whole person.” Some manifestations of that will be increased offerings of services and activities like yoga, meditation and massage which improve both mental and physical wellbeing, a claim supported by a large body of peer-reviewed medical studies. Increased overlap between Employee Wellness and EAP programs will also occur, resulting in increased competition between the two and likely some consolidation of suppliers in the complementary fields.

Written by Claudia Rimerman, National Practice Leader, Corporate Wellness 365 at Spafinder Wellness, Inc

Well winter is definitely upon us, and with the colder months, come extra challenges in the workplace.

Managing staff absences during the winter months is problematic for organisations as it

is often their busiest time of year. Many employees save their annual leave for the Christmas period and on top of this organisations are faced with increased sickness levels due to ailments such as coughs, colds, sore throats and winter flu.

By understanding the patterns of absence in your organisation you will be able to plan for staff shortages during the busy period. Many organisation monitor days lost through sickness absence and the causes but very few record the patterns in absence.

It is good practice to monitor and record when the absences take place, why and identify particular trends such as increased levels during major sporting events or during the winter months.

By having a better understanding of absence you will be able to put preventative measures in place to ensure minimum impact on your business. An example being if you know that you have particularly high sickness levels due to colds and flu during the winter months, you can invest in flu vaccinations for staff. Many organisations offer flu vaccinations to reduce winter sickness, as it is relatively inexpensive option.

Other concerns during the darker months are increased sickness levels due to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and higher stress levels. To keep staff on top form why not offer some simple training sessions on spotting the signs of stress and simple coping mechanisms to combat it before it becomes a more serious issue.

By creating a positive working environment for your employees you will not only be helping them improve their lives but will also be benefiting the business.

Organisations who invest in the health and wellbeing of their workforce report a reduction of sickness related absenses, presenteeism and an increase in productivity and staff morale.

Support employee health this winter by encouraging:

Regular Exercise

This improves the blood flow, strengthens the heart, helps beat the bulge and increases the feel good hormone ‘endorphins’ that help lift our mood.

Ideas can be as simple as a lunchtime walk to a team steps or excercize challenge.

Healthy Eating

In the summer most people eat a healthy diet but when it comes to winter we want to tuck into something that is warm, filling and often full of calories.

If you have a canteen you can offer some suggestions for healthy winter warming meals or get staff involved with a recipe share. TriEx Wellbeing can run a one hour lunchtime session of nutrition and practical recipes and ideas for the winter months.

More Light

It is often the case that as the nights draw in many of us, especially those who work indoors are leaving for work in the dark and returning home in the dark. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a type of winter depression that affects a small percentage of the population every winter.

One of the simplest ways to improve mood during the dark months is to increase levels of vitamin D

from the sunshine; start a lunchtime walking group, increase natural light into the office by keeping blinds open.

For further information on the services provided by TriEx Wellbeing Ltd, please phone us on 0508 WELLBEING (0508 934 523) or email enquiries@triexwellbeing.co.nz

TriEx Wellbeing are joining forces with WorkSafe & The Mental Health Foundation New Zealand to bring the ‘One for the Blokes’ workshop to Christchurch.

This is a 2 hour, non PC workshop on depression, aimed at blokes.

The presenters are humorous and the tone is positive.

We’re offering a FREE session on Monday evening and invite you to register your space now by emailing fleur.truscott@triexwellbeing.co.nz

Monday 15th June 2015 5:30pm - 7:30pm

TriEx Training Room 49 Carlyle Street, Sydenham

Nibbles provided

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who believe they can make things happen and those who believe things happen to them.

The first group are convinced that the outcome of their lives and careers is more or less in their own hands, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

The second group take more of a Forrest Gump approach—they sit around and wait for the bus to take them somewhere.

University of Florida psychologist Tim Judge and his colleagues have shown overwhelmingly that people who feel that they control the events in their lives (more than the events control them) and are confident in their abilities end up doing better on nearly every important measure of work performance.

In Judge’s studies, these individuals—we’ll call them “the Empowered”—were found to do the following:

Sell more than other employees doGive better customer serviceAdjust better to new assignmentsTake home an average of 50 to 150% more in annual income

In Good Times And Bad

Of course, when good times are rolling, nearly all of us believe we have the world by the tail. What makes the Empowered in Tim Judge’s studies special—whether they work the shop floor or in the C-suite—is that they don’t get overwhelmed when the going gets tough.

Just like you, the Empowered feel intense stress and anxiety when hard times strike, but they use this anxiety differently. Since the Empowered believe that they have control over the outcomes in their lives, their anxiety fuels passion instead of pity, drive in lieu of despair, and tenacity over trepidation.

Whether the Empowered find themselves presiding over a division with tanking revenues, on the receiving end of a scathing performance review, or staring yet another job-hunting rejection in the face, they refuse to wave the white flag. They redouble their efforts.

Here’s How It Works

The empowered outperform everyone else because the ability to manage your emotions and remain calm under pressure has a direct link to your performance. TalentSmart has conducted research with more than a million people, and we’ve found that 90% of top performers are skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress in order to remain calm and in control.

Anxiety is an absolutely necessary emotion. Our brains are hard-wired such that it’s difficult to take action until we feel some level of anxiety (also called stress). In fact, performance peaks under the heightened activation that comes with moderate levels of anxiety.

The trick is to manage your stress/anxiety and keep it within optimal levels in order to achieve top performance.

We all know that living under stressful conditions has serious physical and emotional consequences. So why do we have so much trouble taking action to reduce our stress levels and improve our lives? Researchers at Yale have the answer. They found that intense stress actually reduces the volume of gray matter in the areas of the brain responsible for self-control.

As you lose self-control, you lose your ability to cope with stress. It becomes harder for you to keep yourself out of stressful situations, and you're more likely to create them for yourself (such as by overreacting to people). The Yale research shows us why so many people get sucked into progressive rounds of greater and greater stress until they completely burn out (or worse).

Dwindling self-control is particularly scary when you consider that stress affects physiological functions in the brain, contributing to chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes. And stress doesn't stop there—it's linked to depression, obesity, and decreased cognitive performance.

Here’s How You Do It

If you don’t have the tools in place to keep your anxiety in check when it comes on strong, you’ll never realize your full potential.

You can get better at managing the anxiety you inevitably feel when facing difficult and uncertain situations. You just need to follow the steps that successful and empowered people take to keep their anxiety from taking over.

The key thing to understand before getting started is that you are indeed facing uncertainty—the outcome of your future has not been decided. It’s up to you to develop the beliefs and mental toughness that will make you one of the Empowered.

Step 1: Expect and Prepare for Change

People change and businesses go through ebbs and flows. It’s a fact that even the Empowered in Judge’s study can’t control. They’ve found themselves out of work. Their companies have fallen on tough times. The difference is that they believe they are fully capable of dealing with changes and making something positive happen.

In other words, they are mentally prepared for change—and you can be too.

If you don’t anticipate change naturally, you need to set aside some time regularly—either every week or every other week—to create a list of important changes that you think could possibly happen. The purpose of this task is not to predict every change you’ll face. Rather, it will open your mind to change and sharpen your ability to spot and respond to impending changes. Even if the events on your lists never happen, the practice of anticipating and preparing for change will give you a greater sense of command over your future.

Step 2: Focus on Your Freedoms, Not Your Limitations

We’ve all had the old mantra life isn’t fair beaten into our brains since we were young. This mantra is a voice of despair, anxiety, and passive inaction. While it’s true that we sometimes have limited ability to stop negative events from occurring, we are always free to choose our response.

On your list of possible changes from step one, jot down all of the positive ways in which you can take action and respond to each change. You’ll surprise yourself with how much control you can wield in response to seemingly uncontrollable circumstances.

Step 3: Re-write Your Script

Step three is going to be the hardest because it requires you to change the mode of thinking that you’ve grown accustomed to. Over time, we all develop mental scripts that run through our heads and influence how we feel about our circumstances and what we do in response to them. These scripts go so far as to tell us what to say and how to act in different situations.

In order to be empowered, you’ll need to rewrite your script.

To do this, recall a tough time you went through recently. What was it you believed about your circumstances that prevented you from making the most of your situation or responding more effectively?

Write this script down, and label it your hard-luck script.

Since hindsight is 20/20, go ahead and write a more effective and empowered mental script that you wish you had followed next to it. This is the empowered script you will use to replace your hard-luck script.

File these away so that you can pull them out and study them whenever you are facing stress or strong anxiety. When you do pull your scripts out, compare your present thinking to your hard-luck and empowered scripts. This will keep you honest and enable you to adjust your thinking so that you’re operating from an empowered script.

These periodic reminders will eventually rewrite your scripts completely, enabling you to operate from an empowered script at all times.

Step 4: Spot and Stop Negative Self-Talk

A big step in managing stress and anxiety involves stopping negative self-talk in its tracks. The more you ruminate on negative thoughts, the more power you give them.

Most of our negative thoughts are just that—thoughts, not facts.

When you find yourself believing the negative and pessimistic things your inner voice says, it’s time to stop and write them down. Literally stop what you’re doing, and write down what you’re thinking. Once you’ve taken a moment to slow down the negative momentum of your thoughts, you will be more rational and clear-headed in evaluating their veracity.

You can bet that your statements aren’t true any time you use words like “never,” “worst,” or “ever.” If your statements still look like facts once they’re on paper, take them to a friend or colleague you trust and see if he or she agrees with you. Then the truth will surely come out.

When it feels like something always or never happens, this is just your brain’s natural threat tendency inflating the perceived frequency or severity of an event. Identifying and labeling your thoughts as thoughts by separating them from the facts will help you escape the cycle of negativity and anxiety and move toward a positive new outlook.

Step 5: Count Your Blessings

Taking time to contemplate what you’re grateful for isn’t merely the “right” thing to do; it also lessens anxiety because it reduces the stress hormone cortisol by 23%.

Research conducted at the University of California, Davis, found that people who worked daily to cultivate an attitude of gratitude experienced improved mood, energy and substantially less anxiety due to lower cortisol levels.

Bringing It All Together

Overwhelming anxiety and empowerment are mutually exclusive. Any time you are overcome with enough stress/anxiety to limit your performance, just follow the five steps above to empower yourself and regain control.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning co-author of the #1 bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and the cofounder of TalentSmart, the world's leading provider of emotional intelligence tests and training, serving more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies. His bestselling books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in more than 150 countries. Dr. Bradberry has written for, or been covered by, Newsweek, TIME, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Harvard Business Review.

Is your Drug & Alcohol Policy up with the times?

The use of drugs and alcohol, even if consumed outside the workplace, can lead to employee impairment while at work. Poor concentration, carelessness, risk-taking behavior and errors in judgment can occur. Drug and alcohol abuse not only affects work performance, but also results in higher rates of injuries, fatalities and absenteeism as well as reduced productivity.

The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 places a duty on an employer to provide a safe workplace. The Act specifically states that the term “hazard” includes a situation where a person’s behavior may be a source of harm, such as situations resulting from drugs or alcohol. This is especially the case where an employee’s actions (or inactions) could cause harm to themselves or someone else, for example people who drive vehicles, work at height, or operate machinery or dangerous equipment.

TriEx Wellbeing offer a range of solutions in the areas of

Drug & Alcohol Policy DevelopmentDrug & Alcohol Policy Implementation and Education of a new or existing PolicyDrug & Alcohol Rehabilitation Programmes

If you would like to discuss your existing policy, or need to implement a new policy into your workplace, then please contact Fleur on 0508 WELLBEING (0508 935 523) or email

Life today is non-stop, and all too often, employees end the day feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.

To keep up with demands at work and in life, they’re letting their wellbeing fall through the cracks, and it’s taking a huge toll. Sleep deprivation is an epidemic, physical activity is at an all time low, and the number of health issues tied to obesity, stress, depression and chronic disease has skyrocketed.

The short story here? People are scrambling to juggle it all, and their wellbeing – right along with their engagement and productivity at work – is paying the price. More than ever, leaders are rolling out programs that support all aspects of employees’ wellbeing, rather than their physical health alone. And with good reason, too. These types of programs serve up tangible benefits, boosting employees’ engagement and productivity – right along with their contributions.

1 - WELLBEING COVERS IT ALL

While they may seem similar on the surface, there’s a big difference between employee wellness programs and employee wellbeing programs.

Both types of programs aim to improve an employees’ health status, sure, but wellness typically supports physical health alone. It’s often a cookie-cutter approach that relies on assessments and biometric screenings to determine who’s sick or at risk, but then offers little support in helping people actually change or improve their behaviours.

Wellbeing, on the other hand, takes a more holistic look at health and supports employees’ physical, emotional, social, and financial wellbeing – and more. These programs are for everyone, and they help people understand their health today and support them in making healthy, sustainable behaviour changes over the long term, too.

Investing in programs that encompass a holistic approach to wellbeing engages everyone – no matter where they are on their journey to good health – and boosts employees’ healthy habits across the board.

2 - WELLBEING FUELS ENGAGEMENT

It’s no secret that disengagement hits companies hard. On the other hand, highly engaged employees set up their companies for success, boasting higher profitability and productivity, and less turnover, absenteeism, safety and quality incidents, and more.

Worldwide, 87 percent of employees are disengaged, and in a 2014 Conference Board report, 1,000 global executives cited human capital as their top challenge.

Stemming the flow of disengaged employees is critical for companies. But with a myriad of reasons driving low engagement, it’s not always the easiest issue to address – let alone correct. Enter employee wellbeing.

Supporting employee wellbeing with robust tools, resources and programs that take a holistic approach to health helps your people take care of themselves and feel on top of life, so they can come to work ready to engage and thrive.

3 - WELLBEING IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY

Let’s say you’ve got a workforce chock-full of employees whose health habits could use some improvement. Maybe they haven’t seen a fruit or vegetable in decades, and the only time they run is if they’re being chased. Maybe they’re taking care of a sick family member, or their finances are slacking, or their plates are piled so high with priorities they have trouble sleeping at night.

Think a workforce like that’s checking all of life’s pressure at the door and focusing on work-related tasks for their entire shift straight? Yeah, we don’t either.

That’s where wellbeing comes in. When your people maintain healthy habits, it positively impacts their focus and productivity, helps them get anxiety under control, and makes it easier to complete their priorities.

Offering benefits that support all aspects of employees’ lives helps them make healthy habits a priority and manage stress, giving them the energy and cognition to stay focused and tackle even the most challenging tasks.

4 -EMPLOYEES ARE ASKING FOR IT

If increased engagement and productivity aren’t reason enough, consider this: Your employees want programs supporting their wellbeing, and it could be the difference between them sticking around or leaving your organisation.

When it comes to healthy habits, many people just don’t know where to start – or may not even realise that what they’re doing has an impact on their health. The silver lining here is that you’re perfectly poised to support your people, and they’d welcome that help.

A recent US survey showed 56 percent of employees say wellbeing programs make them feel more valued by their employers, and over 80 percent said they’d be interested if their employer offered free tools, resources, or programs to help them manage stress, productivity, and other aspects of their wellbeing.

These types of programs also play a role in recruitment and retention. Eighty-eight percent of employees said access to health and wellbeing programs was an important factor when selecting an employer of choice, and 45 percent said an employer-sponsored wellness program would encourage them to stay in their current role.

Investing in your workforce with employee wellbeing programs and education helps fulfill their needs, gives you a leg up on recruitment, and supports your company’s success.

Bring your employee wellness approach beyond physical health and support all areas of wellbeing. You’ll drive employee engagement, productivity, loyalty, and retention – all while helping your people feel their best so they’re able to bring their best to work.

Contact TriEx Wellbeing today to discuss your workplace