Senior correspondent Katie Bradford talks to MP Matt Doocey about the AI-powered app that promises to help workers take care of their mental health. Video / Cameron Pitney
With liquidations at a 10-year high and businesses and workers continuing to feel the pain of a tough economy, financial and mental health pressures are increasing.
The Government has today rolled out a new mental health toolkit for small to medium businesses (SMEs).
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey acknowledged manySMEs can’t afford to offer free counselling or employee assistance programme sessions.
“I talked to a lot of employers who would love to do more to support their employees, but cost is quite a barrier,” he told the Herald.
“The business mental health toolkit, it actually says, ‘hey, there are available free resources today that you can implement in your work environment’.”
Company liquidations rose to more than 3000 in the year to March, according to Centrix data.
That’s up 15% year on year. March recorded 286 company liquidations and 308 insolvencies, making it the highest March total for liquidations since 2015.
Construction and hospitality continue to be the two hardest-hit sectors.
Construction is one of the hardest-hit sectors of late for liquidations, putting extra mental strain on workers. Photo / 123rf
“I’d agree with that, but if you look at what mental health is, mental health is the ability or inability for an individual to manage the stress in their daily lives.
“Every person has different stresses, and I think what we can do now in the workplace is provide these free mental health supports that help people build their resilience and also have the roots to go and talk to someone if they feel the need.”
Labour had previously accused National of not investing enough in mental health services.
Ringfenced funding for mental health and addiction services sits at $2.85 billion.
There’s been a 5% increase in calls to helplines such as 1737, according to Health NZ. Demand remained high for telehealth services and complexity and repeat-contact calls were also increasing.
“I want support to be as accessible as possible and that’s why bringing existing supports into the workplace in a way that’s accessible will ultimately drive up mental health,” Doocey said.
“We know it’s a win-win for individuals that improves their wellbeing and for business, having a more mentally well workforce drives up the productivity for their business.”
Business chambers, small businesses and other representatives worked with the Government on developing the tools.
“Most people say to me in their time of need, they reached out for support, found a system that was too fragmented and took too long to be seen. And what I want people to think is, ‘hey, I can download this app now. I can actually call 1737 now. I can go and make an appointment and see someone in person’,” Doocey said.
“Quite often when we think about mental health and wellbeing, it might be someone sitting at work feeling a bit overwhelmed, feeling as though they’re struggling with their job daily... [but now] there’s support for them in real time, they can get the timely help they need.”
Doocey said young people were driving change in the workplace.
“It’s great we live in a country that has broken down the barriers of stigma and discrimination.
“We’re more open to reaching out and asking for support and quite often this is driven by the younger people in New Zealand. They have a vocabulary to talk about mental health that we never had at their age.
“They’re more open, they talk about their mental health needs and quite often in a workplace, they’re talking to their employer about their work-life balance and wellbeing initiatives that will keep them well in the workplace.”
The toolkit includes details to access The Groov app, posters, wallet cards and digital resources.
Katie Bradford is a Senior Correspondent at the Herald. She has been a broadcast journalist for over 20 years and was based in the press gallery for 10 years. She specialises in politics, business and Auckland issues.
