Show you care for your workers’ wellbeing this holiday season

The holiday season may bring a mix of emotions, from excitement and celebration to stress and anxiety. As the holiday season approaches, supporting your injured workers and prioritising their wellbeing is even more important.

Best practice

Show you care and support your injured workers over the holiday season by staying in regular contact, connecting them with the support they need, and checking in with your insurer to ensure that payments and treatments will continue as scheduled.

Why this is important

As the year draws to a close, people may experience a variety of emotions and pressures. For some, it's a season of joy and rest. For others, it can bring feelings of isolation, loneliness, or financial stress.

Workers who are away from work and their workplace support system due to a work-related injury, and those without family or community connections, may be particularly vulnerable over this period.

What action can I take now?

Here are some ways you can provide support during this time:

• Reach out to injured workers away from the workplace to see how they’re doing and show that you genuinely care. Remember, when an injured worker feels supported by their employer, their recovery outcomes improve, and they are less likely to experience a secondary psychological injury.
• Coordinate with your insurer to ensure payments and treatments continue as scheduled.
• Talk to injured workers about ways they can stay connected with friends and family. Invite them along to workplace holiday celebrations, where appropriate.
• Ensure the injured worker knows who to contact if they need assistance over this period. Provide information on how they can access further support if they need it.
• Ask the injured worker about how they can use this time to look after themselves. This may include focusing on healthy eating, exercise, and getting regular sleep, as well as spending time doing things they enjoy, such as connecting with family and friends, reading, walking, or spending time at the beach.

Your toolkit

Support to show you care is available. Partner with your insurer for advice on how best to support your injured worker.

Let your injured worker know about free, confidential and independent services.

Helpful resources for you, managers and supervisors at your workplace:

• For a comprehensive list of resources and services to support you from recognising the signs of psychological injury through to planning an injured worker’s return and boosting workplace wellbeing, visit Guiding the way: responding to mental injury at work.
• Safe Work Australia Conversation Guide – This useful guide can help you to manage the relationship with an ill or injured worker, including a worker with a mental injury.
• Return to Work – Dealing with a distressed employee – 'Dos' and 'don'ts' for having a conversation with a worker with a psychological injury.
• RU OK – How to ask and RU OK Workplace Resources.
• Revisit our past e-bulletin articles on why It pays to talk and listen and Genuine care and understanding.

Access and share the following free, independent and confidential mental health support services:

• Lifeline – Call 13 11 14 at all times for crisis support over the holiday season.
• Beyondblue – Call 1300 224 636.
• Workers’ Psychological Support Service (WPSS) - A free, confidential and independent call-back support service for Queensland workers affected by a work-related psychological injury. Call 1800 370 732 (during business hours) or email info@wpss.org.au. Please note, this is not a crisis service.
• Workers' Compensation Information Advisory Service – Workers (WCIAS) – A free, confidential and independent call-back support service for Queensland workers affected by a work-related injury. Call 1800 102 166 (during business hours) or email info@wcias.org.au. Please note, this is not a crisis service.
• Suicide Call Back Service – A national telehealth provider that offers free professional phone and online counselling for people living in Australia, available at all times. Call 1300 659 467.
• 1300 MH CALL – A confidential mental health telephone service to link Queenslanders to public mental health services. Call 1300 642 255.
• QLife (LGBTIQ+) – Call 1800 184 527. Available 3pm to midnight, seven days.
• Kids Helpline – A free online and phone counselling service for teens and young people aged up to 25, available at all times. Call 1800 55 1800.
• MATES in Construction – Supports workers in construction and mining through peer support, suicide awareness and connecting workers to mental health support services. Call 1300 642 111.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples:

• 13 Yarn Crisis Support – Crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, available at all times. Call 13 92 76.
• Brother to Brother 24-hour crisis line – Call 1800 435 799.
• WellMob – Social, emotional and cultural wellbeing online resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
• Black Dog Institute – Offers a list of support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Domestic and family violence support:

• 1800 RESPECT – National domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service, available at all times. Call 1800 737 732.

Emergency service workers:

• The National Emergency Worker Support Service offers free and confidential mental health support for emergency service workers and volunteers (both active and retired).

Financial hardship:

• Centrelink
• Your superannuation fund
• The Salvation Army Australia Emergency Relief – Call 1300 371 288.