The Well-Being Awards are part of Barwon Region Mental Health Week and are supported by the Rotary Club of Highton Kardinia. Awards in six categories were presented to individuals and organisations at a ceremony held last night. The Chair of the Barwon Region Mental Health Week Committee, Toni van Hamond, said Shell Geelong Refinery won a Well-being Award in the ‘An employer with an outstanding contribution’ category for introducing actions, based on proven business practices, that have seen a marked drop in the number of cases of stress within its workforce. “A major manufacturing operation such as Shell Geelong Refinery pays an enormous amount of attention to ensuring the smooth operation of its plant and - when disturbances occur - identifying and resolving issues quickly,” Shell Geelong Refinery HSS Manager Ian Bridgland says. “When we identified that the incidence of work-related stress was rising, we decided to apply similar investigation and management practices to see if there were common causes and problems. “It became evident that stress commonly occurred when an employee was promoted to a supervisory role. Moving from a ‘hands-on’ job used to receiving directions to a role with increased accountabilities and the need to make decisions often left the individual feeling vulnerable and stressed,” he explains. After identifying this as a cause, the refinery put in place a number of corrective actions: · Additional checks in the selection process to ensure people chosen for promotion to supervisory roles have the skills and capabilities to handle the new role. · More mentoring and support for these people, particularly during the first six months.
· Stress training with a strong focus on how supervisors can recognise signs of stress, how to prevent stress and importantly how to care for themselves and their team members proactively. “We are extremely pleased that through our actions, work-related cases of stress have since fallen from nine in 2004 to seven in 2005 and nil for the year to date. "Shell takes great care to see that the health and well-being of its employees are taken account of. Stress in the workplace is a significant national challenge and Shell is serious in attempting to tackle it in a productive and sensitive manner," Ian Bridgland says. The annual mental health week "Well Being Awards" acknowledge achievements in the area of mental health. Increased awareness in the business sector of the warning signs and impact of mental illness is one area the awards focus on, Toni van Hammond says. “If employers/business can understand the issue of mental health, and create work environments that are supportive and flexible the long term gains for individuals and business cannot be understated. Proactive projects such as the one undertaken at Shell enhance the well being of the workplace and contribute to better outcomes for individual employees," Ms van Hammond says. ENDS
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