Conference Program

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: THE SERIOUS BUSINESS OF DEPRESSION AND MENTAL ILLNESS

MIKE KING, internationally-recognised NZ comedy icon & mental health educator

Award-winning host of ‘The Nutters Club’, Mike King is on a personal crusade to create positive awareness of mental health issues. Mike’s inspirational talk will help you identify individuals in your organisation or circle of friends that could need a helping hand – and give you the tools you need to deal with them. Hear him discuss his own battles with depression and addiction, how he is casting light on New Zealand’s growing suicide problem, plus:

• Overcoming the stigma around mental health and creating a culture of openness
• How to evaluate an organisation’s mental wellbeing policy
• Empowering staff to seek solutions to their own challenges – and ask for help
• The best ways to support those suffering from mental health issues in the workplace
• How to promote healthy habits throughout your organisation

INDUSTRY CASE STUDY

This presentation will be given by a senior representative of a major NZ company, about their health & wellbeing program, the wins, the losses and the lessons learned along the way.

THE MISSING LINK IN WORKPLACE WELLBEING

HANNAH MCQUEEN, Founder and Director of ‘enableMe’, Financial Personal Trainer and author

Workplace wellbeing programmes include everything from gym discounts to Fitbit challenges and yoga in the boardroom – but that’s only addressing the physical side of the story. The impact of financial stress on not only individual employee wellbeing, but also on company finances, is something that is often overlooked. Hannah McQueen presents a dynamic talk, full of humour and personal anecdotes, where she will address:

• The growing issue of illness caused by money worries
• Why being financially fit – whatever your income – is so important, and how to make it happen
• How employers should tackle this tricky and sometimes taboo topic
• What employers can do to reduce workers’ financial stress

CREATING A SAFE AND RESPECTFUL WORKPLACE FOR ALL 

DION JENSEN, International expert in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), author and corporate trainer

Dion’s New Zealand police and military background, coupled with his extensive experience in leadership and management roles in the corporate space, has equipped him well to help us spot and deal with the ongoing problem of workplace bullying – which, in the worst-case scenario, can lead to people taking their own lives. Hear him talk about:

• Why bullying is so harmful and what can be done to tackle it
• Positive solutions to address and manage issues, before they escalate
• The options open to management, bystanders, human resources and to those who are bullied or accused of non-inclusive or negative behaviours
• What organisations can do to reduce bullying and create safe, respectful and more productive workplaces

ESSENTIAL PERFORMANCE FOR LEADERS AND INFLUENCERS OF WELLBEING PROGRAMS AND POLICY 

SHANNAH KENNEDY and LYNDALL MITCHELL, the Essentialists

Shannah and Lyndall have been operating in the wellness space for over three decades, working with Australasia’s blue-chip companies, Olympians and Elite athletes. In this energetic and hands-on session, the ‘Thelma and Louise of Wellbeing’ will help you master the skills required for sustained high performance. Their keynote isn’t just about getting more things done, it’s about getting more things done right. They deal with:

• Addressing your individual and company core values, as drivers for your wellbeing policy
• Reassessing career and life plans
• Why time management beliefs need to be challenged
• Creating new pathways for career longevity
• Who you are and the choices you make – to understand a deeper sense of purpose

SUPPORTING OURSELVES AND OUR TEAMS IN THE ‘ALWAYS-ON’ ERA

DR LIBBY WEAVER, Internationally-acclaimed nutritional biochemist, author and speaker

With 24-hour connectivity, never has the line between work and life been so blurred. It’s vital that we all take time to work out how we can achieve that elusive work/life balance for ourselves and our teams in this always-on world. Dr Libby will share with you easy-to-implement tips to help on your own wellbeing journey, and practical advice that you can share with your colleagues, teams and leaders, including:

• The impact of always being switched on, for productivity, staff morale and wellbeing
• How to create a culture and policies that respect an individual’s down time, while still meeting the needs of the company
• The importance of sleep hygiene, rest breaks and down time
• How to avoid career burnout and overwhelm
• How to encourage and improve the healthy eating habits and physical activity levels of the workforce

WELLBEING PROGRAM CASE STUDY: LION’S MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL WELLBEING PROGRAM (BEST M.E.)

ROBIN DAVIES, People & Culture Director, Lion

Lion NZ has won a number of awards recently for their work around culture and wellbeing including the Work-Life Balance category at the Diversity Works NZ Awards 2017, and Outstanding Workplace at the NZ HR Awards 2018. In addition they were a finalist in the Wellbeing category at the NZ Workplace Health & Safety Awards 2018 for their work on mental health.

Lion work hard to ensure all staff enjoy all the benefits of their core purpose of “championing sociability and living well” by achieving social, psychological and physical balance in their lives. This is embodied in their People Value Proposition: for their people to best the best they can be, really make a difference and have a great time doing it.

In May 2017 Lion launched Best M.E. The initiative was intentionally given a title related to positive wellness so it could apply to everyone and to signify that even if people are experiencing challenges, there is a positive way forward. Best M.E aims to support wellbeing, and specifically to remove the stigma around mental health at Lion.

Best M.E. is very much focused on the positive, and using positive terminology and language. 90% of the focus is on positive measures like mindfulness and gratitude, rather than reacting to problems as they occur.

Robin will share with you the learnings, the wins and the challenges. She’ll share the evidence produced so far, as well as touch on sensitive subjects such as suicide prevention and how they approached this. Robin’s presentation will be full of practical hints and tips and real-life examples.

INSPIRATIONAL KEYNOTE ADDRESS: SPEAKER IN THE WORKS!

Your closing keynote speaker will be confirmed shortly. As in previous years, you can be assured that this will be a seriously awesome, high-profile speaker who will close the conference with a bang! Check back here soon for updates.