Construction workers across the motu are being encouraged to consider their health and wellbeing goals for the year and access support to achieve them.
Site Safe is helping remove barriers to wellbeing support through their partnership with Ignite Aotearoa – a digital wellbeing platform backed by one of New Zealand’s largest independent mental health and social service organisations, Emerge Aotearoa.
All 6,500 Site Safe member businesses are being offered free access to the online platform. Four hundred free one-on-one support sessions are also being offered over the next few months for business owners and their staff to speak confidentially with a business or health professional. Counsellors, career coaches, psychologists, human resource specialists, financial advisors, and dietitians are among the more than 100 experts available through the platform.
The goal is to remind people in the construction industry to prioritise their health and wellbeing so they can set themselves up for a healthy, successful 2024. A 2021 Site Safe and Massey University survey found that construction workers experience a range of work-related stressors that affect their health, with some of the main impacts being burnout and fatigue. While various factors are linked to high workplace stress, the report states that individual job demands are shown to be the strongest.
Site Safe Chief Executive Brett Murray says by taking up the offer to access the Ignite Aotearoa platform, members will have access to new strategies and tools to help them prepare for a successful 2024. “By sharing this offer with our members now, we’re encouraging them to ask themselves, “What do I need to get sorted, or learn how to manage, so it puts me in the best possible position when life gets busier
later in the year?’”
“This could be as simple as speaking with a dietitian to help achieve your health and fitness goals; gathering information to better manage your finances; or talking to a counsellor about something that is troubling you.”
Ignite Aotearoa’s holistic approach to mental health and wellbeing aligns well with Site Safe’s overarching goal of ensuring that everyone goes home safe at the end of each day. Ignite Aotearoa Director Sarina Finucane says providing people with access and choice helps to remove barriers associated with engaging in wellbeing and mental health support. “When using Ignite Aotearoa, people have the opportunity to choose who they speak with, at a time that suits them, and from the comfort of their own home,” she says. “Our clients tell us this has been a made a big difference to their lives, so we’re thrilled to see the platform has been embraced by Site Safe and extended to its members.”
By providing health and safety advocacy and leadership, Site Safe has long been committed to supporting the wellbeing of the construction industry. Along with its Ignite Aotearoa partnership, Site Safe works closely with partners such as Mates in Construction and Hato Hone St John.
