Open Minds E-learning

Open Minds e-learning helps people managers to support employees experiencing mental distress or illness at work.

Mental distress or illness doesn’t discriminate and can happen to all sorts of people, for all sorts of reasons, at almost any time.

For workplaces and people managers, it’s important to be inclusive and supportive of people experiencing mental distress, but it’s not always easy to know how to get started.

Our three e-learning modules, which include videos, factsheets and templates, can show you how. It provides people managers with the skills and resources to open up the conversation about mental health challenges and support employees through the tough times.

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Topics you’ll find in each module are:

Module 1: Building trust and engagement

The barriers to talking about mental health in the workplace
How to make mental health conversations easier
What we mean by ‘mental health’

Module 2: Problem solving together

Normalising mental health conversations at work
Legal obligations around mental health
How to find positive solutions with an employee experiencing mental distress or illness
How to support someone during time off work, and their return

Module 3: Building mentally healthy workplaces

What makes a mentally healthy workplace
Non-discriminatory policies and processes
How to be a mental health champion and influence upwards

The modules should take no more than one hour each to complete. They are designed to be user-friendly so can be done on the go from your mobile phone. Don’t worry if you only get part way through a module, your progress will be saved so you can pick up where you left off.

Note: you will first need to register for an account using your email address. You will then be emailed a link to set your password, after which, you will be able to log in and access the e-learning.

Videos

These videos and supplementary factsheets and templates make up part of the e-learning package and can also be found within the modules. The videos interview managers and employees at non-office based workplaces to hear about their experiences of mental health at work.

Episode 1: Opening the conversation

This video covers how important it is to talk about mental health in the workplace. It offers some ideas for how managers can open the kōrero around mental health challenges alongside supportive behaviours, language and team practices.

Episode 2: Stress

This video covers how stress can play out in the workplace, and how managers can notice it in their team members and support them through.

Episode 3: Bullying

In this video, we hear some employees’ experiences of bullying in the workplace and how trusted managers can help.

Episode 4: The hard stuff

We don’t always know what’s going on for our people behind the scenes. This video shows how going through tough times and having to navigate work on top of that can be difficult, especially in industries where there is a culture of having to be ‘hard’ or ‘strong’.

Episode 5: Culture change

This video talks to the responsibility of managers and leaders in creating a mentally healthy workplace culture that supports people when they’re not doing so well.

Additional videos

The Open Minds videos provide managers with practical tips around having conversations about mental health in the workplace.

Watch youtube playlist

E-learning factsheets and templates

Open Minds e-learning - Simple tips for mental health conversations

This factsheet from Module 1 of Open Minds e-learning offers simple tips that people managers can use to create a safe and encouraging environment for mental health conversations with their team.

Open Minds e-learning - Return to work planning template

This template from Module 2 of Open Minds e-learning is helpful for people managers to use with an employee before they return to work after a period of time off due to mental health challenges.

Open Minds e-learning - Problem solving together planning template

This template from Module 2 of Open Minds e-learning helps people managers put a support plan in place with an employee experiencing mental distress or illness.

Open Minds e-learning - Personal mental health plan template

This template from Module 2 of Open Minds e-learning helps people managers to help their team members to think proactively about their mental health at work.

Downloadable tools

Open Minds e-learning - Are you a people manager poster

Downloadable poster with tips for managers supporting people through tough times.

Open Minds e-learning - Screensaver and e-signatures

Spread the word and encourage others to open the kōrero with these digital resources.

Open Minds e-learning - A place you can kōrero poster

This downloadable poster can be printed out and displayed in your workplace to help open the kōrero.

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