SafeWork NSW is encouraging employees and employers across NSW whose mental health has been affected by COVID-19 to join a community consultation program aimed at informing the Government on how best to support people in need of help.
A new online community engagement tool has been established for people to provide their feedback via quick polls, an online survey and a digital ideas board.
The tool has inbuilt privacy options allowing participants to choose how much information about themselves they would share.
According to the organisers, the community feedback will help to identify issues workers and businesses have faced during COVID-19; recognise issues around people returning to work; and explore ways to support people when they need help most.
Welcoming the initiative, the Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation, Kevin Anderson said the changing workplace practices caused by the pandemic have had a dramatic impact on many people’s lives.
“We want to hear from people across all industries and in different types of working arrangements to get a clear understanding of how these unprecedented challenges have impacted workplace mental health,” Mr Anderson said.
Minister for Customer Service, Victor Dominello said the new online engagement tool sets a new benchmark for how the Government engages with the public.
“By allowing people to choose how they engage with public consultations and by scrapping complicated lengthy forms and reducing the need for email submissions, we are cutting down barriers in engaging with Government on critical issues and allow genuine two-way discussion,” Mr Dominello said.
He said the tool was mobile-friendly to allow people to engage on the go and would collect comments until 6 November at which time the feedback would be summarised, reported online and shared across Government to inform further policy on mental health in the workplace.
Access to the tool’s quick poll, online survey and digital ideas board is available at this PS News link.
