Australia Post is to appoint its first Chief Mental Health Officer to focus on the mental health and wellbeing of its more than 60,000 strong workforce.
Announcing the new role, Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Australia Post, Paul Graham said the size and scale of the organisation’s network gave it a unique opportunity and “a moral obligation to lead in this important area”.
“The role will focus on the development of evidence-based, practical and engaging organisational development solutions to drive continued improvement in workplace psychological health,” Mr Graham said.
“It will be the first time a Government Business Enterprise has made such an appointment and highlights the increasing recognition of the importance of mental health,” he said.
“We have the opportunity to apply learnings across a large and diverse workforce and understand what will be effective in supporting our people and driving a culture of change when it comes to mental health.”
Mr Graham said Australia Post would then be able to share these learnings to help the broader community.
He said Australia Post’s work to support the mental health of its employees through its Early Matched Care at Australia Post (EMCAP) Program earned it two awards last year, from Comcare Awards and the National Safety Council Awards.
“Beginning as a trial and now being rolled out nationally, EMCAP has confirmed the benefits of targeted and early intervention when someone injures themselves at work, with the aim to identify and support those at risk of secondary psychological injuries from a physical injury,” he said.
“EMCAP is now being rolled out nationally, and results have shown that team members are returning to work on average 40 days earlier, leading to greater mental health outcomes,” Mr Graham said.
