12 October, 2022
Mind Matters - How we’re prioritising health and wellbeing
Employee well-being is critical to Medtronic. In Australasia, we have a dedicated team, the Health and Wellbeing team, that provides peer-to-peer health and well-being support through various activities and initiatives.
Here, members of the Health and Wellbeing team share what initiatives they’ve introduced at Medtronic and how we’ve worked together to make us a Best Place to Work.
Cultivating a culture of wellness
Senior Compensation and Benefits Analyst and Health and Wellness team member Kathy Martin said that cultivating a culture of wellness and creating a healthy environment for employees is at the core of the Health and Wellbeing Team.
“Mental health and supporting a psychosocially safe workplace is a year-round priority at Medtronic. Our leadership drives this commitment to create a healthy workplace culture for all our employees and we’ve introduced programs and policies that aim to boost not only employee morale, but overall satisfaction for our teams too.”
Last month, 138 employees (37 teams) in Australia and New Zealand stepped up to the STEPtember challenge, raised $15,315, and took a cumulative 37,640,864 steps to support the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Driven by the Health and Wellbeing team, our employees joined the movement to walk, roll, push, swim, or ride their way to 10,000 steps a day in September and help funds for people with cerebral palsy.
Spaces for starting simple conversations
As part of this year’s R U OK? Day, the team hosted month-long activities and events to engage employees, including a Workplace Conversation Guide Training which gave our employees the tools to start courageous conversations and support each other to feel comfortable discussing mental health.
David Stolz, Senior Market Development Specialist said conversations with colleagues play an important role in one’s mental health.
“Simple coffee chats in the office can make a strong impact. Through our conversation corners and initiatives during R U OK? Day we went beyond linking to professional help for our teams, and created a workplace where colleagues feel heard and supported which encourages them to take action.”
Holistic approach to wellbeing
In addition to the above, the ANZ Health and Wellbeing team also provided strategies to employees to focus on their mental and physical well-being and introduced “Make Space for Mental Health”, a guide that helped employees find ways to check in on their state of mind and body.
Tristan Beresford, Sales Representative and member of the Health and Wellbeing team said that connection beyond work is crucial for employees.
“Our goal is to provide access to our employees to have a fulfilling and healthy life within and beyond work. The guide provides tips into growing a creative mindset, the impact of giving back to community and building connection beyond work.“
Activities and initiatives by the Wellbeing team
In honour of Mental Health Month, the team collaborated with the Nepean Therapy dogs organisation and invited furry friends to destress employees in the offices. Sara Kiss, Regional Sales Manager – Surgical Innovations (NSW/ACT), shared the importance of human-animal bond to improve quality of life.
“Actively finding ways to destress is important to continue building strong relationships and connections. The therapy dogs in the office instantly lifted the mood of employees, provided a boost to kickstart one’s workday and created a positive environment.“
Tapping into the expertise of thought leaders and using storytelling to impact our employees, the Health and Wellbeing team often collaborate with external speakers and organisations.
Karl Buchner, Territory Manager said “our recent mindfulness sessions with Benny Button and Mitch Wallis provided a new perspective on ways we can prioritise work and continue to cultivate a high-performing culture. These online sessions are a great way to build connection beyond face-to-face conversations.”
At Medtronic, we strive to create an environment of support where people can bring their whole selves to work.