Contractor & Licensee wellbeing

Narrator: We all experience change in our lives.

Visual: Licensee walking towards a post office

Narrator: Change occurs as a result of global events, government regulations and customer needs.

Visual: A globe appears, and a document titled “Policy” with the licensee expressing a concerned face

Narrator: While these changes can impact organisations, and… importantly, our own well-being, we can learn from these experiences and will be ready for future change.

Visual: Thought bubble appears above licensee thinking about his wellbeing and being happy playing with his pet

Narrator: For many people change brings about feelings of stress and anxiety. It’s important to remember that these feelings are normal. But we often forget that these experiences allow us to develop skills for similar future situations.

Visual: Licensee’s face begins to look stressed, then anxious. Toolbox appears highlighting our ability to learn from these experiences.

Narrator: Pay attention to how you are feeling. When we experience stress or anxiety, physiological reactions are occurring in our body. You may notice your heart rate increasing, feel tired and irritable or just not your usual self.

Visual: Licensee experiencing physiological changes in his body with heart racing and sweating.

Narrator: It’s important to prioritise your wellbeing. If you notice that you’re feeling stress or anxiety, there ARE things you can do. Have you experienced this type of change before? What have you done in the past that has worked for you?

Visual: Speech bubble appears with each question that we can ask ourselves.

Narrator: We are our own experts. If you've found something that helps, keep doing it. You may also like to try some new things. It is important to talk to others who may be experiencing similar things and ask what has worked for them in the past?

Visual: Licensee in the middle of the screen, pictured thinking. Around his head images pop up from left to right - images of him doing several activities... reading a book under a tree, playing with his pet, walking with a friend, cooking a healthy meal.

Narrator: Consider your physical health. Are you getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise? Looking after your body is a big step to psychological wellbeing.

Visual: Licensee walking down the street and into his home. He opens his fridge and sees a bowl of vegetables and a piece of cake and hesitates before selecting the vegetables.

Narrator: Secondly, it’s important to TALK. Bottling up our frustrations and worries is really the worst thing we can do, so discussing your concerns and feelings with a trusted friend, family member or colleague is incredibly beneficial.

Visual: Man standing at his front door with a friend and then they move inside his home and sit down for a cup of coffee.

Narrator: Thirdly, there are several resources available to you for support and guidance through Australia Post and your local community.

·        Your local GP

·        Mental health practitioner

·        Your Workforce Assistance Program (Converge International)

Visual: Screen lists the different supports available

Narrator: These services can provide you with confidential support and advice on workplace or personal matters.

Visual: List of supports remains on screen

Narrator: If you notice signs of stress in customers or colleagues, remember, everyone’s responses to change are different, and it’s important to show empathy towards others.

Visual: Licensee in post office shop looks at customer who looks extremely stressed, sweating, holding many parcels.

Narrator: Simply having a warm smile and asking how they are going can make a big difference.

Visual: Licensee smiles and speech bubble appears saying “Good evening”

Narrator: You can also provide customers with resources such as a Customer Support Card. The SAP code to order more cards is 8841833.

Visual: Customer Support Card appears on screen and zooms in on SAP code to order more cards.

Narrator: Let’s all prioritise caring for our well-being, in preparation for the next change we'll face.

Visual: Licensee and his friend appear on screen smiling.

Narrator: As postal workers, we are often exposed to remote and isolated work. It is quite normal in our industry to feel disconnected and isolated from others which can cause feelings of stress, anxiety and fatigue.

Visual: Delivery driver is driving down a busy road, smiling in her van.

Narrator: Some of us may be used to spending time alone, while others not so much. It’s important to remember that at times we can all feel isolated and we can feel this way even if there are others physically close by.

Visual: Australia Post van appears in a remote rural location. Driver gets out of the car and sits down on the side of the road.

Narrator: Humans are wired to connect. Just like we eat, sleep, and breathe to survive, humans all desire belonging and social interaction. In times of change and uncertainty, it’s quite normal for feelings of being disconnected to be exacerbated.

Visual: Zooms in on the driver’s mind and into the neural connections of the brain firing. Woman appears chatting to a colleague and then moves back to her van on the side of the road.

Narrator: This can have an impact on our ability to cope with everyday tasks. For example, you might notice that your daily tasks feel more difficult than usual, or that you’re experiencing stress or anxiety.

Visual: Character shown alone again. They are looking at a pile of parcels in the boot of the van that need to be delivered. Thought bubble shows that driver imagines the pile of parcels in rear of the truck is much larger than it was previously.

Narrator: Whilst we may not be able to change the nature of our work completely, we can implement strategies to prevent and reduce feelings of stress and disconnection associated with remote and isolated work. An example of this is organising regular check ins with colleagues and other postal agencies or ensuring you are logging off at the end of the workday to engage fully with family and friends.

Visual: Lightbulb appears on screen as well as an odometer of wellbeing. Clip board appears jotting down some strategies that the driver can do to reduce feelings of stress and disconnection.

Narrator: We can also control ourselves and our emotions. Here’s some tips if you find yourself feeling disconnected and isolated...

Visual: Woman on screen engaging in some meditation.

Narrator: What are you thinking? We have thousands of thoughts and need to focus on those that are helpful. Reframing our thoughts by engaging in more helpful self-talk can change how we feel and sometimes bring us greater clarity.

Visual: Thought bubbles appear on screen with a range of different thoughts the woman is having.

Narrator: How are you feeling? Take a moment to be mindful. Without reflecting on our emotions, we may catastrophise, or feel like the difficulties we’re facing now will last forever.

Visual: Woman back in her van driving down the street towards a stop sign.

Narrator: Pause and take 2-3 slow breaths. This can help us acknowledge the emotions we’re experiencing right now and provide us with a healthy perspective.

Visual: Image freezes with a pause sign appearing and transitions to an image of the whole world.

Narrator: Who are you with? Make time to connect with family, friends and your community.

If you’re finding it difficult to find time to connect, consider what actions can you take now to work towards greater social connection. You might consider even organising regular virtual lunches with colleagues, or take the time to call a friend to check in.

Visual: Woman sitting in the park with a colleague. Colleague disappears from the screen and the woman picks up her phone and dials a friend who then appears on the screen.

Narrator: Sometimes we might need additional support, and that’s okay. There are a number of confidential resources available.

Visual: Information card for WAP appears on screen.

Narrator: Because of the nature of the services we provide, it is normal for our workload to fluctuate. These ups and downs have the potential to impact our sense of wellbeing.

Visual: Employee standing in a post office holding several parcels. Parcels get removed from her hands one by one and woman looks worried and upset.

Narrator: And whilst people may feel challenged when there’s high work volumes, reductions in our workload also bring challenges.

Visual: Woman standing with parcels as they vanish into thin air. Her smile changes to anxiety.

Narrator: Meet Linda. Linda has been running her licenced post office for almost a decade and has experienced workload reductions firsthand.

Visual: Linda standing behind her desk waving.

Narrator: There have been times when the Linda’s store has become increasingly quiet. While this gives Linda additional time to manage noncustomer facing jobs, Linda tells us that she finds her mind wandering.

Visual: No customers enter Linda’s store. She walks over to a box and starts unpacking it.

Narrator: Linda begins to feel stressed, contemplating things that have been worrying her such as not having enough work for her staff, covering costs of her overheads, and other personal worries

Visual: Linda looks concerned and her worries appear on the screen one by one.

Narrator: In particular, Linda feels disempowered and unable to change her circumstances. Although Linda may not be able to control the workload she’s experiencing, she CAN control how she responds to it.

Visual: Linda scratches her head and pushes away these negative thoughts and worries.

Narrator: Linda told us that she is worried about the workload of her staff. To prevent future stress associated with workload fluctuations, Linda could come up with strategies to better manage periods of low job demands such as creating a list of jobs for completion during those quiet times or implementing a flexible rostering model. By implementing strategies like these, Linda will be better equipped to manage situations like this in the future, reducing stress for her and her team.

Visual: Linda standing in the middle of her team talking about some strategies. Linda pulls out a clipboard and jots down some notes.

Narrator: Another important skill in maintaining positive mental health and wellbeing is recognising when we are feeling stressed. The way we react and interpret events has a large impact on our mood and decisions. It is normal to have negative thoughts, but these can cause us stress and strain.

Visual: Zooms in on Linda’s mind and screen shows her brain with visual of her brain like a busy factory with cogs flying around and machines working in overdrive.

Narrator: Let’s learn about some strategies to assist in managing our emotions. When stressful events occur, we need to notice how we judge these events. Our judgements play a large role in determining the level of stress we will experience.

Visual: Zooms back out to Linda with a sign saying, “Emotion Management”. Linda standing behind her desk as a line of customers forms and then they disappear one by one.

Narrator: In Linda’s case this event of a reduced workload has provoked stressful thoughts such as “I am not going to be able to cover the overheads” but a more helpful thought maybe “I can learn from this experience”.

Visual: Thought bubble appears with “I am not going to be able to cover the overheads” and then this gets pushed out of the way by the more helpful thought of “I can learn from this experience”.

Narrator: Emotion management also has clear benefits. These include keeping our minds at ease and improving physical health.

Visual: Linda seen smiling on screen.

Narrator: There are also additional resources available to you. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for support. WAP, Your Manager, Beyondblue, Community Hotlines

Visual: Information card for WAP appears on screen with other support options.