Grief and loss are big issues. Businesses owners and anyone that works for them will at some point experience grief and loss. Some examples of situations where support is needed are; significant workplace changes or redundancy, separation/divorce, mental health issues, addictions, emotional or physical abuse, physical disabilities or illness, the loss of a pet, financial loss and bereavement.
If anyone’s wellbeing is undermined, negative outcomes may occur. For example, you may see conflict within business; grievance and disciplinary incidents; low morale and negative atmosphere; resignations and poor employer reputation among staff, customers, and the public.
Small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) as we know make up around 97% of businesses in New Zealand, and amongst these there are 900,000 workers employed by businesses with 20 staff or less. SMEs, along with all businesses, face increased obligations under the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015 requiring employers to monitor the health and welfare of their workers and to provide information and training to protect workers from risks to their health and safety.
Employment Assistance Programmes (EAPs) provide direct support for the health and welfare of workers, but very few SMEs have established EAP providers, and few General Managers know where to turn to access support for their workers. Apart from health and safety, wellbeing and stress are major factors in service-quality, employee performance, and in productivity, and therefore in business effectiveness and profit.
You may already have members in your chapter that can provide EAP services for you or you may consider looking for a business owner locally to join in this profession. One organisation, the Grief Centre, a registered charity welcome enquiries from managers and business owners wanting to find out more about employment assistance programmes.
At BNI we check in with each other every week and many members consider BNI as a strong support group. Remember to check in on your fellow members and offer support especially in difficult times.
