Why you should talk to strangers on a bus

Around a year ago, I was on a bus heading to a regenerative tourism workshop when I fell into conversation with someone who I vaguely knew. It turned out that the ‘conversation’ was actually a job interview - it was just that I didn’t know it at the time!

We talked about wellbeing within the workplace - something I felt was a key issue impacting  migrant and seasonal workers in the local tourism and hospitality sector.  Uncertainty around visas, housing issues, disconnect from family, lack of training, lack of belonging and how they were valued were a few of the things that sprang to mind.  I felt this should be addressed as the tourism industry became ‘regenerative”.

He invited me to a training session on the topic. I agreed, and long story short, it turned out that I was actually being signed up to be trained to deliver the GoodYarn mental health literacy programme to our local community as part of a trial project across the district.

The content was a real eye-opener for me. I’d worked in my own small business for over 20 years and had ended up in a pretty bad head space that manifested itself in anger, panic attacks, stress, negativity and generally not being a great person to be around. 

The workshop taught me to understand the whats and whys around mental health and mental illness, strategies to help and what others can do or say to support someone.

Which was why I was on a bus to Wanaka in the first place. To make a change in my life in the  work I did and my working environment. Made possible only by a loving partner who recognised a change was needed and stepped in to provide me the opportunity for change.

In hindsight, my bus buddy was very perceptive and recognised that maybe someone who’d been impacted by poor mental health could be well placed to lead conversations on the topic within the community - and as a workshop facilitator, I’d be able to relate the training content to the everyday realities of working in a small business.

And that is the key to the strength of what the team at headlight are doing in this district - using peer to peer conversations to give people the knowledge and confidence to talk about mental health and mental illness, just as if it were physical health or injury. headlights’ facilitators, speak from the heart, from personal experience and with a desire to make a difference. 

In a workplace, we assess risks, have health and safety plans, and have first aiders. We focus on what we know and can see that does harm to our physical health. The difference with mental health is that the causes and effects aren’t as obvious (unless you know what to look for) and the first aid box has a few different tools in it. 

We all know how hard things are staffing wise right now. So it makes a huge amount of sense to look after everyone in the team. 

The knowledge gained at a GoodYarn workshop could make the difference between someone who might not be coping at work, being supported and being able to stay at work. The ripple effect of poor mental health and mental illness is significant, often impacting far beyond an individual.

Any employer who can invest 3 hours of a staff members’ time to attend a workshop is also sending a great big “We care about you” message to their employees. Things like that matter in a world where recruitment and retention are key. Become an employer of choice.

And of course the not too surprising, but often overlooked outcome, is that changes in our workplaces that support improved mental health also increase productivity and loyalty. So maybe it’s time to start that conversation in your workplace? When was the last time that FUN became a KPI?

Over the last 18 months over 300 people have attended one of our workshops and 100% of them have told us they would recommend the workshop to others. So don’t just take our word for it.

So next time you’re worried about making conversation on a bus - don’t be - it might just lead you on a journey to a different destination to the one you’d planned.

The GoodYarn small business workshops are designed to help business owners and staff to talk about mental health in the workplace. The headlight team will be delivering small business workshops between October and June 2023. Spaces are limited to 15 per workshop, maximum 2 per business and suitable for organisations with under 50 staff. Workshops are subsidised by Te Hau Toka and there is a seat fee of $35 + GST per person. To book online or for more info visit www.headlight.org.nz