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Mindful Employer

Working with individuals, their families and carers who experience mental illness, disability and brain injury is a rewarding and enriching career.  We work amongst good company with those who believe in the principles of recovery and right of all people to live a life of choice and fulfillment.

However at Open Minds we believe that we need to look after the well being of our employees with the same care and attention that we do our clients.

For this reason we have signed up the to the Mindful Employer program.  The program is an online training resource for all employees with general information about common mental health problems, as well as practical information on how to support someone at work who is affected, directly or indirectly, by a mental illness.

Additionally the program includes a Charter outlining and affirming our commitment to promoting good mental health in the workplace.  By signing this charter Open Minds will strive to:

• Promote good mental health in the workplace, and show a positive and enabling attitude to employees and job applicants who have, or who develop, mental health problems
• Ensure that all staff involved in recruitment and selection are briefed on mental health issues and the Disability Discrimination Act, and given appropriate interview skills
• Proactively promote that mental health problems will not be discriminated against and that disclosure of a mental health problem will enable both employee and employer to assess and provide the right level of support or adjustment
• Not make assumptions that a person with a mental health problem will be more vulnerable to workplace stress or take more time off than any other employee or job applicant
• Provide non-judgmental and proactive support to staff who experience mental health problems or who care for a family member affected by a mental health problem
• Ensure all managers have information and training about managing employees affected by mental health problems or caring for someone affected

The Mindful employer program is facilitated by SANE Australia – a national charity working for a better life for people affected by mental illness – through education, research and campaigning.

Open Minds is proud to be one of the first employers in Australia to commit to the MINDFUL EMPLOYER program.  We hope it provides a clear message both to employees and to those who are seeking work that we are committed to the well being and retention of our employees.   These principles fully reflect Open Minds recovery and social inclusion values.  For people with mental health problems to achieve social inclusion, we know through 100 years as a community service provider how critical it is that a growing number of employers embrace these principles.