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: At our post offices we welcome a range of customers.

Visual: Diverse customers smiling coming in and out of the post office.

Narrator: Sadly, as with all organisations, we are occasionally confronted by instances of aggressive behaviour from new and regular customers.

Visual: Zooms in on licensee in post office behind a counter. Their expression goes from smiling to looking worried.

Narrator: In our post offices and when on the road, there is always a zero-tolerance to aggressive behaviours.

Visual: Phrase “zero tolerance” appears on the screen between the licensee and the customer interacting.

Narrator: Aggressive behaviours include customers: yelling or raising their voice, making threats toward a staff member or other customer, acting in a physically intimidating manner and making unreasonable service demands.

Visual: Customers in the post office approach the licensee exhibiting each of the listed forms of aggressive behaviour, one at a time.

Narrator: People who behave in an aggressive manner may appear highly emotional however they may convey a quiet demeaner.

Visual: Two different customers appear on screen, one very aroused and outwardly angry and the other with a quiet demeaner.

Narrator: We do not always know why people behave aggressively. Think of an iceberg. The things above the surface are things we can observe like a person’s behaviours, actions, words, and expressions. Underneath the surface are things we can’t see that may contribute to that person behaving aggressively.

Visual: Zooms in on one customers mind. Iceberg appears on the screen highlighting was things are above the surface and what are underneath.

Narrator: Things like family issues, work-related problems or financial stress.

Visual: Screen split up into three sections. Left side has image of a family, middle is a man at work and the right side is another man doing his finances looking worried.

Narrator: Talk to your team about violence and aggression in the workplace. Preparing for an aggressive interaction and developing an aggressive behaviour action plan for you and your team is the most important step to minimising harm to yourself and others.

Visual: Group of employees standing around together in a post office.

Narrator: It is important that you all know what behaviours are acceptable and how you should respond if there is an incident. As a precaution, it is important that you all know how to alert your colleagues and others if you feel that you are in danger.

Visual: Zooms in on each of the employees one at a time.

Narrator: It is also important that you are all aware of where the nearest exits are, should you feel your physical safety is at risk, and discuss these options frequently with your team.

Visual: Customer’s walking in and out of a post office, highlighting the exit point. The whole screen goes black and white except for the exit sign to reinforce this

Narrator: If faced with an aggressive customer, focus on what’s in your control. While it can be challenging, try to mentally separate the aggressive behaviour you’re seeing from the person who is exhibiting those behaviours, so that you can attempt to empathise with their concerns.

Visual: Customer behaving aggressively appears on screen yelling. Screen moves to an image of a landscape with the left side dark and gloomy and the right side sunny.

Narrator: Always respond to an aggressive person in a calm and non-threatening way. Actively listen to their concerns and acknowledge their situation. Devise a plan with the customer that works towards meeting their needs.

Visual: Customer approaches licensee is an aggressive manner. Licensee actively listens and acknowledges their concerns.

Narrator: Sadly, no matter how well we handle situations, sometimes aggression escalates regardless. If this occurs, firmly but respectfully ask the individual to stop the unwanted behaviour. You might say something like “I need you to stop swearing so I can help you.”

Visual: Licensee asks individual to stop swearing with a speech bubble appearing saying “I need you to stop swearing so I can help you.”

Narrator: If aggression escalates to a threat of physical harm or violence, seek support by pressing your duress alarm or calling emergency numbers.

Visual: Licensee reaches for her phone and calls for support.

Narrator: After an aggressive interaction it is important to manage the stress associated with the event and not avoid it. Check in with yourself and others and remember that it is normal to be affected by the experience. Practice self-care, and if needed reach out to the WAP for confidential support.

Visual: Two employees sit down over coffee having a conversation. One employee passes the other a card with the details for the WAP.

Narrator: It is important that you discuss the aggressive interaction with your team or supervisor to work out how you could prevent similar situations occurring in the future.

Visual: Phone appears on screen with number for the WAP pre dialled. Clipboard appears with information about an additional online training resource for LPOs.

Narrator: Remember. Aggression is never tolerated.

Visual: “Aggression” appears on screen with a cross through it.

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: This is Raymond. Raymond is a contract delivery driver for Australia Post. There are many things that influence how Raymond feels as he goes about his work…

such as workplace relationships…

Visual: Delivery Driver character driving on an eDV down the road. He chats to his colleagues on the side of the road.

Narrator: how much sleep he got… and how manageable he feels his workload is.

Visual: Raymond getting out of bed yawning. Clipboard appears on screen with a list of “Actions” to tick off.

Narrator: It’s normal for there to be fluctuations in how we feel at work. Our energy levels are like a seesaw’s movement. When a seesaw is balanced, the seesaw moves from one side to the other. But if one side is heavier, it becomes more difficult for the balance to be restored.

Visual: Raymond's face going through range of emotions: happiness, sadness, confusion, anger, excitement. Seesaw in a park appears, moving up and down from one side to the other with “Job demands” on one side and “Sleep and rest” on the other.

Narrator: Over the past few weeks Raymond has been busy at work. He is finding it challenging to keep up with the demands of his job. When things used to get busy, Raymond kept a schedule to help manage his time and found that this helped him move through the busy periods.

Visual: Raymond driving down the street. Clipboard appears of a list of things that Raymond has on his schedule for the day.

Narrator: Recently Raymond’s routine has changed. In fact, he no longer has one, and has noticed he no longer wakes up with the same energy that he used to. Raymond is struggling to stay engaged at work over the course of a day and is feeling burnt out.

Visual: Raymond shown driving his eDV the weather turns bad with dark sky and rain representing his exhaustion. His smile fades and as he gets off his eDV to deliver a letter into a letterbox, he becomes heavier and slower at doing so.

Narrator: Here are some strategies that we can use if, like Raymond, we find our energy has been drained from our work for a sustained period:

Visual: “Self-Care Strategies” appears on screen.

Narrator: Talk to your employer, colleague or team. Work with them to come up with solutions for challenging job demands or new ways of working that suit you and your workplace. Whilst we can't avoid the busy periods in our industry, we can change the way we manage our workload. It is important to talk to your employer when you are finding the demands of your job challenging and are feeling stressed or burnout.

Visual: Raymond picks up the phone and calls his employer with his boss appearing on the other end of the line and on the screen popping up in a bubble.

Narrator: Look after your head. Pay attention to how you are feeling and make helpful adjustments.

Taking time to breathe mindfully has many benefits, from decreasing feelings of stress and worry to increasing clarity and feelings of joy.

Visual: Raymond walking through a park and sits down at a park bench. Zooms in on his face as he engages in some mindful deep breathing.

Narrator: Take a one-minute break and for those 60 seconds focus your entire attention on your breathing, and nothing else. Be prepared to catch your mind from wandering off, slowly bringing your attention back to the breath.

Visual: 60 second timer appears on the top left corner of the screen with the word “breathing” the focus. Other words appear fading into the background such as “family” and “plans”.

Narrator: Look after your body. Having an active lifestyle with regular exercise improves our sleep, mood and self-esteem. If you find it hard to stay motivated try working out with a buddy, setting realistic goals for yourself and vary your exercise activities to keep it fresh.

Visual: Raymond walking in a park with other people around him playing and having fun. He is joined by a colleague before they jog off together. An example goal appears on screen “Wake up 30 minutes earlier to exercise”.

Narrator: Eat right. Did you know that certain foods can impact our ability to manage stress? Wholegrains, fruits and vegetables can help to ease stress.

Visual: Raymond standing in a supermarket looking confused as he stands in front of all the options. Pictures of wholegrains, fruits and vegetables appear one at a time.

Narrator: On the other hand, fast food, caffeine and alcohol impede our ability to manage stress. Try to moderate your consumption of these.

Visual: fast food, caffeine and alcohol appear on the screen, one at a time.

Narrator: It can be useful to keep a food diary in order to track the kinds of foods you are consuming.

Visual: An example food diary appears.

Narrator: Raymond has made a positive shift and is feeling motivated again. He has made some changes to the way he works to ensure his workload is manageable. He is also practising being mindful of his feelings. He’s been walking for a half hour every day with a friend and is eating fewer take-away meals.

Visual: Raymond driving down the road on his eDV smiling.

Narrator: Give these strategies a go today! There are also additional resources and supports available. WAP, Your Manager, Beyondblue, Community Hotlines.

Visual: WAP information appears on screen as well as numbers for community hotlines.

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.