OzHelp launches national Tradie Wellbeing Survey
The OzHelp Foundation (OzHelp), has launched an online survey that aims to reach tradies’ across Australia.
OzHelp Chief Executive Officer, Mr Darren Black said this survey is an important opportunity to hear from Australia’s trades workforce.
“This survey is just one of the many ways that OzHelp reaches out to its service users to ensure that its health and wellbeing programs are relevant and are delivered in formats that suits them.”
“We want to understand the current challenges, what stressors are occurring and how tradies are dealing with the impact of COVID-19 and factors that relate to mental health,” Mr Black said.
OzHelp has a long-standing commitment to supporting hard-to-reach workers in high-risk industries such as building and construction, transport, mining, and agriculture.
Research shows these priority groups have higher rates of suicide and are male-dominated.
Modelling released in 2021 by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) revealed which socioeconomic factors had the strongest associations with deaths by suicide.
Some of the key risk factors that had the strongest associations with deaths by suicide included being widowed, divorced or separated, being not in the labour force or being unemployed, being in a lone person household and being male.
“With the added pressures of COVID-19 on our lives and work, it is important OzHelp continues to tailor its support and expand services to reach more people who are often hard to reach, working in isolated or dispersed locations and may be dealing with challenging circumstances,” he said.
Established in 2001, OzHelp’s evidence-informed programs help individuals build awareness of risk and protective factors for mental health and suicide, adopt self-management strategies and seek help if required.
These programs build the capacity of individuals to notice the signs of distress in others, offer support and connect them to help; and provide early intervention health screening and access to wellbeing support and counselling.
The survey can be completed anonymously and should take 5-10 minutes to complete. As a thank you, OzHelp has teamed up with TradeMutt Workwear, a social impact workwear initiative, to giveaway a Trade Mutt Workwear kit to one lucky participant.
