SUPPORTING OUR PEOPLE AT WORK & AT HOME

Lendlease employee, Jessica Tatt knows the uphill battle of depression all too well. Her daughter, Emily, was diagnosed with congenital heart disease and needed open heart surgery at just five days old. 

While maternity leave for most is spent getting to know their new born baby and adjusting to life as a new mum, Jessica’s was also spent falling into postnatal depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and general anxiety disorder. 

She told the Sydney Morning Herald, “The thought of work was extremely daunting ... I was worried I couldn't do my job, that I would be fired.

"Once I got back to work, everyone was amazing and I had flexible work arrangements for when I needed to go to doctors' appointments, I was put in touch with a counsellor and there were people constantly checking in on me," she said.

Jessica’s journey is unique to her, but her struggle with depression is not dissimilar to many people in Australia, working beside us, each day.

That’s why the NSW Government has released a new strategy for mentally healthy workplaces. 

The strategy reveals that over a half a million NSW employees have poor mental health.

NSW’s Better Regulation Minister, Matt Kean, said: “The Strategy will run for four years, and includes the design and delivery of workplace mental health programs, educational services, tools and resources for employers and workers, as well as training, skills programs and ongoing academic research. Mental illness is something that affects our friends, families and community.”

At Lendlease, we believe in giving our employees every opportunity to thrive both at work and in their personal lives. That’s why we have a Health & Wellbeing Framework that supports healthier minds, bodies, places and cultures. 

Jessica said: "I think the most important thing about mental health is awareness."