The Open Book Approach

Are you a business owner in the Latrobe Valley? Would your business benefit from changing how staff mental health issues are managed in the workplace, and from working towards lessening the stigma of mental ill health?

The Open Book Approach is a new program by Lifeline Gippsland, that works directly with businesses in the Latrobe Valley to identify potential changes to workplace culture that will have positive effects on employee mental health and wellbeing. It is free for businesses in the Latrobe Valley to participate.

The Open Book Approach is developed by Lifeline Gippsland and funded by the Latrobe Health Assembly. It was piloted in 2019-2020 and businesses involved in the pilot reported satisfaction and positive changes to their workplace culture.

The program involves an all-staff survey, and Lifeline Gippsland working with a team from the business to identify opportunities to create positive change in how mental health issues are perceived and handled in the workplace. Staff undertake a second survey once the business has had time to implement recommendations from the working group and report, which helps to provide a clearer picture of how the workplace is progressing.

“I would thoroughly recommend the Lifeline program to all businesses. It is not only supporting people’s mental health, but it has such a positive impact on culture.” – pilot program business owner

For more information on The Open Book Approach, contact the Lifeline Gippsland Business Engagement Officer on (03) 5136 3500 for a confidential discussion.

You can also fill out the form below and we’ll get in touch with you.

If you or someone you know are at immediate risk of harm, please contact emergency services on 000.

For immediate crisis support call Lifeline on 13 11 14.