Health and wellbeing strategic plan

Health and Wellbeing Strategic Action Plan 2021-2025

We have developed a new action plan that outlines our commitment, vision and initiatives to safeguard and promote your health and wellbeing. This plan ensures Monash University will continue to be at the global forefront of workplace health and wellbeing through the COVID-19 recovery and beyond.

Health and wellbeing pillars

The following six fundamental pillars have been created to promote and sustain health and wellbeing at Monash*.

Lady meditating outside

Mind

At its core, good mental wellbeing is a healthy way of thinking, feeling and creating meaningful relationships. As a result of the pandemic, never before has there been a time to protect and sustain mental health in our community and workplaces.

walking in bush

Body

Exercise is a critical component of good health and wellbeing. Even small amounts of regular exercise can improve our mood, concentration and self-esteem. We are committed to providing all staff with opportunities to be active.

Female students working on laptop

Work

We are committed to the health and wellbeing of our staff, and this is underpinned by progressive policies that prioritise the health, safety and unique needs of staff. Strong sets of workplace policies provide reassurance and respect for the staff community.

Holi celebration

Culture

There are always opportunities to further destigmatise mental and physical health issues in the workplace and work towards building a truly inclusive and empathic organisational culture at Monash.

Place

The environment in which we work affects our health, wellbeing and performance. Monash is responding through placing greater emphasis on the importance of ‘place’, as Indigenous Australians have done for thousands of years.

Nutrition

At Monash, we are committed to providing easy access to nutritious and healthy foods on all campuses and fostering a diverse and vibrant food environment.

Vision and mission

Our vision is to ensure that all our staff, wherever they are based, have access to tailored, evidence-driven resources (both digital and on-campus) to promote and sustain their health and wellbeing and to feel part of a thriving, inclusive workplace, culture and community

Our mission is to support staff through a holistic, iterative, university-wide approach that emphasises excellence, respect, diversity and connection in line with the University’s values.

Goals

  • Excellence

    We will adopt a rigorous, evidence-driven, measurement-based approach to developing, evaluating and sustaining all current and proposed health and wellbeing initiatives.

  • Awareness

    We will collaboratively develop more dynamic, inclusive information ecosystems in which to promote offerings, share learnings and invite staff voices on what works; awareness and education will be two-way between the Monash staff community and Monash Health and Wellbeing Strategic Committee.

  • Empowerment

    We will develop accessible and inclusive initiatives that promote staff autonomy and dignity; staff must be able to access help or strengthen wellbeing in their own time and on their own terms.

  • Innovation

    We will ambitiously push the boundaries on what is possible for university workplace health and wellbeing through stronger cross-Monash partnerships and the creative use of novel digital technologies.

Guiding principles

  1. Embed inclusivity into all health and wellbeing initiatives.
  2. Connect with all Monash staff across all campuses and work locations and move from ‘one-size-fits-all’ models to personalised, inclusive models of health and wellbeing.
  3. Leverage Monash’s vast capabilities through a living network of collaborations and partnerships within and across campuses.
  4. Rapidly translate individual and community feedback into action for change.
  5. Identify and pursue the key enablers that will facilitate long-term, systemic change.

Support

If this information has raised issues for you, please find the relevant support service below to help.

Acknowledgements

The Monash Workplace Health and Wellbeing Strategy Working Group developed this strategic action plan throughout 2020 and early 2021. Representatives were included from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Office of the Chief Medical Officer, Monash Counselling, Campus Community Division, Monash Sport, HR, and Buildings and Property.

* These broad pillars have a degree of universality but can also have different meanings in different cultures. Staff from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds may understand them differently, as might staff located at campuses in Malaysia, Indonesia, China, India or Italy. Wherever our staff are based, we wholeheartedly support our staff adapting the pillars for use in ways that best suits their local environment and culture.