Podcast

5 things we learned in conversation with Origin Energy’s Deirdre Lewis

Cami Hogg

_

Unmind Product Spotlight: Calendar Reminders

TABLE OF CONTENTS

In the seventh episode of our In Conversation With podcast, our CEO and co-founder Nick Taylor talks to Origin Energy’s general manager of health, safety and environment, Deirdre Lewis, on how Covid-19 has impacted her organisation.

The past few months have been the ultimate test for organisations and company leaders. As employees globally have adapted to working during a pandemic, organisations have been supporting their people as best they can amid challenging circumstances.

This support hasn’t just meant keeping employees physically well, but has also meant focusing on their mental health. Months of anxiety, isolation, stress have inevitably had an impact on the global workforce.

In the seventh episode of our In Conversation With podcast series, our CEO and co-founder Nick Taylor chats to Deirdre Lewis, general manager of Health, Safety and Environment at Origin Energy, about the many ways the pandemic has impacted employee wellbeing at her organisation. Click play below to listen, and read on to find out more.

Everyone’s always known that employee wellbeing is important – but now it’s critical. We shouldn’t need to have a crisis to enable this sort of thing.
- Deirdre Lewis, Origin Energy

1. The pandemic has fast-tracked organisational wellbeing

As employees have been forced to work in strange new circumstances, it has pushed wellbeing up the agenda for organisations globally – and Origin Energy is no different.

“I have seen a huge fast-tracking of what our strategic imperatives were from a health and wellbeing point of view,” says Deirdre. “Twelve to 18 months ago, we were moving – but the speed at which we’ve been able to move in the last few months has been extraordinary.”

Deirdre added that the pandemic has been an important catalyst for employee wellbeing at Origin Energy, and this progress is something she hopes to continue in the future.

2. Listening to your people is so important – especially now

“Listening to people within the organisation has brought a feedback loop [that] shows what the most critical things are to focus on,” Deirdre says. “For instance, people said they were struggling to balance homeschooling with work and their lives, so we created this programme with exercises and activities for children that we post on our webpage – I wouldn’t have thought we would have thought we would get there for a few more years.”

3. One size does not fit all for mental health

With a multigenerational workforce that encompasses both office-based and non-office-based workers, Origin has seen firsthand that all of their employees have experienced the pandemic differently. This has meant that the organisation has had to listen to what their employees need – and give them flexibility to choose what works for them.

“From a health and wellbeing perspective, you have to be flexible and give people options around what they need,” Deirdre explains. “You can’t offer a one-size-fits-all – what fits a 60-year-old truck driver is not going to fit a 25-year-old call centre employee.”

4. Never underestimate the power of community

Difficult times can often unite people – and it’s something Deirdre has experienced throughout the pandemic, noting that it’s “deeply entrenched” in both Australian culture and the foundations of Origin Energy. This supportive mentality has extended not only throughout the organisation’s internal channels, but also externally, with company volunteers helping out with the Australian Red Cross.

“Our people volunteer for the Red Cross to do social connection calls with people who are completely isolated in the community,” she explains. “Knowing we’re in it for the long-haul doesn’t make it any easier, but having someone to talk to provides some kind of relief for the people who are really isolated.”

5. Covid-19 has been an important learning opportunity for organisations – but only if you use what you’ve learned

Like many organisations, the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that mental health and wellbeing have been fast-tracked up the agenda at Origin Energy. And while great progress has been made furthering employee mental wellbeing, the key, according to Deirdre, will be how organisations build on these foundations for the future.

“After Covid, I really hope that organisations stop and reflect about the lessons we’ve learned,” she notes. “It’d be a massive missed opportunity if organisations don’t do that. Everyone’s always known that employee wellbeing is important – but now it’s critical. We shouldn’t need to have a crisis to enable this sort of thing. It’s up to us as leaders to think about where we go from here.”

Like this content? Check out some of our other podcast episodes here: