"For CatholicCare, committing to a Family Friendly Workplace acknowledges the much broader identities and roles that our people play in society, outside of a job function, position description, working hours or KPI’s. It helps remind us of the rich diversity and interests of those we work with – enabling us to stay connected to the things in life truly of most importance. A family inclusive workplace not only compliments the work we do every day – but strengthens it by helping us maintain perspective, sharing our knowledge and experiences beyond our immediate working world and better aligning life’s priorities."
CatholicCare’s values are built on community and wellbeing outcomes for families, carers, and children. As a Family Friendly Workplace, this accreditation ensures that as an organisation our internal culture mirrors that external focus providing the same outcomes for our people as we seek for our clients.
We are excited to be part of this cohort and join others in leading the way we support our people, their families, and in turn the greater communities around us.
Our strength is our understanding and support in wellbeing. This comes from our people who are subject matter experts across the spectrum of individual and family services .
Working across child protection, family law, family and domestic violence, aged care, disability support, carer support and more, our people work to meet clients where they are and support them to achieve the outcomes and improvements that they seek.
Within the organisation, this approach translates in the support provided to our people from managers and peers, and a reciprocal openness from individuals to discuss where they are at and what they need to enable them to be their best at work and in life.
A recently implemented formal wellbeing initiative has been the introduction of mindfulness practice in the organisation. Three times a week our people team lead a group in a mindful meditation to start their day, to build a practice of self-care and self-compassion within the organisation, and to enable us to be present and mindful to support one another.
These sessions have resulted in the roll out of a workplace mindfulness program, and providing the Smiling Mind premium workplace app to all staff.
The app holds programs for kids, youth and families, and through our workplace utilisation we support individuals to take their learnings and practice to support the wellbeing of their families around them.
The introduction of mindfulness practice has been well received and well attended, with people joining across teams and levels of the organisation, from our executive leadership team to our frontline practitioners.
Many members of the organisation have shared that this practice supported them during the stress of an extended lock down, and with participants joining in group online sessions across divisions, assisting staff to feel supported and part of the broader CatholicCare family.
The wellbeing of our people is critical to enable them to safely and effectively support our clients in the community as well as each other in the workplace.
When our people feel safe and well, their focus is improved on maintaining the outcomes we seek for the individuals and communities we work with. Our people are better equipped to serve the needs of their clients, and they and their families will be supported to be active, healthy members of their communities.
"For CatholicCare, committing to a Family Friendly Workplace acknowledges the much broader identities and roles that our people play in society, outside of a job function, position description, working hours or KPI’s. It helps remind us of the rich diversity and interests of those we work with – enabling us to stay connected to the things in life truly of most importance. A family inclusive workplace not only compliments the work we do every day – but strengthens it by helping us maintain perspective, sharing our knowledge and experiences beyond our immediate working world and better aligning life’s priorities."
Parents At Work acknowledge and pay respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
