InfraBuild Wire backs a worthy cause

Our Wire team encouraged employee survey participation this year by proposing a donation to a charity of the team’s choice if any of their sites hit 90% participation.

Our team from Newcastle reached the 90% goal and were given $2,500 to allocate to charity.

Looking out for one another is not just a core principle in our WRIB Safe program, but underpins our approach to psychological safety as well, so it was unsurprising the team overwhelmingly voted Black Dog Institute as the preferred charity.

To present the cheque to Black Dog Institute, the team from Newcastle saw an opportunity to further raise awareness for mental health and promote the Black Dog Institute resources, and invited Wayne Wigham, a seasoned speaker from Black Dog Institute to host a workshop and explain the complexities and facts of mental illness.

With over 50 employees in attendance, Wayne spoke openly about his own experience, having been diagnosed with depression at the age of 10 and dealing with the illness through schooling, a teaching career, ten years as a professional Rugby League Player and eleven years as a professional Firefighter.

In true alignment to our commitment to cultivate a positive and supportive work environment, Wayne left the team with some important learnings.

“Who do we talk to the most? Yourself. We are constantly having dialogue with ourselves in our minds. Stop with the negative self-talk – force in two good thoughts for every bad one, challenge your thinking” he said.

“Don’t be worried about asking someone if they are ok, you won’t tip them over the edge I promise you – it’s a beautiful thing to ask someone if they are ok.”

We think our Wire team are a bunch of legends opting to highlight mental health in the workplace and taking a proactive approach to further educating themselves in this space.

The cheque was presented by Martin Greaves and Andrew Wyer both from InfraBuild Wire, as this team were the first to hit 90% participation during the survey period, and even more importantly, the team were also the first to drive feedback sessions and action plans post-survey.