Championing Workplace Wellbeing at Sarah
Sarah is passionate and committed to addressing the challenges of the industry-wide issue of workplace wellbeing within construction. The term ‘wellbeing’ has been thrown around a lot as we manage the stress and external pressures created as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but what does genuine workplace wellbeing involve? At Sarah, each staff member will have a different interpretation and lived experience of what wellbeing means to them. At an organisational level, successful management requires deliberate and strategic changes to embed wellbeing into Sarah’s daily processes and operations.
Integrating both individual requirements and operational changes is complicated and challenging, but for Sarah Constructions CEO Adrian Esplin, it’s crucial. “You will often hear me say that without our people, there is no Sarah. The success of our business is driven by the successes of our people. Therefore, without doubt, the wellbeing of our people is directly interlinked to the performance of business; both of which we take very seriously. There is nothing tokenistic about the wellbeing program at Sarah. It is genuine in its intent and application. We will continue to review and evolve the program to ensure we exceed best practice and continue to provide the highest level of support for our team. As with all areas of how Sarah delivers, we will set the bar high to constantly push and improve standards for our industry” said Mr Esplin.
People are at the heart of Sarah. We’re committed to building workplace wellbeing into everything we do.
Industry Leaders in Workplace Wellbeing
When you work at Sarah, we want to support you through all aspects of life. We understand that the ability of our people to be their best self during work hours is intertwined and impacted by pressures outside the job. “The world has changed, and we are more connected to work than ever; Sarah is conscious of this and committed to ensuring there is a counterbalance to this connectivity. We constantly review and look to support our staff so that they feel comfortable and safe to focus on the things that matter, which comes with a mix of work and external life balance.”
“Sarah is in a privileged position within the industry that we can invest time and effort into developing best practice workplace wellbeing initiatives. As an industry leader, we take this responsibility seriously as we know that changes we make and positive progress that we can champion will ripple out across the industry. We’re not expecting to immediately fix industry wellbeing issues, but we want to take steps to ensure we are improving. We’re not about making promises that we can’t deliver, however we are genuine in our desire to drive change” said Mr Popovic.
Sarah’s Six Dimensions of Wellbeing
Stefan Popovic, Human Resources Manager, understands the complexities associated with workplace wellbeing and knows there is no single solution, which is why his team has implemented a comprehensive and flexible program of wellbeing initiatives. “The individual needs of staff across our business vary greatly, which is why we have developed numerous different program initiatives across six dimensions of wellbeing. Creating a genuine culture of wellbeing, that is integrated into the fabric of how we do business, will take time and trust but we are committed to making the investment.
For example, through our family focused wellbeing dimension we’re focusing on initiatives that truly make a difference in the work life balance of our staff, such an increase to 16 weeks paid parental leave and the innovative initiative allowing staff to trade time for salary increase. These options are available to all staff and were developed through direct consultation and internal feedback; we listen, and we take action to ensure our programs provide the best possible support for our people” said Mr Popovic.
Sarah’s six dimensions of wellbeing include:
Community: Sarah is an SA business with social consciousness that’s driven by people. We are part of a bigger interconnected picture and are committed to giving back to those in need, because we can.
Family: Balancing family and work commitments can be challenging but is central to how we operate. We cater to unique variations to tailor solutions for many different family requirements.
Emotional: Robust emotional wellbeing helps support our ability to cope with stress, build positive relationships and promotes productivity. Managing emotional wellbeing is different for everybody, so we support a broad range of options to support this.
Physical: Keeping healthy and physically active is directly linked to your overall quality of life. Supporting our people to stay healthy benefits them as individuals whilst also improving workplace safety and project outcomes.
Financial: Taking control of our money is intrinsically linked to our wellbeing. Sarah creates pathways for our people to connect with financial professionals for confidential advice to empower their financial wellbeing.
Career: Sarah invests a significant amount of time and energy into supporting the career development of our people. We offer a range of professional development opportunities across all levels of the business and work directly with individuals to help them achieve their ambitions and goals.
At Sarah, we look to set new and innovative standards across all areas of business in the construction industry, with workplace wellbeing at the top of our priority list. If working at a business that genuinely cares about you and your wellbeing is appealing, contact our HR Team today to enquire about career opportunities at Sarah.
