To support RUOK? Day NRSPP has released the Thought Leadership Piece:  CIRCLE OF SATISFACTION: MENTAL WELLBEING, LIFE AND WORK SATISFACTION, AND DRIVING IN THE WORKPLACE

In this thought leadership piece, we explore how mental health affects daily driving, particularly at work.

Celebrating RUOK? Day – driving safely is connected to how we feel when we get into a vehicle

Today is RUOK? Day is dedicated to reminding people to ask family, friends and colleagues the question, “R U OK?”, in a meaningful way, because connecting regularly and meaningfully is one thing everyone can do to make a difference to anyone who might be struggling.

Driving safely is connected to how we feel when we get into a vehicle. That’s in turn connected to job and life satisfaction, which is influenced by how connected we are to family and the community. And that connects to work and driving performance.

It’s a circle and cycle that, this week, can start with a simple question.

People drive how they live. As individuals, in families, communities and, most importantly, the way we work in organisations.

Research around the link between mental health and driving shows that life and job satisfaction is an accurate indicator of driving and work performance, says respected road safety researcher Dr. Robert B. Isler, who has been researching road safety since the 1980s.

And a person’s mental wellbeing has a direct impact on the ability to identify and react to hazards as well as on risk-taking behaviour.

So the message for individuals from this thought leadership piece is “are you ok…to drive”?

And for workplaces and business owners, what steps are you taking to ensure the mental wellbeing of your people? Because mental health is a major influence on how people drive, which impacts on driver safety, crash rates, severity of injury, and frequency of near misses and traffic infringements. This also has flow-on costs, including financial, emotional and otherwise, for businesses and the wider community.

 Remember Driving is a surrogate measure of job performance and job satisfaction. For many people it is how you start and finish the day as well.

To read more please go to the NRSPP Thought Leadership

R U OK? is a not-for-profit suicide prevention organisation founded by Australian ad man Gavin Larkin in 2009 as a result of his participation in Landmark Worldwide‘s Self-Expression and Leadership Program.

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