Mental Health & Resilience
Leadership Development
Physical Wellbeing
Workplace CultureWorkplace mental health and resilience: build a stronger, healthier team
Your teams are showing up. But many are running on empty, carrying months of sustained pressure, change and demand without a clear framework to support them. That isn’t only a wellbeing issue. It’s a performance and compliance risk that quietly accumulates in claims, absences, manager workload, and the culture you’ve worked to build.
Mental health and resilience programs are no longer just wellbeing calendar items. For Australian HR, P&C, WHS and leadership teams, they have become part of how organisations protect their people, support their psychosocial risk-management approach, and keep teams performing through sustained pressure and change.
Workplace mental health programs are structured, evidence-based training and wellbeing initiatives that build mental health literacy, strengthen resilience, support psychological safety, and equip teams to manage stress more effectively. Holistic Services Group has been delivering these programs across Australia since 2003, supporting more than 1,600 corporate, government, healthcare, education and not-for-profit organisations.
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Best suited for organisations supporting:
- Teams under sustained workload pressure or in high-demand operational roles
- Organisations managing psychosocial risk obligations under amended WHS Regulations
- Managers supporting staff wellbeing, distress and disclosure
- Hybrid, frontline and distributed teams navigating isolation or overload
- Annual wellbeing calendars, Mental Health Month, R U OK? Day and resilience initiatives
- Cohorts in restructure, transition or sustained change
The cost of under-investing in workplace mental health
Workplace mental health risk is rising
Mental health conditions now account for 12% of all serious workers’ compensation claims in Australia. Serious claims for mental health conditions have risen 161.1% in the decade to 2023-24, and the median time off work sits at 35.7 weeks, nearly five times the median for all serious claims (Safe Work Australia, Key Work Health and Safety Statistics 2025).
The causes are predictable and workplace-driven
The most common causes of work-related mental stress claims in Australia are harassment and workplace bullying, work pressure, and exposure to violence (Safe Work Australia, 2025). Each of these is a hazard Australian employers are now required to manage at source.
And the obligation is now proactive
Since 1 April 2023, the amended WHS Regulations have required Australian employers to proactively identify, assess and control psychosocial hazards at the source, through controls such as work design, workload management, role clarity, systems and supervision, rather than relying on awareness or EAPs alone. Enforcement has begun: in October 2023 a Victorian government employer was prosecuted and fined for failing to manage psychosocial risks associated with workplace culture.
The case for investment is clear. Australian research has found a $2.30 return for every $1 invested in workplace mental health, through reduced absenteeism, presenteeism and compensation claims (PwC, Creating a Mentally Healthy Workplace: Return on Investment Analysis, 2014).
HSG training can build literacy, confidence and workforce capability, but it does not replace organisational controls. It should form part of a broader psychosocial risk-management approach that addresses hazards through work design, workload, staffing, role clarity, systems and supervision.
Investing in mental health and resilience is not discretionary wellbeing spend. It is risk management, retention strategy and performance protection in one.
See: psychosocial hazards and the regulatory framework for managing mental health risk at work.
How HSG approaches mental health and resilience
HSG approaches mental health and resilience as part of a broader, integrated wellbeing system, not as a standalone training topic. Stress, resilience and psychological safety are shaped by workload, leadership behaviour, social connection, physical health, emotional regulation and the sense of meaning a person draws from their work. Programs that recognise these connections build durable resilience.
HSG’s proprietary Seven Pillars of Personal Health© framework frames the work:
- Mental Health: cognitive load, focus and agility under pressure
- Emotional Health: regulation, self-awareness and response to stress
- Physical Health: energy, movement, recovery and sleep
- Nutritional Health: fuel for sustained cognitive and physical performance
- Social Health: connection, support and belonging at work and beyond
- Spiritual Health: values, purpose and grounding under change
- Self-Fulfilment: meaning, growth and achievement through work
Resilience sits at the centre of this framework: the ability to navigate uncertainty, recover from setbacks, regulate under pressure, and continue to perform under sustained demand.
Who these programs are for
HSG’s mental health and resilience programs are designed for whole workforces, intact teams, leadership cohorts, and frontline staff in high-pressure roles. Programs suit corporate teams in high-demand functions, frontline staff in stressful operational environments, hybrid and distributed teams managing isolation and overload, and cohorts navigating restructure, transition or sustained workload. Client organisations range from 50 to several thousand employees across the corporate, government, healthcare, education, and not-for-profit sectors.
What the programs involve
All programs can be delivered as individual sessions, a structured series, or part of an annual wellbeing calendar. Sessions are available onsite across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and regional areas nationally. Virtual delivery is available nationwide and across the Asia-Pacific. Content can be customised for the sector, role pressures, and the current organisational context.
Sessions are designed to be practical, respectful and interactive, not clinical lectures. HSG’s specialist facilitators focus on tools staff can use immediately, while keeping tone and pacing appropriate for workplace audiences.
Workplace Mental Health Training
Foundational mental health literacy and awareness training for the whole workforce. Covers recognising mental health challenges in yourself and others, reducing stigma, navigating common conditions including depression and anxiety, and creating a workplace culture that supports open conversation.
Workshops within this service:
- Mental Health Awareness Workshop
- Demystifying Mental Illness, Depression and Anxiety
- Building Mental Agility in Challenging Times
- R U OK? Looking After Your Mental Health
- R U OK? Empowering Others Through Active Listening & Support
- Pathways to Healing: Overcoming Past Trauma
Stress & Burnout Prevention Workshops
Practical, evidence-based workshops that equip teams to identify the early signs of stress and burnout, apply proven techniques to reduce physiological and cognitive load, and build practices that support earlier action and more sustainable ways of working — alongside the organisational workload and work design settings that shape stress at its source. Particularly valuable for teams under sustained pressure or recovering from extended periods of acute workload.
Workshops within this service:
- Dealing with Stress, Worry and Anxiety
- Coping with Change
- Proven Techniques for Reducing Stress
- Managing Burn-Out: Techniques for Balancing Stress and Success
Resilience Training & Growth Mindset
This flagship resilience program is a core capability within HSG’s mental health and resilience offering. Builds the inner strengths, interpersonal skills, external supports, and healthy habits that evidence-based resilience frameworks consistently identify as protective factors, and pairs them with growth-mindset practices to navigate uncertainty, setbacks, and change.
Workshops within this service:
- Boosting Resilience: Evidence-Based Approaches to Weathering Life’s Challenges
- Resilience, Perseverance and Passion (aka ‘Grit’)
- Navigating Uncertainty: Strategies for Resilience and Success
Psychological Safety Training
Builds the team conditions where staff feel genuinely safe to speak up, raise concerns, and disclose mental health challenges without fear of judgment or career impact. Psychological safety is a foundational input into both mental wellbeing and high-performing team culture. The framing focuses on team-level conditions and whole-staff capability; the same program can be delivered through a leadership lens for managers who shape those conditions.
Positive Psychology Workshops
Strengths-based workshops grounded in positive psychology research, including the PERMA model (positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment). Builds individual capacity for sustained wellbeing, supports cultures of optimism and energy, and complements resilience training by adding the protective factors that allow people to thrive rather than simply cope.
Workshops within this service:
- Finding Balance through a Repertoire of Mindfulness Techniques
- Mindfulness for Busy People
- Kindness, the Key to Happiness
- Staying Positive in Challenging Times
- Think, Grow, Thrive: The Art of Empowered Thinking
Work-Life Balance Program
Practical sessions that equip staff to navigate competing demands, manage energy across long workdays, and maintain healthy boundaries between work and personal life, particularly in hybrid and remote settings where the line has blurred. Includes HSG’s “Wheel of Life” framework and the principle of managing energy rather than time.
Men’s & Women’s Health Workshops
Tailored workshops covering the distinct mental, physical and emotional health concerns most relevant to men and to women across different life stages, with content shaped for the workplace context. Frequently delivered as part of campaign weeks (Movember, Men’s Health Week, Women’s Health Week) or as standalone sessions for whole workforces.
Additional programs available
Beyond the seven featured services above, HSG offers additional mental health, compliance and integrated wellbeing programs, available individually or built into a wider program on enquiry.
Psychosocial Risk Programs
Structured programs that support Australian employers’ psychosocial risk management under the amended WHS Regulations, complementing organisational controls such as work design, workload management and supervision. Explore Psychosocial Risk Programs.
Financial Literacy Training
Supports the well-documented connection between financial stress and workplace mental health. Explore Financial Literacy Training.
Mindfulness Research Studies & Articles
Research underpinning HSG’s mindfulness and meditation programs. Explore Mindfulness Research.
Integrated packages
Combine multiple programs into the Mental Wellness Package or the Stress Buster Package, built around your workforce on enquiry.
Outcomes
What HSG can report after delivery
- Program attendance and participation rates
- Participant feedback and satisfaction scores
- Reported confidence, relevance and skills uptake
- Manager observations of cohort wellbeing
- Repeat enrolment for subsequent cycles
What the programs are designed to support
- Stronger individual and team resilience under sustained pressure
- Better mental health literacy and earlier help-seeking
- More open conversations about wellbeing across teams
- Documented psychosocial risk management capability
- Improved retention in high-pressure cohorts
Why the investment matters
Engaged, well-supported teams are consistently associated with stronger retention, fewer safety incidents and better wellbeing. Alongside the human case, structured mental health and resilience programs give organisations a documented, proactive footing for managing psychosocial risk.
Mental health and resilience programs in practice
Featured client story: CSIRO
Challenge: voyage teams onboard CSIRO’s research vessel face long hours, isolation and high-pressure conditions for up to 60 days at sea.
Program: a tailored Seven Pillars of Mental Health and Wellbeing program, including dedicated resources for personnel managing wellbeing during voyages and COVID isolation periods.
We worked with Holistic services to develop resources for voyage teams working onboard our research vessel. Our teams work long hours for up to 60 days on the ocean, this is a stressful and challenging environment, Holistic Services worked tirelessly to assist us in delivering the 7 Pillars of Mental Health and Wellbeing, designed to consider the specific challenges of life onboard a ship and providing the resources and support for personnel to manage their wellbeing whilst onboard.
Zoe Burton
CSIRO
Featured client story: St John Ambulance (SA)
Challenge: staff needed practical resilience strategies relevant to an ever-changing operational environment.
Program: a facilitated resilience session covering strategies and tools for building personal and team resilience under sustained operational pressure.
Really appreciated and enjoyed Annie’s presentation on strategies and tools on how to build resilience in an ever changing working environment. I am looking forward to using some of the techniques demonstrated.
Jason Bakker
St John Ambulance (SA)
Why HSG
Holistic Services Group has delivered workplace mental health, resilience and wellbeing programs across Australia since 2003. Sessions are delivered by specialist facilitators: qualified mental health professionals, organisational psychologists and resilience practitioners, each with discipline-relevant credentials and workplace delivery experience.
Programs are grounded in HSG’s proprietary Seven Pillars of Personal Health© framework and the Culture of Wellness© program, and are designed to complement, not replace, your EAP. For organisations consolidating mental health, leadership, culture, and physical wellbeing under one provider, HSG’s Annual Wellbeing Program and Custom Workplace Wellbeing Strategy provide the structure to coordinate all four program areas within a planned annual schedule.
Suggested program pathways
Most organisations don’t need every program at once. These are the four pathways HSG clients use most often.
For awareness and early intervention
Start with Workplace Mental Health Training for whole-of-workforce literacy, then add Stress & Burnout Prevention for teams under pressure, or the Work-Life Balance Program for cohorts managing competing demands.
For high-pressure teams
Begin with Resilience Training & Growth Mindset as the foundation, layered with Positive Psychology to build sustained wellbeing rather than just recovery, and Stress & Burnout Prevention for acute-load periods.
For psychosocial risk and leadership capability
Combine Psychological Safety Training for team-level conditions with Manager Mental Health Training and Resilience Training for the cohort itself. This builds workforce and leadership capability that supports, and sits alongside, the organisational controls required under the amended WHS Regulations.
For annual wellbeing calendars
Build a quarterly rhythm around campaign moments: R U OK? Day in September, Mental Health Month in October, Men’s Health Week in June, Women’s Health Week in September, with standing resilience, stress management and work-life balance sessions throughout the year.
Frequently asked questions
HSG delivers mental health and resilience programs for whole workforces, intact teams, leadership cohorts, and frontline staff in high-pressure roles. Programs suit organisations of all sizes, from 50-person teams to organisations with several thousand employees, across the corporate, government, healthcare, education, and not-for-profit sectors. Programs can be delivered as awareness sessions for general staff or as structured curricula for cohorts requiring deeper capability.
EAPs are reactive: they support staff after issues surface. HSG programs are proactive, building resilience, mental health literacy and culture before issues escalate. Since April 2023, Australian employers have had explicit obligations under the amended WHS Regulations to manage psychosocial risk at the source, through controls such as work design, workload management and supervision, rather than relying on awareness or EAPs alone (Safe Work Australia, Model Code of Practice). Training and wellbeing programs support that broader approach rather than replacing it. EAPs and proactive programs are complementary; many HSG clients use both.
HSG programs build workforce and leadership capability: identifying mental health challenges early, managing stress and pressure constructively, and supporting psychologically safe team conditions. They can form part of a documented psychosocial risk-management strategy, with supporting documentation available on request. They do not replace organisational controls — under the WHS Regulations, hazards must also be addressed through work design, workload, staffing, role clarity, systems and supervision — and HSG training works best alongside those controls.
HSG reports back on attendance, participant feedback, reported confidence and skills uptake, and repeat enrolment. Across your organisation, programs are designed to support stronger resilience under pressure, improved staff wellbeing, reduced mental-health-related absenteeism and presenteeism, and a documented psychosocial risk management framework. Our experience shows that outcomes are strongest when programs are delivered as a structured series across a planned annual schedule rather than as one-off events.
HSG facilitators run interactive, practical sessions designed for workplace audiences, not clinical lectures. Participants work through tools they can apply the next day, with content pitched to be useful for the broad cohort rather than only those already comfortable with the topic. Engagement is consistently strong because sessions respect people’s time and address real workplace situations.
Yes. HSG works with you before delivery to understand your workforce, the pressures specific to your industry, the current state of mental health and resilience within your teams, and any campaign or compliance context that shapes the program. Sessions are designed around the real challenges your people face, not off-the-shelf content. CSIRO’s voyage team resources are one example of fully tailored delivery.
Yes. Many organisations begin with a single workshop, often Workplace Mental Health Training, Resilience Training & Growth Mindset, or a Stress & Burnout Prevention workshop tied to a campaign week, and build from there. A single session is a low-risk starting point and a practical way to assess fit before committing to a structured program.
Trusted by 1,600+ organisations across Australia and Asia-Pacific
Supporting corporate, government, healthcare, education and not-for-profit sectors
HSG has supported more than 1,600 organisations across corporate, government, healthcare, education and not-for-profit sectors, including Microsoft, Telstra, Commonwealth Bank, BHP, the Department of Defence, St Vincent’s, the University of Sydney, Deakin University, The Smith Family and headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation.
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More than 1,600 organisations have trusted HSG to deliver practical workplace wellbeing programs across Australia. Tell us what your team needs, and we’ll help you identify the right next step.
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