Recently, Mates4Life ran a pilot of workplace supervision with several local businesses, made possible thanks to grant funding from Hastings District Council.
All sessions were confidential, but the pilot gave us valuable insight into some of the challenges business owners and employees are facing right now, and the role workplace supervision can play in supporting them.
Over this series, we’re sharing some of the common themes we observed:
- What is workplace supervision, and why should a business consider it?
- Managing People Well: Tyson Ataera, Mates4Life GM, Shares His Tips
- Everyone Is Feeling the Pressure Right Now. Four Simple Things That Can Help
What exactly is workplace supervision?
If you’re wondering what workplace supervision is, you’re not alone. None of our pilot participants had heard of workplace supervision prior to the pilot, let alone used the service.
But workplace supervision isn’t something new. It’s long been standard practice in clinical and counselling roles, where regular supervision is considered essential for people managing the emotional weight of their work. What hasn’t been tested as much is whether it could add value outside those settings, for everyday businesses and teams. That’s exactly what our pilot set out to explore.
Workplace supervision is a confidential session with a trained counsellor to reflect on the challenges that come with work, whether that’s managing people, navigating difficult situations, workplace pressure, communication issues, or simply having time to think things through with someone independent from the business.
Our pilot group was made up of local Hastings small businesses, across a diverse range of industries, and included people from all levels – those in ownership or leadership roles, and those who were only just starting out their careers. Each participant received four hour long sessions on a monthly basis, with a trained professional workplace supervision counsellor.
Interestingly, while most participants didn’t describe themselves as highly stressed before starting the pilot, they all still said the sessions were valuable, with many keen to continue after the pilot had finished.
One of the strongest themes we heard was the value of having someone external to talk to. Someone experienced, professional, confidential, and separate from the day-to-day dynamics of the workplace.
For us, it confirmed what we found across the pilot: workplace supervision has real value well beyond the settings it’s traditionally been used in. And it reinforced something we strongly believe at Mates4Life: workplaces that prioritise wellbeing and support conversations around mental wellbeing are better for the people in them, and stronger because of it.
Want to Learn More?
This article is part of a series sharing insights from Mates4Life’s workplace supervision pilot, delivered in partnership with Hastings District Council.
If you’d like to learn more about workplace supervision, or explore whether it could benefit your workplace, you’ll find the details of the counsellors that were part of our pilot below.
Andrew McGarrol, Nautical Counselling. www.nauticalcounselling.co.nz
Stacia Jensen, Jensen Counselling. www.jensencounselling.com
Next in the series: Managing People Well: Tyson Ataera, Mates4Life GM, Shares His Tips
