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fire #3 Mar-May 2017

International Women's Day issue

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International<br />

Women’s Day<br />

issue<br />

<strong>#3</strong> MAR – MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />

<strong>fire</strong>magazine.com.au<br />

TWO OF<br />

A KIND:<br />

KAREN AND ANDREW<br />

LIGDOPOULOS<br />

International<br />

Women’s Day<br />

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED FROM<br />

THE WOMEN IN OUR LIVES<br />

THE RISE OF<br />

PRESENTEEISM


Revealing The True<br />

Value Of Real Estate<br />

PROPERTY VISUALS UNLIMITED BY<br />

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contents<br />

ISSUE <strong>#3</strong> // MAR – MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />

REGULARS<br />

2 FOREWORD<br />

Stacey Moseley, Managing Editor of FIRE, LJ Hooker<br />

3 A DAY IN THE LIFE<br />

Join Captain Nikki Clark on a typical 24-hours<br />

4 TWO OF A KIND<br />

Karen and Captain Andrew Ligdopoulos<br />

Produced by:<br />

In partnership with:<br />

15 LAST WORD<br />

Captain Deb Grimley, LJ Hooker Commercial Coffs Harbour<br />

COVER STORY<br />

8 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY<br />

What we’ve learned from the women in our lives<br />

Managing Editor:<br />

Stacey Moseley<br />

Editor:<br />

Trish Riley<br />

Contributors:<br />

Hon Jacquie Petrusma MP,<br />

<strong>Mar</strong>ina Mitchell,<br />

Ryan Ellem, Karina Da Silva,<br />

Samantha Regan<br />

OPINION<br />

6 WHAT PART WILL YOU PLAY?<br />

The Hon Jacquie Petrusma MP discusses<br />

eliminating gender bias<br />

12 THE RISE OF PRESENTEEISM<br />

Shai Ishaq tells us why employee wellbeing is important<br />

Printed by: Printforce<br />

To contribute to <strong>fire</strong> email:<br />

<strong>fire</strong>@ljhooker.com<br />

Cover image: Kylie Segedin,<br />

real state agent LJ Hooker Mona Vale<br />

Make Dreams Happen TM 1


foreword<br />

At last year’s annual LJ Hooker Summit<br />

conference in Cairns gender equality<br />

warrior and Australian of the Year<br />

Lieutenant General David Morrison AO, spoke<br />

about stereotypes and asked us “what is the legacy<br />

you are going to leave behind?”<br />

He explained that he hoped his legacy would not<br />

only be for his actions in the Defence Force, but<br />

rather his activity in being a voice against inequality.<br />

In his speech he spoke at length about the<br />

inequality that existed in the Armed Forces during<br />

his tenure, and spoke about the initiatives he<br />

implemented as Chief of Army from 2011 to 2015.<br />

Admitting that the military still has a ‘ways to<br />

go’, Mr Morrison asked us to envision an “Aussie<br />

digger” and then unpacked the implications of<br />

those stereotypes.<br />

He pointed out that stereotypes exist in all<br />

industries; in fact, they are a regular part of<br />

our society. Subconsciously or not, we make<br />

assumptions about people every day.<br />

Following on from this thought-provoking<br />

presentation, it is apt that this edition of FIRE will<br />

hit your desk just after International Women’s Day<br />

(<strong>Mar</strong>ch 8), and that in our feature cover story, we<br />

have asked members of our network to tell us about<br />

what they’ve learned from the women in their lives.<br />

There are definitely no stereotypes here;<br />

across the article we hear from four very different<br />

LJ Hooker members from different regions in<br />

Australia. The qualities they use to describe the<br />

women in their lives have both lovely synergies<br />

and vast differences; every relationship is unique!<br />

Among the qualities mentioned were strength,<br />

resilience, empathy, acceptance, patience, wit,<br />

intelligence, business-savvy, tenacity and respect.<br />

As you flick through our latest edition of FIRE<br />

consider the women who have made a difference<br />

to you. And if you can, give them a squeeze.<br />

Stacey Moseley<br />

Managing Editor of FIRE, LJ Hooker<br />

/FIREmagazine.au<br />

2 FIRE MAGAZINE // MAR – MAY <strong>2017</strong>


CAPTAIN<br />

NIKKI CLARK<br />

LJ HOOKER LEEMING<br />

A day in the life<br />

As far as top performing Property<br />

Managers go, you really can’t get<br />

much better than Captain Nikki<br />

Clark of LJ Hooker Leeming. Within<br />

her first year with the company,<br />

she had qualified for membership<br />

into LJ Hooker’s Captain’s Club and<br />

a few years later became the first<br />

West Australian Property Manager<br />

to become a member of the Multi-<br />

Million Dollar Club. In 2016 took out<br />

the ultimate prize and was awarded<br />

International Property Manager of the<br />

Year at Night of The Stars. Here is what<br />

an average work day looks like for a<br />

champion property manager.<br />

BEFORE 9AM<br />

4:30am: I like to start my day<br />

positively, so I get up early (after a<br />

few snoozes on my alarm) and make<br />

my way to the gym to get my “happy”<br />

endorphins for the day.<br />

6:30-7:00am: I like to get into the<br />

office early and get my day started as<br />

I am the most productive when no<br />

one is in the office to distract me. I use<br />

this time to deal with all the emails I<br />

have received over night and get my<br />

day sorted, I love time management so<br />

planning my day by time frame is an<br />

absolute must.<br />

AFTER 9AM<br />

As I have done the majority of my<br />

inside work before 9am, I leave right<br />

on 9am to head out to my inspections.<br />

11:00-11:30: I usually arrive back<br />

in the office, depending on the<br />

number of inspections I have on that<br />

day. I can then catch up on the phone<br />

calls and emails that have come<br />

through in the morning.<br />

11:30-12:30: I have time for a quick<br />

bite to eat before either heading<br />

to a final inspection or afternoon<br />

appointments for signing up leases or<br />

lease resigns, before coming back and<br />

finishing up on all calls and emails.<br />

3:30-4:00pm: As I start work early,<br />

I normally finish in the afternoon.<br />

My drive home can take anywhere<br />

from 40 minutes to an hour and 40<br />

minutes, so I tend to use that time<br />

to think through ideas, my portfolio<br />

and goals. By the time I arrive home,<br />

I’m usually racing in the door to write<br />

everything down so I can put them to<br />

use the next day.<br />

AFTER 5PM<br />

Me time! Before my partner arrives<br />

home, I have a little chat with Bully,<br />

my partner’s dog who loves the<br />

attention and some background<br />

trashy TV or music. I always put on<br />

something I don’t have to think about<br />

too much or concentrate on which<br />

usually shuts me off from thinking<br />

about work.<br />

6:00-6:30pm: I start dinner as my<br />

partner arrives home at around this<br />

time depending on his day. We use the<br />

time preparing dinner and cooking to<br />

chat about our day and what we have<br />

coming up.<br />

After dinner, we clean up straight<br />

away, shower and then have some<br />

chill time on the lounge which usually<br />

consists of us both falling asleep.<br />

On work life balance:<br />

I can honestly say that it took me a<br />

few years to know what a work/life<br />

balance was. In my early days, I was<br />

consumed by work, thinking about it<br />

24/7 and it was so hard to switch off. I<br />

have taught myself, over time, to shut<br />

off when I get home from work and if<br />

I happen to think of something when<br />

I’m at home, in the shower at the gym,<br />

food shopping where ever I will write<br />

it down, send myself and email or pop<br />

it into notes on my phone – this is the<br />

best way to get it out of your system so<br />

that you can get on with whatever you<br />

are doing.<br />

I first started with LJ Hooker<br />

Leeming in 2009 and have not looked<br />

back; working with a brand that is so<br />

passionate and driven just makes me<br />

want to succeed.<br />

I love goal setting; I make sure that<br />

every year I have a goal to reach I have<br />

done this since I first started. Being a<br />

property manager is a demanding job<br />

and you need to make sure you take<br />

time out to enjoy life, the simple things.<br />

When I go on holidays I have learnt<br />

to let go, and not be so protective of<br />

my portfolio as I need to enjoy my<br />

holidays, if I have a day off here or<br />

there or over the Christmas and Easter<br />

holidays I always check my work<br />

emails and deal with the things I can.<br />

The beauty of technology these days<br />

is you can do your work from almost<br />

anywhere, which also eases the stress<br />

when I return to work.<br />

My work mantra:<br />

Practice great time management and<br />

do the hardest task first!<br />

A successful property manager<br />

needs to know how to have good<br />

time management and be organised,<br />

otherwise they sink. If I’m helping<br />

with training, I always teach them the<br />

way I have always done my job – time<br />

frames and scheduling has helped me<br />

so much to stay afloat and succeed.<br />

Doing the hardest task first each day<br />

only sets you up for a better day – you<br />

won’t spend your day just thinking<br />

about making ‘that” call or thinking<br />

about “that” meeting, once it’s done,<br />

your day can only get better, right?<br />

My tip:<br />

If you’re having a bad day, bad phone<br />

call or email, take five. Walk out of the<br />

office, get some fresh air have a chat<br />

to someone outside work, when you<br />

walk back into the office you can tackle<br />

the situation with a fresh mind.<br />

Make Dreams Happen TM 3


Two of a kind<br />

KAREN AND ANDREW LIGDOPOULOS<br />

TWO OF A KIND:<br />

LJ HOOKER CANBERRA CITY<br />

4 FIRE MAGAZINE // MAR – MAY <strong>2017</strong>


Two of a kind<br />

FROM KAREN<br />

I never thought I would work in real<br />

estate specifically, but I always knew<br />

I would be interested in something<br />

creative and property related. Being<br />

a market manager at LJ Hooker<br />

Canberra City is the perfect fusion of<br />

everything I was looking for. What<br />

drove me to this role initially was an<br />

opportunity created by my husband<br />

after expressing a desire to change<br />

careers about five years ago.<br />

I definitely didn’t see myself<br />

working alongside Andrew. His<br />

parents worked together for 32 years<br />

and often expressed how challenging<br />

working together was for them. I am<br />

pleased to say they are still happily<br />

married after 49 years.<br />

Although they warned us, we<br />

didn’t really take their advice. Joining<br />

the team was actually our business<br />

partner’s suggestion. I joined the<br />

group of eight ACT offices as a group<br />

marketing manager in 2012 working<br />

in the Dickson office, but towards<br />

the end of 2014, a restructure meant<br />

I was needed most in Canberra City<br />

and project marketing ACT offices<br />

headed up by Andrew. I will admit,<br />

I was very apprehensive.<br />

It was challenging in the beginning<br />

because we didn’t clearly define our<br />

roles and I found it hard to identify<br />

what my responsibilities were. The<br />

office has never had its own marketing<br />

manager, so I didn’t really have a job<br />

description. It was also difficult to get<br />

people to see me for who I was, not<br />

just the boss’s wife. Andrew and I can<br />

both be pretty stubborn and focused on<br />

the big picture, and we did eventually<br />

find our way, but we still have those<br />

challenging days. We have two teenage<br />

sons; Vas is 18 and Michael is 16, and we<br />

don’t really have a work/life balance.<br />

We are both very much workaholics<br />

which is a challenge also.<br />

I could write a book about Andrew’s<br />

strengths and what he brings to the<br />

team. His primary focus is listing<br />

developments in Canberra. He then<br />

passes those individual apartment<br />

listings to agents in our group which<br />

is a greater earning capacity. But<br />

honestly, he brings so much more to<br />

that to the teams. He is successful, yet<br />

humble and doesn’t view himself as<br />

above anyone else. He doesn’t make<br />

the team do anything he wouldn’t do,<br />

and I love watching him interact with<br />

them, often admiring the support and<br />

encouragement he provides.<br />

Andrew makes me proud every day;<br />

he has achieved so much in his 25-year<br />

career. It really warms my heart when<br />

I hear people tell me how much they<br />

admire and respect him; I’m probably<br />

his greatest admirer.<br />

Neither of them anticipated a career in real estate; one came from a design background, and the other<br />

was looking at a career in valuation. They both eventually found their place at LJ Hooker Canberra City,<br />

and began running a highly successful business built on respect and success. Captain Andrew and<br />

Karen Ligdopoulos spoke to us about their working life, challenges they face being a husband and<br />

wife team, and what works wells for their team.<br />

FROM ANDREW<br />

I didn’t initially see myself working<br />

in real estate, but I was driven to the<br />

industry when a friend suggested I<br />

should try real estate for a year as a<br />

segue into valuation. I had just finished<br />

my valuation studies and well, that<br />

year turned into a quarter of a century<br />

in the industry which I am celebrating<br />

this year.<br />

I never anticipated that I would<br />

work with Karen; it definitely wasn’t<br />

planned, but seemed like a good idea<br />

at the time for her to join the team<br />

as marketing manager given her<br />

creative background and wanting a<br />

change in career.<br />

When I think about the challenges<br />

we have faced, there actually weren’t<br />

many in the beginning. The challenge<br />

that we mostly face is when we are not<br />

at work, trying not to discuss work.<br />

I find it hard to ask Karen about her<br />

day; because most of the time, I know<br />

how it was and we would have already<br />

worked through it together. When<br />

you work with your partner, it can be<br />

difficult to switch off and keep some<br />

kind of work/life balance, so we made<br />

the rule to not talk about work while<br />

we’re at home.<br />

I am proud of Karen in a lot of<br />

different ways. She has a passion<br />

for doing things right and is always<br />

looking at how we are perceived by<br />

the public. I very much admire her<br />

attention to detail, her creativity and<br />

strong work ethic. She makes me<br />

proud outside of work every day, but<br />

on a professional level, I have been<br />

proud to watch her receive her team<br />

marketing awards three years in a row<br />

and her individual top support award<br />

at night of the stars. As she walked<br />

up on the stage, I thought about how<br />

great it is that we have been on this<br />

learning journey together.<br />

Do you know a ‘Two of a kind’?<br />

Let us know at inhouse@ljhooker.com<br />

Make Dreams Happen TM 5


Opinion<br />

THE HON JACQUIE PETRUSMA MP<br />

WHAT PART<br />

Will You Play?<br />

THE HON JACQUIE PETRUSMA MP, TASMANIAN MINISTER<br />

FOR WOMEN, DISCUSSES THE ROLE WE ALL MUST PLAY<br />

IN ELIMINATING GENDER BIAS.<br />

Over the years, I have met some<br />

outstanding women and girls;<br />

members of our community<br />

who are making a positive difference<br />

across a range of economic, social and<br />

professional spheres.<br />

Sadly, I’ve also seen a large amount<br />

of gender bias – whether conscious or<br />

unconscious, especially in regards to<br />

leadership and decision making.<br />

Management and leadership<br />

are still today, commonly seen as<br />

masculine roles. Consciously or<br />

unconsciously, men are considered to<br />

be more suitable for an appointment<br />

than women, even when women can<br />

demonstrate relevant qualifications,<br />

experience and skills; and there is<br />

an ingrained but mistaken belief that<br />

merit will be rewarded.<br />

And, it is not just men who think<br />

men are more suited to appointment<br />

than women – women can also share<br />

the belief that management and<br />

leadership are masculine roles.<br />

As a result, men are<br />

disproportionately chosen ahead of<br />

women for leadership roles. Changing<br />

this bias means changing cemented<br />

patterns of thought – for both men<br />

and women.<br />

6 FIRE MAGAZINE // MAR – MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />

When women occupy leadership<br />

positions, benefits not only flow<br />

to the organisation, but also to the<br />

community as a whole.<br />

As women represent over half<br />

our population, by not investing in<br />

women, organisations are missing<br />

out – half their client base is usually<br />

women, so it is important that<br />

organisations know the perspective<br />

of women.<br />

Research has shown that companies<br />

with a higher proportion of women in<br />

management are the companies that<br />

have the best financial performance,<br />

corporate image and competitive edge<br />

as they are able to draw from a broader<br />

pool of talent as women bring different<br />

perspectives, new ideas and new ways<br />

of thinking.<br />

Having more women in positions<br />

of responsibility also sends a very<br />

strong and positive message to girls<br />

and young women that they are equal<br />

to boys and men, and that they too can<br />

aspire to go as far as they want.<br />

By having more women in<br />

leadership roles, we begin to change<br />

attitudes across the board with a flow<br />

on to all aspects of society.<br />

The Tasmanian Government is<br />

committed to leading by example, by<br />

achieving 50 per cent representation<br />

of women on our Government<br />

boards through our Women on<br />

Boards Strategy 2015-2020. The<br />

strategy contains actions that will<br />

make this target possible through<br />

promoting leadership and training<br />

opportunities, using executive search<br />

firms, networking with professional<br />

industry bodies, mentoring as well as<br />

governance training for women.<br />

Men will also be active partners in<br />

the strategy, particularly given the role<br />

men play in putting people forward for<br />

employment or board appointments.<br />

Gender equality is a complex<br />

matter, and each of us has a role to<br />

play. As a modern society, we need<br />

initiatives that will positively empower<br />

women, particularly amongst our<br />

younger generation and future leaders.<br />

What part will you play in<br />

this process?<br />

The Hon Jacquie Petrusma MP<br />

is the Tasmanian Minister for<br />

Human Services and Minister<br />

for Women. Follow her on<br />

Facebook.com/jacquie.petrusma


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Feature<br />

International Women’s Day<br />

What I’ve Learned<br />

from the Women in my Life<br />

Words by: Samantha Regan<br />

AT LJ HOOKER, WE<br />

PRIDE OURSELVES ON<br />

BEING IN THE BUSINESS<br />

OF FAMILIES; WHETHER<br />

THAT BE THROUGH OUR<br />

CLOSE-KNIT NETWORKS<br />

OR OUR COLLABORATIVE<br />

OUTLOOK PAST AND<br />

PRESENT. BEING PART OF<br />

THE LJ HOOKER NETWORK<br />

MEANS THAT YOU HAVE<br />

ACCESS TO THOUSANDS<br />

OF PEOPLE AND CAN<br />

LEARN FROM THEIR<br />

TRIUMPHS, AND THEIR<br />

HEARTBREAKS.<br />

CAPTAIN REBECCA FREEMAN,<br />

LJ HOOKER CITY RESIDENTIAL PERTH<br />

“The women in my life, both<br />

professional and personal, have been<br />

integral in teaching me how to have a<br />

good work-life balance. I’m fortunate<br />

to work in the real estate industry<br />

as there are few careers that offer<br />

the same level of equal opportunity<br />

between men and women, not just in<br />

terms of pay, but in work-life balance<br />

too. Running a business and<br />

running a home need to be<br />

given equal attention as they<br />

are both just as taxing as the<br />

other, and my mum showed<br />

me how best to do it.<br />

“My mum is by far the most<br />

important woman in my life. My mum<br />

works for LJ Hooker too, so I started<br />

my career with her. She has taught me<br />

everything I know both personally and<br />

professionally. Mum is just so much<br />

fun and always knows how to keep<br />

things light and enjoyable. She is truly<br />

caring and exceptionally generous.”<br />

“MY MUM TAUGHT ME TO<br />

MAKE THE MOST OUT OF<br />

EVERY OPPORTUNITY”<br />

International Women’s Day<br />

(<strong>Mar</strong>ch 8) is about celebrating and<br />

highlighting all females for their<br />

economic, political and social<br />

achievements. So in this edition,<br />

we stand and notice.<br />

In celebration of International<br />

Women’s Day, we’d like to show our<br />

respect, admiration and appreciation<br />

for the women in our personal and<br />

professional spheres. We asked a few<br />

members of our network about the<br />

important women in their lives and<br />

what they’ve learned from them.<br />

Captain Rebecca Freeman and her mum, Sue Freeman<br />

8 FIRE MAGAZINE // MAR – MAY <strong>2017</strong>


CAPTAIN KYLIE SEGEDIN, LJ HOOKER MONA VALE<br />

“I come from a family of all women<br />

– other than my dad – who I’m sure<br />

felt rather overwhelmed with us all!<br />

Though our household was quite strict,<br />

my sisters and I definitely needed it<br />

and grew up with some very healthy<br />

boundaries. These days my mum and<br />

dad truly are my best friends.<br />

“After I left school and fell into the<br />

real estate industry, I’d go for long<br />

walks on the beach with my mum, and<br />

she’d hold my hand all the way through<br />

those first early rejections, keeping<br />

me motivated throughout the whole<br />

journey. My mum was only 21 when<br />

she had me, so she has always been very<br />

cool and doesn’t hesitate to give me a<br />

good reality check when I need it. Mum<br />

is the sort of person where I need three<br />

pages in Christmas and birthday cards<br />

just to tell her how I feel about her.<br />

“After 21 years in the business, I’ve<br />

been surrounded by strong women in<br />

my family and at work.<br />

Leesa and Rachael,<br />

who I work with, do<br />

a wonderful job and<br />

have such enormous<br />

care factor that is really reflected in<br />

our buyers and sellers. They are both<br />

mothers to all daughters themselves,<br />

and we just have such a great team<br />

dynamic. They have both really taught<br />

me that we need men just as much as<br />

they need us!”<br />

“MY MUM TAUGHT ME SELF-DISCIPLINE,<br />

OPTIMISM, AND ABOVE ALL, KINDNESS<br />

TO OTHERS.”<br />

Leesa White, Captain Kylie Segedin and Rachael Taylor – Gruca<br />

Make Dreams Happen TM 9


Feature<br />

ADMIRAL MIKE STEWART, LJ HOOKER TOOWOOMBA<br />

“My mother was the first female<br />

auctioneer in Queensland. She<br />

operated in what was, back then,<br />

a boys’ club that lined <strong>Mar</strong>garet<br />

Street in Toowoomba, complete<br />

with beer bellies, cigarettes and men<br />

leaning on parking metres. It was a<br />

different world back then in country<br />

Queensland. Mum took me under her<br />

wing and showed me the business<br />

basics from the ground up. She taught<br />

me the principles of negotiating,<br />

what drove people, as well as all the<br />

technical aspects. There were very<br />

few female real estate principles back<br />

then, and Mum was always clever,<br />

intelligent and tenacious – a true<br />

example of old school.<br />

“In 1989, my wife and I took over<br />

the business from my mum. My<br />

wife Julie, who has a background in<br />

commercial retail, taught me the next<br />

steps to my success. Julie has robust<br />

skills that she is still imprinting on me<br />

to this day. My<br />

wife showed<br />

me how to be<br />

an excellent<br />

negotiator, and<br />

she raised our<br />

two children<br />

when I had to<br />

work overseas<br />

– she is just such a strong support<br />

in my life. Julie has taught me to be<br />

compassionate, organised and patient,<br />

which she may very well still be<br />

teaching me by the time I turn 90!”<br />

“MY WIFE SHOWED ME HOW TO BE<br />

COMPASSIONATE, WHILE MY MUM<br />

TAUGHT ME TO ALWAYS STRIVE FOR<br />

EXCELLENCE. THE TWO HALVES MADE<br />

ME WHAT I AM TODAY.”<br />

Admiral Mike Stewart and his wife, Julie<br />

10 FIRE MAGAZINE // MAR – MAY <strong>2017</strong>


NICK PLOUBIDIS, LJ HOOKER KENSINGTON | UNLEY<br />

“The two most important women<br />

in my world have been by my side<br />

for all the different stages of my life.<br />

My mum raised my brother and I as<br />

a single-parent, while she worked<br />

relentlessly and tirelessly to give us<br />

a stable upbringing. My mum has<br />

always supported me in my decisions<br />

– whether she agrees or disagrees with<br />

them. I have the utmost respect for<br />

her, and always will; her tenacity and<br />

approach to life are unmatched.<br />

“My wife and I met through mutual<br />

friends, and have grown together<br />

professionally and personally, to such<br />

an extent that I don’t even need to<br />

hesitate when I say that our life is great!<br />

Tammy’s softhearted<br />

nature<br />

always brings<br />

people together, and that is something<br />

I truly admire about her.<br />

“Both my mum and Tammy have<br />

shaped me as a man through their<br />

continued support, and I wouldn’t be<br />

where I am without them.”<br />

“MY WIFE TAUGHT ME THAT GOING BIGGER<br />

ISN’T ALWAYS BEST AND MY MUM SHOWED<br />

ME THAT EVEN IF THE ODDS ARE STACKED<br />

AGAINST YOU, YOU HAVE TO KEEP GOING<br />

NO MATTER WHAT.”<br />

Nick Ploubidis and wife, Tammy<br />

Make Dreams Happen TM 11


Opinion<br />

SHAI ISHAQ<br />

PRESENTEEISM;<br />

why employee<br />

wellbeing is<br />

more important<br />

than we think<br />

SHAI ISHAQ, HEAD OF PEOPLE & CULTURE AT LJ HOOKER<br />

TAKES A CLOSER LOOK AT THE RISE OF PRESENTEEISM<br />

Chatting to some of my industry peers in recent times,<br />

it seems we’ve noticed a growing trend in Australian<br />

workplaces – employee wellbeing (in particular<br />

mental health) is becoming one of our biggest concerns<br />

when it comes to employee engagement and productivity.<br />

We’re talking about good performers, long term employees<br />

who have a wealth of knowledge and skill and get to a point<br />

where they’re not performing at their best.<br />

It is estimated that untreated mental health conditions<br />

cost Australian workplaces<br />

approximately $10.9 billion<br />

per year.<br />

In any one year, around 1<br />

million Australian adults have<br />

depression, and over 2 million have<br />

anxiety according to research by<br />

Beyond Blue. Employee wellbeing<br />

is often dismissed as a fluffy term<br />

that leads to the introduction of<br />

more yoga and healthy food in the<br />

workplace, and mental health is<br />

often misunderstood as being about diagnosed conditions<br />

that we as employers can’t do much about. If we look at<br />

how the two are linked we may find there’s a lot we can do<br />

to improve employee wellbeing and reap the benefits of<br />

optimal productivity and engagement.<br />

12 FIRE MAGAZINE // MAR – MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />

OF THIS, $6.1 BILLION<br />

IS ATTRIBUTED TO<br />

‘PRESENTEEISM’ – WHERE<br />

AN EMPLOYEE IS AT WORK<br />

BUT LESS PRODUCTIVE<br />

THAN USUAL BECAUSE<br />

OF ILLNESS OR INJURY.<br />

Presenteeism – the link between wellbeing<br />

and productivity<br />

Think about the things that you need to be optimal for your<br />

employees to see them working at their full potential – their<br />

energy levels, clarity of thinking, positivity, engagement,<br />

creativity, ability to have social interactions at work etc.<br />

Now think about the things that you’ve seen influence<br />

your employees’ ability to be at their best in these<br />

areas. Sometimes it’s just that life gets overwhelming –<br />

globalisation and technology have created a<br />

world where we’re always ‘on’. When we leave<br />

the office for the day we’re still fully contactable<br />

via phone and email. When we go on leave we<br />

can’t help but check our emails. We’re then not<br />

fully present at home and life can become a<br />

juggling act where we never really take a break<br />

and become burnt out. Sometimes being at our<br />

best is hindered by our physical health which to<br />

begin with could be influenced by stress. Whilst<br />

we may still turn up to work every day, all of<br />

these factors can end up having an impact on our<br />

mental health and ultimately our productivity at work and<br />

life in general.<br />

Mental health and wellbeing do not have to<br />

be separated<br />

Often when we’re confronted with an employee<br />

experiencing health issues we focus on what’s not going<br />

well and put a label on their problems – depression,


anxiety, stress. We immediately assume we’re not equipped<br />

to deal with the problems and push the person on to a GP<br />

or mental health professional and tell them to get help<br />

ASAP. Most organisations<br />

have an employee assistance<br />

program (EAP) and hope that<br />

everyone who needs help will<br />

access that. But the industry<br />

utilisation rate for EAPs is<br />

below three per cent according<br />

to a 2015 report. How many<br />

of you have experienced the<br />

frustration of the person not<br />

getting help? Often this is not<br />

because they don’t need it or<br />

want it, but because they are<br />

too embarrassed and worried<br />

about being labelled and<br />

how this might affect their<br />

employment. To create change here organisations need to<br />

be much more open to dealing with mental health as part of<br />

an overall focus on employee wellbeing.<br />

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental<br />

health as “a state of well-being in which every individual<br />

realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal<br />

stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is<br />

able to make a contribution to her or his community.”<br />

So if we take this definition, mental health and wellbeing<br />

are essentially one and the same.<br />

EMPLOYEE WELLBEING IS MORE<br />

IMPORTANT THAN EVER TO<br />

UNDERSTAND AND WORK ON<br />

HOLISTICALLY. BEING PROACTIVE<br />

ABOUT THIS IS THE BEST THING<br />

YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR BUSINESS.<br />

FOR SOME MORE INFORMATION<br />

SEE THESE WEBSITES:<br />

WWW.DAVCORP.COM.AU<br />

WWW.BEYONDBLUE.ORG.AU<br />

WWW.WELLNESSATWORK.COM.AU<br />

How can we improve wellbeing and<br />

therefore presenteeism?<br />

Here are some ideas for your workplace:<br />

• Get an employee assistance program in place. These<br />

are not just about counselling, they have evolved to<br />

incorporate a number of elements into their offering,<br />

even financial counselling and assistance with diet and<br />

nutrition. See Davidson Trahaire Corpsych<br />

www.davcorp.com.au<br />

• Create a culture of having open conversations about<br />

wellbeing. This can be as simple as including the topic<br />

in your one-to-one and team meetings. Employees will<br />

suffer in silence (and contribute to presenteeism) if they<br />

don’t know that it’s safe to speak up.<br />

• Know the signs of a wellbeing issue and how to approach<br />

your employee – things like regularly arriving late,<br />

seeming fatigued, changes in productivity or organisation<br />

and seeming more emotional than usual are all indicators<br />

that the employee might need some help. Rather than<br />

focusing on what negatives you’re observing, have a<br />

conversation about what state they feel their wellbeing<br />

is in and what they’d like to work on and this will create<br />

opportunities for you to help them.<br />

• Be proactive about dealing with potential issues before<br />

they escalate – so often we see workplaces with a suite<br />

of wellbeing initiatives in place that still have employees<br />

regularly working 60+ hour work weeks. If you see this in<br />

your workplace, take a look at why it is occurring and put<br />

it on the agenda to improve.<br />

• Be a good example of work-life balance. By having your<br />

own interests outside of work that you make time for –<br />

example a sport you train for or exercise you do regularly<br />

– you can lead by example and<br />

show your employees that it’s ok<br />

to work hard and then go out and<br />

have a life day to day, not just on<br />

weekends or during vacation time.<br />

• Be creative and open-minded<br />

with solutions – things like<br />

flexible working arrangements are<br />

important for every workplace<br />

to embrace, especially now that<br />

employees have rights to request<br />

these under our federal workplace<br />

relations system. Having high<br />

standards for output and quality<br />

is important, and these should be<br />

valued above time spent at a desk.<br />

Shai Ishaq,<br />

LJ Hooker Head of People & Culture<br />

Make Dreams Happen TM 13


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Captain<br />

Deb<br />

Grimley<br />

The last word<br />

A MEMBER OF THE<br />

MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR<br />

CHAPTER, CAPTAIN DEB<br />

GRIMLEY OF LJ HOOKER<br />

COMMERCIAL COFFS<br />

HARBOUR IS A LEADER<br />

IN LEASING. BRINGING A<br />

WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE<br />

FROM PREVIOUS<br />

CAREERS IN RETAIL ASSET<br />

MANAGEMENT, LEASING<br />

AND SALES, SHE UTILISES<br />

THIS PASSION FOR<br />

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE<br />

TO HELP BUSINESSES<br />

FIND THEIR HOMES.<br />

ALONGSIDE AN INCREDIBLY<br />

SUCCESSFUL CAREER, SHE<br />

IS ALSO THE MOTHER OF<br />

TWO GIRLS AND A SELF-<br />

CONFESSED “FOODIE”.<br />

What was your last listing/win?<br />

I try not to get too carried away with<br />

the listings. A “WIN” for me, is when<br />

a client finds a new home for their<br />

business. Listings will follow through<br />

on their own accord because, as they<br />

say, you’re only as good as your<br />

last customer.<br />

When was the last time you were<br />

truly inspired?<br />

When I saw Yotam Ottolenghi’s last<br />

post on Instagram – he is a very<br />

talented chef who inspires me with his<br />

creativity and treatment of food!<br />

What was the last training session<br />

you did?<br />

This morning I participated in group<br />

exercise training – if I exercise I can eat<br />

more delicious food!<br />

What was the last film you saw?<br />

Bridget Jones baby. It was very funny<br />

and light hearted, tune in and zone out<br />

type of stuff!<br />

What was your last splurge?<br />

That would probably have to be buying<br />

some high-risk shares a few weeks ago.<br />

I’m not sure it was the best thing to do,<br />

but only time will tell.<br />

What was the last book you read?<br />

It would have been a true crime novel<br />

quite a while ago – crime stories keep<br />

me intrigued.<br />

What was the last app you<br />

downloaded?<br />

STAYZ and AirBNB. My daughter<br />

has moved to Burleigh Heads and my<br />

other daughter is looking to relocate<br />

there soon, hence I plan on heading<br />

north more often to see them.<br />

When was your last moment<br />

of bliss?<br />

I have to say it was eating at a<br />

restaurant at lunch time – it’s a very<br />

decadent thing to do in a busy day.<br />

What was the last holiday you<br />

went on?<br />

Have I mentioned I like FOOD and<br />

cooking FOOD?! It was a luxurious<br />

four-day weekend in October in<br />

Sydney wining, dining and sightseeing.<br />

I also took my girls to the Gili<br />

Islands and Bali for some rest and<br />

relaxation in September which was a<br />

lot of fun.<br />

What was the last piece of advice<br />

some has given you?<br />

I was told to do things in “moderation”<br />

and I try live by that, and provide the<br />

same advice to others. Also, “Live each<br />

day as it comes” because you never know<br />

what is around the corner – however<br />

this advice is not always very easy.<br />

Who would you like to hear from next in The Last Word?<br />

Tell us here: inhouse@ljhooker.com<br />

Make Dreams Happen TM 15

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