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Petrina Coventry assesses OHS perception regarding anxiety and reveal perceptions and receptivity towards alternative therapies and solutions being used in clinical practice to deal with anxiety

Image courtesy of interviewee. March 14, 2024

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This video video discusses a study focused on anxiety as a significant mental health issue in workplaces and its impact on productivity. It defines anxiety as a psychological and physiological reaction to real or potential threats and notes its evolutionary purpose for survival. Despite its benefits in certain contexts, anxiety is frequently experienced and often overlooked in organizational settings, leading to lost productivity and significant economic costs.

The study explores the effectiveness of workplace initiatives, especially the role of hypnotherapy as a potential treatment for anxiety. It highlights the under-utilization of hypnotherapy in occupational health and safety (OHS) and human resource management (HRM) contexts, citing barriers such as lack of awareness, skepticism, and insufficient understanding of hypnotherapy's benefits.

Due to recent regulatory changes in Australia requiring proactive measures for mental health, the study aims to assess current practices, perceptions of anxiety and hypnotherapy among managers, and to identify barriers to integrating hypnotherapy into workplace mental health programs.

Key findings suggest that anxiety remains a poorly understood and neglected issue, with an increased prevalence requiring early intervention. Factors such as stigma and low awareness contribute to its prioritization. Effective management of anxiety is crucial for enhancing individual and organizational productivity. The study advocates for improved communication, shared responsibility in mental health initiatives, enhanced education about treatment options (including hypnotherapy), and better measurement of program effectiveness to foster psychological safety and wellbeing in workplaces.

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Here are some similar articles that explore themes related to workplace anxiety, mental health, productivity, and the potential benefits of hypnotherapy or other therapeutic interventions:

1. **"The Impact of Workplace Stress on Employee Productivity"**
- This article discusses the various sources of stress in the workplace, their effects on employee performance, and strategies to mitigate stress through mindfulness and cognitive behavioral techniques.

2. **"Understanding Anxiety in the Workplace: A Comprehensive Analysis"**
- This piece focuses on how anxiety manifests in professional settings, its implications for employee wellness, and the strategies that companies can implement to create a more supportive work environment.

3. **"Hypnotherapy: An Underutilized Tool for Managing Workplace Anxiety"**
- This article examines the potential of hypnotherapy as a treatment option for employees suffering from anxiety, including case studies and statistical data on outcomes when hypnotherapy is used in corporate wellness programs.

4. **"Creating a Mentally Healthy Workplace: Strategies for Success"**
- A discussion on best practices for fostering mental health in workplaces, including creating awareness about anxiety, reducing stigma, and implementing holistic wellness initiatives.

5. **"Regulatory Changes and Their Impact on Workplace Mental Health Initiatives"**
- This article looks at how new regulations are shaping the landscape of workplace mental health programs, their effectiveness, and the role of emerging therapies like hypnotherapy in compliance with these regulations.

6. **"The Cost of Neglecting Employee Mental Health"**
- An analysis of the economic burden that can result from not addressing mental health issues like anxiety in the workplace, with recommendations for proactive measures.

7. **"Bridging the Gap: Challenges in Implementing Mental Health Programs in Organizations"**
- A study that highlights the barriers many organizations face in integrating mental health initiatives, including misconceptions about treatments like hypnotherapy.

8. **"Innovative Approaches to Workplace Mental Health: Beyond Traditional Therapies"**
- This article explores alternative treatments for workplace anxiety, including hypnotherapy, mindfulness training, and their impact on employee productivity and satisfaction.

9. **"Mental Health Awareness in Organizational Behavior: Key Insights and Strategies"**
- A comprehensive review of how awareness and education about mental health can transform organizational culture and improve employee wellbeing.

10. **"From Stigma to Support: Changing Attitudes Towards Mental Health in the Workplace"**
- This article delves into how organizations can shift their culture to better support mental health, focusing on reducing stigma around conditions like anxiety and promoting open discussions.

These articles all address relevant issues connected to mental health in organizational settings, the significance of effective interventions, and the broader implications of not addressing anxiety in the workplace.

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

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I'm gonna start with anxiety,

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because it's a critical component of the study.

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Anxiety is a psychological

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and a physiological condition that's characterized

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by a natural human response to a real

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or a potential threat.

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And it's important to note

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that it could just be a potential threat, not real.

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It's real evolutionary purpose is

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to secure safety and survival.

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So anxiety can be of benefit

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in some circumstances, with regard to the protection

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of your own safety or survival.

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General, everyday stress

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and feelings of anxiety though, are very frequent

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and they're associated

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with life's challenges, everyday challenges.

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Um, and it's most common, it's,

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it's actually the most commonly experienced mental health

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condition, with humans.

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It can impact individual

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and organizational performance through number of areas,

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impaired relationships with employees

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and their peers, quality of work, as well

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as increased personal and organizational safety.

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Risks. Risks.

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So the important factor here is

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that anxiety can impact productivity.

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And as an example of that,

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there's an estimated 12 billion work days lost annually due

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to depression and anxiety, which costs the global economy

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nearly 1 trillion US dollars per annum.

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And in Australia alone, where this study is set,

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businesses lose over $10.9 billion Australian dollars

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each year by failing to provide early intervention

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for employees experience mental experiencing mental health

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conditions, including those related to anxiety.

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Over 300 million people experience feelings

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of anxiety at any time,

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and the COVID-19 pandemic

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triggered a 25, 20 5% increase in those rates.

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So this research, getting back to the original part

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of the question about the focus of the study centers

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around outlining anxiety as a condition,

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its effect on productivity, perceived effectiveness

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of workplace initiatives to deal with anxiety, sorry, well,

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to deal with anxiety through psychological safety

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and mental health and wellbeing programs.

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It's looking for evidence of hypnotherapy

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within occupational, health

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and safety, which are referred to out, throughout this,

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study as OHS, occupational Health and Safety, OHS

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and human re resource Management, HRM,

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and their services that they offer.

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It also looks towards the level of receptivity of OHS

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and HRM towards hypnotherapy for the inclusion

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of it as a practice within workplace services.

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So that's really the focus of the study

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and the background around anxiety in organizations.

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The responsibility for mental health and wellbeing programs

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and psychological safety policy, which is where it's

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where anxiety is dealt with, has typically been shared

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between OHS and HRM.

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However, their effectiveness in this area has been brought

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into question over a number of years.

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And in Australia, there's an increased emphasis on this,

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from 2023, because the Australian Occupational Health

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and Safety Regulations, new regulations dictate

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that employers now have increased duties

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to prevent mental health risk, which is enforcing the need

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for organizations to proactively review their policy

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and practice around mental health and wellbeing.

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So there's a regulatory change,

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and there's shared ownership in the past,

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which is proving to be questionable with regard

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to its effectiveness.

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Under the new act, organizations have an obligation to

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positively protect workers from psychological risks

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by designing work and organizational services to eliminate

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or minimize risk whilst they're monitoring the health

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and work and health of workers in the workplace conditions,

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and also consulting with workers.

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So it's more proactive as a stance now rather than reactive.

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That's actually important when dealing with anxiety

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as early intervention is critical

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to ensure the condition does not lead to more costly

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and severe conditions, such as depression,

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which can impact performance or productivity more severely.

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And because anxiety can actually emanate quite subtly,

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it's often dismissed, misunderstood, misdiagnosed,

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and under reported as a condition.

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And this actually impacts the early intervention,

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which is so critical.

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So in organizations, designing systems that allow

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for early detection and remediation is even more critical,

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and a lack of urgency to solve the problem can lead

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to greater organizational costs, reputational risk

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and performance issues.

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So highlighting critical evidence around the field

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of anxiety and exploring possible solutions such

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as hypnotherapy may assist OHS in providing an

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answer to this mental health condition, which affects,

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productivity and organizational, performance,

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and also assist with the early intervention required

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for individuals.

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Um, unfortunately, the, the low awareness, interest

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or acceptance of hypnotherapy by OHS,

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and the barriers that, exist, affecting,

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we believe the receptivity towards it.

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Those barriers, for example, include a lack of information

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perceptions that are based on prior knowledge

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or a general lack of understanding

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and confidence in what hypnotherapy is

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and what it can actually provide as a treatment for anxiety.

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So the study was really designed

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to give a greater understanding of what is required

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around OHS

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and HRM interventions,

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to highlight the perceptions of anxiety and hypnotherapy

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and to understand why hypnotherapy is not,

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hypnotherapy is not included in workplace mental health

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and wellbeings, by looking at those barriers.

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Um, I think it's important to note

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that OHS is an actual under-researched area

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in a management field.

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And so there's a lot of interest with policy makers,

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academics, and health professionals

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to improve research in the area of OHS

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and also to really highlight, the relationships

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around work, work performance, and mental health.

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So this study was also designed to help fill that gap.

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Obviously, it's a global problem,

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but the search, the study was, focused on Australia

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because of the new changes to the regulations primarily.

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But across the world, there's a number of practices

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and, ways that people

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and, practitioners deal with anxiety.

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The two widely accepted practices

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or accepted treatments are medication

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and psychotherapy, which includes hypnotherapy.

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So the non-pharma pharmacological psychotherapies are

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increasingly used as a first line treatment

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for chronic anxiety disorders.

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Um, and this shift in treatment patterns has been motivated

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by an upsurge of interest

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and increased research into the efficacy

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of cognitive behavioral therapies and psychotherapies.

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Um, and I think it's important to remember

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that when you are dealing with anxiety

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and it's treatment, that anxiety is an emotional condition

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and it's subconscious in nature.

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So dealing with it requires an understanding

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of subconscious influences

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and subconscious solutions,

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which is why psychotherapy is increasingly involved.

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Um, hypnotherapy is an example of

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that involves identifying therapeutic suggestions

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to mobilize the mind body connection,

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which results in improved emotional and physical wellbeing.

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So the goal for organizations when we feel about,

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when we talk about treatment, is to reduce feelings

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of anxiety for individuals to create behavioral, behavioral

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and habit change, and increase emotional wellbeing,

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which in turn is optimizing their personal

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and professional relationships.

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Business efficiencies, team dynamics,

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enhances creative problem solving,

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and they're all factors that enable high performance

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for individuals and organizations.

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So the organizational treatment, of this is critical.

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Um, the most effective intervention for anxiety,

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if you're dealing with it at a clinical

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or an organizational level, is known to center

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around self-awareness and self-control

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and really understanding neural, neural pathway

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reprogramming, which are all typically found in

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psychotherapy programs.

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The main aims of this study were to determine the level

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of awareness of anxiety

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and how it impacted work workforce,

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workplace productivity,

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and to see if there's an interest for

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and any barriers, towards the inclusion

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of hip hypnotherapy within OHS, mental health

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and wellbeing services.

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So that's the main name really,

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but the guiding questions

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to arrive at those aims were important,

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and they were, how does,

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anxiety affect productivity?

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Who is responsible for dealing with anxiety in workplaces?

10:28.345 --> 10:29.525
How do OHS

10:29.665 --> 10:33.685
and HRM managers who are responsible for workplace,

10:33.785 --> 10:36.965
safety, health and wellbeing, perceive the effects

10:36.965 --> 10:39.085
of anxiety on workplace performance?

10:39.945 --> 10:42.515
Does OHS and HRM understand

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and consider that hypnotherapy is a suitable practice

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to deal with anxiety in organizations?

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What barriers might affect inclusion

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of hypnotherapy into organization's psychological safety,

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mental health and wellbeing programs?

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And does increased information around clinical effectiveness

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of h hypnotherapy affect its perception and receptivity?

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So they were really the, the main aim

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and the questions that, that were guiding the aim.

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The study explores the idea of using thematic analysis

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to discover and inform the work

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of regulators in the regulated community, from ga data

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that's gathered through both quantitative

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and qualitative sources.

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It uses mixed method research

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and an interdisciplinary approach

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to leverage O-H-S-H-R-M

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and a high, sorry, hypnotherapist cohort,

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to gather that data.

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And then there's a process of analyzing the trends

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and outlining the findings.

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Primary, data was collected

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through instruments including a literature review,

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quantitative service surveys,

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which had an embedded factorial study,

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which tested information as a factor

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semi-structured qualitative inter interviews

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and, focus group.

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And the study was,

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conducted in Australia over the period of 2021 to 2023

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with members of the Australian Institute of Health

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and Safety, which is the peak body for occupational health

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and safety practitioners leading HRM, managers,

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and also the Australian Hypnotherapy Association,

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which is the accredited body for hypnotherapist.

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The main data source of the self-administered questionnaire

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included, 57 items and,

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but that had a background information on the area

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to be studied and context that introduced anxiety,

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psychological issues in the workplaces, as well as informal

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and formal solutions that could be considered.

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In the questionnaire,

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the participants were asked about the changes they've seen

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or experienced in the workplace as it related

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to their understanding of the concept of anxiety,

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its effects on employee productivity, awareness

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and perception of the quality of performance

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of organizational health and interventions,

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and their understanding of hypnotherapy as a solution

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to deal with anxiety.

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Uh, as I mentioned, there was an embedded factorial design

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feature in the questionnaire,

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which used information as a variable.

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So within the participating members,

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two groups were formed using an alpha separation.

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So according to the names between, surnames A to K

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and then surnames Alta Z, they were split as groups.

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Um, each group received the same questionnaire

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with an exception

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that one group had less information about hypnotherapy,

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and the test there was to see whether group A

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or group B results differed based on, the,

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difference in information that was

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provided around the practice of hypnotherapy.

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Um, that really formed a basis for the factorial design

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and, and to see if hypnotherapy generally

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was a concept that would be considered as appropriate by OHS

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and HRM to deal with anxiety in the workplace.

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The other secondary data

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that was gathered was from organizational case studies,

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reviews of existing psychological safety, mental health

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and wellbeing programs, the reference, the development

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and implementation of contemporary

14:43.965 --> 14:45.965
and practical guidelines as outlined

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by the new Health and Safety Act.

14:48.585 --> 14:52.845
Um, the data from the focus group, the, interviews,

14:53.145 --> 14:56.525
the secondary data and the primary data was,

14:56.865 --> 15:00.725
really analyzed using a number of different systems, Excel,

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SBSS, regression analysis and Nova descriptive analysis,

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and then triangulation to, you know,

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arrive at this thematic analysis to see if there were any,

15:12.185 --> 15:17.125
repeated focus areas in terms of the sample size,

15:17.825 --> 15:21.645
who, participated the OHS sample encompassed,

15:21.665 --> 15:24.125
250 active research members

15:24.465 --> 15:28.045
of the Australian Institute have health and safety,

15:29.025 --> 15:32.765
and 146 completed the full survey.

15:33.465 --> 15:37.685
The HRM sample was recruited from human resource departments

15:37.685 --> 15:41.565
within selected organizations that are also members

15:41.785 --> 15:44.525
of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety,

15:45.105 --> 15:48.125
or the Australian Institute of Human Resources.

15:48.865 --> 15:53.325
Um, invitations were sent to 108 members with 51 responses.

15:53.985 --> 15:57.325
The hypnotherapy cohort that participated was captured

15:57.325 --> 16:00.485
through the membership from the Australian Hypnotherapy

16:00.485 --> 16:03.965
Association with one a hundred forty five invitations

16:04.465 --> 16:06.925
and 84 complete responses.

16:07.425 --> 16:09.485
So the data from the questionnaire

16:09.485 --> 16:11.165
and the sample groups,

16:11.185 --> 16:13.925
and the transcriptions from the qualitative interviews

16:14.035 --> 16:15.045
were synthesized.

16:15.425 --> 16:18.805
Um, and the themes were developed.

16:19.095 --> 16:21.285
There were a number of themes that occurred,

16:21.865 --> 16:24.685
and I think, I think the main theme, honestly,

16:24.685 --> 16:27.965
that came out is despite the size of the issue

16:28.745 --> 16:31.245
and the growing size of the issue around anxiety,

16:31.605 --> 16:34.805
employee anxiety remained an often very misunderstood,

16:35.115 --> 16:38.085
neglected area within all organizations

16:38.435 --> 16:40.845
that were represented by the participants.

16:41.705 --> 16:43.685
Um, and there was no doubt

16:43.715 --> 16:47.245
that without effective management, it can impact,

16:47.415 --> 16:49.085
individual productivity

16:49.585 --> 16:51.525
and it can cause serious implications

16:51.665 --> 16:53.365
for organization performance.

16:53.365 --> 16:55.245
So that was the main conclusion.

16:56.025 --> 16:59.725
The other themes or major findings that were coming out

16:59.725 --> 17:02.325
of this study was a lack of acceptance

17:02.465 --> 17:04.525
around anxiety as an issue.

17:05.025 --> 17:07.285
Mental health is often discussed,

17:07.345 --> 17:11.805
but anxiety is not often considered a mental health issue,

17:11.905 --> 17:13.205
and it's glossed over.

17:13.905 --> 17:17.085
Um, so participants felt that anxiety is poorly acknowledged

17:17.145 --> 17:21.365
as an issue in the workplace with senior staff, less likely

17:21.465 --> 17:23.325
to understand the re relationship

17:23.345 --> 17:25.285
and anxiety has with output.

17:25.985 --> 17:27.485
Um, and that's an important factor

17:27.485 --> 17:30.005
because this study was also focused on the impact

17:30.005 --> 17:32.685
that anxiety has around productivity and performance.

17:33.575 --> 17:36.675
Um, it was found that anxiety is not understood

17:36.815 --> 17:38.555
as a mental health condition.

17:39.175 --> 17:41.275
Um, but again, it was felt

17:41.275 --> 17:43.275
that it did have an impact on productivity.

17:44.345 --> 17:48.035
It's increased in recent years. There was a general,

17:48.705 --> 17:53.125
Finding that there was an increase in, feelings,

17:53.395 --> 17:55.045
anxieties on the increase.

17:55.665 --> 17:57.525
It does require early intervention.

17:58.265 --> 18:02.965
Um, there was a finding that is often rated

18:03.025 --> 18:04.325
as a low priority.

18:04.855 --> 18:08.805
There were conclusions that that's partly due to stigma

18:09.065 --> 18:11.605
and the lack of disclosure around anxiety,

18:11.825 --> 18:15.245
and also the lack of misunderstanding around

18:15.275 --> 18:17.925
what anxiety is and its impact.

18:18.255 --> 18:20.805
There was an understanding, obviously,

18:20.805 --> 18:23.165
that it is a subconscious condition

18:24.185 --> 18:26.805
and it is increasingly treated in clinicals

18:27.185 --> 18:30.805
by therapies such as hypnotherapy, the discussion

18:31.025 --> 18:32.965
and the findings around hypnotherapy.

18:33.305 --> 18:36.125
As such, were not always forthright

18:36.625 --> 18:38.485
as a discussion for participants.

18:38.905 --> 18:41.045
And I think that relates to some of the barriers

18:41.145 --> 18:42.525
around hypnotherapy

18:43.505 --> 18:46.045
and some of the stigma attached to it

18:46.045 --> 18:47.565
through past practices.

18:47.905 --> 18:49.965
And hypnotherapy research outside

18:49.965 --> 18:53.765
of clinical studies really relies on anecdotal information.

18:53.955 --> 18:56.845
There's a relative lack of theory that re

18:57.405 --> 18:59.885
represents an impediment to the continued development

19:00.225 --> 19:03.765
of scientific understanding around hypno therapies.

19:04.545 --> 19:09.325
And I think, you know, other barriers that tend to reoccur

19:09.985 --> 19:14.005
was, again, poor understanding, skepticism keen interest,

19:14.275 --> 19:16.725
very keen interest, but there was a need

19:16.745 --> 19:20.165
and desire for more information and better education.

19:21.025 --> 19:24.685
Um, interestingly, it was found through the analysis

19:24.685 --> 19:28.245
that age affected receptivity towards hypnotherapy

19:28.675 --> 19:30.885
with the participant group that was used.

19:31.265 --> 19:35.125
So the call it older age groups tended to be more receptive,

19:35.135 --> 19:37.085
which probably didn't match

19:37.085 --> 19:39.125
what we thought initially going into the study.

19:40.675 --> 19:44.695
It was found that shared responsibility of mental health

19:44.715 --> 19:48.815
and wellbeing programs in general improves the design,

19:48.845 --> 19:52.175
development and delivery of, the program

19:53.115 --> 19:55.135
and where communication

19:55.135 --> 19:56.375
and awareness in

19:56.435 --> 20:00.535
around psychological safety was high in organizations,

20:01.065 --> 20:03.895
there was a correlation to more immediate action

20:03.995 --> 20:05.055
and early intervention.

20:05.715 --> 20:07.375
So the better the communication

20:08.075 --> 20:09.815
and the louder the communication,

20:10.515 --> 20:15.175
the earlier the intervention, the recommendations,

20:15.635 --> 20:18.135
we can talk about that with the next question as well.

20:18.315 --> 20:21.215
But it really highlighted shared management,

20:21.635 --> 20:24.815
better education, enhanced information,

20:25.325 --> 20:29.895
increased measurement to, improve occupational health

20:29.915 --> 20:33.175
and safety, mental health and wellbeing programs,

20:33.205 --> 20:35.575
because senior managers

20:36.085 --> 20:40.615
were very dubious about the impact that in some cases,

20:40.875 --> 20:44.375
an inordinate amount of spend, had occurred.

20:45.075 --> 20:48.885
Um, so increased measurement would give reassurance about

20:48.885 --> 20:50.885
whether the programs were working or not.

20:51.785 --> 20:55.645
Um, and I think it just a general consciousness

20:55.865 --> 20:58.725
of the new changes to the Occupational Health

20:58.725 --> 21:00.885
and Safety Act in Australia

21:01.385 --> 21:03.285
and what it means for organizations

21:03.345 --> 21:05.525
to be more proactive in this area.

21:05.755 --> 21:08.685
They were generally the conclusions and findings.

00:00 - I'm gonna start with anxiety, because it's a critical component of the study. Anxiety is a psychological and a physiological condition that's characterized by a natural human response to a real or a potential threat.

00:18 - And it's important to note that it could just be a potential threat, not real. It's real evolutionary purpose is to secure safety and survival. So anxiety can be of benefit in some circumstances, with regard to the protection of your own safety or survival. General, everyday stress and feelings of anxiety though, are very frequent and they're associated

00:47 - with life's challenges, everyday challenges. and it's most common, it's, it's actually the most commonly experienced mental health condition, with humans. It can impact individual and organizational performance through number of areas, impaired relationships with employees and their peers, quality of work, as well as increased personal and organizational safety. Risks. Risks.

01:16 - So the important factor here is that anxiety can impact productivity. And as an example of that, there's an estimated 12 billion work days lost annually due to depression and anxiety, which costs the global economy nearly 1 trillion US dollars per annum. And in Australia alone, where this study is set, businesses lose over $10.9 billion Australian dollars each year by failing to provide early intervention for employees experience mental experiencing mental health

01:54 - conditions, including those related to anxiety. Over 300 million people experience feelings of anxiety at any time, and the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a 25, 20 5% increase in those rates. So this research, getting back to the original part of the question about the focus of the study centers around outlining anxiety as a condition, its effect on productivity, perceived effectiveness of workplace initiatives to deal with anxiety, sorry, well,

02:30 - to deal with anxiety through psychological safety and mental health and wellbeing programs. It's looking for evidence of hypnotherapy within occupational, health and safety, which are referred to out, throughout this, study as OHS, occupational Health and Safety, OHS and human re resource Management, HRM, and their services that they offer. It also looks towards the level of receptivity of OHS and HRM towards hypnotherapy for the inclusion

03:07 - of it as a practice within workplace services. So that's really the focus of the study and the background around anxiety in organizations. The responsibility for mental health and wellbeing programs and psychological safety policy, which is where it's where anxiety is dealt with, has typically been shared between OHS and HRM. However, their effectiveness in this area has been brought into question over a number of years. And in Australia, there's an increased emphasis on this,

03:43 - from 2023, because the Australian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, new regulations dictate that employers now have increased duties to prevent mental health risk, which is enforcing the need for organizations to proactively review their policy and practice around mental health and wellbeing. So there's a regulatory change, and there's shared ownership in the past, which is proving to be questionable with regard to its effectiveness.

04:20 - Under the new act, organizations have an obligation to positively protect workers from psychological risks by designing work and organizational services to eliminate or minimize risk whilst they're monitoring the health and work and health of workers in the workplace conditions, and also consulting with workers. So it's more proactive as a stance now rather than reactive. That's actually important when dealing with anxiety as early intervention is critical to ensure the condition does not lead to more costly

04:57 - and severe conditions, such as depression, which can impact performance or productivity more severely. And because anxiety can actually emanate quite subtly, it's often dismissed, misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and under reported as a condition. And this actually impacts the early intervention, which is so critical. So in organizations, designing systems that allow for early detection and remediation is even more critical, and a lack of urgency to solve the problem can lead

05:31 - to greater organizational costs, reputational risk and performance issues. So highlighting critical evidence around the field of anxiety and exploring possible solutions such as hypnotherapy may assist OHS in providing an answer to this mental health condition, which affects, productivity and organizational, performance, and also assist with the early intervention required for individuals. unfortunately, the, the low awareness, interest

06:05 - or acceptance of hypnotherapy by OHS, and the barriers that, exist, affecting, we believe the receptivity towards it. Those barriers, for example, include a lack of information perceptions that are based on prior knowledge or a general lack of understanding and confidence in what hypnotherapy is and what it can actually provide as a treatment for anxiety. So the study was really designed to give a greater understanding of what is required

06:37 - around OHS and HRM interventions, to highlight the perceptions of anxiety and hypnotherapy and to understand why hypnotherapy is not, hypnotherapy is not included in workplace mental health and wellbeings, by looking at those barriers. I think it's important to note that OHS is an actual under-researched area in a management field. And so there's a lot of interest with policy makers,

07:09 - academics, and health professionals to improve research in the area of OHS and also to really highlight, the relationships around work, work performance, and mental health. So this study was also designed to help fill that gap. Obviously, it's a global problem, but the search, the study was, focused on Australia because of the new changes to the regulations primarily. But across the world, there's a number of practices and, ways that people

07:41 - and, practitioners deal with anxiety. The two widely accepted practices or accepted treatments are medication and psychotherapy, which includes hypnotherapy. So the non-pharma pharmacological psychotherapies are increasingly used as a first line treatment for chronic anxiety disorders. and this shift in treatment patterns has been motivated by an upsurge of interest and increased research into the efficacy

08:13 - of cognitive behavioral therapies and psychotherapies. and I think it's important to remember that when you are dealing with anxiety and it's treatment, that anxiety is an emotional condition and it's subconscious in nature. So dealing with it requires an understanding of subconscious influences and subconscious solutions, which is why psychotherapy is increasingly involved. hypnotherapy is an example of

08:43 - that involves identifying therapeutic suggestions to mobilize the mind body connection, which results in improved emotional and physical wellbeing. So the goal for organizations when we feel about, when we talk about treatment, is to reduce feelings of anxiety for individuals to create behavioral, behavioral and habit change, and increase emotional wellbeing, which in turn is optimizing their personal and professional relationships. Business efficiencies, team dynamics,

09:20 - enhances creative problem solving, and they're all factors that enable high performance for individuals and organizations. So the organizational treatment, of this is critical. the most effective intervention for anxiety, if you're dealing with it at a clinical or an organizational level, is known to center around self-awareness and self-control and really understanding neural, neural pathway reprogramming, which are all typically found in

09:50 - psychotherapy programs. The main aims of this study were to determine the level of awareness of anxiety and how it impacted work workforce, workplace productivity, and to see if there's an interest for and any barriers, towards the inclusion of hip hypnotherapy within OHS, mental health and wellbeing services. So that's the main name really,

10:14 - but the guiding questions to arrive at those aims were important, and they were, how does, anxiety affect productivity? Who is responsible for dealing with anxiety in workplaces? How do OHS and HRM managers who are responsible for workplace, safety, health and wellbeing, perceive the effects of anxiety on workplace performance? Does OHS and HRM understand

10:42 - and consider that hypnotherapy is a suitable practice to deal with anxiety in organizations? What barriers might affect inclusion of hypnotherapy into organization's psychological safety, mental health and wellbeing programs? And does increased information around clinical effectiveness of h hypnotherapy affect its perception and receptivity? So they were really the, the main aim and the questions that, that were guiding the aim. The study explores the idea of using thematic analysis

11:19 - to discover and inform the work of regulators in the regulated community, from ga data that's gathered through both quantitative and qualitative sources. It uses mixed method research and an interdisciplinary approach to leverage O-H-S-H-R-M and a high, sorry, hypnotherapist cohort, to gather that data. And then there's a process of analyzing the trends

11:47 - and outlining the findings. Primary, data was collected through instruments including a literature review, quantitative service surveys, which had an embedded factorial study, which tested information as a factor semi-structured qualitative inter interviews and, focus group. And the study was, conducted in Australia over the period of 2021 to 2023

12:14 - with members of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety, which is the peak body for occupational health and safety practitioners leading HRM, managers, and also the Australian Hypnotherapy Association, which is the accredited body for hypnotherapist. The main data source of the self-administered questionnaire included, 57 items and, but that had a background information on the area to be studied and context that introduced anxiety, psychological issues in the workplaces, as well as informal

12:57 - and formal solutions that could be considered. In the questionnaire, the participants were asked about the changes they've seen or experienced in the workplace as it related to their understanding of the concept of anxiety, its effects on employee productivity, awareness and perception of the quality of performance of organizational health and interventions, and their understanding of hypnotherapy as a solution to deal with anxiety.

13:27 - as I mentioned, there was an embedded factorial design feature in the questionnaire, which used information as a variable. So within the participating members, two groups were formed using an alpha separation. So according to the names between, surnames A to K and then surnames Alta Z, they were split as groups. each group received the same questionnaire with an exception that one group had less information about hypnotherapy,

13:58 - and the test there was to see whether group A or group B results differed based on, the, difference in information that was provided around the practice of hypnotherapy. that really formed a basis for the factorial design and, and to see if hypnotherapy generally was a concept that would be considered as appropriate by OHS and HRM to deal with anxiety in the workplace. The other secondary data that was gathered was from organizational case studies,

14:34 - reviews of existing psychological safety, mental health and wellbeing programs, the reference, the development and implementation of contemporary and practical guidelines as outlined by the new Health and Safety Act. the data from the focus group, the, interviews, the secondary data and the primary data was, really analyzed using a number of different systems, Excel, SBSS, regression analysis and Nova descriptive analysis, and then triangulation to, you know,

15:08 - arrive at this thematic analysis to see if there were any, repeated focus areas in terms of the sample size, who, participated the OHS sample encompassed, 250 active research members of the Australian Institute have health and safety, and 146 completed the full survey. The HRM sample was recruited from human resource departments within selected organizations that are also members of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety, or the Australian Institute of Human Resources.

15:48 - invitations were sent to 108 members with 51 responses. The hypnotherapy cohort that participated was captured through the membership from the Australian Hypnotherapy Association with one a hundred forty five invitations and 84 complete responses. So the data from the questionnaire and the sample groups, and the transcriptions from the qualitative interviews were synthesized. and the themes were developed.

16:19 - There were a number of themes that occurred, and I think, I think the main theme, honestly, that came out is despite the size of the issue and the growing size of the issue around anxiety, employee anxiety remained an often very misunderstood, neglected area within all organizations that were represented by the participants. and there was no doubt that without effective management, it can impact, individual productivity

16:49 - and it can cause serious implications for organization performance. So that was the main conclusion. The other themes or major findings that were coming out of this study was a lack of acceptance around anxiety as an issue. Mental health is often discussed, but anxiety is not often considered a mental health issue, and it's glossed over. so participants felt that anxiety is poorly acknowledged

17:17 - as an issue in the workplace with senior staff, less likely to understand the re relationship and anxiety has with output. and that's an important factor because this study was also focused on the impact that anxiety has around productivity and performance. it was found that anxiety is not understood as a mental health condition. but again, it was felt that it did have an impact on productivity.

17:44 - It's increased in recent years. There was a general, Finding that there was an increase in, feelings, anxieties on the increase. It does require early intervention. there was a finding that is often rated as a low priority. There were conclusions that that's partly due to stigma and the lack of disclosure around anxiety, and also the lack of misunderstanding around what anxiety is and its impact.

18:18 - There was an understanding, obviously, that it is a subconscious condition and it is increasingly treated in clinicals by therapies such as hypnotherapy, the discussion and the findings around hypnotherapy. As such, were not always forthright as a discussion for participants. And I think that relates to some of the barriers around hypnotherapy and some of the stigma attached to it

18:46 - through past practices. And hypnotherapy research outside of clinical studies really relies on anecdotal information. There's a relative lack of theory that re represents an impediment to the continued development of scientific understanding around hypno therapies. And I think, you know, other barriers that tend to reoccur was, again, poor understanding, skepticism keen interest, very keen interest, but there was a need and desire for more information and better education.

19:21 - interestingly, it was found through the analysis that age affected receptivity towards hypnotherapy with the participant group that was used. So the call it older age groups tended to be more receptive, which probably didn't match what we thought initially going into the study. It was found that shared responsibility of mental health and wellbeing programs in general improves the design, development and delivery of, the program and where communication

19:55 - and awareness in around psychological safety was high in organizations, there was a correlation to more immediate action and early intervention. So the better the communication and the louder the communication, the earlier the intervention, the recommendations, we can talk about that with the next question as well. But it really highlighted shared management, better education, enhanced information,

20:25 - increased measurement to, improve occupational health and safety, mental health and wellbeing programs, because senior managers were very dubious about the impact that in some cases, an inordinate amount of spend, had occurred. so increased measurement would give reassurance about whether the programs were working or not. and I think it just a general consciousness of the new changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act in Australia

21:01 - and what it means for organizations to be more proactive in this area. They were generally the conclusions and findings.

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