LVML MAKES WELLBEING A PRIORITY WITH NEW ONLINE HUB

“Coming out of the chaos of lockdown during Covid, our industry has been thrust into what can only be described as a boom period, with demand for landscaping services at an all-time high,” explained LVML CEO, Megan Flower.

“But while demand has grown, so too have the threats to business, with supply shortages, difficulties in retaining staff, and financial pressures from rising interest rates, all placing added pressure on small business owners. Awareness of the struggle within our industry has grown, and the conversations about wellbeing, self-care, and the importance of speaking-up have come to the forefront.”

According to Ms Flower, the Association felt that there was an opportunity to provide enhanced support to its members as they weathered these challenges - to not only help them survive the wave of change, but to make sure that they are able to thrive and flourish in the long term.

Thanks to a grant from the Business Victoria Mental Wellbeing of Business Communities Grants Program, LVML was able to develop the online hub, which contains evidence-based resources from The Wellbeing Lab by Michelle McQuaid. The LVML Wellbeing Hub is guided by the PERMAH theory, which suggests that wellbeing is cultivated by the presence in our lives of positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment, and good health.

Ms Flower said the initiative is a first step in ensuring that members have access to the right resources to look after themselves and check in on the wellbeing of their team.

“We’re immensely grateful for the support we received from the Business Victoria Grants Program in allowing us to make these resources available, for free, to our members,” she said.

“Through this online hub, LVML hopes to not only enhance the individual wellbeing of its members, but to also drive a culture of support and awareness within the industry of the role that wellbeing plays in our everyday lives, and the value of prioritising wellbeing in the workplace.”

The Wellbeing Hub forms part of a broader range of initiatives by LVML to support member mental health. LVML is an Alliance Partner of mental health charity, This Is A Conversation Starter (TIACS), a free counselling service for tradies and their families. TIACS' services are funded through the sale of bright, bold work shirts designed by Trademutt to start conversations about mental health. To encourage members to support their staff, LVML has designed a custom shirt, which is available for members to purchase.

"The work being undertaken by TIACS to support the mental health of our community is very important, and we are proud to be Alliance Partners of this terrific initiative,” said Ms Flower. 

"We see the introduction of our own loud shirt design to start conversations about mental wellbeing as an obvious and natural progression in our advocacy for improving general wellbeing in the workplace."

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