Resilience Toolkit

NZIPIM has prepared a Resilience Toolkit to help primary industry professionals protect and foster your own mental wellbeing, and which you can use to support your colleagues, clients and organisations.

Knowing how to look after your own wellbeing, and how to bounce back quickly from a tough patch, are great strategies to have in your personal toolkit. It’s also important to know how to keep yourself safe when working with stressed clients, how to recognise signs in others, and how to care for your colleagues.

Having strong relationships at work or amongst your peers, where people can share ups and downs with one another, is proven to help maintain wellbeing in the workplace. We encourage all NZIPIM members to utilize the Institute’s many regional and national events to connect together and develop support networks with other rural professionals.


Here we’ve pulled together a list of resources of where to find support for yourself or use to refer others to. There are various support organisations which primary industry professionals can refer their farmer and grower clients to, or leverage themselves, including:

    • Farmstrong New Zealand – Farmstrong is a nationwide wellbeing programme for the rural community. It promotes wellbeing and offers farmers a set of tools to change unhealthy emotions, attitudes and behaviours. Healthy thinking helps people better manage the day-to-day challenges of farming. They have great resources covering a range of wellbeing topics available on their website, run regional events, and have free on-line modules to help rural New Zealanders cope with the ups and downs of farming.

    • Rural Support Trust – Farmers and RP’s can contact their local Trust using the email form on their website or call 0800 787 254. Their services are free and confidential. There are 14 regional Trusts around New Zealand, who at times hold regional events relevant for primary industry professionals. These will be advertised through the NZIPIM Newsletter as they occur.

Services or tools which primary industry professionals can access for support for organisations, businesses or yourselves include:

      • EAP Services – EAP provide wellbeing support to create happier, healthier workplaces including counselling, financial and career guidance. A good number of agribusinesses and industry good organisations are signed up for this service, so search out details on your company intranet, via HR, or in your employment contract. Alternatively, you contact them via their website or by calling 0800 327 669.

      • GoodYarn - GoodYarn is based on the premise that the first step in addressing mental health in the workplace is being able to talk about it. It is a mental health literacy programme for workplaces, both rural and urban, that enables people to talk about mental health.

    NZIPIM will continue to offer webinars, articles, Branch events and sessions at National Conference which focus on the resilience and mental wellbeing. Recent offerings are noted here and can be accessed in the Members Only section:

      • Webinar #55 – Rural Support Trust – Wellbeing for all
      The webinar covered what the Rural Support Trust is, the support available, signs to look out for in those around you, and what you can do to support your clients and colleagues who may need support.
      • The Journal, Vol 27 No 2, June 2023 – Know your mindset: dealing with farmer stress.
      • Webinar #68 – Jack Cocks - How resilient farmers thrive in the face of adversity.
      The webinar provided some tools on how the rural professional and their clients can thrive, and explored three strategies which resilient farmers use; they live with purpose; keep connected and understand their wellbeing.
     

    Other resources which may be helpful for those interested in leading change in workplace wellbeing include:

    Organisations specialising in workplace wellbeing in NZ include:

    Organisations specialising in workplace wellbeing in NZ include: