Mental health advocate and rugby great Sir John Kirwan talks to TW Group staff at Centennial Hall, Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland
Mental health advocate and rugby great Sir John Kirwan talks to TW Group staff at Centennial Hall, Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland
Sir John Kirwan brought tears, hugs, dancing and laughter to a room full of Hawke’s Bay tradies while telling his story of mental health and wellbeing struggles.
The former All Blacks winger is a popular public speaker, and strives to normalise these topics and encourage people to reach out and look out for one another.
One of Hawke’s Bay’s largest trades hubs, the TW Group has access to many professions under one roof, from property development, building and planning through to finishing touches.
This year the TW Group has been working on a full health and wellbeing initiative ingrained into its business strategy, alongside a Te Whare Tapa Whā model.
Te Whare Tapa Whā is a holistic Māori model emphasising the four dimensions; taha wairua (spiritual health), taha hinengaro (mental health), taha tinana (physical health), and taha whānua (family health).
Sir John Kirwan, mental health advocate, talks to TW Group tradespeople at Centennial Hall, Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland
As part of opening discussion of mental wellbeing in the work place, TW Group organised New Zealand rugby icon and mental health advocate Kirwan to speak to more than 360 people, both live and live streamed across the country through 14 business divisions and their partners.
TW Group marketing and communication manager Rebecca Chatham said bringing Kirwan in to talk on mental health and wellbeing was an important introduction to the Te Whare Tapa Whā model for staff.
“He was a great bloke, he was real, mesmerising, inspiring and just raw.”
TW Group’s foundations are based around rugby and teamwork, so Kirwan was well received and appreciated by everyone who attended.
When sharing his story of mental health struggles and how he overcame those issues, Chatham said it brought “life’s ups and downs to the forefront of everyone in the room”.
“Tears were shed and hugs were given, we danced and we laughed – it was a great event and we are proud to of been able to give this back to our team.
“Feedback from TW Group’s staff has been positive and has opened avenues of conversation around normalising the topic of mental health and wellbeing.
“From here our support will grow stronger with internal mental health and wellbeing offerings to all employees at TW Group, from discounted gym memberships to free counselling sessions and health care.
“We take the mental health and wellbeing of our team seriously.”
A big takeaway from the event for the TW Group team was remembering that everyone gets busy.
However, having time for themselves, being vulnerable and reaching out remains important for a long and happy life.
TW Group has launched a women’s leadership group tasked to look at how the company can best support and develop careers for women in the male-dominated industry.
“Within this we will look to bring more speakers into our business to create broader outcomes and opportunities,” Chatham said.
Maddisyn Jeffares became the editor of the Hawke’s Bay community papers Hastings Leader and Napier Courier in 2023 after writing at the Hastings Leader for almost a year. She has been a reporter with NZME for almost three years and has a strong focus on what’s going on in communities, good and bad, big and small. Email news tips to her at: maddisyn.jeffares@nzme.co.nz.
