Looking for a reputable, proven, effective and playful process to build wellbeing for you (the ME Level), your team (the WE Level) or your organisation (the US Level)?

Would you be wowed if there is one that you can access for free?

Well there is one – it is called the PERMAH Survey.

The Wellbeing Lab & AHRI Partnership 

Over the past few years, the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) has partnered with The Wellbeing Lab to run a National Workplace Wellbeing Survey on a number of occasions since 2018.  They have used the PERMAH Survey with over 1,000 workers on each occasion to generate some remarkable findings and insights such as:

• Many Australian workers are reporting a significant increase in their levels of resilience which is positively impacting workplace outcomes.
• Many Australian workers are struggling to sustain their levels of wellbeing motivation and psychological safety to amplify their wellbeing.
• Many Australian workers are experiencing a significant decline in their levels of Positive Emotions, Meaning and Health. They appear tired.
• Mental health remains a struggle for many Australian workers, but dealing with people has become the biggest challenge workers are facing.
• Australian workers have less trust in their bosses when it comes to talking to them about caring for their wellbeing at work.
• The consistent provision of mental health and wellbeing workplace support – beyond just EAP – is improving wellbeing and performance outcomes.
• Australian workers who are working from home are happy with their current working arrangements and it is not harming their wellbeing.

Source: “The State of Wellbeing in Australian Workplaces: The Wellbeing Lab 2019-2021 Report” The Wellbeing Lab/AHRI.

What this clearly shows us is that mental health and wellbeing is front and centre as a priority for organisations to address and that the PERMAH Survey is a great tool to help make that happen.

What is the PERMAH Survey?

The PERMAH Survey was developed by a team of positive psychology researchers and professionals right here in Australia. It is based on the groundbreaking work of Professor Martin Seligman who is widely regarded as the father of positive psychology. In his bestselling book “Flourish”, Professor Seligman identified 5 elements of wellbeing, which are: 

• Positive emotions: the experience of positivity found in gratitude and joy and other positive emotions that build resilience
• Engagement: the opportunity to use our strengths to do things that we are good at and enjoy doing
• Relationships: enjoying connections to people that are authentic, supportive and energising
• Meaning: a sense of belonging to something that is bigger and has purpose
• Accomplishment: a belief in one’s ability to make a positive difference and then doing that

Other researchers subsequently added “Health” which is about good wellbeing practice with exercise, nutrition and sleep. So there you have PERMAH.

How does PERMAH work?

Take the survey at https://permahsurvey.com. It is free and it won’t take you long (10 to 15 minutes).

You will then be able to download your personal PERMAH wellbeing report and access lots of tips and resources including a Wellbeing Plan which you can personalise based on the pillars of wellbeing that you want to work on.

Take the survey every 6 months or so to update where you are at and to adjust your plan accordingly.

Organisation Options

The PERMAH Survey can be deployed as an organisation wide wellbeing assessment and improvement tool. It can be done for while organisation or for divisions or locations or teams or however else you want to arrange it.

If you are interested in exploring organisational options or you want some guidance on how to interpret your results and what to do with those and your Wellbeing Plan, our Practice Leader, Peter Maguire can help. Peter is accredited to conduct PERMAH debriefs. Just email us at info@poswork.com.au or call Peter on 0438 533 311.