Mr Bush has been with the firm for 12 months and is confident that Wilson Asset Management’s 35 staff have adopted healthy eating habits. That said, he is on hand to assist with their online food shopping lists and to arrange (online) check-ins with the nutritionist.
The point of having a wellness manager, said Wilson Asset Management chief executive Kate Thorley, was to have someone who could take care of employees’ physical and mental wellbeing by being across their individual needs and the rhythms of the company, which dictate when staff might need special attention. At Wilson Asset Management, this could be during reporting season or at the end of the financial year, which is often a stressful time for the manager’s accountants.
Kate Thorley, CEO of Wilson Asset Management. Dominic Lorrimer
Company founder Geoff Wilson, who met Mr Bush through another high-profile Australian fund manager, David Paradice, said having a wellness manager on board was more important than ever since the global outbreak of COVID-19.
“The coronavirus pandemic has profoundly disrupted the ways in which we live and work. Companies that want to use this period to strengthen their business will focus on the health and wellbeing of their team,” Mr Wilson said.
Mr Bush said his main advice to staff was to maintain a routine with work, physical activity and family activities. It was also a good time to focus on the “smaller” things in life.
“Take more time to cook. Listen to the kids more. Utilise this time to get to know ourselves a little bit better,” he said. “I think this will teach people a lot about themselves and to be more grounded.”
Each Friday he emails staff a download for a new meditation and conducts daily online physical training sessions, as well as regular personalised wellness coaching sessions for each employee.
Mr Bush is not a trained psychologist or counsellor but he has clearly done some mentoring in the past. He also mentors Ms Macpherson’s sons. “I always will. I see them as my little brothers,” he said.