As the colder months set in, winter can bring more than just chilly mornings and shorter days – it can also quietly affect our mood, energy or motivation. Our Umbrella team has put together some practical and supportive ways to care for your mind and body throughout the winter wellbeing season.

From the shopping malls in Auckland, to the cafes in Wellington, the scene is familiar; a staff member offers a friendly “hello”, only to be met with verbal abuse over a minor delay or a stock shortage. For a long time, the New Zealand hospitality and tourism industries have operated under the quiet pressure of “the customer is always right”, leaving staff to tolerate aggression in the name of good service. If “service with a smile” requires sacrificing psychological safety, the price of interaction has become too high. It is time to stop asking how we can better serve the customer and start asking how we can better protect the server.

Psychosocial risks are becoming one of the most complex challenges facing workplaces today. Unlike traditional health and safety hazards, these risks are often “invisible”, intertwined with workload, culture, leadership, and the way work is designed. In this month’s feature article, we unpack why psychosocial risks are considered “wicked problems”, the barriers organisations commonly face in managing them, and – most importantly – what practical steps leaders can take to create safer, healthier work. If your team is navigating high demands, organisational change, or uncertainty, this is essential reading.