Who we are
At This Working Life, we have a passion for people and their potential. Julie Loveny and Sue Crock are facilitators and educators with a background in organisational and leadership development, mental health education, and a special interest in thriving workplaces.
What we do
In recent years, there’s been a huge emphasis on identifying and managing mental health issues in the workplace. While this is a great start, at This Working Life we’re about preventing problems in the first place. Workplaces where workers are educated about and understand mental health are the most resilient. Good leadership and supportive, safe workplaces mean people can do their best work, which in turn is good for the bottom line!
We provide you with evidence-based resources to support your workplaces to be mentally healthy and your people to thrive. We have a wealth of experience developing workplace mental health programs, running workshops and cutting-edge training for employees and leaders, and facilitating up-to-date mental health research.
For some Western Australians, the restrictions governments have put in place to combat COVID-19 have been a means for relationships to be strengthened and reaffirmed, including developing new ways to work together. We have seen the renewal and importance of reaching out and being socially connected even while physically separated.
However, while physical distancing is helping to prevent people from contracting the coronavirus, it has also created other problems, including isolation, loneliness, and anxiety. The knowledge and skills to stay well are the best tools a workplace can provide its people in such insecure times.
Trust is earned in the smallest of moments. It is earned not through heroic deeds, or even highly visible actions, but through paying attention, listening, and gestures of genuine care and connection.
Brené Brown
Julie Loveny
As an experienced workshop leader, practitioner, lecturer, and researcher, Julie believes ‘in the worthiness of all people and is dedicated to walking with people on some of their most difficult journeys.’ – Brené Brown.
Julie also brings over thirty years of clinical and education experience in the fields of organisational development, mental health and social work to individuals, teams, and organisations. She is an independent consultant and also lectures on the Master of Social Work program at the University of Western Australia.
In 2015, Julie established This Working Life along with her long-standing friend, Sue, with an aim to provide independent advice, training and program development to private businesses, government and the community sector. She is a specialist in mentally healthy workplaces and employee wellbeing.
From her roots as a social worker, to becoming a highly sought-after certified facilitator of Brené Brown’s programs, Dare to Lead™ and Daring Way™, Julie has been working to transform the lives of others her entire career. Her drive to make the world a braver place and facilitate open and genuine communication and connection is what makes her a leader in her field.
She considers even the smallest act can bring about tremendous change and that everyone has a story that matters.
Julie has a penchant for good wine and deep conversations and her love of classical music makes her feel wonderful and wistful at the exact same time. Julie believes being bored goes hand-in-hand with being boring!
Sue Crock
Sue’s passion over four decades has been her work in education focusing on social and emotional wellbeing.
She has experienced the impact of mental illness on people, families and communities in her own family and in her work as a mental health nurse, social worker and educator. She has seen fear, misunderstanding and stigma about mental illness exacerbate the problems faced by people with mental health issues and recognises the critical importance of prevention and education about mental health and wellbeing.
Sue worked in community development for many years, building the capacity of communities to support the wellbeing of individuals and families. Her work has included teaching in primary schools and TAFE, teaching English as a Second Language to new migrants and refugees, and a range of social work roles in Australia and the UK, including senior project officer in the Suicide Prevention team at the Mental Health Commission. Social and emotional wellbeing has always been at the heart of this work and Sue has been inspired by the effectiveness of strong teams working together to create change.
This Working Life is a result of the close friendship and working relationship Sue shares with Julie Loveny.
Sue lives in Fremantle where she loves her local South Beach community, sharing coffees and conversations with friends, and exploring the world through the eyes of a child with her young granddaughter. Music, travel, films and learning are Sue’s other passions.