Team Challenges 

A key component of the chnnl Level-Up framework is respect for our environment, First Nations peoples, and indigenous heritage and culture. Mana Whenua is a Te Reo word for Mana, meaning “power, authority, ownership, status, influence, dignity, respect” and Whenua, “land”.

Stacey Morrison in her podcast, 'Conversations that Count - Ngā Kōrero Whai Take', first used the term Mana Whenua in workplace wellbeing. She used it to describe the special connection that indigenous peoples have with their land and culture as a key impact on mental health and overall wellbeing.

Subsequently, chnnl research with Prof Jarrod Haar and other experts have confirmed the key role that our history and connection to the environment, land, sea, nature, and the origins of our culture have on wellbeing. Research shows how that impacts both positively and negatively on wellbeing, for not just of those workers who are indigenous themselves, but of all people working in the context of that location.

Therefore, it is an important aspect of psychological safety for teams to acknowledge the benefits of exploring and developing an understanding of the culture, the people, the communities, the history, and context of the land in which they work and live.