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Mental wellbeing at workfree online awareness course for New Zealand workers

Everyday stress at work, habits with evidence behind them, work factors that can harm wellbeing, checking in with a colleague, and whom to tell.

  • About 40 min
  • 5 short modules
  • 14 questions
  • 85% to pass
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About this course

Some weeks work feels fine. Other weeks you are short-staffed, someone has been hard on you, and you lie awake going over it. This course covers everyday stress at work, looking after yourself in ways that have evidence behind them, the work factors WorkSafe says can cause harm, how to check in kindly with a colleague who seems to be struggling, and when and whom to tell.

It is awareness training for everyday work. It is not treatment or counselling, and it does not teach suicide intervention. Nothing here asks about your own mental health. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111. For free support when it is not an emergency, call or text 1737 at any time.

You can study and sit the assessment free, with no account. The Mental Health Foundation publishes free guides on this topic, and LifeKeepers offers free suicide prevention training to people likely to support someone at risk. They are linked on this page, and you may prefer them. Pay only if you pass and want our certificate.

What you will learn

  • Describe how WorkSafe tells a healthy challenge apart from stress
  • Recognise common signs of stress and know when to get them checked by a health professional
  • Describe the Five Ways to Wellbeing and the Three Rs, with small everyday examples
  • Recognise psychosocial hazards at work, and know who has to manage them and how to raise a concern
  • Know how to check in kindly with a colleague who seems to be struggling, without diagnosing or counselling
  • Know when and whom to tell, including 111, 1737, a GP and your manager

Who this course is for

  • People working in care, support, hospitality, cleaning, early childhood and office roles who want to look after themselves and each other at work
  • Team leaders who want a plain starting point for talking about pressure and wellbeing with their team
  • Anyone who has wondered what to say to a workmate who does not seem like themselves

How the course works

  1. 1. Pressure, stress and the signs to watch forHow WorkSafe and the Mental Health Foundation describe stress, how it differs from a healthy challenge, common signs, and what to do about them.About 7 min, ending with a quick check
  2. 2. Looking after yourselfThe Five Ways to Wellbeing, the Three Rs, Te Whare Tapa Whā, and small habits that fit into a working day.About 7 min, ending with a quick check
  3. 3. Work factors that can harm wellbeingPsychosocial hazards as WorkSafe describes them, who has to do what, and how to raise a concern.About 8 min, ending with a quick check
  4. 4. Noticing and talking with a colleagueWhat you might notice, how to check in kindly, how to listen without diagnosing, and when to tell someone else.About 8 min, ending with a quick check
  5. 5. Finding helpEmergency help, free helplines, health services, and support through work.About 5 min, ending with a quick check
  6. Sit the assessment14 questions drawn at random. You need 85% to pass, and there is no time limit. If you do not pass, you will see which topics to review, then try again with a new set of questions.Free, and so are retries
  7. If you pass, the certificate is your choiceYou pay once, then get the PDF straight away and a copy by email. Your place is saved on this device the whole way, with no sign-up.NZ$24.90, optional
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Sample. Yours shows your name, the course, the date and an ID anyone can check.

What this certificate does and does not show

  • This is general awareness. It is not counselling, treatment or clinical advice, and it does not prepare you to diagnose anyone or to judge how safe someone is.
  • It does not teach suicide intervention. For training in that area, see LifeKeepers under the free alternatives.
  • It does not show that a workplace has met its duty to manage psychosocial risks. Health and safety law will change on 1 April 2027, and WorkSafe has said more guidance on the changes is coming.

Anyone can check a certificate on our verification page using its ID or QR code. More about the certificate.

Questions about this course

Is this counselling or clinical advice?

No. It is general information to help you notice stress, look after yourself and find the next step. It cannot tell you what is going on for you. If you are worried about your mental health, talk to your GP or another healthcare provider. 1737 is free to call or text at any time.

Does the course or the assessment ask about my own mental health?

No. The scenarios are invented, and the questions ask about the lessons. You do not have to tell us anything about your own mental health to study or to sit the assessment.

Does this teach me how to help someone who may be suicidal?

No. It tells you where to call. If someone is in immediate danger, call 111: a helpline does not replace 111 in an emergency. If you think someone may be thinking about suicide, the Suicide Crisis Helpline is on 0508 828 865, from 7am to midnight, and 1737 is open at any time. LifeKeepers offers free training to people likely to support someone at risk.

What if work itself is what is stressing me?

Then it may be a work risk rather than a personal problem. WorkSafe says businesses must manage psychosocial risks, so far as is reasonably practicable. You can raise it with your manager, a health and safety representative, your union or human resources. Module 3 covers how, and what WorkSafe will and will not do.

How is this different from the free guides and training?

The Mental Health Foundation's guides and LifeKeepers' training are free and are linked on this page, so they are a good choice on their own. We are independent of them. This course brings the topic together with scenarios and an assessment, and offers an optional paid certificate that anyone can check on our verification page.

My employer wants me to do wellbeing training. Should I pay for this certificate?

Ask them first. Section 27 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 says a business must not charge a worker for anything done or provided in relation to health and safety. If your employer requires workplace health and safety training, ask whether they provide or fund it before purchasing this optional certificate. Each employer decides what training it accepts, and this awareness course does not replace workplace-specific training or induction. You can study and sit the assessment free before deciding whether to buy anything.

Official sources behind this course

The lessons are original summaries of these sources. For your own situation, the source is what counts.

Show all 44 sources

Version 1.1.1, last checked 2026-11-03. Approved for publication by our editor on 2026-11-09. Not reviewed by an external professional. How we check our content.

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Free to study.
Certificate NZ$24.90 if you pass.