Em Hogan
Em Hogan is the Secretary of the Department of Customer Service (DCS) leading over 10,000 people.
She joined the NSW Government in 2017 after a long career in the private sector, working with iconic Australian brands across hospitality, retail, aviation, media and entertainment including Foxtel, Qantas and Woolworths.
Her career spans executive leadership roles in customer experience, digital change and transformation, people and culture (human resources) and strategic communications.
DCS’s vision is to be the world’s most customer-centric government with core functions as a service provider, regulator and central agency of government.
“As leader for the Department of Customer Service I am honoured to accept the role as a Mentally Healthy Workplaces Ambassador. We still have a long way to go to in the NSW public sector to create mentally healthy workplaces and I am delighted to be part of the journey.
“I see this role as an opportunity to raise awareness of workplace mental health, influence and drive change and encourage my peers to do the same where public sector workplaces are free of stigma, embrace inclusiveness and diversity and where all staff feel safe to come to work.”
Mental health in the NSW Government sector
Mentally Healthy Workplaces - Emma Hogan case study
Listen to Em on The Caring CEO podcast as she shares her experiences leading a high performing team on the journey to a mentally healthy workplace.
Related information
Em's tips for good mental health
- Having strong self-awareness when things are off track and a strategy to fix it.
- Regular exercise.
- Drinking enough water each day for brain clarity.
- Getting enough sleep.
- Making sure to have meaningful connections outside of work.
- Finding joy in other things, like spending time with family or friends.
- Working flexibly, and ensuring you carve out time to get through your work outside of meetings.
DCS's mental health initiatives
- DCS has chosen a culture that puts customers at the centre and staff at the heart of all decisions.
- Creating regular two-way opportunities for employees to share their voices such as a cluster-wide monthly Town Hall and regular employee surveys.
- Providing accessible information and support by collaborating with experts such as Black Dog, and the DCS Employee Assistance Provider so staff can access a range of easily accessible resources.
- Implementing and supporting flexible working arrangements using a ‘If Not, Why Not?’ principle.
- Actively promoting the DCS Employee Assistance Program (EAP) as not just a service to use when things are not going well, but an integrated service that DCS actively promotes and normalises the use of.
- Recognising and celebrating day to day and through the annual Secretary’s Awards, DCS actively encourages the sharing of learnings and wins.
- DCS staff have access to a range of online and face-to-face mental health training topics such as managing stress, building resilience, mindfulness, dealing with grief or loss, empathy at work and more.
Join our mailing list
Be the first to hear new announcements, free training, recently published resources and more.