Michael will walk into your workplace with no obvious injury. He has not lost a limb, he doesn’t need a walking stick or a wheelchair. Yet his injuries are as serious as those who do!
Michael will live the rest of his life with an acquired brain injury (ABI) as a result of a breakdown due to stress and mental fatigue.
A career of 20 years in heavy industry saw Michael rewarded with a leadership role, he not only had to ensure production, but he was responsible for other people. A normal 10 to 12 hour workday often dragged out to 14 and 16 hours, days off were spent answering phone calls from the site or ‘Catching up’ on work that just “Had” to be done.
Work/Life balance became Work/Work balance with a bit of life thrown in when it didn’t interfere with the job.
Something had to give, and it was Michael’s body. He walked out his front door not feeling quite right but knowing he had to get to work and he collapsed on his driveway and was found by his neighbor unconscious and not breathing.
Michael is now affected by; short term memory loss, impaired cognitive function, limited attention span, hypersensitivity to noise and bright light among other health and well-being impacts. In addition to these ailments, Michael was diagnosed with an ABI, Anxiety, Depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of how these ailments affected both his working and private life.
Michael and his family have experienced a difficult journey, he hopes to share his experiences, thoughts and learnings with others globally (including Employees, Leaders, Employers, Business Owners, Families) who may be working in a highly stressful workplace.
Michael’s motivation in sharing his personal story and journey is to provide HOPE to people who have had a similar experience or potentially prevent a similar event from happening to others.
Invite Michael to your workplace and you will reflect on some of the things that you do that you had not thought could lead to a build up of stress or fatigue.
Michaels story will not stop your people from working hard, it will make them aware that there needs to be a balance in everything that we do.
Michael can provide a considerable contribution to your employees and leadership teams success, mental health and wellbeing by…
Providing a real “life experience” to those at all levels of a workplace
Creating awareness on Mental Health in the workplace
Explaining how work-related stress can impact your physical and emotional health, including the impact it has on the productivity of a business
Assist businesses in preventative measures
Providing a positive way forward for both individuals and businesses
Read more about Michael’s presentation Head Above Water HERE
The lead up to him collapsing
Events following his incident
Getting back to work (too early)
Searching for answers as to why things were “Not the same”
How it changed his life and how it affected his family
Life as it is now
Things you need to look out for
