Brigitte Dunbar

Brigitte Dunbar, 15 years in health & safety, took a year off from corporate burnout and emerged with a mission: bring holistic wellness into construction workplaces. She immersed herself in wellness practices (breath work, dance, community events) as a "guinea pig," then launched a company focused on organisational wellbeing and emotional intelligence. The conversation reveals a staggering stat: 54% of NZ employees are experiencing or near burnout. Only 2-3 NZ construction companies measure it. Brigitte also discusses toxic leadership, the difference between teams and communities, psychological safety, and Mike King's Gumboot Friday work on youth suicide.

Key Topics Discussed

• Mental Health in Construction / Burnout, 54% of NZ employees experiencing or near burnout (NZ study). Only 2-3 construction companies measure it. "If you're not measuring, you're not managing." Burnout drivers: workload, toxic work environments, poor leadership.
• Toxic leadership. Bullying, creating unnecessary pressure, not managing teams well, not being authentic, not taking ownership. "Clearly isn't working."
• Holistic wellness. Breath work for nervous system reset, dance for physical/emotional/community connection, mindfulness practices. Brigitte is dyslexic and ADHD, breath work helped where meditation couldn't.
• Community vs team. Teams are fragmented, people don't know each other personally. Communities know whole persons, not just work personalities. Psychological safety = feeling safe to be your authentic self.
• Mike King / Gumboot Friday. 24-hour phone line for suicidal youth. Research found kids don't go to parents because "parents look like they have their stuff together." Authentic parenting and healthy conflict resolution are vital.
• Cost of burnout. Person off work 1-3 months, backfill cost, rehabilitation, lost productivity. "If we lost 54% of our workforce in construction, how would we replace it?"

Notable Quotes

• Brigitte: "It took me three months to actually unwind and relax, which is just mental."
• Brigitte: "54% of employees are experiencing or close to experiencing burnout. That's more than half your workforce."
• Brigitte: "Health is wealth. If you don't have health, what do you have? Actually nothing."
• Brigitte: "We need to move from creating teams toward creating community."

Guest Background

Brigitte Dunbar spent 15 years in health & safety in construction and large corporates. Post-COVID burnout drove her to take a year off, she immersed in holistic wellness as a "guinea pig" (breath work, dance, community events), ran an 8-person volunteer team as GM, and launched a company focused on holistic wellbeing and emotional intelligence for organisations. She is dyslexic and has ADHD.