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More than a job (Fruit2Work)

How Fruit2Work is using Mentally Healthy Workplaces to change lives.

 

While most of Victoria is asleep

At 1.30am, while most of Victoria is asleep, the warehouse floor at Fruit2Work is already alive.

Forklifts move. Fruit is packed. Orders are prepared. But according to General Manager Simon Fenech, the real measure of success isn't the pallets leaving the building.

 "The best gauge of a healthy workplace is at 1:30 in the morning, in the middle of winter, in the dark and the rain, you've got about 25 people laughing, joking, happy, appreciative that they've got employment."

For most organisations, creating a mentally healthy workplace is about boosting wellbeing and reducing risk. At Fruit2Work, it's even more profound than that. Many of the people walking through the warehouse doors each morning have experienced incarceration, addiction, homelessness, family breakdown or long-term unemployment. For them, work is not simply a pay cheque. It can be the difference between starting again and slipping backwards.

That's why Fruit2Work's participation in the Mentally Healthy Workplaces Program, delivered by AP Psychology & Consulting Services through Return to Work Innovations, was never going to be a box-ticking exercise. It was an opportunity to ask a difficult question: How do we make a workplace that already changes lives even better?

A different kind of workplace

Fruit2Work was established to create employment opportunities for people impacted by the justice system and help break the cycle of reoffending. Founder and Chief Change Creator Rob Brown, who sadly passed away shortly after being interviewed for this story, often described the organisation's mission in simple terms.

"The project became, can we create a business that disrupts that cycle?"

For Brown, the purpose of the business was always bigger than fruit deliveries.

"The way we do it is more important than what it does. We employ people who've been impacted by the justice system in order to help them transition back into society as returning citizens."

The impact of that mission can be seen in the people who work there every day. For Simon Fenech, the journey is personal.

"I've been impacted by the justice system and really struggled when I came home from prison. Trying to get back on your feet and all these doors close. You're hungry. You're broke."

Like many people who leave custody, he found himself locked out of opportunity.

"Going back to what you used to do would've been very easy, but I wanted to get my life back. I wanted to get my kids back. I wanted to be a contributing member of society again."

Today, he helps others do exactly that.

"I've watched people walk in the same shoes that I did, and I watch them grow and go from the caterpillar to the butterfly in a really short period of time."

Understanding the real impact of injury

One of the reasons Fruit2Work's story resonates so strongly with the aims of the Mentally Healthy Workplaces Program is that many of its leaders understand personally what happens when work is taken away. For Fenech, his own life changed after a workplace injury.

"My life went into a downward spiral when I was involved in a workplace accident."

The injury did not simply affect his physical health.

"As soon as I injured myself, my employer said I didn't fit the job description anymore. Off you go."

What followed was a painful lesson in the relationship between work, identity and mental health.

"We underplay the pain of injury and what it actually does to you mentally. Not good enough at work. Not good enough as a parent. Not good enough as a provider. Not good enough as a role model when you're injured and stuck at home watching your world go on around you."

It is exactly the kind of experience the Mentally Healthy Workplaces Program seeks to prevent. According to AP Psychology & Consulting founder Arthur Papagiannis, psychologically healthy workplaces are not simply nicer places to work - they are protective factors that improve wellbeing both inside and outside the workplace.

"When work provides stability, that can carry people through challenges and help prevent issues from escalating."

Papagiannis says workplaces often focus too heavily on helping individuals cope without examining what's driving stress in the first place.

"When we focus only on wellbeing programs, we're not tackling the root cause of what's driving harm. We're helping people cope, but we're not fixing what's causing the stress."

Through the Mentally Healthy Workplaces Program, businesses identify psychosocial hazards, assess risks and implement practical controls designed to address those causes.

Looking under the hood

 Fruit2Work joined the program despite already being known for its positive culture. For some organisations, that might seem unnecessary. For Simon Fenech, it was essential.

 "I participated in the survey and was brutally honest."

 The willingness to scrutinise a workplace that was already performing well reflects a philosophy shared by the program itself. As Arthur Papagiannis puts it:

 "You don't have to be broken. You don't have to have a significant amount of psychosocial challenges in the workplace. You can already be operating well and want to continue to strengthen that."

That's exactly what Fruit2Work set out to do. The organisation worked through the psychosocial risk assessment, staff surveys and action-planning process to identify strengths as well as opportunities for further improvement.

"It's pointless doing the exercise unless you're going to make improvements. You can always do better."

The process reinforced some of the things the organisation was already doing well, while highlighting areas where additional support and communication could strengthen outcomes.

Small changes, big impact

One of the strongest lessons to emerge from Fruit2Work's participation in the Mentally Healthy Workplaces Program was that improving psychological safety doesn't always require a major investment or a complex new initiative. Sometimes, the most meaningful changes are surprisingly simple. Through the survey process, leaders discovered some workers on the overnight shift were feeling disconnected from the rest of the organisation.

The issue wasn't conflict or poor leadership. It was simply that they rarely crossed paths with day-shift colleagues and often felt isolated from the wider team and culture. Rather than launching an expensive wellbeing program, Fruit2Work looked for a practical solution.

"We had feedback from some of our night-shift workers that they weren't feeling as connected to the organisation," Fenech explains.

In response, Fenech and Rob Brown introduced regular breakfast barbecues timed to coincide with the period when night-shift and day-shift workers overlap. The idea was simple: create an opportunity for people who rarely saw each other to share a meal, have a conversation and strengthen relationships across the business.

The result was immediate.

Workers who had previously felt disconnected became more engaged with the broader organisation, while relationships strengthened across teams that had largely operated in separate worlds. For Fenech, the experience reinforced an important lesson.

"People often think you need to make big changes. Sometimes it's the small things that matter."

That philosophy aligns closely with what Papagiannis sees across the broader program. Many businesses assume psychologically healthy workplaces require expensive wellbeing initiatives or large-scale cultural transformations. In reality, some of the most effective controls involve removing simple points of friction and responding thoughtfully to employee feedback.  

As Papagiannis often tells participating businesses:

"One simple thing workplaces can do this month is identify one known hazard and bring the team together to troubleshoot it."

At Fruit2Work, the solution wasn't complicated. It was a barbecue. But for workers who felt unseen or disconnected, it represented something far more important: a sense of belonging.

A  culture without stigma

Perhaps the most striking thing about Fruit2Work is the way employees describe feeling accepted. Fenech believes that is at the heart of a mentally healthy workplace.

"I'm involved in a workplace that doesn't revolve around stigma. It doesn't revolve around who you used to be. What it revolves around is who you are today and what you want to do differently."

The organisation deliberately focuses on strengths, potential and opportunity rather than past mistakes.

"When you change the language from somebody who's left the justice system to a mother or a father, that completely changes your perception of that person."

For many employees, that shift in perspective is life changing. The workplace becomes more than a place of employment. It becomes a place where people can rebuild confidence, restore relationships and rediscover a sense of purpose. The impact is reflected in the experiences of workers across the business.  

For fruit packer Rachel Hegarty, belonging was one of the first things she noticed.

"I haven't come across a workplace like this one where people are just happy and appreciative to be working, part of a team, not judged."

Like many team members, Rachel says it is often the everyday interactions that make the biggest difference. "It's the small things that matter."

Warehouse Manager Mick Phillips has spent years watching people arrive uncertain of themselves and gradually grow in confidence. He has seen workers who once struggled to believe in their own potential develop new skills, take on responsibility and become role models for others entering the business.

For fruit packer Xavier Migliorini, the opportunity itself has been transformative. Like many of his colleagues, he speaks about the pride that comes from being trusted, contributing to a team and having the chance to build a future rather than be defined by the past.

As Fenech explains: "We've got mothers and fathers, grandparents, sisters, brothers. They're family members. They're members of our community."

That philosophy resonates strongly with workers. Rachel says many employees arrive carrying significant life experiences and challenges but are met with acceptance rather than judgement.

"People are happy and appreciative to be working, part of a team, not judged."

For Xavier, the opportunity to contribute and be part of something larger than himself has helped build confidence and optimism about the future.

And for Mick, seeing those transformations unfold is a reminder of why workplace culture matters. A job can provide income. A mentally healthy workplace can provide something much more enduring: confidence, belonging and hope. 

Dignity, purpose and hope

For many workers, the most powerful thing Fruit2Work provides is not employment itself but the dignity that comes with it. That dignity shows up in small moments: like being thanked for a day's work. Being recognised for doing a good job. Being told someone is proud of you.

"It's really important to thank people for a day's work," says Fenech.

"Telling somebody that you're proud of them. If my boss says to me, 'Hey, you know what? I'm proud of you today' ... somebody showing that they're proud of you."

 For people who have spent years being defined by mistakes, those moments matter.

"Today, they want to be recognised as - I'm doing a good job. I'm a good mum. I'm a good dad."

That sense of purpose extends beyond the workplace.  

"My biggest thing is watching parents reconnect with their children," says Fenech.

"This job gave me an opportunity to reconnect with my children."

Today, his youngest son is school captain.

"That's what this stupid place that delivers fruit and milk does. It gives you an opportunity to get your life back."

Why it matters

For Christina Smith, Director of Return to Work Innovations, Fruit2Work demonstrates exactly why mentally healthy workplaces matter.

"One of our flagship pilots has been the Mentally Healthy Workplaces program, supporting small and medium-sized businesses to identify psychosocial hazards and implement practical action plans."

For Smith, the link between workplace culture, mental wellbeing and long-term recovery is clear.

"Recovery after a workplace injury can feel isolating. When you're disconnected from your workplace and peers, that can impact your overall wellbeing and ultimately your recovery and return to work journey."

 At Fruit2Work, connection isn't an afterthought. It's built into the business model.

The result is a workplace where people feel valued, supported and part of something bigger than themselves. As Rob Brown said, his role was never really about running a fruit business.

"For the first time in my career, my job title actually describes what I do, which is to create chances for people."

The Mentally Healthy Workplaces Program has helped Fruit2Work strengthen the systems, conversations and supports that make those chances possible. And as the organisation continues to grow, the lesson for other employers is a powerful one. 

A mentally healthy workplace isn't built through policies alone. It's built through respect. Through communication. Through listening. And sometimes, through something as simple as a barbecue at the end of a night shift.

The Mentally Healthy Workplaces Program is a free service delivered by AP Psychology & Consulting, providing small and medium-sized businesses with practical tools, expert guidance and tailored strategies to help create positive, psychologically safe workplaces. Funded through the $50 million Return to Work Innovations program, the initiative supports businesses to build positive workplace cultures, prevent psychological injury, and support recovery and return to work.