How to navigate psychosocial risks to build a safer workplace
Insights.
New regulatory changes mean Australian employers have extended obligations to safeguard employee mental health and wellbeing.
A key focus is taking reasonably practicable steps to prevent harm from psychosocial hazards, such as unreasonable work demands, poorly designed work, and lack of support systems—as reported in Sonder’s Navigating Psychosocial Risk Management Report.
To bring this guide to life, we spoke with Mark Oostergo (Chief Executive & Workplace Psychologist at Australian Psychological Services) and Katherine Morris (Health and Safety Specialist and Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright) for the first instalment of our three-part webinar series on navigating psychosocial risk management to build a safer workplace. They shared:
- An overview of SafeWork NSW's Psychological Health and Safety Strategy and its implications for organisations.
- The shift from education to compliance and the trends emerging across industries in Australia.
- The importance of comprehensive risk assessments that actively involve employee consultation.
Watch the full recording here, or catch up on the highlights below.
The regulatory state of play for workplace health and safety
With psychosocial injuries on the rise in workplaces across the country, regulators have stepped in to roll out new regulations for employers. One example is the new Safe Work NSW Psychological Health and Safety Strategy 2024-2026.
These new standards are designed to help organisations tackle the root causes of psychosocial hazards by identifying the risks that could cause harm, assessing how these risks could impact staff and implementing controls to eliminate and mitigate these risks. These standards aim to prevent psychological harm and make this a core focus for every business in NSW.
This strategy is aimed at ensuring compliance in high-risk and large businesses (200+ full-time employees), with the regulator making it clear that “regulatory action” will be taken towards organisations that have not taken appropriate action to comply with WHS legislation.
As Mark explains, “This new strategy sees a shift away from mentally healthy workplaces and a shift towards compliance. So if you think about the strategic goals within the strategy, it's very much around ensuring workplaces are aware of what their obligations are in this space, that they're equipped to meet compliance, and that workplaces will need to absolutely meet the standards for psychological health and state safety.”
For some organisations, this high-touch approach from the regulator is a new process to navigate.
“We've certainly observed that organisations that already have been dealing with Safe Work (typically companies with high physical risks) are very component in navigating the demands of the regulator. However, companies with low physical risks but high psychosocial risks aren’t as familiar with the regulator. That’s why it’s important for these organisations to understand how Safe Work operates, what its powers are, and how to respond to it.”
Katherine Morris, Health and Safety Specialist and Partner at Norton Rose
💡 Sonder Tip: A practical place to start is to jump on Safe Work NSW’s website (or your relevant state or territory regulator) to explore the latest strategies and information relevant to your business. These regulators are typically very transparent about they’re powers and how to comply with relevant legislation.
Emerging trends in psychosocial risk management
When it comes to how companies are navigating psychosocial risks, the experts we spoke with pointed to a number of significant emerging trends, including:
- Businesses are deepening their understanding of the importance of managing psychosocial risks and learning to adapt to new regulations and laws.
- HR, safety and legal teams are working more closely with each other to take collaborative approaches to psychosocial risk management, with an emphasis on proactive (rather than reactive) initiatives. As Katherine shares, “It’s been really positive to see organisations on the front foot and bringing into the open concerns about psychosocial hazards before they become significant matters.”
- Boards are seeking out more data about psychosocial risks and hazards, requesting high-quality information and meaningful data about what’s happening in organisations and how risks are being addressed.
“In the past, there was a perception that it [psychosocial risk management] was already dealt with in wellbeing programs or a company’s HR processes. But now organisations understand that wellbeing programs need to be built and designed in response to an identified risk. Plus, it needs to be clear how this risk is identified and how this wellbeing initiative will reduce it to ensure it’s part of a systemic risk management program.”
Katherine Morris, Health and Safety Specialist and Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright.
Three tips to navigate psychosocial risks in the workplace
Managing psychosocial risks is all about understanding how to identify, assess and mitigate the risks in an organisation. Our panel of experts shared their top tips and best practice strategies for successfully managing psychosocial risks in the workplace.
1. Ensure adequate resourcing
Companies need to put support structures in place to ensure companies can effectively navigate all stages of the risk management process.
Katherine explains that there needs to be at least one person in an organisation who has safety risk management training and understands how to undertake a psychosocial risk assessment. Alongside this specialist, there also needs to be a team ready to implement any changes or risk mitigation strategies, too.
Team members need to be empowered with the training and resources to understand relevant WHS legislation, the risks present in a specific organisation and how to assess not only the level of risk but its potential consequences, too.
2. Gaining ongoing leadership support
When it comes to addressing psychosocial risks, leaders need to be involved on a continual basis to ensure approaches are not just reactive and complaint-driven but proactively mitigating any relevant risks.
Leaders must be brought on the journey to understand that this process involves ongoing effort and continual improvements. It’s unlikely that an organisation’s risk management strategy will be perfect from day one. Instead, ongoing testing and changes may be needed, based on team-wide feedback and efficacy data.
3. Effectively engage employees in the risk assessment process
Identifying psychosocial hazards and risks can be done through a number of mechanisms. While staff surveys are often relied on, Mark is quick to remind leaders that this is just one tool that comes with many limitations.
For example, while surveys are great for capturing a large sample size, they’re not perfect and often don’t consider the cumulative nature of hazard exposure. When it comes to psychological hazards, it’s crucial that these risks aren’t considered in isolation. Instead, employers need to understand the interplay between risks and how repeated exposure to multiple risks can impact an employee’s health, wellbeing and safety.
“When you think about physical risk, such as slip or fall hazard like a puddle on the kitchen floor, I’d simply need to walk past and wipe it up to eliminate the hazard. But when we’re talking about psychosocial risk, we’re talking about people’s experience of work. There are a lot of hazards that are harder to observe or assess, such as high workloads or a lack of role clarity—which is why consultation with employees is key. “
Mark Oostergo, Chief Executive & Workplace Psychologist at Australian Psychological Services.
Instead, Mark recommends companies use multiple tools throughout the engagement and consultation process from reviewing existing WHS reports to leveraging data from external providers, like Sonder.
What’s most important throughout this process is strong psychological safety. Employees need to feel safe to speak up to ensure companies gain open, honest, transparent views, meaning it might be helpful to bring in external support as part of this process. Plus, companies need to ensure this feedback is acted upon to drive trust and engagement from staff.
“What tends to erode psychological safety is that sense that nothing ever happens with the feedback provided to organisations. If employees have been through the consultation period multiple times but feel like no one listens to what they say, it is going to be hard to build trust.”
Mark Oostergo, Chief Executive & Workplace Psychologist at Australian Psychological Services.
How Sonder can support your team in managing psychosocial risks
Promoting a supportive work environment is crucial to managing psychosocial hazards, mitigating psychosocial risks, and improving employee wellbeing. This can range from cultivating a culture of respect and inclusion, to implementing regular team-building activities, and upskilling leaders to recognise the early signs of burnout.
By addressing psychosocial hazards with urgency, employers can mitigate risks and create a more engaged and productive workforce. Ultimately, investing in the mental and emotional wellbeing of employees is an investment in the larger company, ensuring staff are motivated and able to bring their best selves to work.
With Sonder, personalised support is provided 24/7, so employees can access advice whenever needed. With a comprehensive app that offers a holistic suite of tools, employers can manage psychosocial hazards in the workplace and empower employees to make their health, wellbeing, and safety a priority.
About Sonder
Sonder is a technology company that helps organisations improve the wellbeing of their people so they perform at their best. Our mobile app provides immediate, 24/7 support from a team of safety, medical, and mental health professionals - plus onsite help for time-sensitive scenarios. Accredited by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS), our platform gives leaders the insights they need to act on tomorrow's wellbeing challenges today.
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