By

Gaby Grammeno

Contributor

The Psychological Health and Safety Strategy 2024 – 2026 has been released because, despite progress made in recent years, the rate and severity of psychological injuries at work continues to rise. The Strategy notes that in 2022, more than one in four workers experienced a mental health condition.

The Minister with responsibility for Work Health and Safety, The Hon. Sophie Cotsis MP, said that psychological health and safety is a fundamental right for all workers.

‘Time off work with a psychological injury is over three times that of a physical injury,’ she said.

‘Psychological injuries not only impact on a worker’s capacity to work but also negatively affect their lives outside of work and their families and communities. That is why it is in everyone’s interest that we continue prioritising this work.’

What is psychological health and safety?

The strategy says psychological health and safety is about preventing psychological harm at work and promoting good mental health. It includes a systematic approach to managing risks to the health and safety of workers and others.

Psychological harm includes psychological injuries and illnesses caused either by a single exposure or event (such as a violent assault) or through multiple or long-term exposure. The consequences include burnout and conditions such as anxiety and depression.

Such reactions can occur in response to psychosocial hazards including bullying, harassment, exposure to traumatic events, work isolation and poor support.

Hazards of this type can arise from, or relate to, the design or management of work, a work environment, a plant at a workplace, or workplace interactions or behaviours.

A psychologically safe – or mentally healthy – workplace is one that continually promotes good mental health, where management takes effective action to manage psychosocial risks through safe work practices and a positive work culture while supporting early help-seeking and recovery.

Businesses need to be aware of their legal obligations to provide psychologically healthy and safe workplaces. A person conducting a business or undertaking has a positive duty to eliminate psychosocial risks, or if they can't be eliminated, minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable.

Crucially, employers need to recognise the benefits of ensuring that their workplaces live up to the standards set out in this strategy.

The three-year plan

The approach outlined in the plan focuses on:

  • promoting awareness to workers about their right to a psychologically healthy and safe workplace
  • building capability amongst businesses and leaders, and
  • enforcing compliance, where workplaces remain in breach of the legislation.

To understand the types of psychosocial risks that might be present in their organisations, employers need to be aware of issues such as job or role overload (high workloads or job demands), exposure to traumatic events, bullying, harassment (including sexual harassment), lack of role clarity and hazardous physical working environments. Conflict or poor workplace relationships between workers and their supervisors and managers and co-workers can have a very high profile in triggering or exacerbating psychological harm.

Identifying, assessing and controlling such risks must be done in consultation with workers. It is the workers who will be most conscious of problems that could amount to psychosocial hazards.

Employers’ focus should be on promoting positive approaches to mental health to prevent problems before they develop into serious issues, rather than just reacting to incidents and complaints. That said, responding in a useful way to incidents and complaints, and supporting recovery, are also vital components of a mentally healthy workplace.

SafeWork’s targets over the next three years of putting the plan into action are to:

  • revisit 80% of workplaces after six months to help sustain their compliance improvements
  • increase planned inspector compliance visits by 25% per year from 2023 to 2026
  • see 125,000 workplaces taking effective action to become mentally healthy
  • deliver workplace mental health training to 21,000 individuals and coach 960 businesses
  • complete a Psychosocial WHS Check for all inspector visits to organisations with 200 or more workers.

SafeWork NSW may prosecute workplaces that repeatedly fail to comply or where they have seriously breached WHS laws.

What it means for employers

The strategy has been developed through a collaborative effort, bringing together workers, businesses, unions, and government agencies. Taking positive action to achieve its aims can help a business establish and maintain a mentally healthy workplace with improved productivity and lower staff turnover. It should also mean less management time is spent recruiting and training new staff, or dealing with complaints of bullying, harassment and other psychosocial risks.

Read the strategy

Psychological Health and Safety Strategy 2024–2026