How to create a psychosocially safe workplace

Workplaces can be a source of personal and professional growth and fulfilment for HR professionals, but they can also present significant challenges.

Of the many challenges HR faces, creating and maintaining a psychosocially safe workplace has grown in importance, with most jurisdictions in Australia now enacting psychosocial risk regulations (a new Queensland Code of Practice commenced on 1 April 2023).

According to Safe Work Australia: “A psychosocial hazard is anything that could cause psychological harm (e.g. harm someone’s mental health).” For instance, job demands that are either too high or too low, a lack of support, a lack of role clarity, poor organisational change, inadequate reward and recognition, a poor workplace environment or bullying, harassment or conflict.

As previously reported in HR Leader, “psychosocial hazards in the workplace relate to anything organisational or structural in a business that impact the ability for employees to feel mentally safe and psychologically safe”. 

A psychosocially safe workplace is essential for the wellbeing and productivity of employees. It fosters a positive, safe and supportive environment, reducing stress, anxiety, depression, absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover. It also improves productivity, engagement, performance and retention.

How to create a psychosocially safe and supportive workplace environment  

To create a workplace that is psychosocially safe and supportive, we suggest you start with the following:

Train managers: Offer training to all managers to help them create a psychosocially safe workplace by promoting a culture of safety, respect and support for employees’ mental and emotional wellbeing. At a minimum, training should cover the impact of psychosocial hazards and how to recognise and respond to them, effective communication skills such as active listening, empathetic responses and constructive feedback, and conflict resolution and mediation skills.

Deliver stress management resources: Help employees become more aware of their own stress levels and triggers and how to manage them. Common stress management resources include EAPs, wellness programs, mental health days, the provision of counselling or support groups, and training and education.

Monitor workloads: Set realistic goals and expectations that are achievable within a reasonable time frame to prevent employees from feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Measure the volume and complexity of work assigned, monitor work hours and encourage breaks and time off. Promote teamwork and collaboration to share the workload.

Provide job control: Low job control refers to a lack of autonomy and decision-making power, which can contribute to feelings of stress, frustration and disengagement among employees. Give employees more job control by setting clear expectations about responsibilities and performance, then delegate tasks and involve them in goal setting and deciding how they’ll achieve the required outcomes. Further empower employees by providing training and development opportunities so they can build new skills and take on more challenging responsibilities over time.

Offer career development: Learning opportunities and career development can contribute to a psychosocially safe workplace by increasing job satisfaction and motivation, helping employees feel valued, respected and supported, and encouraging open communication. When employees are engaged in meaningful work and have opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge, they feel greater fulfilment and are more likely to be invested in their work.

Support staff through change: During times of change, provide support to reduce uncertainty, anxiety and stress among employees. Provide open and transparent communication to keep employees informed of changes and progress. Invite them to share feedback and ideas. Offer training to help them adapt and support services such as counselling and employee assistance programs (EAPs). Set a positive tone and model behaviour that supports the change.

Zero tolerance for bullying and harassment: Create an environment where all employees feel respected, supported and valued. Develop and communicate a clear policy on bullying and harassment that defines what behaviours are not acceptable and the consequences for engaging in them. Provide training to employees and managers on what constitutes bullying and harassment, how to identify it and how to respond. Then encourage reporting by providing multiple reporting channels. Always investigate all reports and, if necessary, act.

Support DE&I: Supporting DE&I creates a culture of inclusivity, understanding and respect. Most organisations have undertaken various DE&I actions, such as establishing a DE&I committee, providing training to employees and managers, fostering an inclusive culture, offering diversity programs and conducting diversity audits. Such measures help create a psychosocially safe workplace that promotes employee wellbeing and engagement.

Offer fair compensation: Fair salaries and benefits reduce stress and anxiety among employees and promote a sense of trust and loyalty. When employees feel they are paid fairly, it improves job satisfaction and adds to their psychosocial safety.

Monitor psychosocial safety: Use a variety of tools and methods to monitor the psychosocial safety of staff, such as anonymous employee surveys, focus groups, absenteeism rates, turnover rates, incident reports and health and safety assessments. Such monitoring is an ongoing process that requires regular evaluation and identification of improvement points.

Such measures help to ensure that an organisation creates a psychosocially safe workplace that promotes employee wellbeing and productivity.

By William Prest, business director at recruitment and workforce solutions specialists Hays