‘Good work does not happen by chance’: Addressing the mental health crisis

Psychological safety deserves equal consideration to physical safety, and the need is no more urgent than right now, according to one work health and safety expert.

With 1 October marking National Safe Work Month and Mental Health Awareness month, the Australian Institute of Health and Safety (AIHS) is urging employers to give the same consideration to psychological safety that physical injuries receive, as mental health claims become the country’s fastest-growing cause of workplace injury.

According to SafeWork Australia data, 2023–24 saw a total of 146,700 serious workers’ compensation claims in the 2023–24 year, equivalent to more than 400 every day, with mental health claims accounting for 12 per cent – a 161 per cent increase over the past decade.

Not only are psychosocial hazards among the most serious risks facing workers and organisations, but workers with a mental health claim can be away from work almost five times longer than those with other serious injuries or diseases, reinforcing the need for proactive action and practical change.

HR Leader spoke with AIHS chair Celia Antonovsky to explain how employers can better prioritise and address these risks.

Acknowledging the specific and often complex nature of mental injury, she said: “Psychosocial hazards may involve workload, poor support, conflict, unclear roles or the way work is designed or managed … [and] where work has contributed to an injury, returning someone to the same environment without addressing the factors that caused or contributed to the harm can make recovery and a sustainable return to work much more difficult.”

Accordingly, recovery rarely follows a predictable pattern, but one factor that can make a positive difference is that of worker consultation.

Antonovsky said: “One of the biggest mistakes is failing to genuinely listen to workers.”

“The injured worker needs to be genuinely consulted and involved in the solution, with confidence that contributing factors have been understood and addressed before they can feel safe returning.”

This approach can help address the sheer range of psychosocial hazards and the challenges posed by vastly different experiences.

In the same way, Antonovsky explained that psychosocial risk is rarely about one factor in isolation; rather, it is more often the case that hazards often occur simultaneously and overlap, which would compound risk and complexity.

High job demands, she said, “may become more difficult to manage when combined with poor support, unclear roles or limited control over how work is performed”.

In this way, proactive protection can determine wellbeing outcomes for employees, with the response of leaders following an injury likely to influence “whether someone feels supported and confident to return to work”.

Antonovsky said: “Workers need to see action.”

“The response should feel soon and certain. They should know their concerns have been heard, what will happen next, who is responsible and when they can expect a response. Otherwise, we risk teaching people that speaking up makes no difference.”

Antonovsky urged employers to execute intentional job design that considers workload, role clarity, autonomy, support, and competing demand; and when it comes to psychosocial risk, work needs to be designed for the employee, rather than “simply expecting individuals to cope”.

Noting that these hazards sit at the intersection of Fair Work and WHS legislation, Antonovsky said they must be managed from multiple systems and functions.

She said: “They need to be managed as workplace health and safety risks, with operational leaders, HSE, HR and employee relations working together to design work well, prevent harm and respond effectively when issues arise.”

“Everyone deserves to go to work and come home safely. That means protecting people from all types of harm, not just the risks we can see.”

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