New Zealand businesses are being urged to prioritise psychosocial safety as a critical risk in all workplaces, regardless of size or industry.
At the Brightstar Psychosocial Risk Management conference in Auckland on 31 July 2024, experts emphasised that even small actions towards addressing these risks are better than none as businesses have a legal duty of care for workers’ health, including mental health.
Understanding psychological safety
What is psychosocial safety?
At the conference, experts shared various insights into the definition of psychosocial safety at work.
Grant Nicholson, a leading health and safety lawyer in New Zealand, explained that “psychosocial risk encompasses work design, environment, and relationships. It’s about how we think, feel, and behave at work.”
He described psychosocial hazards as aspects of the work environment that can cause stress responses in workers, potentially leading to psychological or physical harm. These hazards can arise from work design, leadership, social factors, or the requirement to perform tasks in hazardous environments.
Dr Georgi Toma, Director of Heart and Brain Works, pointed to research showing that the most severe psychosocial risks today include offensive behaviours, violence, cyberbullying, incivility, harassment, and threats of violence.
The complexity of psychosocial risks
One of the challenges of psychosocial risks, according to Dr John Fitzgerald, Manager of Mentally Healthy Work at WorkSafe New Zealand, is their complexity, which is highlighted by their multi-causality and multi-finality.
He emphasised that “being exposed to psychosocial risk doesn’t just lead to mental harm, it leads to physical harm as well,” noting that exposure to the same hazard can have different impacts on various individuals.
Experts also clarified that the term can be confused with psychological safety, which is about how safe people feel to be themselves and to share at work.
Dr Dougal Sutherland, CEO of Umbrella Wellbeing, introduced a term created by Umbrella called “mental safety,” which combines psychological safety – where workers feel able to raise concerns – and psychosocial safety, a commitment to preventing mental harm at work. He emphasised that both aspects are important.
The concept of mental safety aligned with a case study shared by Liam Scopes, Senior Manager of Strategic Wellbeing at Air New Zealand. The airline focuses on “mentally healthy work that reduces harm and optimises performance.”
Practical guidance for managing risks
To manage psychosocial risks, Dr Fitzgerald suggested that businesses use ISO 45003, the first global standard providing practical guidance on managing psychological health and safety in the workplace.
“ISO 45003 is a how-to guide for creating mentally healthy and safe workspaces based on a preventative, not reactive, approach,” he said.
This standard covers organisational factors such as job security and remote work, social factors like leadership and recognition, and environmental factors including workplace conditions and equipment.
The law in New Zealand
Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Experts at the conference explained that under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, businesses and organisations have the primary duty of care for the health and safety of workers and others influenced by their work.
While workers must take reasonable care of themselves, employers are responsible for eliminating, mitigating, or managing risks, and this includes psychosocial risks.
Dr Fitzgerald noted that mental health is explicitly mentioned twice in the legislation, both in the glossary.
“Health includes mental health, so every time you read ‘health’ think of it as mental health as well,” he said.
Debate on enforcement
Some speakers acknowledged that there’s been ongoing debate about whether WorkSafe should strengthen its approach to enforcing psychosocial safety, with disappointment in sectors that New Zealand has not yet followed Australia’s lead.
However, Teeghan Modderman, Chief Mental Health Officer at Queensland Rail, pointed out at the conference that while Victoria in Australia lacks the specific legislation found in New South Wales, its success with existing laws and strong enforcement could offer valuable lessons for New Zealand.
Despite differences in approach, one message from the conference was clear: Businesses have a crucial responsibility to protect their workers, and psychosocial safety should be a critical risk for all workplaces.
Current challenges and developments
Identifying high-risk areas
Recent Worksafe research has identified work pace, emotional demands, and demands for hiding emotions as the highest risk areas in New Zealand workplaces.
Interestingly, it’s not the volume of work that poses the greatest risk, but rather the pace and emotional complexity of tasks. The highest psychosocial risks tend to occur when people interact with other people, while the highest physical risks arise when people interact with things.
Dr Fitzgerald said the intricate nature of psychosocial hazards means that businesses need to consider both multiple contributing factors and the range of possible outcomes when addressing workplace health and safety.
Addressing suicide
One of the most challenging and high-risk areas in workplace safety is addressing suicide. WorkSafe is still developing its approach to managing this issue, as it remains an evolving area globally.
For instance, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently begun collecting data on workplace suicides, a topic previously excluded from their reporting requirements.
In France, there is a legal requirement to declare suicides that occur at work, with the onus on businesses to demonstrate that the suicide is not work-related.
In New Zealand, the issue is significant as well, with WorkSafe’s research indicating that approximately 12% of annual suicides are work-related – equating to around 60 people each year. Estimates suggest that about 1% of suicides are directly caused by work-related factors.
So what is the path forward?
Proactive steps for businesses
Despite ongoing debate about whether WorkSafe should introduce specific codes of practice on psychosocial safety, businesses are encouraged to take proactive steps in line with the law.
According to WHO/ILO guidance, shared by Dr Fitzgerald, a recommended course of action is to prevent, promote and protect, and support.
Not only is it good business practice, but implementing a strong psychological safety climate and fostering leadership that prioritises mental health can go a long way in creating healthier workplaces, he said. “Having a healthy workforce is one of the drivers of a successful organisation.”
Queensland Rail’s case study, presented at the conference by Modderman, illustrates the value of understanding and managing psychosocial risks.
The railway operator developed various tools to help leaders and employees manage these demands and used data dashboards to track progress.
The focus on hard data and comprehensive assessments helped identify and address pain points, ultimately setting a strong foundation for a healthier workplace.
Lessons learned
Across day one of the conference, key lessons from successful psychosocial safety initiatives included engaging leaders individually to understand their pain points, using hard data to drive action, and ensuring mechanisms are in place before promoting reporting.
Experts Dr Louise Cowpertwait and Associate Professor Dr Margaret Sandham of MindMatters Clinic emphasised the need to capture reliable and valid data to make good decisions, while Jay Barrett, Principal Workplace Psychologist at Glia pointed to key factors that influence workload. Barrett said businesses need to consider intensity, duration, and frequency.
Founder of Revolutionaries of Wellbeing, Sarah McGuinness, challenged participants to consider the impact of burnout culture as a function of ill-managed psychosocial risks, saying, “Burnout culture cannot be our new norm.”
Some effective strategies for addressing psychosocial risks, shared at the conference, included conducting thorough risk assessments to identify potential hazards and engaging leaders through one-on-one discussions to understand their perspectives and challenges.
A panel at the end of the day with Modderman, Michelle Cooper of Safety Solutions, Jill Heaslip of Hato Hone St John, and Terry Buckingham of ASB emphasised the importance of developing evidence-based approaches and using data to track progress, alongside building leader and staff capability to recognise and manage psychosocial risks.
Additionally, implementing mechanisms for reporting and addressing psychosocial safety concerns was stressed as a crucial step in creating safer work environments.
The message is clear
It’s clear that psychosocial safety is an evolving area of focus for New Zealand workplaces. As awareness grows and regulatory approaches develop, businesses are encouraged to take proactive steps to create mentally healthy work environments, recognising that a healthy workforce is a key driver of organisational success.
As Nicholson asked, “How many would you have psychosocial risks in your risk register?”
What are your thoughts?
