Psychosocial safety is in the spotlight as governments and regulators increasingly focus on how organisations treat their employees, a new report shows.
The paper by Safe Work Australia found that mental health conditions accounted for 9% of all serious workers’ compensation claims, a 36.9% increase since 2017-18.
The most common mechanisms attributed to claims for mental health conditions were work-related harassment and/or workplace bullying (27.5%), work pressure (25.2%) and exposure to workplace or occupational violence (16.4%).
Associate Professor Carlo Caponecchia, Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UNSW Science said in a recent episode of ‘The Business Of’ that new work health and safety regulations addressing psychosocial risks have been introduced in all Australian states except Victoria
“It's important to say that these are not new requirements. They've just been emphasised or elevated,” Associate Professor Caponecchia said. “The fact that psychological health and safety weren't being protected has meant that it's been elevated in the regulation.”
What these changes really mean, explains Associate Professor Caponecchia, is that organisations have a duty to control the things within their control.
“This includes the things in your system of work, the way the work is organised, supervised, managed, where it's done and how it's done.”
Takeaways for schools
Springfox co-founder and CEO, Peta Sigley says the first and most important step school leaders can take to foster a psychologically safe workplace is making a conscious decision to lead with openness, compassion, and trust.
“Psychologically unsafe environments develop when these things are absent—when leaders fail to communicate openly, when there’s a lack of empathy and understanding towards the difficulties staff may be experiencing, and when trust is replaced with hypervigilance and fear of failure,” Sigley told The Educator.
“Instead, leaders need to focus on cultivating a culture that values effort, care, and resilience over results alone, where both successes and failures are recognised and embraced.”
Sigley said this means creating an environment where teachers feel empowered to express themselves, collaborate with colleagues, and experiment with new ideas and approaches without fear of reprisal if things don’t work out.
“Importantly, it also means creating an environment in which staff have the support to manage extreme workloads effectively and speak up when assistance is required, as this is critical to preventing burnout,” she said.
“Establishing trust between leadership and staff is paramount, as it lays the foundation to endeavour to thrive professionally and personally. By prioritising psychological safety, school leaders not only enhance the well-being of their staff but also create an environment conducive to student growth, curiosity, and authentic expression.”
Practical steps for addressing psychological safety
Associate Professor Caponecchia said businesses need to take a proactive stance, pointing out that addressing psychosocial hazards requires a shift in workplace design, management practices, and employee interaction.
However, hiring more workers to fix a high workload issue is not actually very practical, he says.
“What we try to do is think about all the small elements of jobs that have the potential for some change that's beneficial,” he said.
“Perhaps we can look at the timing of particular tasks... cross-skilling of our teams... how we might offer opportunities for professional development... [to] make that job less harmful.”
On a broader scale, Associate Professor Caponecchia said that psychosocial safety “is not about managing mental ill health. It's about managing the things in your business that could create those outcomes in future.”
“This shift in approach ensures that businesses focus on preventing harm before it happens, creating a healthier work environment for everyone.”