This column appeared in the Summer 2022 edition of Workplace Issues magazine.
Over the last few years, we have seen an increase in the figures for mental health injuries caused by ‘psychosocial hazards’: excessive workloads, micromanagement, workplace bullying, traumatic events, occupational violence and aggression, physical and sexual assault.
In Tasmania, mental health injuries have increased 86% over the last ten years. There were 857 mental health injuries reported in 2021–22. Just over one injury in every 10 is mental health related, whereas ten years ago, mental health injuries accounted for only one in every 20 injuries.
I recognise that these increases may be due to an increase in reporting. If this is the case, it is encouraging that people are now more empowered and supported to speak up and make a claim, whereas previously people may have been ashamed, told to put up with it, or suffered in silence. Our communities now are more open to talking about — and doing something about — mental health in the workplace.
So it’s difficult to say if there is an increase in the actual occurrence within our workplaces. But the increasing number and their increasing proportion of total injuries, for whatever reason, is concerning.
On average, work-related mental health injuries have longer recovery times, higher costs, and require more time away from work than any other injury. They cause disruptions because of staff turnover, absenteeism, fractured workplace relations between workers, poor staff morale, and even bad business reputations. These things are not good for your business.
But I don’t want you to forget that this is not just about business and dollars: it’s about people.
The impact of someone directly experiencing burnout or micromanagement or even witnessing workplace bullying, violence and assault can be significant. Someone might become anxious, depressed, withdrawn, fearful, or develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or have an increased risk of suicide. They might not be able to sleep, they may turn to alcohol or drugs to cope, or they might develop headaches, muscle tension, and digestive problems.
There has always been a requirement in our work health and safety laws to manage hazards in the workplace; I would say it’s the cornerstone of ensuring people are safe from the risk of injury and illness from their work, and of ensuring people go home at the end of each working day safe and well.
Over the last few years we — WHS regulators around the country, employers, workers, employer associations and unions — have recognised that managing hazards extends to managing the psychosocial hazards.
For example, in the last ten years, WorkSafe and the WorkCover Tasmania Board have produced guidance material and awareness campaigns focusing on workplace bullying and mental health; we’ve hosted events and webinars on these topics at WorkSafe Month.
Now, in a big step forward, psychosocial hazards have been specifically named up in our WHS laws. The Work Health and Safety Regulations 2022 are being amended to include a specific regulation, which explicitly sets out the legal requirements workplaces have to prevent psychosocial hazards from occurring and managing them when they do. This change came into force on 30 November 2022.
Coming early next year will be a new code of practice for managing psychosocial hazards at work. This code delivers the practical ‘how do you do it’ guidance, so employers, managers and workers can work together to achieve a safer workplace in this area. The code recognises the broad range of psychosocial hazards in the workplace. It’s not all just about bullying and harassment. In fact, work pressure is actually the cause of the majority of mental health injuries in Tasmania.
Managing psychosocial hazards very much comes back to people. You need to have assessed the risk of psychosocial harm in your workplace and put systems in place: policies that clearly state your expectations for acceptable behaviour, training and supervision to support mentally safe workplaces, and reporting systems that allow anyone experiencing or witnessing harmful behaviours and actions to safely report it.
But systems need to be backed up by leadership and commitment — your leadership and commitment.
If you’re an employer or senior manager, workers need to see you lead by example —to practice what you preach. How do you speak and interact with your workers and other managers? How do you positively influence the daily interactions, relationships, behaviours and ways of thinking — the culture — of your team to create a safe and inclusive workplace for everyone?
It’s about building on the positive aspects of your workplace, but being open to hearing what needs to change. Use the free psychosocial risk assessment tool People at Work to understand the hazards in your workplace.
Help your staff learn about psychosocial hazards using the free competency-based Head4Work training and assessment program.
Talk about why it’s important to put the spotlight on psychosocial hazards at your toolbox meetings, in staff emails, at training sessions and in inductions.
Consult and collaborate with your managers and workers to identify ways to reduce the risks, whether they be unrealistic job demands, lack of job control, lack of recognition, or bullying, harassment and workplace violence.
Encourage your workers to report if they’re being targeted, and make sure you act on those reports to make a change, and support your workers.
Truly empower and support your workers to speak up about workplace stressors that make them feel unsafe or uncomfortable.
Apart from paying the bills, work is good for our health and wellbeing. It provides purpose and contributes to our sense of identity, helps us grow and develop new life skills, and provides important social relationships and friendships. Let’s work together to make sure our workplaces nurture everyone to feel safe and well, every day.