Mental Health in Workplace Safety

Q. WHAT does it mean to be "safe on the job"? A: It's more than physical health ... Staying safe at work used to be mostly about watching out for falling objects, steering clear of slippery floors and wearing the right protective gear. Workplace safety was about ensuring that employees did not plummet from platforms, inhale irritants or get caught in the clutches of machinery. But the world of work has changed – and so has our understanding of what it means to be safe on the job. The modern menace is not just collapsing scaffolds, faulty wiring or flammable materials. It is the stress, strain and psychological scars that come from toxic teams, demanding workloads and workplaces which treat people like productivity machines. Workplace laws today recognise what many employees have known for far too long: psychosocial hazards do not clock in or out but work overtime to erode engagement, enthusiasm and even physical health. From harassment to high workloads and bullying to burnout, the list of psychosocial pitfalls is as long as it is insidious. Gone are the days when a “toughen up” mentality was acceptable. Laws now dictate that psychological health matters just as much as physical safety. Psychosocial hazards in the workplace come in many forms, often creeping in quietly before cascading into chaos. These hazards might include excessive workloads, prolonged or unpredictable working hours, poor job control, workplace bullying and harassment, lack of role clarity and inadequate support from management or colleagues. They might also include employees being weighed down by job insecurity, interpersonal conflict, isolation, unfair treatment or the ever-present pressure of unrealistic expectations. If ignored, these hazards do more than just simmer – they boil over to trigger burnout, anxiety, depression, disengagement and – often – an exodus of exhausted employees. The damage is not just personal but organisational, rippling through retention rates, productivity and workplace morale. Psychosocial hazards rarely operate in isolation. A heavy workload is made worse when combined with job insecurity while poor communication amplifies the stress of an already toxic environment. Unclear expectations heighten anxiety when paired with a lack of managerial support. And a mix of these hazards can create a perfect storm of psychological strain. Businesses must take a forward-thinking approach to prevention, not just damage control when things go wrong. Encouraging a workplace that safeguards psychological wellbeing requires more than token efforts or tick-box compliance. It demands an active, intentional approach to building a culture where employees feel valued, supported and secure. The days of dismissing distress as “just part of the job” are over. #safety #mentalhealth #wellbeing #management #hr #leadership #aimwa Cartoon used under licence: CartoonStock

Understanding Work-Related Suicide: Comprehensive Insights A detailed report by WorkSafe New Zealand has delved into the critical role of work factors in suicides, analysing 1,678 coronial findings from 2017 to 2021. Key revelations include: • 12% of suicides were work-related. • 86% involved work-related stressors. • 22% utilised means related to work. • 10% occurred in the workplace. Detailed Insights: • Work Stressors: Major contributors include job insecurity, high demands, workplace conflicts, and long working hours. These stressors are often interlinked with personal stressors such as financial difficulties and relationship issues. • Psychosocial Factors: The report highlights the significant impact of work design, social factors, and the work environment on mental health. Key factors include job control, workload, and workplace relationships. • Industries at Risk: Higher incidences were noted in sectors like agriculture, forestry, fishing, and among professionals such as healthcare workers and law enforcement officers • Demographic Factors: Males, particularly those of New Zealand European ethnicity, represent the majority of work-related suicides. The mean age of those who died was 45.4 years old, with a notable presence of cases among the unemployed. • Variability in Impact: The significance of work-related factors varies, influenced by individual interpretations, coping mechanisms, and external support systems. Recommendations: • Psychosocial Risk Management: It is paramount that organisations take steps in identifying hazards and risks to psychological health and safety and put in place controls to eliminate or reduce those risks • Data Sharing: Enhancing the dissemination of findings to support broader efforts in suicide prevention and policy development. • Further Research: Encouraging more research into work-related suicide to develop targeted prevention strategies and support mechanisms. This report underscores the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to address work-related psychosocial stressors and enhance mental health support in the workplace. You can find the full report below. #MentalHealth #WorkplaceSafety #Research #WorkSafeNZ #WorkplaceHealthandSafety #PsychosocialHazards #PsychosocialRisk

Most people think psychological health and safety is about how people feel at work. It’s not. It’s about how work is designed, managed, and experienced - and whether that creates a risk of harm. At its core, psychological health and safety is simply the application of WHS principles to mental health. Just like physical safety, it follows a familiar process: - Identify hazards - Assess risk - Implement controls - Monitor and review The difference is the types of hazards you’re dealing with. Rather than the physical environment, the hazards are related to the design, management and social aspects of work. Psychosocial hazards include things like: - Excessive workload - Poor role clarity - Low support from leaders - Bullying or harassment - Poorly managed change All of these hazards are foreseeable, measurable, and preventable risks to health. Psychological health and safety flips the focus from historically one of response, to upstream prevention. Instead of asking: “How do we make people more resilient?” It asks: “What is it about the work that is creating the risk?” Because you can’t meditate your way out of: - Unreasonable deadlines - Conflicting priorities - Poor leadership behaviour - A role that was never set up to succeed Psychological health and safety is a legal obligation. Under WHS laws, employers are required to eliminate or minimise psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable - just like any other safety risk. If you’re just getting started, focus on the basics: - Build literacy so people understand what psychosocial hazards actually are - Consult workers about their experience of work - Fix the work, not just the worker - Build monitoring and continuous improvement into governance Get those right, and you’re no longer running a wellbeing program. You’re building a safe system of work. #psychosocialsafety #psychosocialriskmanagement #psychhealthandsafety #workplacementalhealth #iso45003

A surprising intervention that should not have been a surprise If you're like me, when regulators post about priorities and strategies, you yawn and scroll on (with apologies to all the wonderful regulators out there). Then something like this happens - SafeWork NSW issues a prohibition notice against the University of Technology Sydney’s redundancy process, stating it exposed workers to a "serious and imminent risk of psychological harm". We are a bit surprised. Perhaps if we'd paid a bit more attention we wouldn't be. (see the attached link) As reported in today's Australian Financial Review: “It’s an extraordinary intervention for the safety watchdog to make… lawyers told us it’s the first time they’ve seen one in the white-collar workforce.” This development should serve as a wake-up call for all organisational leaders; there never has been an artificial separation between operational decisions and safety decisions; but now the regulators are realising that as well. They told us their priorities and action is following communication. We were warned...time and again. Psychosocial risks are now clearly established as part of legally enforceable workplace health and safety obligations. They are not a soft issue, nor are they optional to address. SafeWork NSW's actions are in line with: a. The Model WHS Laws, which include psychological health in the legal definition of health under section 4 b. The Code of Practice on Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work (2022), which identifies poor change management, job insecurity, and lack of consultation as psychosocial risks c. Safe Work Australia's guidance that states: “Psychosocial hazards are just as harmful as physical ones and just as preventable” What makes this case significant is not that harm occurred, but that SafeWork NSW has made it clear that regulatory enforcement will be applied to failures in managing psychological risk in white-collar and professional settings. As restructures continue across the university sector and other knowledge-based industries, this sends a clear message: 1. Genuine consultation is not optional 2. Psychosocial hazards must be managed so far as is reasonably practicable 3. Legal compliance includes mental health, not just financial performance 4. Organisational change must be designed and governed with the same diligence as any other safety-critical process. #WorkplaceHealth #PsychosocialHazards #OrganisationalChange #SafeWorkNSW #WHSCompliance #Governance #HigherEducation #Leadership #WorkplaceSafety https://lnkd.in/g232cKRq

With sooo many years of construction safety practice & leadership, I’ve learned this truth: safety is not complete without continuous safety culture improvement AND a steadfast focus on mental health and wellness. Hard hats, harnesses and solid pre planning efforts protect us from the majority risks. But it’s the invisible ones — unstable work-life balance, stress, stigma, depression, caregiving strain, risk acceptance, career uncertainty — just to name a few, that too often take lives. That’s why my role in Construction EHS management extends beyond compliance and checklists. My mission is influence—changing culture so that conversations about mental health are as normal as conversations about PPE. My commitments are clear: 1️⃣ Stigma Reduction & Suicide Prevention (24/7/365): Our industry loses more workers to suicide than to jobsite incidents. That silence must end. A simple, human “Are you OK?” can save a life. 2️⃣ Mental Health Awareness in Construction: From chronic pain and substance use, to stress, fatigue, and isolation—mental health is part of safety. We must recognize it, talk about it, and build systems that protect it. 3️⃣ Supporting Caregivers & Cancer Journeys: I’ve seen the crushing weight when workers balance caregiving—whether for cancer treatment, addiction, or disability—on top of the demands of the job. We need to stop people from falling from “concern” into “crisis” by meeting them with compassion and support. 4️⃣ Personal Stories of Adversity: My advocacy isn’t abstract. I carry the loss of loved ones to suicide. I’ve faced adversity that shaped who I am. And I’ve seen peers suffer in silence because stigma convinced them to “tough it out.” That is why I speak openly—because real strength is found in transparency and care. 👉 Construction is tough work. But toughness also means courage—the courage to notice, to ask, to share, and to support. I’m committed to: 💙 Breaking stigma around suicide—every day, not just in September. 💙 Making mental health a normal part of jobsite safety. 💙 Supporting caregivers so concerns don’t turn into crises. 💙 Sharing my own adversities so others know they’re not alone. I’ll keep using my platform to push this conversation forward. Because #MentalHealthIsSafety. Because #StigmaStopsHere. Because we all deserve to go home safe—not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. #CareForLife #30DaysForLife #HardHatsForHope #StrongerThanStigma #ConstructionCares #StopTheStigma #StigmaSucks

🧠 Unseen, Unspoken, Unsafe: Psychosocial Hazards at Work Not all hazards wear hard hats. Some come dressed as unrealistic deadlines. Unclear roles. Lack of support. Micromanagement. Or silence in the face of stress. These are psychosocial hazards and while they don’t show up in physical injury reports, they leave scars on mental health, morale, and retention. 📉 According to the World Health Organization, poor organizational practices, toxic leadership, and high job demands are directly linked to burnout, anxiety, and depression. And yet, many workplaces still treat these risks as invisible. We wouldn’t ignore a slippery floor or a fire hazard. Why ignore chronic stress? ✅ Psychologically safe workplaces don’t happen by accident. They happen when leadership chooses to: – Acknowledge the invisible hazards – Prioritize mental health – Train leaders to lead with empathy – Create systems where people feel seen, heard, and supported We can’t claim to care about people if we ignore the environments breaking them down. Let’s be bold enough to build cultures that care beyond compliance. #Psychosocialrisk #MentalHealthAtWork #LeadershipMatters #WorkplaceWellbeing #psychologicalsafety

Mental Health at Work Is a Leadership System Issue, Not an HR Program Mental health outcomes are shaped less by programs and more by leadership decisions. How leaders lead determines how healthy work becomes. From an I/O psychology lens, workplace mental health is not about perks, personalities, or resilience slogans. It is about how work is designed, how decisions are made, and how leaders regulate pressure inside the system. Mental health strain shows up long before a formal diagnosis: ✔ Declining focus or decision quality ✔ Emotional reactivity or withdrawal ✔ Chronic fatigue masked as “commitment” ✔ Rising conflict or disengagement ✔ Quiet turnover before actual exits These are not individual failures. They are signals of system stress. Here’s the hard truth leaders often miss: Leaders don’t just set direction. They set the emotional temperature of the workplace. Under pressure, teams take cues less from what leaders say and more from how leaders decide, respond, and recover. And yes, leaders need support too. Leader burnout doesn’t stay contained. It cascades. Where the LEAP Model Changes the Conversation: LEAD ✔ Regulate before you escalate ✔ Name reality without creating alarm ✔ Model grounded decision-making under pressure EMPOWER ✔ Create psychological safety without lowering standards ✔ Give people clarity, not emotional guesswork ✔ Normalize capacity conversations before crisis hits ALIGN ✔ Match workload to actual priorities ✔ Ensure authority and accountability are aligned ✔ Design roles that reduce chronic ambiguity PERSEVERE ✔ Build recovery rhythms into how work operates ✔ Support leaders with coaching, peer forums, and margin ✔ Make sustainability a leadership metric, not a personal virtue Mental health improves when decisions protect people, performance, and long-term impact at the same time. That’s not soft leadership. That’s disciplined, human-centered leadership! ➡ Repost if you agree: Mental health at work starts with leadership decisions, not wellness initiatives. ➡ Follow Maureen Metcalf, MSIOP, Founder of the LEAP Model, for decision-grade leadership insights. ➡ Work with me at mcm-consultant.com Where purpose leads and strategy follows.

The Critical and Ethical Responsibility of Health and Safety Managers in Addressing Workplace Abuse Anchored in Global Standards: In many organizations, the role of Health and Safety Managers (HSEs) has long been limited to physical hazards: fire safety, PPE compliance, slips and falls. But this outdated scope no longer reflects the real threats employees face in the modern workplace, particularly in Ghana, where emotional and verbal abuse by leadership is frequently ignored, normalized, or hidden under the guise of “tough management.” Words can wound. And when those words come from CEOs and Managers they inflict occupational harm no less damaging than physical injury. These are not just HR issues; they are workplace safety failures. The Global Framework: ISO 45003 and ILO Guidelines According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), “safe and healthy working environments are a fundamental principle and right at work.” This includes freedom from mental harm, bullying, and harassment. Further, ISO 45003:2021, the first global standard on Psychological Health and Safety at Work, provides clear, evidence-based guidance on how to manage psychosocial risks. It defines these risks as hazards that can impact mental health, such as: • Bullying, verbal abuse, and humiliation • Harmful leadership behaviors • Lack of organizational support or protection • Emotional manipulation and fear-based management ISO 45003 explicitly requires organizations to identify, assess, and mitigate these risks, placing clear accountability on leadership and HSE professionals to act. What This Means for Health and Safety Managers A competent HSE Manager is no longer just an inspector of fire exits and helmets. They are a frontline protector of psychological safety and emotional dignity. They must: ✅ Recognize verbal abuse and intimidation as psychosocial hazards under ISO 45003 ✅ Include psychological safety in all workplace risk assessments and audits ✅ Work with HR to establish non-retaliatory complaint procedures ✅ Ensure leadership is trained in psychosocial risk management and respectful communication ✅ Monitor mental health trends, absenteeism, stress levels, and morale as safety indicators Remaining silent in the face of emotional harm is not neutrality, it is complicity. The Ethical Mandate Ignoring psychosocial risks in a workplace is a violation of international safety standards and professional ethics. The HSE function is no longer limited to “keeping people alive” , it is about ensuring people can work without fear, abuse, or mental harm. In the words of ISO 45003: "A psychologically healthy and safe workplace is one where hazards to mental health are identified, assessed, and effectively managed, just like any physical risk." It’s time we expect more. From leadership. From organizations. And from our Health and Safety professionals. Because true safety is not just about steel-toed boots, it's about protecting the minds and dignity of those who wear them.

Mental health is just as important as overall health, yet we treat it so differently. Why? I've had employees facing this challenge, and I admit that I didn't have the tools or knowledge to help them in the past. I sent them to the EAP or sat with them as they called into these resources. I thought I was helping them but it wasn't enough. It really hit home this weekend as a dear friend was facing a mental health crisis and how she was treated. She was basically treated as a criminal and it's bothered me to the core. This may or may not have been work related, but it caused me to pause and think about how we need to support our employees along the way and focus on being much more proactive on mental health--just as we are on overall health. We're not doing enough to support our employees to proactively support their mental health and wellbeing and we don't have the right tools when they need critical support. I turn to the experts, and my good friends, Melissa Doman, M.A. and Allessandria Polizzi, SPHR, PhD (Dr. Al) as their work is so very needed in today's workforce and their work should be everywhere. One of the (very many) things I've learned from Dr. Al is to treat a mental health injury in the workplace the same as we would for a work injury. Putting the same protocols in place can give the employee much needed support at the beginning. Dr. Al has a workbook to help you put together a plan to build a psychologically safe workplace. Mel talks about normalizing language around mental health in her book, Yes, You Can Talk About Mental Health at Work, Here's Why...and How to Do It Really Well (and a new book is getting ready to hit the shelves taking the conversation to the next level). Employees will say, they're fine or put on a smile, but creating a culture of psychological safety is key to helping employees before the issue becomes clinical. Allowing employees to say, "I'm not 100% today," and supporting them through that is a great example of showing a psychological safe work environment. I wish I had these tools and these woman in my personal board of directors back when I was facing some of these challenges, but I'm honored to have them in my tool belt and to call them friends today. The tools that Mel and Al talk about are critical but they're also grounded and easy to implement. It starts with sharing your stories, talking and opening doors, normalizing the language around it and giving people space to "stop, drop and roll" before it leads to burnout or worse. I urge my friends in HR to think about their Wellbeing strategy and your psychological safety strategy and ask yourself, are you doing enough to meet your employees' needs proactively? What is your plan when there is a workplace injury? Ask your employees, ask your leaders and ask yourself. Don't wait! The world is heavy right now and what a great place it would be if work was the place where we felt safe and well. #HumanResources #Mentalhealthatwork

We often talk about mental health as something happening outside of work, with the workplace cast only as a responder. But our new Seramount national study confirms what many leaders already sense: The workplace itself can help or harm employee well-being. Too often, it does both. Here’s what we found: • Half of workers rate their well-being as average or below. • One in three report moderate to high burnout. • 41% don’t feel comfortable discussing mental health with anyone at work. It’s not enough to simply acknowledge the crisis. We have to look at how our own systems may be contributing to it, and then act. Three areas stand out: → Benefits are no longer a perk; they’re a promise. Post-Covid, access to mental-health support has become an expectation. EAP usage is up, sessions per employee are up, and mental-health leave requests have jumped 74% in 2024. Your benefits may determine whether someone joins or stays. → Where people work still matters, but not in the way we think. Fully remote and fully on-site employees report higher rates of anxiety and loneliness than hybrid workers. Yet we found no difference in loneliness between people working two versus five days in the office. The benefit plateaus after a few meaningful days of connection. → The outside world comes to work with us. Rising unrest and polarization are taking a toll. Employees are looking for workplaces that feel safe, respectful, and connected, one of the few spaces where trust still holds up. The truth is, employees are carrying the weight of a hurting world. As leaders, our job is to make sure the workplace lightens that load, not adds to it. At Seramount, we’re helping organizations see mental health not as an HR initiative, but as a measure of organizational health itself.