Zenergy Melbourne Leaders Forum 'Psychosocial Safety: Getting it right'

With a wealth of knowledge shared by three leading experts—Amanda Clements, COO of  Safety on Tap;  David Burroughs, Chief Mental Health Officer at  Westpac and Founder of  Australian Psychological Services; and  Dr. Rod Gutierrez, author of  The Net Effect and Deputy Chief Medical Officer at  Rio Tinto—the audience was captivated by two hours of practical, actionable insights on managing psychosocial risks in the workplace.

Held in Melbourne, the session came at a critical time as Victoria prepares to implement legislative changes around psychosocial hazards. It was a timely and valuable conversation to help ensure organisations are ready for increased regulatory activity from WorkSafe Victoria.

Some of the key takeaways from the session included:

Not all hazards are created equally

Some psychosocial hazards are more likely to cause harm than others. For example, harmful behaviours such as bullying, harassment, discrimination, and incivility have a higher potential to cause psychological injury compared to job design hazards like high workload. However, job design issues can still contribute to risks such as high turnover rates and employee disengagement.

Consider bucketing your hazards

It can be overwhelming to implement controls for a long list of hazards. Grouping similar hazards into buckets can help manage control libraries more effectively—especially when one control can address multiple hazards. For instance, a “Harmful Behaviours” bucket might include bullying, harassment, and discrimination, while a “Job Design” bucket could include work volume, job control, and role clarity.

Leaders are the first line of defence

Leaders significantly influence a worker’s experience and are well-positioned to identify psychosocial hazards early and implement local-level controls. It’s essential to assess and build leadership capability and embed these practices into operational planning and day-to-day activities. More than just managers, leaders can serve as a protective factor for employee mental health and help mitigate exposure to hazards that cannot be designed out of the work.

Psychosocial risk infrastructure is critical

As regulatory action increases, it’s essential that organisations have robust psychosocial infrastructure to assess risks, monitor controls, and respond to hazards in a trauma-informed way. Where possible, integrating psychosocial risk management into existing safety management systems is ideal.

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