# data[].attributes.body
Ensure that there are sufficient resources and funding allocated.

Ensure that the there are robust policies in place.

Change the culture and mindset to remove any stigma related to psychosocial trauma and accessing support

Lead from the top and actively promote.

Conduct regular meetings with Health, welfare and safety reps for audit and compliance, records and corrective actions

Provide training to all staff.

Make support anonymous and reduce the red-tape around accessing support

Extend support to family members

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Provide education and awareness on phycological hazards and engage with my team members to identify those that pose a risk to our group. Engage with senior management and HR to identify how to best address those hazards of significant risk.

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I will have clearly defined policies and procedures in place that address and manage psychosocial hazards in the workplace. There will be clearly defined governance structure with full accountability and transparency in terms of decisions and provision of support.

I will strengthen and expand the functions and responsibilities of the Diversity and Inclusion committee to ensure that programs and initiatives to enhance, encourage, promote and support belongingness and inclusivity fully complement programs that promote wellbeing and psychological safety.

The policies and procedures that will be developed will need to be best practice, ensuring that all relevant parties feel supported and heard of at all times.

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Psychological safety is just as important as physical safety. As a public sector leader, I need to actively identify and manage risks like stress, bullying, and workload pressure. This means reviewing our current practices and ensuring we have clear reporting pathways.

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I'll be checking in with my team and even asking them how much they understand about psychosocial risks and if there is anything as a team we can change.

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To manage psychosocial hazards in my workplace, I need to prioritise understanding and complying with legal obligations while ensuring workloads and job demands are realistic. I maintain open communication through regular one-on-one meetings, treat team members as individuals, and provide support tailored to their needs. By fostering a psychologically safe environment, addressing issues promptly, and promoting wellbeing resources, I aim to reduce stress, resolve conflicts effectively, and create a supportive, sustainable workplace.

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Drive values.

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1:1 meetings with staff which focus on wellbeing as much as work/tasks.

Be observant of others and my environment to be alive to the possibility of psychosocial hazards in my workplace.

Model the behaviour and values that is expected, and that creates an environment that is safe and respectful.

Foster a culture of open communication, and be approachable and empathetic.

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Ensure expectations are made clear. Model the behaviour and values expected, seek out feedback from staff on my behavior and that of team mates, anonymously if required, seek the support of HR in managing issues that arise and foster a culture where people can speak up BUT ensure issues are properly investigated ideally independently.

mange people's workloads through regular check-ins with all staff and seek regular feedback

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Being aware of the need to take an active role in seeking out psychosocial hazards - not just waiting for an approach or grievance.

Reviewing Teamgage to look for hotspots.

Have 1:1 skip meetings with staff who I don't directly line manage.

Foster a culture where it is ok to speak up.

Listen.

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understand my role in managing psychosocial risks.

1:1 meetings with staff, in additional to informal check ins if I notice something different going on - R U Ok?

Self-reflection: how have I shown up? what can I improve on next week

model the behaviours I want my leaders to demonstrate

recognise when i am not feeling "safe" or need a mental health days well as supporting others to care for themselves

remind staff re access to EAP

Access EAP Manager Assist myself and discuss that with my colleagues!

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Regular 1:1s with my team where I always ask about their wellbeing. I take concerns seriously and work actively to address them. Questions that I encourage my team to readily ask of me and other co-workers is: What would you like me to do more of? What would you like me to do less of? How can I/we support you?

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Checking in with staff, open communication. When an issue is identified, follow through on commitments to investigate or address that issue. Close the loop with staff so that they can see actions have been taken.

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Understanding the legislation and what it means in real life terms is paramount, and sharing that information with the workforce in an easy to understand format. Education and communication is key. Workers need to know and understand that a psychological hazard mst be treated the same as a physical hazard is; this includes proactive hazard risk assessment and controls

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The first aspect for me is to understand the legal obligations for myself as a leader, and that of the organisation I work in.

Secondly to model open communication, my own wellbeing of psychological safety, and early intervention when there are incidences or issues in the workplace.

Dealing recently with a psychosocial issue/hazard with an employee (and this then extended more broadly the wider team) highlighted to me that I am not trained in counselling nor equipped to deal with complex psychological issues. In this instance and in the future I will ensure that the right supports and advice are provided to adequately manage the situation.

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Open communications, formal and informal processes to support employees to report concerns, building a team on shared values and understanding the individual personalities that make our team unique and thriving.

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As leaders it is our role to ensure that we have measures in place to be able to identify, assess and control psychological hazards in the workplace and that these measures are reviewed regularly for effectiveness. It is important to understand your workforce and the demands that they have on them each day. This can be done through both open meetings and anonymous surveys. It’s important to ensure there are ways to capture diverse perspectives across the work group.

Growing an environment that facilitates honest feedback is this first step.

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Taking seriously the concerns raised by employees; ensuring 1:1's also include asking about wellbeing; encouraging Team gage input, and equally demonstrating actions based on feedback; regular catch ups with HR to talk through issues; open and transparent communication; making adaptations to the work place to support people

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As someone who has experienced first hand a series of psychosocial hazards, including:

·        lack of role clarity when asked to perform higher duties without appropriate renumeration.

·        poor organisational justice – procedural unfairness and similarity bias in hiring process.

·        traumatic events/material exposure to

violent and aggressive emails from an external stakeholder.

·        poor workplace relationships and interactions with direct line manage no longer responding to emails.

I have raised these concerns with HR and other senior staff who have also sighted unfair treatment but are unwilling to speak up due to the fearful toxic environment that has been created.

I continue to address and raise psychosocial risks in consultation with People and Culture and external investigators by utilising negotiation and my influence for the wellbeing and safety of others. I have provided due diligence by reporting up in relation to bullying and harassment to seek support of conducting investigations in demonstration of South Australian Executive Service Values by acting with integrity and modelling ethical practice by engaging in risk and showing personal courage to advocate for the mental wellbeing of staff to ensure a safe working environment where staff are heard, valued and respected.

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Treat each individual like a person, not just a number or an employee. Create a culture and environment that encourages colleagues to share parts about themselves not related to work, so that people can be kind and understand if they are going through something or if an old wound get re-opened. Ensure people feel safe and will not be judged.

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Our workplace is currently working through a psychosocial wellbeing review with findings being shared in the coming weeks. What I have learnt about this process is being able to identify what the key red flags are in the environment in which we work are and what controls we as managers can put in place to minimise the risks.

Things I believe I have done that are within my sphere of influence:

Getting to know myself and my values so that I can support others

Knowing my limitations and when my team might need external support

Understanding what the system approaches are to staff wellbeing support and adhering to them (PRDs, investments in training and clarity of roles)

Taking the time to understand my team and what motivates them so that I can tailor feedback to them or assign work that I know will help them feel purpose and value

Provide feedback to the broader workplace decision makers when I believe a system is not meeting the need of the people (roster configurations, new workflows that increase administrative burden)

What I would do to improve:

The Safework SA readings provided me with some insights that are obvious when you think about it but hadn't occurred to me. This was about the workplace getting more visible in outlining the hazards and risks that occur naturally within the workplace environment due to the type of work we undertake.

For me this is around the type of work (high stress), shift workers, workers being located over a broad area and not reporting to the same building as their manager/team etc so we have normalised a work environment that is not really that normal. I would call this out and show this against literature/evidence and then showcase the efforts the organisation is taking to mitigate the risks. I would have this as a proactive education and framework to ensure all staff are aware of the risks and ensure that they are not blind spots for people to feel vulnerable about if they are struggling.

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Workplaces need to provide (and continuously reflect on) the psychological safety of their environment. For one group or person what might feel safe could be very different for another.

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Psychosocial hazards can exist within workplaces based on culture and how people are treated or are perceived to be treated. This means we must always as leaders be fair procedurally, be conscious of any bias, because this may lead to a psychosocial injury claim for a worker who is injured due to bullying, procedural unfairness, discrimination etc. Stress and psychological injury can be occurring without leadership even being aware, so trying to ensure we don't have environments that will expose people to undue stress will lessen the likelihood of these claims.

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manage job demands in team with lots of short deadlines by carefully balancing work across team members. Regularly checking in regarding capacity and moving work around team, where possible, to avoid unreasonable pressure.

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All staff, in particular managers and senior leaders, making a significant effort to better address the risks caused by psychosocial hazards at work, recognising that our staff's psychological health is just as important as their physical health.

This must take into consideration: the design or management of work

the working environment

plant at a workplace, or

workplace interactions or behaviours

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regular pulse checks on wellbeing and action plan to address

regular 1:1 with staff not just about work but them. notice changes in behaviour, leave, appearance

address issues that arise, not just acknowledge

open clear communication - not just what you need to do but why

dont assume role clarity, regularly sense check this

clear meaningful goals

clear the way to enable staff to achieve. i.e. recognise when something has to give to allow new project \focus

recognise loudly and consistently

genuine, timely and specific feedback

regular risk assessment, dont set and forget

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Importance of ensuring open, transparent and psychologically safe two way communication. Ensuring regular time is set aside, ie supervision, for check ins with staff, and addressing issues as they arise

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1:1s; ask how staff are; use observation to see if they are not seeming 100%; encourage them to seek further advice if it is beyond my capability; raise issues up with HR or my senior colleagues if required. I participate in Teamgage regularly; and encourage my staff to do so also. As with Census. Treat everyone with respect and try to find the line between listening to concerns and not engaging in scuttlebutt.

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Identify and assess psychosocial hazards: regular risk assessments, employee wellbeing surveys, anonymous feedback forms, 1:1 check-ins and incident reports.

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Note Safework Australia:

Under WHS laws, PCBUs must eliminate or minimise psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable. To have legal effect in a jurisdiction, the model Code of Practice must be approved as a code of practice in that jurisdiction.

Note SafeworkSA:

This Model Code of Practice is not legally enforceable in SA but provides useful guidance for PCBUs on how to manage psychosocial health and safety risks in workplaces.