Managing

Psychosocial Risks

Helping workplaces to manage psychosocial hazards and risks

There has been a lot of activity in the workplace mental health space for a few years now. But things have definitely gone up a notch with the introduction of Codes of Practice for managing psychosocial hazards and risks in many states and territories.  And while it’s certainly positive that there is increasing awareness of the obligation to protect psychological health in the workplace, the increased emphasis on compliance and regulation can also feel pretty daunting. Many businesses are struggling to understand what ‘managing psychosocial risk’ actually means. And they are understandably worried that they may not be getting it right. That’s where Head Strong can help.

You might already have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and be delivering other programs like resilience, but these are just one part of the puzzle. Codes of Practice like Queensland’s Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work and Safe Work Australia’s Managing psychosocial hazards at work  require employers to manage psychosocial hazards in the workplace the same way we manage physical hazards.

Now, if you are still going ‘Yeah but what does that actually mean?

What am I supposed to do?’

You are not alone.

That’s where we come in. Head Strong Workplaces can help you to make sense of psychosocial risk management and workplace mental health.

We can help you develop policies and procedures; conduct a risk assessment; and develop a plan to implement strategies to address psychosocial hazards and risks that actually work. We can help make sure that you not only comply with work health and safety requirements, but actually make a difference to psychological health and wellbeing in your workplace. Head Strong can work with you to create your workplace mental health strategy from the ground up, and make sure it’s right for your business.  

Workplace mental health (even when it’s called Psychosocial Risk Management) shouldn’t be confusing. Or worse – stressful (the irony that the requirements for managing psychosocial risks are, well, kind of stressing people out isn’t lost on us…). And it doesn’t have to be.

Head Strong provides practical consulting services to take the worry out of workplace mental health and psychosocial risk management. And by Head Strong Workplaces we mean me – Sam Sellwood, Workplace Psychologist and founder of Head Strong Workplaces. Somebody with years of experience in both clinical and workplace wellbeing settings. Somebody who has seen psychosocial risk management in action working with both the Queensland health and safety regulator and the Queensland Police Service. Somebody who ‘gets it’ and can help you get it too.  

So click the button to start a conversation or scroll down to find out more about our consulting services and how we can help. It will be good for your mental health.

Just some of the things we can help with:

Assistance to develop your workplace mental health strategy and psychosocial risk management framework

Workplace training to help your leaders, HR and/or WHS teams to understand the fundamentals of psychosocial risk management

Psychosocial risk assessment to identify what’s impacting most on the mental health of your employees

Support to develop and implement interventions to address psychosocial hazards
(e.g. bullying, work-related violence and aggression, trauma exposure)

Implementation of a peer support program including recruitment and training of peer support officers

Development of policies and procedures for psychosocial risk management

How we work

Our approach is simple:

    1.

    Take the time to understand the unique needs and context of your business;

    2.

    Work collaboratively with you to create solutions that are both evidence-based and practical; and

    3.

    Implement programs that make a genuine difference to the psychological health and wellbeing of your staff.

    3.

    Implement programs that make a genuine difference to the psychological health and wellbeing of your staff.

    Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

    Let’s get started on your workplace mental health

    Let's Get Moving

    Our framework

    We anchor our approach within an integrated model¹ of workplace mental health that is drawn from research and best practice. The framework has four pillars that contribute to mentally healthy workplaces:

    • Promote health: with a comprehensive mental health strategy and effective leadership. Embed mental health in your policies and procedures and implement interventions focussed on reducing stigma and facilitating resilience and wellbeing.
    • Prevent harm: by identifying and managing risks to psychological health and safety in your workplace and providing supervisors and managers with the skills to create psychological safety within their teams.
    • Intervene early: by supporting staff who are exposed to psychological hazards and effectively identifying the early warning signs of stress and mental ill-health. Implement a peer support program and increase capability across your workforce to engage in supportive conversations. 
    • Support Recovery: with a return-to-work and rehabilitation approach that is appropriate for psychological injuries and mental ill-health.
    Mentally healthy workplaces model

    Through this framework we can assist organisations to consider how their current workplace mental health activities fit within an overarching strategy. Or what might be the best place to start for businesses that have only just begun.

    ¹Source: Workplace Health & Safety Queensland and LaMontagne, A. D., Martin, A., Page, K. M., Reavley, N. J., Noblet, A. J., Milner, A. J., … & Smith, P. M. (2014). Workplace mental health: developing an integrated intervention approach. BMC psychiatry, 14(1), 131.

    Evidence-based

    At Head Strong, everything we do is based on research and a sound evidence base. We draw from psychology, neuroscience and employment law to make sure the services and programs we deliver are based on solid principles and consider relevant workplace legislation.

    Practical

    While we love research and a strong evidence base, we never forget that the programs we deliver have to actually work in the real world. That’s why we work hard to understand the unique context of every organisation we partner with and tailor our programs to ensure they are fit-for-purpose and practical.

    Connected

    At Head Strong, we emphasise collaboration and take the time to genuinely connect with you to understand your organisation, your goals and your needs. We develop programs that are truly interactive, to help your staff connect, not only with us, with learning and the program content, but also with each other.

    Empowering

    We believe that safe and healthy workplaces that support mental health and wellbeing are less about compliance and more about culture. And that isn’t something you can buy off the shelf. That’s why our focus is on building organisational capability – we can’t do it all for you, but we can empower you to develop the systems, process and skills you need to do it for yourself.

    Are you ready to talk Psychosocial Risk Management?

     

    Time to get

     

    Head Strong

    LET'S TALK