The New Duty of Care: Protecting Employees from Invisible Hazards.

We all know what employee wellbeing is, but have you heard of Psychosocial safety? Psychosocial hazards refer to dynamics that may create harm or stress for employees. Stress itself is not an injury. But if workers are stressed often, over a long time, or the level of stress is high, it will cause harm.  Psychosocial safety refers to a business’s ability to address issues before they arise. Businesses should have the ability to effectively prioritise employee wellbeing to proactively prevent psychological hazards from affecting team members. The Uare Group has found that less than 20% of companies have a strategy to improve well-being and only 2% use the well-being data to drive decisions.

Employers Duty of care is expanding. Changes in legislation have led to increased employer responsibility in ensuring employee wellbeing is protected in the workplace. Your legal requirements to protect employee wellbeing now extends to employees at work, in the field and at home. Meaning, employers must be proactive in their understanding of employees needs and how to manage challenging times for employees. Law firm Ashurst has found that 22% of businesses have been left legally exposed over the past two years due to these reasons. Additionally, nearly 29% of all surveyed respondents indicated that their organisation does not report in any way about psychosocial risk. With Safework inspector visits expected to increase by 25% according to the 2024-2026 Psychological Health and Safety Strategy, it is necessary for businesses to be compliant with all requirements regarding the updated legislation.

As per Safework Australia guidelines, “a person conducting or undertaking (PCUB) must eliminate psychosocial risks, or if that is not reasonably practicable, minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable”.

This shift towards a focus on employee wellbeing has been a focus of employment research from leading firms. These recent studies have found a need to invest in employee wellbeing, reducing aspects that lead to stress and a toxic environment. Citing recent studies performed by Oxford University (2024), it has been shown that businesses that focus on employee’s psychosocial safety observe benefits relating to all aspects of business operations. Research shows:

1. 3x better shareholder returns (University of Oxford)
2. 50% reduced turnover (University of Oxford)
3. 26% lower healthcare costs (University of Oxford)
4. 63% fewer safety issues (University of Oxford)
5. 21% greater profitability (University of Oxford)
6. 400% return on investment for certain industries (PwC)

More than 85 % of executives believe that greater workforce wellbeing can give their companies a competitive advantage (Uare).

Creating a safe psychosocial environment is a top-down mission. To foster a supportive workplace dedicated to eradicating mental health challenges, leaders must be willing to implement and lead the charge for their teams further down. Those at the top of an organisation are in the best position to support others throughout the transition and provide further support going forward.

The first step in addressing the issues plaguing businesses is knowledge and awareness of the catalysts that lead to the issues contributing to psychological stresses of employees. The role of identifying and informing of these issues falls on Human Resources. PerformHR’s psychosocial safety training allows leaders to ensure compliance to key obligations regarding psychosocial safety with practical strategies.

Our Outsourced HR solutions can help by creating a wellbeing strategy to be implemented in addition to ensuring your businesses compliance with psychosocial safety guidelines.

Partner with PerformHR to build a robust psychosocial safety strategy that protects your employees and propels your business forward. Our experts will guide you through compliance, training, and practical implementation steps.

Call us today at 1300 406 005 or email info@performhr.com.au to take the first step toward a healthier, more productive, and future-proof workplace.

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