Mental health at work: a practical guide for employers

Mental health at work means managing the hazards in your workplace that can harm workers' mental health, such as unmanageable workloads, bullying, isolation and exposure to violence. Under the WHS laws, those hazards are treated like any other risk: you identify them, assess them, control them and review the controls. The model Code of Practice on psychosocial hazards, published in 2022, sets out how to do this.

Mental health at work isn't a wellness perk. It's a safety duty, and it sits alongside your physical hazard management. This guide explains what counts as a psychosocial hazard, what the law asks of you, and the steps and strategies that make a real difference.

What are psychosocial hazards?

A psychosocial hazard is anything in the design or management of work, the work environment, or the way people interact at work that can cause psychological or physical harm. Common examples include:

• Workloads that are too high, or deadlines that never let up
• Unclear roles, or responsibility without the authority to act
• Bullying, harassment and discrimination
• Isolation, including remote or lone work
• Low job security or constant change without consultation
• Exposure to traumatic events, such as serious injuries or deaths
• Threats, violence and aggression from clients, the public or co-workers

These hazards often combine. A heavy workload alone may be manageable. The same workload with no breaks, poor support and a manager who ignores concerns can lead to burnout.

What the law requires

The primary duty of care under section 19 of the WHS Act applies to psychological health as well as physical health. A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that workers aren't exposed to health and safety risks, including psychosocial ones.

The model Code of Practice on managing psychosocial hazards at work gives practical guidance on meeting that duty. It follows the same risk management process you use for other hazards. Victoria has its own OHS framework, so check the rules that apply in your state or territory with your regulator.

How to manage psychosocial risks

Treat psychosocial risks the way you'd treat a manual handling or electrical risk: work through a documented process.

1. Identify the hazards

Look for signs in the workplace and the data you already have. Ask:

• Where do people report being overloaded, unsupported or unsafe?
• What do exit interviews, absence records and incident reports say?
• Which roles involve dealing with aggressive people or distressing material?
• Which teams are isolated, working alone or working long hours?

Talk to workers too. They often know about a problem long before it shows up in a report.

2. Assess the risks

For each hazard, work out who is affected, how often they're exposed and for how long, and how severe the effect could be. Be specific.

For example, take a team with high workloads. Ask: which people are affected? How many hours above normal are they working? How often does this happen, and does it follow peak periods? Those answers tell you how urgent the fix is.

3. Control the risks

Eliminate the hazard if you reasonably can. If you can't, reduce it as far as is reasonably practicable. Controls might include:

• Resetting workloads and deadlines, or adding staff during peak periods
• Clear role descriptions and a documented path for raising problems
• Enforced rest breaks and limits on overtime
• A bullying and harassment policy that's acted on, not just filed
• Check-in calls for remote or lone workers, with clear emergency steps
• Training for managers on how to respond to a worker who discloses a problem

4. Monitor and review

Check whether each control works. Use regular surveys, one-to-one check-ins and your incident and hazard reports. If a control isn't working, change it. Under regulation 38 of the WHS Regulations, a control that doesn't work triggers a review, and so do changes at the workplace and new hazards.

Practical strategies that work

Some strategies are practical and inexpensive:

• Flexible working. Give people some control over when and where they work, where the job allows it.
• Manager training. Teach supervisors to spot warning signs, have a supportive conversation and know where to refer someone.
• Mental health first aid. Trained staff can help a colleague in distress and point them to support.
• Employee assistance program. Make sure workers know how to access confidential support, and how to use it.
• Clear policies. A written policy shows what's expected and what support is available.
• Regular check-ins. Short one-to-one conversations between workers and managers catch problems early.
• Anonymous feedback. A short survey lets people say what isn't working without fear of being identified.

Common barriers, and how to deal with them

Most employers run into the same problems:

• Stigma. People won't speak up if they expect to be judged. Leaders can break this by talking openly about mental health and sharing their own experience where appropriate.
• Not knowing what to look for. Symptoms often show as changed behaviour, missed deadlines or withdrawal. Train managers to notice and ask.
• Fear of liability. Managing a known hazard openly is what the law expects. Leaving it unaddressed is the bigger risk.
• Limited resources. Start with the controls that cost least and address the highest risks, such as workload and bullying.

Checklist for the year

Where documents fit

Good documents make this work repeatable. A psychosocial hazards management plan sets out how you'll identify, assess and control these risks. A psychosocial hazards policy tells workers what to expect and how to raise a concern. For more on the hazards themselves, see our guide to psychosocial hazards and work-related stress, and for workload-driven risks, our guide to fatigue management.

How SafetyDocs helps

SafetyDocs gives you the plans, policies and forms that document how you manage psychosocial risk, written by safety experts. Job and site details fill themselves in. Workers can raise an issue with a photo, and each job keeps a dated activity log of what was raised and who read and signed what. When a document changes, everyone who signed the old version is asked to sign the new one.

This helps you show what you did and when. It doesn't make you compliant on its own.

Common questions

Are psychosocial hazards covered by the WHS laws? Yes. Psychological health is part of health under the WHS Act, so psychosocial hazards must be managed like other workplace hazards. The model Code of Practice on psychosocial hazards gives practical guidance.

Do I have to survey my staff? The laws don't prescribe a particular method. Surveys are one good way to find out what's happening, along with consultation, check-ins and incident data.

What if a worker tells me they're struggling? Listen, take it seriously and ask what would help. Connect them with your employee assistance program or other support, and record the concern as you would any hazard report. If it points to a work-related cause, treat it as a psychosocial hazard and review the controls.

Does a mental health policy protect me from claims? A policy helps show you took reasonable steps, but it doesn't guarantee protection. What matters most is whether the controls work in practice.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law with your WHS regulator.