Whāia te mātauranga hei oranga mō koutou
It’s no longer enough for organisations to simply offer an EAP (Employment Assistance Programme) and healthcare benefits. While these benefits are important, it could be considered a reactive service rather than a proactive way of operating. Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing is essential to finding and retaining top talent and is key to a positive employee experience. A workplace with a proactive and supportive Wellbeing Framework encourages employee engagement, drive, creativity, and commitment.
Many factors contribute to good mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. Looking at the organisation and reflecting on the ‘hire to retire’ cycle, we know things like good work design, workflow, clear expectations, meaningful and valued work contribution, and opportunities to develop capability and a personal growth pathway are all important. Weaved within this is a sense of belonging, good social relationships and team dynamics, positive leadership experiences, trust, and a sense of commitment to the organisation’s vision and purpose.
There are also external factors organisations can support but have minimal control over. For example, an individual’s financial wellbeing, trauma, marriage and relationship difficulties, unexpected health conditions, and as most of us have experienced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, unpredictable Government actions and economic instability.
A good way to determine what impacts employee mental health and wellbeing is to consider anything related to an individual’s internal (mental) and external (environment) world that could generate a response in how they perceive, feel, and behave. Your role as a leader is not to be a mental health and wellbeing expert, it is to create a psychologically safe working environment, where employees feel safe to speak up. Developing a proactive framework that has internal processes to protect the mental wellbeing of workers and encourages access to external resources and support, is key to the mitigation of harm and promotion of mental health and wellbeing.
Businesses have a duty of care to assess potential sources of harm and consider ways to support and prevent this. It’s important to note that due to employee diversity, their life experiences and variation to how they perceive and interact with the world, how we assess and control risks is not a “one size fits all”. While it is essential to have an integrated Health, Safety, and Wellbeing System, how we approach harm will vary. Under the Health and Safety Work Act, we have a responsibility to eliminate, so far as reasonably practicable, the likelihood and consequence of harm, and ensure we have control measures proportionate to risk.
The standard hazard identification and risk assessment tools do not always support the subjective nature of mental health and wellbeing. What remains the same, and in my opinion, is more important, is the legal responsibility businesses have to engage with employees and to provide opportunities to participate in improving workplace mental health and wellbeing in an ongoing basis. I say this because human perception plays a critical role in the assessment of psychological harm, and the presence of risk in an identified stressor may be true for one individual and not for another.
Some people have a higher level of resilience and have developed their own strategies to positively manage stress. Our ability to self-care, regulate our emotions, and develop both social and emotional competencies vary from person to person. Individuals also have varying levels of self-esteem and self-confidence, so how leaders engage with their teams and how team members engage with each other is critical in the creation of a work environment that promotes heath.
Focusing on communicating with people will be the essential ingredient in developing a healthy working environment. Through a consultative approach, context of industry, occupational specific risks and the variation in perception will be uncovered.
It is important to evolve from embedding standalone initiatives into a way of operating and normalising mental health and wellbeing conversations. This is where the PDCA cycle (Plan, Do, Check and Act) comes into play.
A robust Wellbeing Framework looks beyond the way individuals perceive and process their experiences to a wider context of an organisation’s cultural, strategic, and financial health. How work is designed and the environment that work is deployed in needs to protect and support an individual’s growth and sense of psychological safety.
In recognition of this, in July 2021, ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) released the ISO 45003, Occupational Health and Safety Management – Psychological Health and Safety at Work – Guidelines for Managing Psychosocial Risks.
This standard provides guidance on managing psychological health and safety risks within an occupational health and safety management system. It covers worker needs and expectations and explores areas that could be influenced by psychosocial risks at work, e.g.:
- Financial security
- Social interaction and support
- Inclusion, recognition, reward, and accomplishment
- Personal development and growth
- Equal opportunity and fair treatment at work
- Leadership commitment
- Policy and framework
- Roles, responsibilities, and authorities
- Consultation and participation
The EMA has been working with the Government to develop a programme based on the above standard to support SMEs in implementing the standard. This programme, called First Steps, offers a free Workplace Wellbeing Risk Diagnostic Tool which will give you a snapshot of wellbeing in your workplace. You will also receive free resources, e-Learning and tools in four key areas:
- Work Design
- Systems of Work
- How Work is Managed
- Workplace and Social Engagement
We wish you all the best on your journey to protect your team’s wellbeing and contribute to a thriving Aotearoa.
By: Thresa Grainger
Head of National Learning, EMA