This article contains discussions about various mental health challenges including suicidality, depression, anxiety and trauma. 

Imagine someone comes to work sick. They have physical symptoms: coughing and sneezing, a sore throat or abdominal pain, or a headache so severe they can barely see. 

Most employers and colleagues would not think twice if this person said they needed to go home, or leave work to see a doctor. They might even encourage the person to take a few days’ sick leave. 

What if that person, instead of being physically ill, is experiencing poor mental health? 

Maybe they are more subdued than usual, or more anxious and irritable. Maybe their productivity has dropped off, or they are isolating from colleagues they are usually close with. 

These things may be signs the person is in mental distress — or not. It can be difficult to spot the signs, especially since someone experiencing poor mental health may show no outward signs at all. 

Would that person feel safe to say to their manager “I’m sick and I need to go home”? Would they be encouraged to do so, the way the person with visible flu symptoms would be? 

And is your workplace properly equipped to identify and respond to that person’s challenges, to prevent causing them further harm, and to avoid contributing to their distress in the first place? 

Mental health safety at work 

Week one of National Safe Work Month focused on workplace injuries. The theme for week two, which aligns with World Mental Health Day on 10 October, is mental health. 

It aims to highlight that mental health is as fundamental to good work health and safety practices as physical health. 

“Work-related psychological injuries have a significant impact on workers, their families and business,” reads the Safe Work Australia website. 

“These injuries may result in longer time away from work and cost more than other injuries.” 

Of course, not all mental health challenges are work-related. But psychosocial hazards, i.e. anything that increases the risk of work-related stress, can contribute to worsening overall mental health. 

Such hazards include things like unrealistic job demands, violence and aggression, bullying and harassment (including sexual harassment), conflict or poor relationships, poor organisational justice, lack of reward and recognition, and traumatic events. 

The Safe Work Australia resources include information on how to identify psychosocial hazards and manage psychosocial risk, highlighting practical steps to control some common hazards. 

They include advice on how to recognise the signs that someone has been exposed to psychosocial risk, along with a model code of practice for managing psychosocial hazards. 

The code of practice includes detailed examples of control measures for psychosocial hazards related to job characteristics, design and management, the working environment and equipment. 

Formal mental health training for workplaces 

But with mental health challenges like anxiety and depression spiking significantly in recent times, there are other steps worth considering to ensure workplaces are properly equipped to respond. 

For example, while it’s common for workplaces to have designated roles for fire wardens and first aid officers, it’s less common for there to be a designated mental health officer. 

This is why Mental Health Victoria, the state’s peak body for mental health, has been pushing the idea of formal mental health training for people in industries beyond the mental health sector. 

The organisation is a provider of Mental Health First Aid training, a two-day course designed to provide the skills to identify and respond to someone experiencing mental health challenges. 

It also offers a half-day training package called Mental Health Awareness, which can be customised to meet the specific needs of an industry or workplace. 

“Traditionally, organisations have invested in physical health and safety with policies, procedures and training,” the organisation states. “Investment in mental health has been less common.” 

This is despite research that shows “every dollar spent on supporting workers with mental health issues yields close to a 500 per cent return in improved productivity”, and the proportion of new Workcover claims related to mental health grew from 9 per cent in 2008 to 13 per cent in 2020. 

It’s important to note these trainings don’t qualify participants as formal counsellors, but only gives them the knowledge and tools they need to respond in the initial instance. 

The mental health “new normal” 

More and more, organisations are taking steps to establish formal mental health policies. Many also have employee assistance programs (EAPs) which include access to short-term counselling, although these programs may hold little value for people with ongoing mental health challenges. 

Such policies and programs are important steps. So too are things like providing a free day off for R U OK? Day, as many workplaces have begun to do. 

But these things need to be reflected in practice as part of an overall shift in organisational culture and attitude that acknowledges mental health issues as an everyday reality for many people. 

For example, not only should employees be informed of their rights regarding taking sick or personal leave for mental health reasons. They should be openly encouraged to access this leave if they need rest to get well, in the same way as someone who is displaying visible flu symptoms.

This is especially true in industries that experience high rates of suicide, where things like poor work-life balance and excessive workloads are more the norm than the exception. 

Treating people with mental health challenges — including those that result from workplace psychosocial hazards — as weird or abnormal increases stigma and the likelihood that the issue will worsen over time. 

Mental health in the home office 

Extra vigilance is needed too for businesses that have a lot of remote or hybrid workers. 

Workplace Health and Safety laws still apply if employees work from home, so businesses still bear a responsibility to eliminate or minimise health and safety risks for those employees as far as possible. 

Psychosocial hazards like social isolation and excessive or unmanaged work hours can present an even greater risk to mental safety for those who are working from home. 

Workplace policies and practices need to take these challenges into account. Managers should check on their remote workers regularly, reinforce the need to take breaks and manage work hours, and provide opportunities to keep them engaged. 

Whether employees are working from home or on-site, decreasing stigma, an openness to communication, and creating a psychologically safe environment are the keys. 

Next up in our series for National Work Safe Month: Managing WHS risks and preventing harm.