Mental illness can impose huge costs on workplaces via absenteeism and presenteeism, poor employee retention, and increased training costs. Conversely, psychologically unsafe workplaces can contribute to the incidence of mental illness and injury in employees.
According to a May 2021 report from the Australia Institute Centre for Future Work, the cost of workplace-related mental illness is between $15 billion and $17 billion per year. Businesses simply cannot afford to ignore mental health concerns.
Recognition Through ISO 45003:2021
ISO has acknowledged the importance of psychologically healthy and safe workplaces with the release last year of ISO 45003:2021 – Occupational health and safety – Psychological Health & Safety at work, Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks.
This standard provides guidance on managing psychological health in the workplace, defines psychosocial hazards (including bullying, fatigue, mental stress, isolation, workplace violence, and customer aggression), and provides a structured framework to develop, implement, maintain, and continually improve mental health and psychological safety in the workplace.
Managing Psychosocial Risks and Compliance Obligations
ISO 45003:2021 can help businesses identify, assess, and proactively manage and mitigate psychosocial hazards. While the standard is not certifiable (unlike ISO 45001:2018), an understanding of this standard can help employers mitigate their compliance risk and meet their duty of care obligations.
Additionally, legislation in Australia is changing, with new Codes of Practice being introduced in different states to address psychological health and safety risk assessment, and a new Regulation being introduced in Victoria which requires organisations to maintain prevention plans for psychological health and safety hazards and their associated risks.
Growing Financial Impact of Unmanaged Psychosocial Risks
The cost of not addressing psychosocial risks in the workplace is growing. According to Safe Work Australia, 7,200 Australians are compensated each year for work-related mental health conditions. Compensation payouts for work-related mental health conditions are approximately $540 million annually.
Psychosocial Risks and Business Continuity Challenges
Businesses that fail to provide psychologically healthy and safe workplaces can find themselves impacted by business continuity concerns. Disruptions to critical business processes and key personnel absences (through illness or resignation) have a cumulative effect on productivity.
Take airports as a current example. There are simply not enough ground staff to process the millions of people who wish to travel again now that borders have reopened. This is leading to lost baggage, flight delays, cancellations, and a lot of generally unhappy travellers. Those who are turning up to work are subjected to increased psychosocial risks including mental stress and customer aggression.
Hybrid Work, Workforce Shortages, and Continuity Planning
Additionally, the advent of hybrid working models due to the COVID-19 pandemic has had positive and negative impacts on the mental health of employees. While many people enjoy the flexibility it offers, it can lead to increased feelings of isolation, anxiety, and burnout.
These feelings are leading to more employees joining the Great Resignation, which in turn leads to further staff shortages and productivity losses for the organisation. Additionally, business continuity plans that were centred around an office-based workforce may no longer be appropriate in a more hybrid and dispersed environment.
Business Continuity Standards and Employee Wellbeing
ISO 22301:2019 Security and resilience – Business continuity management systems – Requirements is a standard that provides a framework for organisations in the event they cannot operate under business as usual conditions.
The standard specifies requirements for identifying, assessing, responding to, and recovering from disruptive events to return to business as usual as quickly as possible. While this standard does not specifically address mental health issues, it can help organisations continue to operate after an incident that may impact their employees – for example staff shortages due to a natural disaster. It places specific onus on the organisation to consider the health and safety of its workers as the first priority when responding to a disruptive event.
The Importance of Mentally Healthy Workplaces
While Australia’s OH&S legislation has been highly effective in reducing physical injury and illness in the workplace, having a mentally healthy and safe workplace is just as important as having a physically safe one.
Organisations that work to identify and manage psychosocial risks can receive many benefits including employee retention, reduced training costs, reduced sick leave, greater productivity, lower workers’ compensation claims, and an overall improved outlook for business continuity.
Shared Benefits of Mental Health at Work
A mentally healthy workplace protects and promotes the mental health of its employees and empowers them to seek help for mental health concerns. The benefits of mentally healthy workplaces are substantial and are shared by organisations, their employees, governments, and the community as a whole.
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Our 2-day Virtual Business Continuity course is designed for professionals responsible for risk, compliance, operations, and continuity planning. The course explores:
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Our 2-day Psychological Health and Safety at Work course is designed for professionals responsible for for managing workplace health and safety or employee wellbeing. You will:
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Training is practical and interactive, with real-world examples and tools you can apply immediately. |
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Further reading
Read more about ISO 45003 – the standard for Psychological Health & Safety at Work
Find out more about ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management Systems
Read our article on why Business Continuity is important
Learn how to identify psychosocial hazards at work
