Improving Leadership Awareness and Capabilities for Managing Psychosocial Wellbeing in the Public Sector
14 May 2025
● News and media
Improving Leadership Awareness and Capabilities for Managing Psychosocial Wellbeing in the Public Sector Workplaces
A new ANZSOG Research Model project will help public sector agencies reduce psychosocial hazards and meet their legal responsibility to create safe workplaces.
The project will map psychosocial risk in the public sector and work to identify leadership and management practice that can increase or reduce psychosocial safety.
In Australia, employers, including in the public sector, have a responsibility to create safe and inclusive workplaces that support diversity in all its forms. The NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) and Model WHS Regulations require employers to address both physical and psychosocial safety, including managing risks associated with workplace stressors and hazards.
The legislation implicates managers and leaders in creating safe, supportive work environments. This means adopting proactive strategies to identify, assess, and control psychosocial hazards, establishing a culture where psychological well-being is prioritised.
Research tells us that a focus on psychosocial wellbeing leads to higher employee engagement, better retention, and compliance with legal obligations related to occupational health and safety, creating a supportive, high-performing work culture.[1]
A commitment to psychosocial wellbeing in the workplace is best achieved when individuals, including those of varied cultural, racial, gender, and neurodivergent identities feel comfortable disclosing their needs and contributing ideas without fear of judgement.
To address both the legislative and workplace cultural challenges of leading for psychosocial wellbeing in the public sector, ANZSOG is collaborating with the New South Wales Premier’s Department, and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on a new Research Model Project: Improved Leadership Awareness and Capabilities for Managing Psychosocial Wellbeing in Public Sector Workplaces. The project is being led by a multi-disciplinary research team headed by Professor Carol Mills at the UTS Institute for Public Policy and Governance, Professor Toby Newton-John at the Graduate School of Heath, and Professor Natalia Nikolova from the UTS Business School.
Public sector employees face complex and demanding environments, marked by high stress, heavy workloads, potential exposure to challenging client behaviours and traumatic events, and ongoing uncertainty. These factors can impact psychosocial wellbeing, and lead to reduced job satisfaction, absenteeism, and burnout. Indications of these are shown in public service employee data in most jurisdictions.
In this context, leaders must closely manage workplace risks and hazards, as well as navigate a wide range of cultural, social, and individual needs, all of which can impact employees and the degree to which they feel safe, valued, supported and respected at work. These challenges are crucial to address because a lack of psychological wellbeing can lead to higher stress levels, reduced morale, and diminished sense of safety and health in the workplace.
The key research questions guiding this UTS-ANZSOG research are:
- What are the key stressors, profiles, and prevalence rates of public sector psychosocial risk, and how do these map to existing leadership practices and management programs, tools and resources?
- What are public sector leaders, managers and staff perceptions of current leadership awareness, practices and capabilities regarding psychosocial wellbeing, and how could these be improved upon in the workplace?
- What evidence-based leadership initiatives and management capability uplift activities will best support psychosocial wellbeing in the public sector?
To address the research questions, the UTS research team have been analysing workplace trends and policies and will next commence fieldwork in up to eight NSW public service agencies.
Emerging Findings
The initial UTS evidence review highlighted a number of key issues that are guiding the field work phase, notably:
- Along with the requirement for leaders to understand their legal duties, their roles and responsibilities in meeting their duties, they are also required to have a systematic method of identifying and assessing psychosocial risks and apply control measures to eliminate or reduce stressors and hazards where reasonably practicable. This includes a requirement to consult employees as part of risk management.
- Psychosocial wellbeing risks and hazards vary between workplaces and between employees. They can be influenced by a wide range of factors including individual circumstances and history, type of work and context, work and performance requirements, as well as broader societal factors.
- Organisational systems, policies and change processes can generate psychosocial stressors and hazards for employees which may be difficult for individual leaders to ameliorate and manage.
- There is an urgent need to prevent and mitigate the impacts of negative workplace behaviours such as bullying, discrimination, harassment and violence.
- The ‘public sector’ across jurisdictions encompasses a large, complex and diverse workforce with many distinct and varied attributes and work requirements. Evidence suggests that “off-the-shelf” leadership interventions are unlikely to be effective in appropriately improving psychosocial wellbeing across the sector.
- Supportive leadership and management strategies and behaviours can have significant impacts. While the responsibility of managing psychosocial stressors and hazards is challenging due to the range of factors that need to be considered, a key priority for leaders is to be a) alert and aware of the issues and b) have practical strategies and options to: protect employees and manage stressors and hazards in the workplace, promote strategies to enhance employee wellbeing, and appropriately respond to instances of psychosocial challenges and distress.[2]
The UTS-ANZSOG Psychosocial Wellbeing Project will conclude by October 2025. It will generate evidence-based findings, case studies, guidance and action plans for improved leadership awareness and management capabilities for assisting employees regularly exposed psychosocial stressors and hazards.