Improving Leadership Awareness and Capabilities for Managing Psychosocial Wellbeing in the Public Sector

Psychosocial wellbeing in the workplace is increasingly recognised as a global priority, reflecting the significant human and economic impacts of poor mental health. In Australia, nearly half the population will experience a mental health condition at some point in their lives, with related productivity losses estimated at between $12 and $39 billion each year. 

Australian employers, including those in the public sector, are responsible for fostering safe and inclusive workplaces, supportive of all forms of diversity. Recent legislative reforms, such as the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the Model WHS Regulations, require employers to address both physical and psychosocial risks, including those linked to workplace stressors and hazards. 

While these reforms are positive, they present complex challenges for leaders, who may lack the training, resources, or time to effectively address them. Managing psychosocial wellbeing is nuanced, influenced by subjective experiences and diverse individual needs. Despite this, workplaces are legally obligated to provide safe, inclusive environments that support all employees’ wellbeing and recovery. 

To help governments navigate this complexity and understand their obligations, ANZSOG, the NSW Premier’s Department, and the University of Technology Sydney have launched a new research project:  Improved Leadership Awareness and Capabilities for Managing Psychosocial Wellbeing in Public Sector Workplaces. Led by Professors Carol Mills, Toby Newton-John, and Natalia Nikolova, the project will explore how public sector leaders can better understand and respond to psychosocial risks, fostering healthier, more supportive work cultures. 

This research will be valuable to public sector leaders, executives, and managers responsible for creating psychologically safe and inclusive workplaces, as well as HR professionals and WHS officers tasked with implementing wellbeing strategies and ensuring compliance with legislation. It will also support policymakers and regulators in shaping effective frameworks, provide evidence for academics studying workplace culture and leadership, and offer insights for unions and employee advocates working to improve public sector conditions. 

Four main stages of design and analysis:

1. A review of current literature on psychosocial wellbeing, workplace hazards, and emerging trends, alongside an assessment of existing leadership training, tools, and resources. Analysis of de-identified workforce data to understand the prevalence and drivers of psychosocial risk. Together, this provided an evidence basis for a new instrument to survey psychosocial safety and leadership in the public sector.

2. Fieldwork with NSW public sector agencies informing three case studies showcasing effective leadership practices.  Data collection through anonymous online survey for staff and managers, followed by focus group and interview guides. Analysis focused on developing personas and participating site profiles. These profiles aim to provide an accessible means for supporting staff and leadership to identify with good practice.

3. Analysis focused on developing personas and participating site profiles. These profiles aim to provide an accessible means for supporting staff and leadership to identify with good practice.

The initial evidence review and discovery phase of this research has highlighted a number of key issues that are guiding the field work phase, notably: 

1. 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 these hazards where reasonably practicable.  This includes a requirement to consult employees as part of risk management.

2. Psychosocial hazards are subjective and are influenced by individual circumstance, work performance requirements and context, as well as broader societal factors.

3. Organisational systems and policies and change processes can generate psychosocial hazards through uncertainty which may be difficult for individual leaders to manage.

4. There is an urgent need to prevent and mitigate the impacts of negative workplace behaviours such as bullying, discrimination, harassment and violence.  

5. The ‘public sector’ across jurisdictions incorporates a large, complex and divers workforce with many unique requirements. Evidence suggests that “off-the-shelf” interventions are unlikely to be effective in engaging workers and improving learning outcomes across the sector, particularly for frontline workers.

6. Supportive leadership and management behaviours can have significant impacts. While the responsibility of managing psychosocial hazards may seem overwhelming due to the broad ranging factors that need to be considered, a key priority for leaders is relatively simple: understanding how to build supportive behaviours. Although a range of strategies are necessary at all levels of any organisation, supportive behaviours exhibited by leaders and managers play a pivotal role in enhancing psychosocial wellbeing.