Amaly Khalaf and Dr Steven Munns from the Australian Public Service Commission share tips for creating mentally and physically safe public sector workplaces in our Work with Purpose podcast.

Ensuring psychosocial safety in the workplace is a mission close to Amaly Khalaf, principal psychologist and lead at the APS Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Unit, and Dr Steven Munns, assistant commissioner for the Diversity and Inclusion Branch at the APSC.

But how do you distinguish psychosocial safety from psychological safety – two terms that are often used interchangeably – in the workplace?

“Psychological safety is about feeling safe to share thoughts [and] concerns without fear or repercussions, while psychosocial safety encompasses the broader environment that supports mental, emotional, and physical health at work… So, when we are looking at psychosocial safety, even though psychological safety is a component, it’s really about good job work design,” Amaly explains.

Set trusted processes and policies

Beyond establishing work health and safety-related policies, it’s crucial to create a culture where employees feel supported and empowered to report incidents. This is an area that still needs improvement.

“Just recently, 10 per cent of APS staff reported some kind of bullying or harassment in the 12 months, but how that relates to actual HR data is something that needs to be looked at… [also] found that only 18 per cent of people that experienced sexual harassment in the last five years had actually reported it.”

“So, there’s that lack of trust in the process somewhere along the line. That’s not [only] related to the APS [but] across Australian workplaces. We know that more work is required to improve processes and support for people to raise issues in the APS,” she adds.

Steven affirms that underreporting is a big concern because it affects how incidents are addressed.

“The knock-on impact [of] non-reporting is that the data is skewed. It doesn’t correctly reflect where aggression is taking place and therefore [affects] resource allocation. So, it might be security offices or other types of resources that are put in place to protect and support staff that aren’t placed in the correct areas.”

“Better and honest reporting processes [should be in place] so that everyone feels that they can report and [it won’t] impact them [negatively] as an employee at that organisation or how people perceive their ability to cope within that environment. I suppose that’s getting rid of that kind of perception,” he adds.

Lead by example

Leaders play a crucial role in establishing a safe workplace culture through setting the tone for their teams.

“Leaders [should] be role modelling and reinforcing what safe behaviours look like – understanding their responsibilities, having the integrity to be aware and implement and be capable of compassion, change, incorporating feedback and staff consultation,” Amaly says.

Steven adds, “The team environment itself [must be] a safe environment to express thoughts and concerns. Being able to work in that environment brings the best out of people.”

Be proactive

Workplace stress can stem from various sources, such as lack of role clarity, excessive work demands, poor workplace relationships, ambiguous policies, and exposure to violence. Organisations must proactively address these factors, considering that everyone experiences them to different degrees.

“We need to consider the support and emotional wellbeing, depending on what our staff are exposed to, as well as part of that role. In doing that, having clear HR processes around it [is important].”

“It’s looking at targeting, being proactive, and understanding the role that you have, your team’s work, and your organisational priorities and making sure that those needs are being addressed,” she adds.

Be evidence-based

The ADDRESS model, designed for the APS, is an effective tool to step through the process of creating safe workplaces as it banks on staff involvement for evidence-based interventions.

“Across the APS, each organisation is responsible for their internal policies and procedures, but the ADDRESS model is something that’s been developed to support those organisations,” Steven says.

“We need to have the identification and understanding of any hotspots or potential exposures, be aware of the causes or the sources of the problem, and ensure that the interventions employed are evidence-based and collaborative with staff. Because you need to bring staff along with the journey. If you don’t, nothing you implement is going to be helpful,” Amaly adds.

Finally, Amaly highlights that a mindset of continuous improvement is key to ensuring workplace safety.

“As long as we keep being aware of the issues, looking [for] ways to mitigate, teaching our leaders in terms of [being responsive to] what their staff needs, having clear processes for reporting and ensuring that those are known to staff. It’s no use having a good reporting process if the staff don’t know how to report. So, it’s the support mechanisms along every step of the way is important.”