Steople > News & Articles > Psychosocial Safety

 

After a recent coaching session with a senior leader, she shared how our conversation had prompted her to begin the weekly team meetings differently.
Instead of diving straight into tasks, as she had done previously, she asked one simple question:

“What’s one thing that made work feel a little heavier this week?”

At first, there was silence from the team.
Then someone spoke about unclear priorities. Another mentioned the feeling of always being “on.” Within minutes, the energy in the room shifted from guarded to honest.

Her feedback to me: “that was the moment I realised the team needed to move from pressure to connection”
And that’s where psychosocial health really begins.

 

The Team Effect

Most organisations still think about psychosocial risk through the lens of individuals: stress, workload, or burnout.  Psychosocial risk is in fact a systems issue which considers the individual, the team and the organisation.  The power to combat psychosocial risks, lies in the collective.

Research consistently shows that team climate, the level of trust, civility, and psychological safety has some of the strongest impacts on wellbeing and performance (Edmondson, 2019; Dollard & Bakker, 2010).

When people feel safe to speak up, ask for help, and admit mistakes without fear, they’re more engaged, innovative, and resilient.
But when that safety disappears, silence becomes the biggest risk factor of all.

 

Understanding Psychosocial Risk Factors

In Australia, recently introduced psychosocial safety legislation has made it clear: employers have a duty to identify and manage risks that affect employees’ mental health just as they do for physical health.

Under Safe Work Australia’s model Code of Practice, common psychosocial hazards include (but are not limited to):

  • High or low job demands
  • Low role clarity or autonomy
  • Poor support from leaders or peers
  • Conflict, bullying, or poor workplace relationships
  • Unfair work practices or change mismanagement
  • Exposure to trauma or emotional distress

Each of these factors, if left unmanaged, can contribute to stress, burnout, and psychological injury. But when addressed proactively, they become opportunities to strengthen leadership, culture, and wellbeing.

That’s where Steople’s work comes in: helping organisations build capability and culture systems that not only meet compliance but also help people thrive.

 

The Link Between Psychosocial Health and Respect at Work

The Respect@Work legislation, introduced following the Australian Human Rights Commission’s landmark inquiry, reframes workplace respect as a proactive duty of care not a reactive response to complaints.

It expands responsibility beyond preventing harassment to creating environments grounded in dignity, safety, and equality.

In other words, Respect@Work and psychosocial risk management share the same foundation: a respectful culture is prevention.

When leaders set clear behavioural expectations, foster open communication, and model civility in daily interactions, they’re not only complying with legislation, they are building the conditions for engagement and performance.

At Steople, we help organisations integrate these frameworks into their leadership and culture strategy, embedding respect as both a legal requirement and a lived experience

 

The Science of Safety and Connection

The concept of psychological safety, made famous by Harvard researcher Amy Edmondson, is simple but transformative:

“People feel safe to speak up, make mistakes, and take interpersonal risks without fear of blame or embarrassment.”

Teams with high psychological safety experience:
✅ More effective collaboration and learning
✅ Earlier identification of risk and error
✅ Higher engagement and wellbeing

Our Steople data echoes this; when psychological safety scores improve, engagement and trust rise, while reported psychosocial hazards decline.

It’s a powerful reminder that safety and performance aren’t competing goals; they’re mutually reinforcing.

 

From Awareness to Action

Creating safe, respectful, and high-performing teams isn’t about launching another policy. It’s about what happens in the micro-moments; how leaders listen, respond, and role model every day.

That’s why at Steople, we translate awareness into capability through:

  • Psychosocial Risk and Culture Assessments: Identifying leadership, workload, and relationship risks before they escalate.
  • Psychological Safety and Respect at Work Programs: Combining data with dialogue to strengthen civility and trust.
  • Facilitated Team Workshops: Helping teams commit to shared norms and hold each other accountable.
  • Leadership Coaching: Building empathy, compassion, communication, and conflict resolution skills.

Because legislation sets the standard, but leadership sets the tone.

 

The Steople Model: From Insight to Impact

Sustainable culture change comes from a clear system.
That’s why we use our four-step wellbeing and psychosocial roadmap to guide the journey:

1️⃣ Measure: Assess wellbeing, culture, and psychosocial hazards using validated and evidence-based tools.
2️⃣ Understand: Explore root causes using narrative, diagnostic, or experiential techniques, going beyond data to capture lived experience.
3️⃣ Develop: Build leadership capability, civility, and connection through tailored interventions.
4️⃣ Evaluate: Monitor outcomes and link improvements back to ROI and compliance metrics.

This approach helps organisations move from obligation to ownership, building systems that are both compliant and compassionate.

 

The Ripple Effect of Leadership

When leaders embody compassion, clarity, and respect, it ripples through the system.
Teams feel empowered.
Employees feel safe.
Organisations perform better.

It’s a virtuous cycle, one where compliance, culture, and compassion reinforce each other.

Because a truly thriving workplace doesn’t just manage risk, it builds resilience.
And the most powerful form of prevention? Respect.

 

The Steople Perspective

At Steople, we help organisations navigate the intersection of psychosocial health, Respect@Work obligations, and leadership capability.

Through:

  • Psychosocial risk assessments and culture diagnostics
  • Respect and civility training for leaders and teams
  • Coaching and workshops that build compassion and accountability

We help leaders turn policy into practice, and practice into trust.

 

Compliance keeps you safe, but compassion and respect help you thrive.

Ready to build a workplace where safety, respect, and performance go hand in hand? Contact Us Today!

 

 

 

The pressure is rising and so are the claims

Australian workplaces are under strain.
The AHRI Psychosocial Risks Report 2025 found a significant increase in the number of psychosocial hazard complaints and claims in the 12 months to October 2024. The top two causes?

  • High job demands

  • Conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions

Behind these statistics are real people — overwhelmed employees, stretched managers, and teams losing connection amid constant change.

Research shows that chronic job demands (like excessive workload or role ambiguity) are among the strongest predictors of burnout and disengagement (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017). When these demands are left unmanaged, organisations see higher absenteeism, turnover, and even compensation claims — costing Australian businesses billions annually.

At Steople, we believe these issues aren’t just HR challenges; they’re leadership and data challenges. When leaders are equipped with the right insight — through assessment, feedback, and coaching — they can spot the warning signs early and create healthier, higher-performing teams.

Leadership capability: The missing piece in psychosocial health

Despite clear evidence that leadership capability is critical to wellbeing, only 28% of employers invest in building leadership and management capability to reduce psychosocial risks.

That gap matters. Studies in organisational psychology have consistently found that leader behaviours — empathy, fairness, communication, and clarity — are among the strongest protective factors for mental health at work (Kelloway & Barling, 2010). Leaders shape not only performance but also the emotional climate of the workplace.

This aligns with our experience at Steople.
When we work with organisations through our Leadership Development Programs, Psychological Safety Assessments, and Coaching for Behaviour Change, we see measurable improvements in team wellbeing, trust, and engagement. Leaders learn to recognise early signs of distress, manage workloads constructively, and foster environments where people feel safe to speak up.

Because leadership isn’t just about delivering outcomes, it’s about creating the conditions where people can thrive.

Data and dialogue: The foundation for sustainable culture

The AHRI report reinforces that psychosocial risks are no longer peripheral concerns; they sit at the heart of sustainable organisational performance.
This finding echoes decades of research linking wellbeing and productivity. Studies by Gallup (2023) and Harter et al. (2002) found that teams with high engagement and psychological safety outperform others across every major metric — from retention to profitability.

But psychological health isn’t built through one-off wellness initiatives. It requires data-driven insight and consistent dialogue.

That’s why Steople partners with organisations using our Assessment and Survey Tools, such as:

  • Steople High-Performance Teams Survey™ — helps identify where collaboration and civility are breaking down.

  • Steople Leading for Performance and Wellbeing 360 Assessment — gives leaders the self-awareness to manage psychosocial risks through behaviour change.

  • Steople Engagement & Wellbeing Survey™ — measures employee perceptions of workload, support, culture, and purpose.

When leaders and teams have clear, objective insight into what’s working and what’s not, they can take targeted action that strengthens culture and wellbeing long-term.

From compliance to capability

Psychosocial risk management is now embedded in Australian workplace legislation — but focusing solely on compliance misses the opportunity for transformation.

Effective organisations treat psychosocial health as a strategic capability. They invest in building psychologically safe cultures, where people can raise concerns, seek support, and experiment without fear of blame. Research by Edmondson (2019) shows that teams high in psychological safety are more innovative, collaborative, and resilient in the face of change.

At Steople, we help clients move beyond minimum standards by:

  • Developing leaders who can respond constructively to stress and conflict.

  • Designing roles and structures that balance job demands with autonomy.

  • Embedding wellbeing practices into daily rhythms — from coaching to team reflection sessions.

Our approach blends psychological science with pragmatic leadership development, helping organisations reduce risk while unlocking the human potential that drives performance.

Building workplaces where people flourish

As workplaces evolve through technology, hybrid models, and shifting expectations, psychosocial health is emerging as one of the defining challenges of modern leadership.
But it’s also one of the greatest opportunities to redesign work in a way that’s both productive and humane.

The evidence is clear:
✅ Strong leadership capability reduces psychosocial risks.
✅ Data and assessment turn intuition into insight.
✅ Wellbeing and performance aren’t opposites — they’re interdependent.

When organisations invest in their leaders and measure what matters, they don’t just comply with regulation — they create workplaces where people feel valued, connected, and motivated to perform at their best.

At Steople, we call that sustainable success through people.

If your organisation is ready to strengthen its psychosocial health and leadership capability, we can help.
Contact us to learn more

When Carla joined a new company, she quickly noticed something different. In meetings, people spoke up – even when they disagreed. Managers openly checked in on their team’s wellbeing. Project deadlines were ambitious, but there was support to match the pressure.
Carla had come from an organisation where burnout was the norm, silence was safer than speaking up, and wellness was only addressed after a crisis. Here, she found energy, openness, and trust.
This wasn’t luck. It was the result of an organisation that understood a critical truth: psychosocial safety isn’t just about avoiding harm – it’s the foundation of performance.
More and more businesses are recognising that workplace wellbeing is no longer a “nice to have” or an HR checkbox – it’s a strategic advantage. And those who act now are gaining the upper hand.

From Risk Reduction to Culture Transformation

Historically, psychosocial safety has been seen as a reactive measure – something to address only after employees burn out or lodge a formal complaint. But leading organisations have flipped the script.
Instead of asking, “How do we stay compliant?”, they’re asking:
“How do we create a workplace where people can truly thrive?”
That mindset shift – from risk management to performance enabler – is where culture change begins.

Why Proactive Psychosocial Safety Drives Results

When psychosocial safety is embedded into business strategy, it transforms more than employee wellbeing – it transforms how people show up and how work gets done.
Here’s what the best workplaces are experiencing:
✅ Higher Engagement & Energy
Employees who feel psychologically safe and supported are more motivated, take greater initiative, and care deeply about the organisation’s goals.
✅ Stronger, More Human Leadership
Leaders who champion psychosocial safety build trust and loyalty. They foster openness, clarity, and connection – even in challenging times.
✅ Reduced Turnover & Talent Drain
Burnout is one of the biggest drivers of attrition. Organisations that invest in psychosocial safety don’t just retain talent – they become magnets for high performers.
✅ Greater Innovation
When people feel safe to share ideas and challenge the status quo, creativity flourishes. This is psychological safety in action – enabling teams to experiment, fail, and grow.
✅ Sustainable Performance
Wellbeing isn’t about lowering the bar – it’s about sustaining high performance without burning people out. The result? Better outcomes, better culture, and a stronger business.

What Leading Organisations Are Doing Differently

Companies like Google, Atlassian, and Microsoft don’t treat psychosocial safety as a side project – it’s woven into leadership development, team dynamics, and day-to-day operations.
Closer to home, we’re seeing New Zealand and Australian organisations – from healthcare and education to emergency services—move beyond compliance by:
  • Conducting psychosocial risk assessments early, not just after issues arise
  • Building leadership capability around empathetic, human-centred management
  • Measuring both risk reduction and culture uplift
What unites these organisations? They understand that culture is built one behaviour, one conversation, and one decision at a time.

How Steople Helps Businesses Create Long-Term Change

At Steople, we partner with organisations to turn psychosocial safety into a competitive advantage.
Our proven four-step model supports organisations to build cultures where people—and performance—can thrive:
1️⃣ Discover & Engage
We start by listening—through conversations, data analysis, and surveys—to understand the unique risks and strengths in your workplace.
2️⃣ Assess
We use evidence-based tools to evaluate your leadership, structures, and culture, identifying the psychosocial factors that impact performance and wellbeing.
3️⃣ Develop an Action Plan
We co-design targeted strategies that drive behaviour change at the individual, team, and organisational level.
4️⃣ Implement & Monitor
We support leaders and teams to embed change, track progress, and build momentum for ongoing transformation.
We don’t just help you comply. We help you lead.

The Future Belongs to Psychosocially Safe Workplaces

The organisations that will thrive in the future are those that understand this simple truth: wellbeing and high performance are not in conflict – they go hand in hand.
By prioritising psychosocial safety, organisations can:
  • Build trust and resilience
  • Enhance collaboration and innovation
  • Strengthen their employer brand
  • Drive sustainable success
Now is the time to move beyond tick-box compliance and make psychosocial safety central to your leadership and culture.
Ready to lead the way? Let’s start the conversation.
Emma had always been known as a strong, capable leader. She thrived in fast-paced environments and had a reputation for delivering results. Emma had recently taken on a promotion in a different organisation. With her new team, she sat in leadership meetings, wanting to challenge decisions she knew weren’t right, but the room felt tense. Speaking up wasn’t encouraged in this company.
Meanwhile, across the office, Ryan, a junior employee, was struggling under the weight of unrealistic workloads and poor job design. He was drowning in expectations but didn’t feel safe asking for help. His manager often dismissed concerns with, “Everyone is busy. You just need to push through.”
Both Emma and Ryan were experiencing workplace risks, but in different ways. Emma was navigating a lack of psychological safety; a workplace culture where employees feel unable to share ideas or voice concerns. Ryan, on the other hand, was battling psychosocial safety risks; hazards like excessive job demands, poor leadership support, and poor work design, all of which have a negative impact on mental health.
The bottom line is that neither felt safe at work.

Understanding Psychosocial vs. Psychological Safety

In today’s workplace, organisations are beginning to understand that safety isn’t just about physical hazards. But many still fail to differentiate between psychosocial safety and psychological safety, two distinct yet interconnected workplace elements.
Psychosocial Safety = Protecting employees from physical and psychological harm
It’s about reducing or eliminating workplace hazards that negatively impact employee mental health and wellbeing. These risks stem from workload, leadership behaviours, work structures, and culture.
In Australia and New Zealand, psychosocial safety is now a legal requirement, meaning employers must take proactive steps to identify and mitigate these risks.
Examples of psychosocial hazards include:
  • High job demands – Employees are overworked and under-supported.
  • Lack of role clarity – Confusing or conflicting responsibilities create frustration.
  • Workplace bullying or incivility – A toxic culture causes psychological distress.
  • Poor organisational change management – Rapid, unexplained changes create uncertainty and fear.
  • Lack of leadership support – Employees feel isolated and undervalued.
Ignoring these risks can lead to burnout, high turnover, and even legal repercussions. Compliance alone isn’t enough. Removing risks doesn’t automatically create a thriving workplace.

Psychological Safety: Building a Culture of Trust and Innovation

If psychosocial safety is about preventing harm, psychological safety is about enabling growth. Coined by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson, psychological safety is about creating environments where employees feel safe to contribute, ask questions, and take risks without fear of embarrassment or punishment.
A psychologically safe workplace is one where employees feel comfortable:
✔ Sharing ideas, even if they challenge leadership
✔ Admitting mistakes and learning from them
✔ Asking for help when overwhelmed
✔ Voicing concerns about workplace issues
Google’s research on high-performing teams found that psychological safety was the single most important factor for team success. Without it, employees withhold ideas, avoid difficult conversations, and disengage from their work. Other research as whon that organisations whose employees report high levels of psychological safety also have lower levels of reported psychosocial hazards.
A company might have policies in place to protect employees from harm (psychosocial safety), but if employees still fear speaking up (lack of psychological safety), problems persist.

Why Organisations Need Both

Many businesses focus on one area while neglecting the other leading to incomplete workplace strategies.
  • A business may invest in psychosocial safety, implementing policies to reduce burnout and manage workload risks. But if employees still fear speaking up about their concerns, the problems remain hidden.
  • A company may foster psychological safety, encouraging open discussions and innovation. But if workplace structures create unmanageable stress, employees will continue to suffer.
To build a truly healthy and high-performing workplace, businesses must integrate both psychosocial and psychological safety by:
✔ Eliminating workplace risks that cause psychological harm (psychosocial safety)
✔ Fostering a culture where employees feel safe to contribute and grow (psychological safety)
When these two elements work together, workplaces see higher engagement, stronger leadership, and a culture of trust and innovation.

How Steople Helps Businesses Drive Real Change

At Steople, we take a holistic approach to workplace well-being, helping businesses embed psychosocial and psychological safety into culture, leadership, and operations.
Our four-step process helps organisations:
1️⃣ Identify and assess workplace psychosocial risks – Recognising hazards before they lead to burnout or disengagement.
2️⃣ Evaluate leadership and team dynamics – Ensuring that psychological safety is embedded into workplace culture.
3️⃣ Develop tailored interventions – Designing targeted strategies that address both risk factors and workplace challenges.
4️⃣ Implement and monitor progress – Supporting leaders and teams in driving long-term workplace improvements.
The result? Not just a safer workplace, but one that retains top talent, fosters collaboration, and drives sustainable success.

Are You Addressing Both Forms of Workplace Safety?

Workplace safety isn’t just about compliance—it’s about creating an environment where employees feel safe, valued, and empowered.
A workplace without psychosocial safety is stressful.
A workplace without psychological safety is stagnant.
A workplace with both is unstoppable.
If your organisation is focusing on one but not the other, now is the time to take a proactive approach.
Let’s start the conversation.
Arun had always been the go-to person in his team – the one who stayed late, picked up extra tasks, and kept everything running smoothly. But in recent months, his enthusiasm had faded. He no longer shared ideas in meetings. His emails were short, almost disengaged. His once-reliable presence became unpredictable – some days he was there, some days he wasn’t.
His manager assumed he was just going through a rough patch. No one realised that Arun was struggling under the weight of an unmanageable workload, unclear expectations, and a culture that silently discouraged asking for help.
Then one day, without warning, Arun handed in his resignation. The company had lost a talented, engaged employee – not because he lacked ability, but because the workplace lacked psychosocial safety.
Arun’s story isn’t rare. It’s playing out in offices, hospitals, schools, and job sites across industries. And while workplaces have made great strides in physical safety, they continue to overlook the invisible risks that can be just as damaging.

What Are Psychosocial Hazards?

For decades, workplace safety has focused on tangible dangers – faulty equipment, hazardous materials, physical injuries. But what about the hazards you can’t see?
Psychosocial hazards refer to workplace factors that negatively impact employees’ mental health, stress levels, and overall wellbeing. These risks are harder to detect, but their effects can be just as severe as physical injuries.
The most common hidden hazards include:
  • High job demands – Excessive workload, unrealistic expectations, or chronic understaffing.
  • Lack of role clarity – Employees are left confused, frustrated, and anxious when their responsibilities are unclear.
  • Workplace bullying and harassment – A culture of incivility can slowly erode confidence and mental wellbeing.
  • Poor organisational change management – Leadership decisions that create uncertainty or fear can destabilise teams.
  • Lack of leadership support – When employees don’t feel valued or heard, they disengage.
When left unaddressed, these risks don’t just harm individuals – they create ripple effects across the entire organisation.

The Business Impact of Ignoring Psychosocial Hazards

The impact of psychosocial risks extends beyond mental health concerns – it affects business performance, talent retention, and overall workplace culture.
  • Burnout and Turnover – Employees like Liam don’t just disengage – they leave, taking valuable knowledge and experience with them. The cost of replacing them can be up to 200% of their salary.
  • Reduced Productivity and Innovation – When employees feel overwhelmed or unsupported, collaboration suffers, creativity declines, and problem-solving slows.
  • Increased WorkCover Claims and Legal Risks – Psychological injury claims have surged 37% since 2017, and returning to work after a psychological injury takes four times longer than a physical one.
  • Toxic Work Cultures Take Hold – When psychosocial risks go unchecked, silence replaces trust. Employees avoid speaking up, and morale steadily declines.
Despite these consequences, many organisations still wait until a crisis hits before taking action.

Shifting from Risk Management to Culture Change

The best organisations don’t just react to workplace risks – they actively create environments where employees feel safe, supported, and engaged.
Instead of treating psychosocial risk management as a compliance exercise, they see it as an opportunity to:
✔ Foster a culture of trust and wellbeing
✔ Reduce absenteeism and turnover
✔ Improve engagement and performance
✔ Strengthen employer brand and talent retention
But this doesn’t happen overnight – it requires a strategic, long-term approach.

How Steople Helps Organisations Drive Lasting Change

At Steople, we work with businesses to identify and address hidden workplace hazards before they escalate into bigger problems.
Our approach is grounded in organisational psychology, research, and real-world experience. We don’t just help businesses comply with regulations – we help them embed meaningful change.
Our four-step process ensures organisations can assess, address, and monitor psychosocial risks effectively:
1️⃣ Discover & Engage – Uncover workplace risks through conversations, employee feedback, and organisational insights.
2️⃣ Assess – Identify psychosocial hazards using evidence-based tools and data-driven analysis.
3️⃣ Develop an Action Plan – Implement tailored strategies that address risks at individual, team, and organisational levels.
4️⃣ Implement & Monitor – Support leaders and teams in embedding long-term improvements, ensuring continued success.
When organisations take psychosocial safety seriously, they don’t just prevent burnout – they create high-performing teams and workplaces where people thrive.

Are You Addressing the Workplace Hazards You Can’t See?

Workplace safety isn’t just about avoiding physical accidents anymore – it’s about ensuring people can thrive mentally, emotionally, and professionally.
Ignoring psychosocial hazards doesn’t just put employees at risk – it damages culture, productivity, and business success.
The good news? Organisations that address these risks proactively create stronger teams, more engaged employees, and healthier workplaces.
If your workplace is ready to move beyond compliance and take proactive steps towards a healthier, high-performing workforce, Steople can help.