How your workplace can affect employees' mental wellbeing

Jobs that require continual high physical, mental or emotional effort

• Long work hours
• High workload
• Fast paced work or significant time pressure
• Long periods of alertness for irregular events (e.g. air traffic controllers)
• Shift work

• Monitor employee workloads
• Where possible, allow employees to self-manage their workloads
• Encourage employees to talk to their manager if they have any workload pressures
• Make sure workloads and tasks match employees’ abilities and experience
• Avoid letting employees move from one demanding project straight to another

Jobs that require low physical, mental or emotional effort

• Little work to do
• Repetitive work

• Encourage employees to talk to their managers if they feel they don’t have enough work to do
• Allow  employees to explore internal positions they might feel better qualified for

Jobs where the employee has little control over of how and when a job is done

• Machine or computer-paced work
• Tightly managed work
• Employees not involved in decisions affecting them or their clients

• Where possible, let employees set work-related goals, have a say in how their work is organised and when their breaks are taken
• Involve employees in the allocation of tasks and the establishment of objectives, timeframes and resources
• Communicate decisions with employees that might affect them in advance

Jobs or tasks where workers have little to no practical or emotional support

• Little to no inclusion or empathy from managers or co-workers for work or personal struggles
• No leave given for urgent personal matters or appointments
• Provided inadequate training and information to perform their job and tasks
• Provided inadequate tools and resources to complete tasks on time

• Provide opportunities, such as an employment assistance program, where employees can express their work concerns or personal issues
• Create a culture that encourages teamwork and collaboration, and discourages gossip
• Management should be approachable, visible in the workplace with an open-door policy
• Offer opportunities for training and mentoring to develop and enhance skill sets
• Provide flexible working arrangements and approve leave for personal matters

Jobs where employees are physically or emotionally hurt, treated unfairly or work in a toxic company culture

• Workplace bullying, aggression or harassment, discrimination or unreasonable behaviour
• Poor relationships and/or conflict between an employee and their manager, supervisor or co-worker
• Lack of fairness and equity in the handling of organisational issues
• Poorly managed performance issues

• Treat all employees equally and allocate work responsibilities fairly
• Have clear and consistent procedures for dealing with complaints and inappropriate behaviour in a timely and confidential manner
• Ensure all employees have equal opportunity to respond to any allegations regarding issues of misconduct
• Make employees aware of other avenues to raise their concerns, like union representatives

Jobs where there is confusion or changes to the role

• Uncertainty about, or frequent changes to, tasks and work standards
• Important task information not available
• Being told conflicting expectations from different managers

• Make sure all employees have clear, adequately detailed and up-to-date job descriptions that clarify responsibilities and expectations
• Provide employee inductions and suitable training for each role
• Avoid giving roles that may cause conflict between an employee’s personal beliefs and professional demands
• Have clear reporting lines and avoid having employees reporting to more than one manager

Workplaces affected by major changes

• Lack of consideration of potential WHS/OHS issues and performance impacts during downsizing, relocation or introduction of new technology or procedures
• Lack of consultation, communication and support between key stakeholders and staff during transition times

• Inform and prepare staff in advance of any proposed major changes to their work environment, duties or responsibilities
• Provide adequate training and support before, during and after times of change
• Be honest and transparent in communications with staff, particularly regarding factors affecting the organisation such as re-structure or merger with another organisation
• Have strategies to support those who will lose their jobs and those who may feel insecure about their job future

Jobs where employee satisfaction or advancement is ignored

• Lack of positive feedback and informal recognition or reward
• No opportunity for skill development or career advancement
• Skills and experience are not used adequately

• Set realistic and agreed goals and deadlines, and provide the support and resources to achieve them
• Acknowledge and reward individual and team achievements, and celebrate organisational accomplishments and milestones
• Provide opportunities for learning, personal development and career advancement
• Provide positive and constructive advice in performance reviews and focus on skill development rather than failings

Unfair and biased work culture

• Policy and procedures are not followed consistently
• Unfairness or bias in decisions regarding who performs certain tasks or receives certain resources
• Poor management of those who are under-performing

• Recruit employees based on merit, person-job fit and competence, and promote employees based on performance
• Have a fair and transparent process for awarding salary increases and bonuses
• Engage employees in the development of policies and procedures that will affect them

Jobs where there is exposure to poor quality or hazardous work environments

• Hazardous manual tasks
• Working near unsafe machinery
• Environmental factors such as poor air quality, high noise levels or extreme temperatures

• Ensure appropriate controls are implemented to reduce risks and ensure the safety of employees working on hazardous tasks
• Where possible, make sure work areas have enough lighting, are well-ventilated and are at a comfortable temperature
• For any work processes that release harmful substances, have controls in place to extract the substance at the source

Jobs where the work location is far from others, or where the employee is working alone or with a few other people

• Resources, communication and emergency assistance are difficult to access
• Travel times may be long
• Access to help from others may be difficult
• Job examples are farmers, real estate agents, nurses who conduct night visits, night shift workers for petrol stations or convenience stores and fly-in fly-out workers

• Make sure you are in regular communication with the employees
• Ensure employees have means of communication for emergencies
• Make sure employees have access to clean, safe and well-functioning facilities
• Manage fatigue particularly for those frequently travelling
• Where possible, give employees the option to reside in local communities

A workplace incident where the employee has been exposed to or threatened with abuse or harm that has caused fear or distress

• Employees who have been robbed, assaulted, bitten, spat on, scratched, kicked or threatened with a weapon
• Job examples where this occurs regularly are first responders, disaster and emergency service workers and defence personnel

• Prepare workers, particularly police and emergency services roles, for the types of situations they may be exposed to
• Provide information, guidance and training on the impact of these potentially traumatic situations and how to respond to them with confidence and resilience
• Train leaders to have the confidence and skills to identify, and consult with, individuals who may be struggling
• Implement processes to monitor exposure to trauma, and consider screening employees for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health difficulties
• Create a culture that removes any stigma towards mental health difficulties

Those who have witnessed a fatality or investigated an injury or fatality

• Employees who repeatedly listen to individuals’ detailed descriptions of traumatic and painful events
• Job examples of where this occurs are child protection workers, lawyers, police officers, journalists, custom officers