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Deep Diving into Psychosocial Risks

Recognising that mental health was becoming an increasingly important topic in the workplace and acknowledging increasing evidence that workplaces can play an important and active role in maintaining the mental health and well-being of their workers – the Western Australian (WA) Mental Health Commission (MHC) took action.

The MHC partnered with The Centre for Transformative Work Design to develop a comprehensive set of mental health support resources for WA workplaces within the Centre’s State-wide Thrive at Work initiative. As part of the partnership, the MHC elected to participate as a pilot for the development of the activities and resources necessary to support WA organisations in developing mentally healthy workplaces.

The MHC undertook psychologist-facilitated SMART Focus Groups – a deep dive into the core psychosocial risks employees were experiencing, the root causes of these stressors, and resources within the organisation that helped to buffer the effects of these risks. The MHC participated in seven focus groups involving 65 employees from six different departments and varying levels.

Outcomes:

  • Employees participated in three Solutions Based Workshops – a team approach to generating solutions and actions needed to address the psychosocial risk themes.
  • As a result of this project, the MHC developed and implemented a two-year action plan covering the themes identified in the workshops.