Mental Health in the Work Health and Safety Act (WA) 2020
Mental Health in the Workplace
Mental health in the workplace is becoming an increasingly important consideration for organisations.
Most humans spend a large portion of their life on this planet at work. Our experience at work, therefore, plays a significant part in our overall happiness and wellbeing.
Employees have increased their expectations in terms of well-being and work, and regulatory bodies have expanded their capabilities and requirements to better protect and cater for people’s psychological wellbeing.
Work Health and Safety Act (WA) 2020
The Work Health and Safety Act (WA) 2020 (‘WHS Act’) was introduced to replace its legislative predecessor, the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1984. The WHS Act aims to better protect West Australian workers by imposing broader responsibilities and tougher penalties on the various types of employers.
Within the WHS Act, in Section 4, ‘Health’ is defined as being inclusive of both physical and psychological health.
The WHS Act places a primary duty of care, on all persons conducting a business or undertaking, to ensure the health and safety of workers, so far as it is reasonably practical, by eliminating health and safety risks. This duty of care is therefore inclusive of a duty to protect the psychological health of workers.
To maintain a mentally healthy workplace, an organisation needs to continually be monitoring and addressing health, safety and wellbeing concerns in and due to, the work environment. This includes the:
- organisation and design of work
- workplace culture
- physical environment
- facilities provided.
The below video from the West Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation, and Safety, provides a good overview of what mental health in the workplace looks like. They also have a Mentally Healthy Workplaces area on their website with lots of handy resources to help organisations protect and promote mental health.
The Benefits of Mentally Healthy Workplaces
For organisations of all sizes across all industries, a focus on optimising the workplace experience to promote employee well-being can unlock tremendous benefits.
- Attracting and Retaining Talent
Organisations that protect and promote psychological well-being are better positioned to attract and retain high-performing talent - Improving Performance and Productivity
When employees are happy at work they work better. Ensuring that people feel happy, comfortable, and empowered at work will help to foster a culture of high-performance and innovation - Optimising Operations
Quality teams, reduced staff turnover, and empowered employees all contribute to optimising an organisation’s operations and improving business performance
ISO 45003 for Managing Mental Health
ISO 45003 is the first internationally accepted standard for the management of psychological health and safety in the workplace. It provides a framework for managing psychological risk within an occupational health and safety management system based on ISO 45001. Click here to learn more about ISO 45003.
Need Support?
QSM Group is experienced in designing, implementing, and maintaining safety management systems for organisations across all sectors. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you optimise your mentally healthy workplace.
This guide provides a comprehensive roadmap to help businesses calculate their emissions, comply with government regulations, and identify opportunities for cost savings and efficiency.
From January 1, 2025, many Australian businesses must prepare annual sustainability reports with mandatory climate-related financial disclosures. This article looks at the upcoming changes and how businesses can prepare.
The new version of Mango will be released in a few weeks’ time. In this version, there has been a full redesign of the user interface with various user experience improvements included.
This blog will guide you through the process of calculating the ROI of Job Management Software, focusing on factors such as increased productivity and reduced operational costs.
In this blog we discuss why job management software is essential for businesses to stay ahead in today’s competitive landscape.
Lone working involves employees performing tasks without direct supervision or support from colleagues, often increasing their risk of harm. Identifying and protecting lone workers is crucial for workplace safety.
This blog explores what constitutes lone working, the legal requirements, the main risks and hazards faced by lone workers, and how implementing solutions like the StaySafe app can enhance their safety. Discover how to effectively manage lone worker safety and ensure compliance with health and safety regulations.
StaySafe is relied upon by over 1,000 clients to protect 80,000 lone workers globally every day. StaySafe enables organisations to provide top-level care to the workforce, meet legal responsibilities, enhance reputation, and improve operations. In this blog we look at the top 10 reasons that organisations are choosing StaySafe as their lone worker safety solution.