Pyschological safety and mental health in the workplace is in the spotlight for local governments. It’s been a couple of years since the WA Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act (2020) was introduced and lifted the profile of pyschological safety.
Although local goverments, as PCBUs (person conducting
a business or undertaking), have always had a duty of care to provide a safe workplace and take all reasonable steps to manage physical and pyschological hazards, the Act now explicitly talks about pyschological safety.
LGIS provides a suite of services to support members at all points of their risk management journey when it comes to pyschological safety. Fundementally the LGIS programs is designed to help members to create an environment where employees feel
safe, share their concerns, and seek support when facing psychological challenges. It emphasises fostering a culture of respect, professionalism, empathy, and open communication.
A recent case involving the Shire of Denmark and a tourist turned on
whether pea gravel at the bottom of some stairs was an obvious risk and
what is the extent of a local government’s duty of care in relation to obvious risks.
LGIS, together with WorkCover WA and legal partners Mills Oakley and Moray & Agnew have delivered four sector specific information sessions on the new Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act (2023) WA.
Members have been asking ‘How do we manage the use and charging of e-scooter and bikes (micro-mobility)?’. Charging stations and facilities have already been made available by some members while others are considering the potential benefits.
Nationally anxiety/stress disorders accounted for 45.8% of pyschological injury claims according to Safe Work Australia’s, ‘Pyschological health and safety in the workplace’ report (February 2024). Stress, anxiety, depression, conflict, and burnout have become more prevalent.
From a local government perspective the past few years have seen a steep increase in the cost of workers’ compensation claims. Psychological injuries, which are on average 45% more expensive per claim than musculoskeletal injuries, are on the rise and are now the second most common claim type.
Across the financial years 2019-2023, LGIS received 237 pyschological injury claims with a value over $14 million
and average cost of $59,296 per claim. The number one cause of claims is work-related harassment/bullying followed by work pressure.
The program helps members to adopt tertiary, secondary and primary interventions that target all levels within an organisation – individual, leadership, team, and organisation wide.
Promote
The first step is to build employees capacity to understand mental health issues, develop their own resilience and contribute to mentally health workplaces. By openly talking about and promoting mental health local governments can reduce stigma and build resilience.
Prevent
Unlike physical hazards, which are present for specific roles, mental health risks exist in every industry and job. The prevention part of the program includes workshops to develop individuals and teams understanding of local government’s duty of care requirements, dealing with difficult behaviours and identifing and managing pyschosocial hazards.
Intervene early
Supporting and accommodating employees at the early stages of a mental health issue helps lessen recovery time and reduces their time away from work. Members should consider offering an EAP service to address employees’ personal and work-related concerns. LGIS offers three types of intervention services – counselling for workplace issues, mediation to address potentially toxic workplace relationships, and people leader self-harm prevention resources.
Support recovery
Supporting workers post-injury is critical in influencing successful return-to-work/stay-at-work processes. Along with leadership support and communication with the worker, alignment to an injury management process, and provision of a critical incident debriefing opportunity helps in the recovery. LGIS provides critical incident debriefing when a major incident occurs that impacts workers, and advice/consultancy services during ‘high-risk’ times.
For more information on how LGIS’ pyschologically safe program can support you in creating a mentally healthy workplace contact the People Risk Team at [email protected]
There’s less than eight weeks to go before we say goodbye to 2023/24 and the vast majority of members have completed their declarations for the 2024/25 membership year.
Across Western Australia local governments create and deliver spaces that welcome everyone – from libraries to recreation centres and playgrounds. These services and facilities foster community connection but unfortunately they can also witness anti-social behaviour.
CCTV, alarms and dedicated security may require significant investment (depending on scope), but for those local governments who have identified serious hazards associated with ASB, it’s an investment that may be warranted. When considering these options, it’s important to consider not just the initial investment but the ongoing commitment of resources.
LGIS is the unifying name for the dedicated suite of risk financing and management services for WA local governments, established by the WA Local Government Association in conjunction with JLT Public Sector (part of the Marsh group of companies). LGIS is managed by JLT Public Sector (ABN 69 009 098 864 AFS Licence 226827).
Risk Matters, via this website, is designed to keep members, their staff and elected members informed on topical risk management and insurance issues and LGIS programs and services.
