There has been more of a focus on the need to protect workers mental health in the workplace with the emergence of a more holistic approach to psychological safety management reflected in changes both to the work health and safety legislation and the newly introduced ISO 45001 standards.

It is difficult to implement effective protective strategies for mental health and emotional wellbeing at work; especially, in consideration of our individual differences, our life experiences and the variance in mental health resilience we each bring to the workplace.

Specific work demands such as the level of control over work, social supports in the workplace, the emotional demands of the job, traumatic events, role ambiguity, role conflict, the meaningfulness of work, long working hours, and the quality of relationships with supervisors were common themes in work-related stress.

Exposure to dangerous working conditions (street outreach, working alone with clients), client-initiated violence; and regular dealings with clients who have experienced physical and/or emotional trauma, are all emotionally draining and present across diverse industry sectors.

With many organisations using Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) to mitigate these stressors, we look at just how effective are EAPs and what workplace supports work best.