What Does the ‘HEALTH’ Part of the Workplace Health and Safety Really Mean?

Roderick Cross is a long time partner of The Leadership Sphere who is leading expert in psychosocial safety and one of Australia’s most highly sought after leadership coaches. We’ll be joined by Roderick on  September 4th, 2025 to chat with him live. Sign up here to join the conversation. 

This article was originally published by Roderick Cross on LinkedIn.

April marked the two-year anniversary of the enforcement of the ‘Managing psychosocial hazards at work’ Code of Practice (the Code) which provides direction and guidance on ways to achieve the standards for health, safety, and welfare under the WHS Act.

A primary duty under the Code is that a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, workers and other persons are not exposed to risks to their psychological or physical health and safety. A PCBU must eliminate psychosocial risks in the workplace, or if that is not reasonably practicable, minimise these risks so far as is reasonably practicable using the risk management process and controls.

A worker’s duties are that they must take reasonable care for their own psychological and physical health and safety and to (take care their acts or omissions do) not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons. Workers must comply with reasonable health and safety instructions, as far as they are reasonably able, and cooperate with reasonable health and safety policies or procedures that have been notified to workers.

At its simplest level it could be seen as:

Creating (provide and maintain) a safe workplace environment for all and setting the standards for each (individual) person to maintain their health and perform their duties.

In this post we spend a little time on the ‘individual’ and the importance of ‘their health’ to the success of the system level safety and workplace environment, and sustainable performance and productivity.

What do we mean by health?

The WHS Act defines ‘health’ to include both physical and psychological health. This means that where the WHS Act imposes a duty in relation to ‘health’, PCBUs must manage risks to both physical and psychological health, so far as is reasonably practicable, and workers must take reasonable care of their own and others’ health. What does that actually mean?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO):

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Mental health (psychological) is a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

Peoples’ health ‘state’ includes their responses to the environment in the utilisation of their resources in coping/adapting to stressors and meeting demands and expectations. These responses are experienced in the ‘outer’ workplace in functioning through behaviours, words and silence, actions and inactions with others; and the ‘inner’ experience of thinking, emotion and physical (e.g. cardiovascular and musculoskeletal, energy etc).

Psychological health occurs on a continuum of responses which workers may experience, with the WHO definition of psychological health occurring at one end of this continuum and injury and harm at the other. An individual’s experience may move back and/or forward on this continuum over time. (WHS Qld Code p.5)

Why does it matter?

Risks to psychological health are known as psychosocial risks. Section 55B of the WHS Regulations defines psychosocial risk as a risk to the health and safety of a worker or other person from a psychosocial hazard.

Another duty under the Code is there must be regular consultation and effective reporting. Worker’s input is needed with assessing and identifying risks, making decisions for resolving issues about the psychosocial risks to health and safety, and to gather their views and contribution on practical suggestions and potential solutions on what control measures are implemented, monitoring effectiveness of controls and health of workers.

The code also makes it clear that sometimes, some workers may be at greater risk or vulnerable to injury and harm, less willing to participate in consultation and reporting, and hesitant to raise issues and discuss hazards. For example, workers with:

– limited experience in the workplace (e.g. young workers- may lack knowledge or not identify hazards, or lack confidence to report them)

– barriers to understanding safety information (e.g. culturally, literacy or language diversity)

– perceived barriers to raising safety issues e.g. power imbalance (due to insecure, casual or precarious work arrangements, or career progression) or stigma and discrimination (due to disability or identifying as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, etc).

– previous exposure to a hazard (directly or indirectly) who have suffered harm or injury, or have disclosed they have additional needs, and on returning to health and work.

Our experience would also suggest that people who are at the lower end of the health state continuum may also have less resources to cope and adapt to stressor from psychosocial risks and work demands and may be less able to fully participate in the risk management and other safety practices (e.g. consultation etc).

In summary

Health is an individual’s response to the experience of stressors that may arise from hazards in the workplace environment.

Health is dynamic, on a continuum, and includes thinking, feeling, physical aspects, as well as behaviours and interactions with others. Some things we can observe, and others need to be shared.

It is normal to struggle at times due to demands overwhelming resources, potentially impacting performance and effectiveness. At these times there may be an increased exposure to psychosocial risks and reduction in contribution to the risk management and other safety processes.

Individual health is made up of experiences, capacity, strengths, values and resources to support coping/adapting and responding to stress and demands of life, and influenced by the context (environment) which may increase risks of injury or harm.

How can this be used to sustain performance and productivity? BAC UPS

That’s where our Building A Culture of Unifying Psychosocial Safety-BAC UPS program can help support organisations, teams and individuals to value each individual’s health state, and build resources of:

• Thinking—involving problem solving, decision making and ability to focus attention—their psychological health;
• Emotional intelligence, psychological flexibility and management—their emotional wellbeing, and;
• Ability to relate to and work productively as members of teams—positive relationships.

BAC UPS also supports the system / organisational level to be safer, healthier, more innovative, and adaptive to stressors/challenges and improve productivity, and compliance with the Code.

It helps people understand and utilise the health continuum, psychological safety environments, and the states (awareness) and stages (dynamics) of radical health including- normalising and resolving struggles, reducing stigma and discrimination, supporting people to adapt and learn to thrive.

It helps leaders and staff to hold authentic conversations to build health and prevent psychosocial hazards at the individual and team levels, improve systems, support leaders’ awareness of and understanding of staff members’ health state and knowing how to help.

We’ll be sharing more of Roderick’s insights into psychosocial safety and BAC UPS in the lead up to our conversation with him on September 4th, 2025. Register to the event and join us live by following this link.