The incidence of poor mental health is highest in industries characterised by a combination of high job demands, low job security, and low job control.

Nearly half of all workers will suffer a mental health condition during their working lives, with the ACTU’s “Work Shouldn’t Hurt” survey finding that one in five workers experienced a mental health issue as a result of work in the last twelve months.

Employers deal with mental health hazards in a reactive rather than a proactive way. Often mental health issues are controlled only after someone is harmed or killed. Workplace psychosocial hazards are psychological risks that arise from the design or management or work, the work environment and workplace behaviours that may cause psychological harm.

The most common causes of workplace mental health risks are:

1. Work pressure and work overload

2. Shift work and rostering

3. Job insecurity

4. Harassment and bullying

5. Exposure to workplace violence or traumatic events

** The economic cost of poorly managed workplace mental health is between $12.3 and $22 billion in workers compensation and absenteeism.**

Workers are hesitant to speak up when there are issues because of fear of discrimination. We need to shift the conversation around workplace mental health being an individual problem to a collective workplace responsibility.

For every dollar spent by a company on mental health initiatives, return on investment is up to 1:8. The HeadFirst campaign aims to build awareness and support workers to manage and control psychosocial hazards in order to prevent injuries in workplaces. The campaign will ensure hazards are dealt with before workers are injured – we want to see employers being proactive, rather than reactive around mental health.

To join us, become a HeadFirst Hero below!