ISO 45003 Psychological Health Guidelines – First Steps for Overcoming Implementation Barriers

We're all familiar with?addressing?safe work environments,?trying to?prevent slips, trips, or?falls.?But what happens when workplace?safety is?examined?at through the lens of?mental?health?risk rather than physical risk??When it comes to supporting the mental well-being of employees, there is?quite a lot to think about.

The journey so far and?core ideas of the ISO45003

In July 2021 the International Organisation for Standardisation released a new international guideline for?Psychological Health and Safety at Work?(the ISO45003 Guidelines). The aim of?the?new standards is to address mental health in the workplace?from a health and safety perspective.?

Physical risk management at work is commonly understood,?and a regulatory requirement in most countries around the world.?Psychological risks at work, however, are still less understood and not often addressed with the same rigor?and focus?as physical risks.?Even in countries where psychological risk assessments are required by law, such as?the?UK, Germany, Australia,?and?Canada, there?are?no clear guidelines?or examples on how these risk assessments are to be conducted.

To address this critical issue,?GEB?actively?works with multinational clients?to help develop a holistic?Health & Wellbeing Strategy?that includes tools, services, and programs that support mental health.?Over the last 18 months,?we have focused on?educating?multinational clients?and intermediaries?about?the ISO45003?standards and how to apply them towards?developing?a?mental health strategy.?Through this work, we’ve?discovered that a lot of education is still necessary to?help?organisations?understand?how the ISO standards?and?their risk management approach?differ?from?typical?mental health?initiatives?in the workplace.

Mental health management – a shared responsibility

The core of the ISO 45003 is the idea of shared responsibility?between employer and employee to look after employee mental health. It provides a blueprint for managing workplace mental health that has been created in collaboration?with?Health and Safety representatives from 75 countries. ?(Click here to access the free training on the ISO 45003 of our partner FlourishDx.)

Employees can manage stress and?improve their?resilience?by?learning coping strategies, accessing support services such as EAP counseling or online resources,?using?meditation apps,?and?improving their?diet and exercise?habits. These are self-managed,?self-care initiatives.?This means that?while employers may offer these resources to employees,?the?responsibility for using the services rests with the employees themselves.

For employers,?eliminating?organisational?hazards that may lead to psychological harm?is an essential component of managing mental health risks. Most of these hazards are rooted in?organisational culture?and structure. Examples?of these hazards?include?workload and working hours;?autonomy and control over workload and prioritisation;?managerial styles and support;?the perception of fairness in the workplace;?equality in compensation and benefits;?change management and communication?transparency. If these cultural and organisational structures are poorly managed or perceived as not?being?in place, employees may be exposed to psychological risk?factors. Addressing?these?risks requires very different mitigation initiatives to the ones that address employee responsibility around self-care.

Barriers to align with the ISO standards

Over the last two years, mental health has been a focus for multinational organisations?of all sizes. This is a?very positive?step and has pushed?forward?the agenda of mental health in the workplace?significantly.?Despite this progress, however,?it appears?that many employers?are still?primarily focused on initiatives related to self-care rather than addressing the organisational issues that also contribute to?psychological?hazards.

One of the main barriers in addressing?organisation-driven?psychological?hazards?is the lack of understanding that mental well-being requires?a?true?risk?management?approach?that is?supported by top?management.?This?requires resources, cultural change, and cross-department?collaboration?between Human Resources, Work Health & Safety, Risk Managers,?Benefit Managers, and Pooling?&?Captive Managers.?Quite often these departments do not work closely together and?may?suffer from?communication and alignment?differences,?as?well as questions around ownership of the topic.

Another barrier?to addressing these issues?may be a short-term outlook on goals and results?in the current global environment. After two years of struggling economies everywhere around the world, the main focus of many corporates?today?is?financially?related, the?results?of?the bottom line.?Supporting employee physical and mental well-being through rewards,?benefits,?incentives, or even culture and process changes?can have an associated cost, and the return on investment from such initiatives may not be immediately realised.?Because of this, well-being efforts can?mistakenly?be perceived as less valuable than other areas of investment the organisation may consider.

Overcoming?implementation?challenges

-?Take?a long-term view:?Taking a?long-term?view?on?culture change and?the health and well-being of employees can have far-reaching returns for the organisation, and contribute to workplace productivity, employee satisfaction, and retention.?

-?Integrate?within?ESG:?To provide focus on this important topic at the highest levels in an organisation, mental health risk management should become part of a company’s?ESG approach (environment, social, and governance). In doing so, awareness is raised at the executive level and?becomes?a public commitment to the market.?

-?Assess current?strategy:?If an organisation does not have the basics in place, a first step is to compare themselves against?best practices?in a workplace mental health audit?(such as one available?from?FlourishDx).?From here, organisations can work towards aligning with the ISO standards.?

-?Develop?a cross-functional approach to Health & Well-being:?Health & well-being initiatives in the workplace are not solely?the?responsibility of?Human?Resource departments.?Work Health & Safety, Benefit Managers, Diversity &?Inclusion, Risk?Managers,?and the employees themselves?must?be involved?and?take part-ownership?in initiatives.?

-?Offer tools and resources:?Companies can consider?offering tools and resources?that support their overall well-being strategy and?support employee self-care.?Resources?may?include?Employee Assistance Programmes,?Health?Engagement Platforms, Telemedicine?, and?Financial Wellbeing?Advice and Support, etc.?However, these need to sit within a strategy that is based on health risk management to fulfill the employer’s?responsibility side?for well-being in the workplace

-?Develop a clear communication strategy:?Many of the above changes include?culture change. This in turn?requires a lot of “behind the scenes”?work, not immediately?apparent?to employees. With this in mind, it becomes imperative to have?an authentic and transparent?internal communication strategy that supports and engages with?employees, and?responds to their feedback.

Why it matters

Aligning?your organisation with the?new ISO?requirements isn’t just a matter of ticking regulatory?boxes but?is instead?a pathway?towards?real and tangible benefits.?Research shows that?engaged employees?will deliver better results with lower turnover?(Gallup, 2021).?Mid-?to longer-term goals like?a change of culture,?improved employee?retention, and EVP?will result in a more productive employee population,?as well as?cost savings over time?(WTW, 2021).?In the current war for talent, these are compelling arguments for changing?from a focus?only?on the bottom line,?to a broadened view that includes?employee wellbeing,?and?particularly mental wellbeing.

Employers need to take a close look at practices, procedures, and culture and own their part for health & well-being instead of putting the responsibility on employees only via self-care tools.?Ultimately,?I?strongly?believe that?employers who take responsibility for the environment they create for their employees to?flourish will also see this in?the results.