In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Jason van Schie, a psychological Health and Safety expert, qualified psychologist, podcaster and Managing Director of People Diagnostix - a health technology company.
Jason explains that psychosocial risk covers anything in the design or management of work causing employees stress e.g. ongoing unreasonable deadlines or witnessing a traumatic accident.
Safety professionals are given a brief history of workplace mental health awareness - which is now being taken much more seriously and thankfully focuses on prevention rather than cure. Jason explains the key reasons behind this shift in approach and shares the benefits of managing psychosocial risk.
A new standard, ISO 45003, implies that mental health should be managed like any other health and safety risk. Jason reviews this standard and explores what this means for the safety profession. He suggests that HSE professionals should take the lead in psychosocial risk assessment - so workplace mental health isn’t confined to HR.
Jason provides practical guidance on how to monitor and manage psychosocial hazards, with a strong focus on utilizing technology and keeping things simple.
You may be relieved to hear Jason doesn’t believe EHS professionals need to become psychologists(!) - but he does advocate the development of compassion.
Jason’s Psych Health and Safety Podcast:
Psych Health and Safety Podcast
The 45003 Academy - where you can access free resources to understand and adopt the global ISO 45003 standard:
ISO 45003:2021 Psychological health and safety at work FREE resources training pdf
Safe Work Australia’s Model Code of Practice recommended by Jason:
Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work | Safe Work Australia
Jason’s health technology company, People Diagnostix:
FlourishDx - Psychological Health, Safety and Wellbeing Software
Jason van Schie on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonvanschie
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