Designing for Wellbeing: Mastering Psychosocial Risk
Workplaces today are grappling with a rising tide of stress, burnout, and harassment. As regulators set new expectations for managing mental health, psychosocial risks have shifted from a “personnel issue” to a critical safety challenge. How do organisations move beyond reactive measures to design work that actually prevents harm?
In this insightful and practical episode, Vanessa Cooper, Principal Advisor at WorkSafe New Zealand, and Terry Buckingham, Wellbeing Lead at ASB Bank, join ecoPortal’s Craig Bleakley to explore how to identify and manage psychosocial issues before they escalate. We unpack real-world strategies for designing safer systems, from role clarity to physical environments, and how to foster a culture where wellbeing is built into the way work is done.
Key themes:
Psychosocial Risks are Safety Risks: Why psychosocial hazards must be managed with the same rigour as physical risks, and the guidelines influencing safety beyond traditional hazards.
Managing Risk on the Frontline: Practical insights on how to identify early warning signs, assess risks, and know exactly when, and how, to intervene effectively.
Designing for Wellbeing: How thoughtful design reduces friction and improves focus—covering everything from physical workspace layout to organisational structures and role clarity.
Leadership & Engagement: The critical role leaders play in promoting psychosocial safety through clear policies and trusted reporting mechanisms.
Technology & Data Ethics: Balancing the use of AI and monitoring tools to identify risk patterns while respecting employee privacy.
This episode is essential listening for HR and People Leaders, EHS professionals navigating new regulations, and Executives seeking to embed wellbeing into their risk management strategy.
Featuring:
Vanessa Cooper, Principal Advisor at WorkSafe NZ As the Principal Advisor for Mentally Healthy Work at New Zealand’s primary regulator, Vanessa is focused on making psychosocial risks better understood and incorporated into standard risk management processes.
Terry Buckingham, Wellbeing Lead at ASB Bank Terry designs and leads the wellbeing strategy for over 6,000 employees at ASB Bank. He has enhanced the bank’s commitment to duty of care, engaging teams with practical tools to manage psychosocial risk in a large-scale corporate environment.
Available now on all major podcast platforms.
