In a world of work where demands are increasingly intense and pressure is constant, employees’ mental well-being has become a fundamental pillar for any organisation that aspires to sustainable success. In fact, research shows that 92% of employees consider it very important for their organisation to value their emotional and psychological well-being.
In this context, the role of leadership in psychosocial risk management has become essential. Leaders and managers can shape a safe and healthy work environment that promotes the mental health of their teams and boosts the organisation’s productivity.
To facilitate this process, we invite you to download our Psychosocial Risk Factors template to prevent mental health problems at work. You will be able to identify and efficiently address these risks, promoting your employees’ well-being and your company’s productivity. Download the template now and improve your work environment!
What are psychosocial risk factors?
Psychosocial risk factors in the work environment can negatively impact workers’ physical, psychological, and social well-being. These risks emerge from interpersonal relationships, organisational conditions, and work demands. This is where the role of leadership in psychosocial risk management becomes crucial.
When these aspects are not managed effectively, they can significantly deteriorate employees’ mental well-being. For example, an excessive or poorly distributed workload can lead to burnout, while a hostile work environment can lead to conflict and low morale.
These factors affect individual employees and can negatively impact productivity and the company’s work environment. Therefore, the role of leadership in psychosocial risk management is crucial, requiring the implementation of proactive management strategies to foster a balanced work environment.
Role of leadership in psychosocial risk management
Leadership is a crucial component in the identification and mitigation of psychosocial risks in the work environment. Leaders are in a strategic position to observe and assess team dynamics, identify early signs of stress or discontent, and take corrective action before these factors become serious problems. This is precisely the role of leadership in psychosocial risk management.
Effective leaders understand that their role goes beyond operational management; they must act as well-being facilitators within their teams and serve as role models, inspiring healthy and resilient behaviour, encouraging their teams to prioritise their own physical and emotional well-being.
This ability to positively influence represents the role of leadership in psychosocial risk management, and is fundamental to creating a work environment that is not only productive, but also safe and sustainable in the long term. To achieve this, leaders must be empathetic and able to implement measures that foster a positive work environment.
Preventive strategies for leaders
1. Connect with your team to understand their needs
Before making any changes, it is important to identify the current psychosocial risk factors. These may include workload and pace, work environment, interpersonal relationships, and role clarity.
Practical exercise: Assessment
Implementing a questionnaire that allows employees to assess their level of psychological risk is a useful exercise. This approach provides a clear picture of the areas that need attention and improvement.
To do this, design simple questions that employees can easily answer. You can use a Likert scale (e.g. from 1 to 5) to measure the degree of agreement or disagreement with statements related to these factors. Examples of questions could be:
- Do you consider your workload to be manageable?
- Do you feel supported by your colleagues and supervisors?
- Are you clear about your responsibilities and roles within the team?
Then, collect the answers and analyse the data to identify patterns or areas that need attention. Look for common issues indicating systemic problems, such as a high workload or lack of role clarity.
You can use our Psychosocial Risk Factors template to help you identify mental health issues at work.
2. Encourage open and effective communication
Promoting a culture of open communication where employees can voice their concerns without fear of reprisal is essential. This approach not only helps to identify problems before they become crises, but also strengthens the relationship between leaders and their teams.
To achieve this, improving internal communication through continuous and effective dialogue is essential. Regular team meetings are vital to aligning objectives, solving problems collaboratively, and ensuring that everyone is informed.
In addition, using digital tools and communication platforms facilitates information sharing and reinforces organisational transparency. Implementing these practices creates an environment of trust and fosters collaboration within the company.
3. Adjust workloads
Reviewing and redistributing tasks to ensure that the workload is balanced and manageable for all employees is essential. Strategies such as setting clear priorities and realistic deadlines can be implemented to prevent burnout and stress.
In addition, implementing regular breaks and flexible working policies can significantly improve employees’ time and energy management.
4. Implement training and well-being programmes
Developing ongoing training programmes is crucial to improve employees’ skills and competencies, while promoting an environment of learning and growth. These programmes should include access to mental health and well-being resources that are critical to supporting employees’ personal and professional development.
In addition, implementing corporate well-being solutions, such as those offered by ifeel, provides necessary psychological support and helps leaders better understand the emotional needs of their teams. These combined efforts not only strengthen individual well-being, but also contribute to a positive and productive organisational climate. Let’s take a look at how:
| Benefits of mental well-being solutions for business | |
| Benefit | Description |
| Increased productivity | Mental well-being solutions for companies are able to reduce absenteeism and improve work motivation. |
| Reduce work-related stress | Teach stress management techniques that improve employees’ mental and emotional health. |
| Personalised psychological support | Access to support services that are tailored to individual needs. |
5. Emotional leadership development
Emotional leadership is essential for managing emotions within the team effectively. This type of leadership involves skills such as empathy, self-awareness, and emotional regulation. In this sense, leaders must be able to identify when a team member is dealing with stress or burnout and provide the necessary support.
“Finally, and this is something we have had to experience over the last few years, having the ability to provide peace of mind and a vision of the future in times of uncertainty“.
–Carlos Romero-Camacho Silos, Chief People & Corporate Affairs Officer at Insud Pharma, an ifeel partner company.
At ifeel, we encourage you to download our ‘Guide to prevent micromanagement in executive teams’, which will provide you with the tools to tackle these problems and build a healthy and effective leadership.
Trust the leaders
At ifeel, we know that leadership in psychosocial risk management is not just a responsibility, but an opportunity to create a healthier and more productive work environment.
To help in this process, we designed a Psychosocial Risk Factors template to help you prevent mental health problems at work. You will be able to identify and efficiently address these risks, promoting your employees’ well-being and your company’s productivity. Download the template now and improve your work environment!
To support companies in this process, our team of expert workplace well-being psychologists has created a mental well-being solution for businesses that improves talent retention, reduces presenteeism, and combats employee stress.
With our mental well-being solution, your company’s HR managers can receive personalised, data-driven advice on improving mental health at work. In addition, this solution offers employees a 360° mental well-being service structured at different levels according to their needs. Try our solution now to see how it could help you.
We hope you found this article on leadership in psychosocial risk management interesting. If you would like more information about our mental well-being solution for companies, simply request it, and we will contact your team as soon as possible.
