The biggest areas of opportunity for workplaces in the information media and telecommunications industry are in the culture and connectedness domains, as both lost ground after strong gains the year before. Workers are being treated with less respect, and there has been a drop in team sentiment – potentially a by-product of working remotely amid surging demand from a large proportion of the Australian workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Likewise, key psychosocial risk factors in the industry include inappropriate workload and poor change management, with a substantial drop in reports of workplaces providing clear and positive support to help workers through recent changes.

What you can do?

When thinking about workplace mental health and wellbeing, culture can seem like the trickiest area to tackle. However, leaders are uniquely placed to actively listen to the thoughts and experiences of their teams and influence policy change in ways that meet the needs of their people (especially during times of change). Leaders in this industry have an opportunity to generate trust and positive cultural change through transparent decision-marking, job design reviews, and providing additional support to staff during times of organisational change.

To regain momentum towards becoming truly thriving workplaces, and employers of choice, workplaces in the information media and telecommunications industry should take a whole-of-person approach to their people beyond the direct work environment. Supporting individuals at the intersection between work and life, and through all life transitions, is a great way to promote individual wellbeing and create a culture of care and comradery.

It also helps to prevent psychological injury and increase productivity.

The highest psychosocial risk facing the information media and telecommunications industry is inappropriate workload.

It’s easy for workers to become overwhelmed with the amount of work and deadlines they have but you can support them by implementing good job design and alleviating time pressures. For example:

• Ensuring adequate work breaks are taken where possible
• Avoiding extended periods of long or irregular working hours
• Regularly reviewing workloads and ensuring staff are qualified to complete tasks assigned
• Consider rotating tasks that are highly repetitive or monotonous
• Encouraging staff to speak up and have input into the timing and pace of work
• Making sure targets are realistic and achievable and allow for staff feedback
• Encouraging workers to take regular annual leave
• Providing wellbeing time off (e.g., finishing early on a Friday or giving extra days of leave throughout the year).