How Mentoring Supports Mental Health at Work

Mental health at work isn’t a perk. It’s a safety priority. Here’s how mentoring helps you manage the risk.

The conversation about mental health at work has evolved, but many organisations are still missing the mark. We're beyond "Are you OK?" days and wellness weeks. If your business isn’t actively managing psychosocial hazards, you’re not just failing your people; you’re breaching your safety obligations.

Burnout is not a personal weakness. It's a workplace failure. And it’s costing Australian businesses billions in absenteeism, compensation claims, turnover, and lost trust.

Here’s how to shift your lens and build a genuinely safe, high-performance environment.

Key Summary: How Mentoring Supports Mental Health at Work

• Psychosocial hazards are a legal risk, not just a wellbeing issue. If your workplace isn't addressing mental health at a systems level, you're breaching WHS obligations.

• Burnout is a workplace failure, not an individual weakness. It’s driven by chronic stressors like poor workload design, role ambiguity, and lack of leadership support.

• Mentoring is a high-impact lever to reduce psychosocial risk. It fosters psychological safety, strengthens leadership capability, and provides critical peer support; especially in high-pressure industries like healthcare, construction, and education.

• "Feel-good" initiatives aren't enough. Regulators want to see structural change, not surface-level perks.

• Brancher’s mentoring platform is built for this. It helps you match people meaningfully, build safer teams, and meet compliance head-on with data to prove it.

What Are Psychosocial Hazards? (And Why They Matter Now)

Psychosocial hazards are the conditions at work that can harm a person’s mental health. Think unreasonable workloads, lack of role clarity, bullying, job insecurity, and poor organisational support.

According to Safe Work Australia, psychosocial hazards fall under the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act. That means employers have a legal duty to eliminate or minimise these risks; just like you would with physical hazards like machinery or chemicals.

Common Psychosocial Hazards by Industry

RELATED: How Can Mentoring Support Psychosocial Health?

Burnout Is a Safety Issue, Not a Character Flaw

Burnout is often treated like a personal failing. “They just couldn’t handle the pressure.” But chronic stress is a system problem, not a people problem.

The World Health Organization defines burnout as a workplace phenomenon, not a medical condition. It shows up as exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced performance; and it stems from unmanaged, ongoing stressors at work.

Here’s the disconnect: if a team was exposed to physical harm daily, you’d act immediately. But when your team is mentally fried from unrealistic deadlines or toxic leadership, it’s brushed off as “just how the job is.”

The Real Cost of Ignoring Psychosocial Risk

HR doesn’t just manage people, you’re managing risk. And ignoring psychosocial risk is costing more than you think.

Tangible Business Costs

• $10.9 billion lost annually in absenteeism, presenteeism, and compensation related to mental health in Australia (PwC)
• Psychological injuries have 3x the cost and 4x longer recovery times than physical injuries (SafeWork NSW)
• Rising scrutiny from regulators, psychosocial compliance is no longer optional

Legal and Reputational Risks

• WHS prosecutions are increasing in response to mental health-related incidents.
• Failure to manage risks could lead to personal liability for officers under the WHS Act.
• Poor psychological safety = higher attrition, lower engagement, and reputational fallout in job markets driven by Gen Z and Millennials.

Mental Health at Work Is a Safety Metric. Start Measuring It

Organisations often separate “safety” and “wellbeing” like they exist in different worlds. But psychosocial safety is a core part of WHS.

Here’s what it looks like in a compliant, proactive organisation:

Want a standard to follow? Look at ISO 45003, the global benchmark for managing psychological health and safety at work.

Yes, You’re Legally Required to Act

You’re not doing this to be nice. You’re doing this because psychological health is part of your legal duty of care.

Under the WHS Act and Regulations (including the new Code of Practice in NSW and other jurisdictions), employers must:

• Identify psychosocial hazards
• Assess and control the risks
• Consult workers and monitor outcomes

The kicker? “Wellbeing initiatives” like fruit bowls and mindfulness apps do not meet your compliance obligations. Regulators want to see changes to systems, not surface-level perks.

5 No-BS Actions to Create a Psychologically Safe Workplace

You don’t need a 12-month strategy to get started. Here are five things you can implement this quarter:

1. Run a psychosocial risk assessment: Use validated tools like the People at Work survey. Consult directly with employees.
2. Train your managers: Not just in “resilience” but in safe workload design, boundary-setting, and having hard conversations.
3. Redesign roles that are burning people out: If three people quit from the same role in six months, the role is broken; not the people.
4. Create a safety-first escalation process: Make it easy for people to flag psychosocial issues confidentially and without backlash.
5. Link safety + wellbeing to KPIs: Make psychological safety part of your performance reviews and leadership scorecards.
   
   

From Burnout to Balance: Build a Culture That Prevents Harm

Here’s the bottom line: burnout isn’t solved with yoga. It’s solved with better systems, better leadership, and a legal understanding that mental health at work is a safety issue.

You already know your people are exhausted. The real question is: will your workplace be part of the problem, or the prevention?

If you’re ready to move from compliance to culture change, Brancher can help. Our mentoring software is purpose-built to support psychological safety through connection, clarity, and growth; especially in high-pressure environments.

Because managing psychosocial risk isn’t just the law; it’s the future of work.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does mentoring improve psychological safety at work?

Mentoring builds trust, clarity, and connection across teams. When employees have access to mentors, they feel safer to voice concerns, ask for help, and navigate challenges. This openness contributes to a psychologically safe environment, where speaking up doesn’t result in punishment or exclusion.

2. Can mentoring reduce employee burnout?

Yes. Mentoring offers emotional and professional support, which helps employees better manage stress, set healthy boundaries, and navigate workload pressures. It also creates space for reflection and problem-solving—key tools for preventing chronic overwhelm.

3. What makes mentoring different from wellbeing programs?

Mentoring addresses root causes, not just symptoms. Unlike fruit bowls or mindfulness apps, mentoring builds capability, confidence, and connection that directly reduce psychosocial risk. It supports long-term growth rather than offering short-term relief.

4. What industries benefit most from mentoring to manage psychosocial hazards?

High-pressure industries like healthcare, construction, education, and professional services benefit significantly. These sectors often involve emotional labour, high job demands, or unclear expectations—all of which mentoring can help mitigate.

5. What should managers know before starting a mentoring program focused on mental health?

Managers should understand that mentoring is not therapy—it’s about support, development, and safe conversations. They must also be trained in setting clear boundaries, listening without judgement, and recognising signs of psychological strain.