Innovative Thinker  |   Mark Newns

Healthy attitude

Better management of psychosocial risks by employers benefits employees and businesses, Mark Newns tells Thomas Johnson.

Psychosocial risks in the construction industry are often associated with travel times, working conditions and financial security, according to Keltbray health and wellbeing manager Mark Newns. He says these issues can cause anxiety and fear.

By managing psychosocial risks, businesses can become more attractive to potential recruits

However, psychosocial risks can manifest in many ways in the workplace and it is not always easy for an employer to identify them.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) describes them as factors that may negatively affect workers’ psychological response to their work, workplace conditions and colleagues.

Addressing psychosocial risks and even just speaking about them with employees can improve productivity, reduce staff turnover and minimise sickness absence, Newns points out.

Keltbray has been making efforts to better manage those risks for several years. As a result the contractor has become one of the first companies to obtain ISO 45003 accreditation. Launched in 2021 it is the first global standard for giving practical guidance for managing psychosocial risks in the workplace.

British standards body BSI awards ISO 45003 accreditation to companies that can show they have tools to support employees affected by these risks. The accreditation process studies an organisation’s culture and policies for tackling mental health issues by interviewing senior managers.

To gain certification, Keltbray demonstrated the different layers of support it was offering staff before it sought accreditation.

Newns says the measures covered included courses such as “Thinking clearly under pressure,” which all staff must take, along with standard health checks, which count as a primary layer. Through a secondary layer, Keltbray offers mental health first aid training and an employee assistance programme. The tertiary layer is about acknowledging when a staff member needs external support and getting it for them.

“Addressing psychosocial risks improves productivity, reduces staff turnover and minimises sickness absence​The company is now taking a broader look at psychosocial risks throughout a project’s lifecycle, considering the workers involved and the local community.

Newns says that since achieving the accreditation there has been an increase in people coming forward for support. Apart from the benefits to existing employees, Newns says that the management of psychosocial risks and ISO 45003 accreditation make a business more attractive to potential recruits and can help win work, as most tenders cover actions to be taken for workers’ health and wellbeing.

Newns believes that if other companies become accredited, the sector will benefit.

“Doing this in unison creates a powerful message,” he says. And collaborating to collect wellbeing and psychosocial metrics, would help the industry “understand our risks and how to manage them”, he concludes.