SafeWork NSW urges companies to foster an R U OK? Culture in their work environments

SafeWork NSW urges companies to foster an R U OK? culture in their work environments — asking every employer, supervisor and worker to treat checking in on a colleague as ordinary business rather than a once-a-year gesture.

Quick summary

• The regulator wants each business to build a climate where anyone can ask "are you OK?" and hear an honest reply.
• National R U OK? Day falls on 11 September 2025, yet check-ins matter every week of the calendar.
• Controlling psychosocial hazards — excessive workloads, trauma exposure, bullying and harassment — sits squarely inside work health and safety duties.
• Practical steps include documented psychosocial risk controls, visible leadership and quick access to counselling services.

What SafeWork NSW is asking businesses to do

SafeWork NSW is advocating for companies and their staff to cultivate an R U OK? culture, thereby contributing to the development of mentally healthy workplaces where everyone feels secure in posing and replying to this simple but crucial question.

“Although conversations about mental health are important every day, National R U OK? Day on 11 September 2025 is a reminder for us to check-in with each other, which can make a real difference to those going through a tough time,” SafeWork NSW said.

The workplace safety watchdog adds that tackling psychosocial hazards, including high workloads, trauma exposure, bullying, and harassment at work, contributes to a healthier and more satisfying atmosphere that increases productivity and serves the interests of everyone.

Psychological safety is a duty, not a single-day gesture

SafeWork NSW Commissioner Janet Schorer emphasised that maintaining psychological health and safety in the workplace is not only a task for a single day and not just a legal duty, but it is also the morally right approach to take.

“Creating a psychologically healthy and safe workplace allows for open and honest conversations about mental health and wellbeing and enables and empowers workers to speak up and say they are not okay if they need to,” she said.

How to foster an R U OK? culture in your workplace

Culture shifts when leaders go first. Start small, stay consistent, and back each check-in with somewhere real to turn.

• Ask senior leaders to speak openly about pressure they have felt themselves — permission travels downward far faster than policy ever will.
• Support each check-in with a concrete next step, whether that means a rostered break, adjusted deadlines or a warm referral.
• Publish where confidential services can be reached, and keep those contact details visible in more than one location.
• Build psychosocial risk reviews into toolbox talks so emerging hazards surface long before anyone is harmed.
• Give every team a simple prompt: ask twice, listen properly, encourage action, then circle back a week later.
• Measure what actually changes — turnover, absenteeism, near misses — then report the findings so workers know the effort was genuine.

Psychosocial hazards to keep on the risk register

• Sustained high workload, unrealistic deadlines and long or unpredictable shift patterns.
• Exposure to traumatic events, including callouts alongside emergency services and the aftermath of serious site incidents.
• Bullying, harassment, discrimination and aggression from clients, patients or members of the public.
• Poor organisational support, unclear expectations, and low control over how a job gets done.
• Remote or isolated duties, night work, and roles with limited contact during a shift.

Support services available to NSW workers

Nobody should be hunting for help mid-crisis. Keep these options printed, pinned and current so any worker can act quickly.

• Employee assistance programs provide confidential counselling services, usually at no cost and often extended to immediate family.
• Lifeline (13 11 14) runs crisis services around the clock for anyone at immediate risk of harm.
• Beyond Blue offers online chat, moderated forums and coaching services for workers managing anxiety or depression.
• SafeWork NSW advisory services guide employers through psychosocial obligations, inspections and notifiable incident duties.
• MATES in Construction connects tradespeople on site with local support services close to the job.
• Peer networks — colleagues with lived experience — often carry more weight than external providers acting alone.
• Government resources at safework.nsw.gov.au and ruok.org.au cover codes of practice, posters and manager guides.

What to do when the answer is “no, I’m not OK”

Respond plainly: listen, resist diagnosing, and connect the worker with professional services the same day wherever possible.

• Listen without interrupting. Silence frequently proves more useful than advice.
• Ask what would genuinely help right now, then offer practical support such as reduced hours or a lift home.
• Offer to place the first phone call together, because navigating unfamiliar services alone can feel impossible.
• Follow up within days, then again a fortnight later; sustained support outweighs one kind moment.
• Escalate at once if life may be in danger — emergency services take such calls seriously, every time.
• Keep confidences, sharing only what is required to arrange adjustments or clinical support for that individual.

Where documentation and systems fit

Paperwork never replaces a kind word, though documented systems prove the promise is real. Our Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) library records the controls a crew agreed to before work begins, which removes a common source of daily friction.

Recovery deserves equal rigour. A written Return to Work Plan sets out graduated hours, modified duties and the clinical services a returning worker will keep attending.

Isolated postings need extra thought. Our Overseas Work Guide covers medical and consular services, emergency contacts and communication schedules for crews based far from home.

For trans-Tasman operations, a Hot Work Permit – NZ keeps ignition-source controls documented alongside your other health and safety records.

Keeping momentum after 11 September

A single date cannot carry twelve months. Regulators nationally keep this front of mind — see how SafeWork SA urges businesses to prepare for Safe Work Month, and how SafeWork NSW inspection targets tree work safety during unannounced visits.

Every team meeting can open with a genuine check-in, and each supervisor should know exactly where referral pathways sit. Safety professionals already recognise the pattern: whatever gets measured, funded and reviewed eventually becomes normal. Give psychological support the same standing as fall protection or plant isolation, and a mature safety culture follows.

Free resources from SafeWork NSW, Beyond Blue and R U OK? include posters, discussion guides and tip sheets for managers — order early so materials arrive before the day itself. Inspectors, unions and industry associations also offer practical support at no charge.

Our document library supplies the templates, while community services supply the human backup; together they help build workplaces where asking twice is simply how the team operates. Read more about the SafeWork NSW campaign for tradies here.