Psychosocial risks include bullying and harassment but also overwork, fatigue, poor leadership, exposure to traumatic events and poor team culture. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
WorkSafe has reduced its team that focuses on psychosocial harm from 15 staff to about nine.
The agency has recently been called in to two Auckland hospitals after allegations of bullying and other psychosocial risks.
RNZ asked WorkSafe about what resources it was putting into an area where it ramped up the focus six years ago.
"WorkSafe has consistently supported psychosocial risk management as part of its mahi," it said.
Psychosocial risks include bullying and harassment but also overwork, fatigue, poor leadership, exposure to traumatic events and poor team culture.
Globally, researchers have reported a lot more focus on such risks in the last decade.
In 2019 at WorkSafe, a proposal was made to expand focus on psychosocial harm and roles were added. By early 2021, the 15 staff included a clinical psychologist and senior advisors.
Early this year the agency reduced the size of teams in a strategic reset aimed at focusing more on the highest-risk industries, such as forestry, construction and agriculture, and the"major health-related risks" in them, WorkSafe said.
"As of September 2025, nine staff have roles that include psychosocial expertise."
Its Mentally Healthy Work team created in March 2020 with five staff had been reduced to just two.
In occupational health it had three professionals up until March this year, and now had one principal role and two fixed-termers.
"Work-related health remains a key aspect of our mahi and is clearly reflected in our new strategy," it said.
In April WorkSafe put out 46 pages of psychosocial guidelines that stressed the need to monitor them.
Health New Zealand was working on setting up a national system for recording hazards, and giving advice and training.
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