Psych Health and Safety Podcast

In this episode, hosts Jason and Joelle chat with Julia Cohen, Managing Director at Catalyst Safety and Catalyst Coaching. Julia shares her experience of moving from Higher Education into a Not-for-Profit, the similarities and the differences between the two industries, and the process she undertook to help improve the organisation's understanding of the critical risks in its operations, including the psychosocial risks, how she involved members of the workforce from all over Australia in the process, and how this helped to support executive decision-making around priorities and resource allocations for risk mitigations.

This is an episode for the safety nerds, the stats nerds, and the Fight Club fans. Hosts Jason and Joelle chat with Ben Hutchinson, host of the Safe As podcast, and prolific safety science communicator. We chat about Ben's work as a science communicator, then focus in on what he has found in his exploration of the research into the relationships between psychosocial factors and health and safety outcomes (hint: rumours of a lack of evidence have been greatly exaggerated). Ben then goes on to discuss the statistical barriers to demonstrating relationships between psychosocial factors and safety outcomes.

In this episode, hosts Jason and Joelle chat with Dr Adrian Neal and Andrew Cooper from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board about their recently published book - Under Investigation. They talk about the current impacts of workplace investigations on individuals, wider teams, HR colleagues, and finances, and build a business case for doing workplace investigations differently.

In this episode, recorded live from the Psych Health and Safety Conference in June 2025, hosts Jason and Joelle chat with Rob Briner, Professor of Organisational Psychology at Queen Mary University of London. Rob breaks down what evidence-based practice means, what it looks like, and pitfalls for HR and WHS professionals to be aware of when considering interventions. This episode includes exclusive audience Q&A, where Rob answers questions submitted by audience members.

In this live Psych Health and Safety Podcast recording from PHSCON 2025, Jason and Joelle interview world-renowned organisational psychologist Adam Grant to unpack what truly drives workplace mental health and why “wellbeing benefits” alone won’t fix broken systems. Together, they explore the power of good work design, the real causes of burnout, how toxic cultures take hold, and what leaders can do to create work that helps people thrive (without burning them out). Practical, evidence-backed, and full of sharp insights for anyone serious about psychosocial safety at work.

In the final episode of the year, hosts Jason and Joelle reflect on the highlights and challenges of 2025, and discuss what's coming in 2026. They share some behind-the-scenes experiences from the Psych Health and Safety Conference 2025, along with a sneak peek of the line-up and venue for 2026. Other highlights from 2025 include the launch of the Psychosocial Safety Playbook, along with the Quick Start Risk Assessment, and the use of technology to improve accessibility of customised eLearning.

In this episode, hosts Jason and Joelle chat with Naomi Kemp, CEO and co-founder of Fr@nk Capability Leaders. Naomi explains what a critical business risk is, how that is different to a critical safety risk, and whether psychosocial risk belongs in either category. Naomi shares her views on how organisations can best manage psychosocial risk within a critical risk frame.

Adam Nebbs, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, dives into the practicalities of implementing the ISO 45003 standard for workplace mental health. He shares insights from collaborating with six organizations, detailing the challenges faced and the surprising hurdles of stakeholder dynamics. Adam emphasizes the need for participatory approaches and diverse perspectives to tackle psychosocial risks effectively. He advocates for better integration of sociology into workplace mental health strategies, aiming for a future enriched by varied viewpoints.

In this episode, hosts Jason and Joelle chat with Gareth Beck, Safety Wellbeing and Risk Business Partner at Z Energy, and Anton Hutton, retailer at Hattrick Services. They share their experiences in collaborating to implement a psychosocial safety management program of works within a unique working environment, with Gareth offering the perspective from Z Energy, and Anton providing his experiences as a retailer.

In this episode, hosts Jason and Joelle chat with Dr Michelle Smidt, Senior Research Assistant at ANU College of Business and Economics, and Queensland University of Technology. Michelle shares insights from her PhD research, where she explored whether employee perceptions about organisational wellbeing initiatives influenced whether those initiatives achieved their outcomes.