Prioritising psychosocial safety in disaster and emergency management
Psychosocial safety refers to workplace conditions that influence mental health and wellbeing, including exposure to trauma, workload pressures, role clarity, organisational culture, and access to support. For disaster and emergency management personnel, these risks are often heightened by prolonged events, repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events, and the emotional demands of working with impacted communities.
Safe work encompasses both the prevention of physical injury and creating conditions where people can sustain their wellbeing while doing meaningful, demanding, and often complex work.
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At AIDR, we recognise that protecting worker wellbeing is essential to sustaining disaster resilience capability across Australia. On World Day for Safety and Health at Work, we acknowledge the vital work being done across the sector to reduce harm, support recovery, and embed psychosocial safety as a core element of good practice.
Repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events
Emergency service workers are exposed to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) throughout their career due to the nature of their role. These events can have negative and lasting impacts on individual mental health and wellbeing, as well as on organisations more broadly. High-risk organisations use a range of approaches to track PTE exposure and responses, but there is limited evidence on their benefits or the most effective approach.
The AFAC Mental Health and Wellbeing Group identified a need to determine best practice approaches for tracking exposure to PTEs and guiding organisational responses. Through Natural Hazard Research Australia, they engaged Phoenix Australia - Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health to collaborate with AFAC representatives to develop a practical guide: Good practice principles for tracking potentially traumatic event exposure and organisational responses in emergency services. This guide complements broader sector/organisational efforts to support worker mental health and wellbeing.
The dual experience of disaster recovery workers
Research from the University of Melbourne explores the experiences of people employed in disaster recovery roles who are also recovering personally from the same disaster. Participants in this research reported a misalignment between their professional recovery responsibilities and their own recovery needs.
The study found that locally based recovery workers often have a dual experience: supporting others while navigating personal loss, disruption, or trauma. It recommends that organisations working in disaster‑affected communities consider flexible work arrangements, reduced workloads and additional support to help workers balance personal and professional recovery.