Poor Workplace Support As a Hazard
Lack of support from peers or managers increases risk. Learn how to manage poor support hazards.
Download our guide to managing your teams mental health
Inadequate support, including insufficient support from supervisors or other workers. Not having the resources they need to do the job or support work performance.
Poor support can be defined as a lack of adequate resources, training, or guidance to perform one’s job effectively. This can lead to feelings of workplace stress, anxiety, and frustration, which can have a negative impact on employee health and productivity.
Addressing Poor Support refers to a workplace culture that encourages support from peers and direct managers, it also refers to having the right training and tools to complete the job well.
Support can be a protective factor for staff and encouraging a supportive work environment from top down and bottom up can increase employee satisfaction and engagement. However poor support or a lack of of support in combination with other risks can create a psychological hazard if it is enduring.
Let’s Look at an Example
It’s Dan’s first week at a new job and he is not sure what is the correct process is for lodging a form for a client. He reaches out to his supervisor who tells him to ask his colleague. He asks his colleague who directs him back to his manager.
Dan has no one else to ask so submits the form as best he can. He later gets in trouble for submitting his form incorrectly, and this becomes an ongoing pattern. Dan notices there is significant conflict between his peers and managers, and is often getting different conflicting information as to what he is required to do. Dan starts to feel stressed while at work and notices he has gastrointestinal issues.
Risk Factors Of Poor Support
Some risk factors for poor support include:
- High workloads
- Lack of clear job expectations
- Lack of training or development opportunities
- Unsupportive or hostile work environment
- Lack of resources or tools to do the job
What Impact Can Poor Support Have On Employees
Poor support can have a number of negative impacts on employees, including:
- Increased stress and anxiety
- Decreased job satisfaction
- Decreased productivity
- Increased absenteeism and turnover
- Increased risk of accidents and injuries
How To Mitigate Poor Support At Work
There are a number of control measures that can be implemented to reduce the risk of poor support, including:
- Providing employees with adequate resources and training
- Creating clear job expectations
- Fostering a supportive and positive work environment
- Addressing any issues of bullying or harassment
- Providing employees with opportunities for feedback and input
Poor support is a serious psychosocial hazard that can have a significant impact on employee health and productivity. By implementing appropriate control measures, employers can help to reduce the risk of poor support and create a more positive and supportive work environment.
There are a range of recommendations for businesses looking to provide better support to employees
Conduct a workplace risk assessment to identify any potential psychosocial hazards, including poor support.
Implement appropriate control measures to reduce the risk of poor support.
Monitor the effectiveness of control measures and make adjustments as needed.
Provide employees with training on how to identify and manage psychosocial hazards.
Create a culture of open communication and support in the workplace.
Answers to the frequently asked questions.
Our last EAP was barely touched. Why would this be different?+
Most EAPs go unused because of how they're accessed, not because staff don't need them. Phoning a stranger, explaining yourself, then waiting weeks is enough to stop most people before they start. Foremind removes all three steps: staff see real counsellor profiles, pick someone themselves, and book the same day.
If you already have a provider, the question worth asking is what your current utilisation is. Most traditional EAPs sit in low single digits, which means you're paying for cover your people aren't reaching. If yours is being used, staff can get seen quickly, and it covers your psychosocial obligations, there's no reason to move. If not, it's worth knowing what you're getting for the spend.
Do you offer 24/7 support?+
Yes. A 24/7 after-hours crisis line means staff can reach someone immediately at any hour, including nights and weekends.
Counselling appointments are also available outside standard business hours, so shift-based and on-call teams aren't limited to a nine-to-five window. Those are two different things, and it's worth checking any provider offers both rather than just the crisis line.
Are your EAP counsellors based in Australia?+
Yes. Every practitioner on the platform holds current membership with an Australian professional body and practises under Australian standards, codes of ethics and disciplinary frameworks. There are no offshore call centres.
Practitioners hold membership with the Australian Counselling Association, the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, or the Australian Association of Social Workers, along with a current Working with Children or Vulnerable People Check.
How much does an EAP cost?+
Pricing is usually per employee per month, based on total headcount rather than how many people use the service. Costs vary widely depending on whether sessions are bundled in and whether compliance tooling is included.
A more useful comparison is cost per employee who actually uses it. An EAP with 2% utilisation can work out several times more expensive per person helped than one that gets used. Foremind offers pay-as-you-go, inclusive session plans and compliance-inclusive plans, with discounted pricing for not-for-profits and charities.
For full breakdown of our plans, see our EAP pricing page or request a quote for a tailored proposal.
What information does an employer receive about EAP usage?+
Nothing that could identify anyone. All counselling is completely confidential and all reporting is anonymous - you'll never see who booked, when, or what was discussed.
What you do see is the aggregated picture: how many people are using it, what psychosocial risks are prevalent in the business, and which teams are under pressure. Enough to know the investment is working and where to act, never enough to identify a person. Reporting thresholds mean small teams can't be reverse-engineered from the data.
Does having an EAP meet an employer's psychosocial duty of care?+
No. An EAP is a control measure, and a valuable one, but it only addresses harm after it has occurred. It doesn't identify hazards, assess risk, or evidence that controls are working.
Australian WHS law requires you to identify psychosocial hazards, assess the risk, control it so far as is reasonably practicable, and review whether those controls are working — with documented evidence at each step. Offering counselling on its own leaves three of those four steps undocumented.
Foremind covers both in one platform. See how the compliance side works in our product tour.