For years, organisations have tackled psychosocial hazards like stress, burnout, and poor workplace culture using a traditional risk management model. It’s a familiar process: identify the problem, assess the risk, and implement a control. While well-intentioned and often required by regulators, this “find-and-fix” approach can feel like a compliance-driven game of whack-a-mole. It focuses entirely on what’s wrong, often creating a culture of blame-avoidance rather than genuine wellbeing.

That’s why we went looking for better ways to help organisations and people build psychologically and psychosocially safe workplaces.

We asked: “What if we flipped the script? What if, instead of hunting for hazards, we started searching for what gives our workplace life?” Here is what we came up with.

It is the power of combining Appreciative Inquiry (AI) with the PERMAH model of wellbeing. It’s a proactive, human-centric approach that doesn’t just prevent harm – it actively cultivates a thriving work environment.

The Old Model vs. The New Mindset

The traditional risk management model is inherently deficit-based. It asks questions like:

• “What’s causing stress?”
• “Why is communication failing?”
• “How do we stop bullying?”

This line of questioning puts teams on the defensive and focuses energy on problems.

In contrast, Appreciative Inquiry is a strengths-based methodology. It operates on the simple premise that organisations move in the direction of the questions they ask. AI seeks to understand and amplify the “positive core”—the best of what is and what has been.

This is where the PERMAH model provides the perfect framework. Based on the ground breaking wellbeing theory of Professor Martin Seligman, it sets out six core pillars of flourishing:

• Positive Emotion : Experiencing joy, hope, and optimism.
• Engagement : Being fully absorbed and in “flow” with your work.
• Relationships : Having strong, supportive connections with others.
• Meaning: Feeling connected to a purpose greater than oneself.
• Accomplishment: A sense of achievement and mastery.
• Health: Physical wellbeing through sleep, nutrition, and movement.

How the Partnership Works in Practice

Instead of using a checklist to find deficits, you use AI to explore moments of peak performance through the lens of PERMAH. The questions change dramatically:

This process doesn’t ignore problems. Instead, it uncovers the root causes of success and wellbeing. By discovering what works, teams can consciously design and create more of those conditions, embedding them into their culture. You identify the ingredients of a great day at work and find ways to make them happen more often.

Why This Approach Is More Effective

There are a host of reasons why adopting a strengths-based approach produces better outcomes because it:

1. Builds Psychological Safety: Focusing on strengths and successes creates a safe environment for open dialogue. People are more willing to contribute when the goal is to build on positives rather than assign blame for negatives.
2. Generates Ownership & Energy: AI is a deeply collaborative process. It invites everyone to co-create a better workplace, leading to greater buy-in and a genuine desire to implement change. The process itself is energising and builds morale because people are part of it.
3. Creates Proactive & Lasting Change: A traditional model reacts to problems. This approach proactively builds the foundations of a positive culture. A workplace rich in PERMAH is naturally more resilient to psychosocial hazards. It’s the difference between constantly patching a leaky boat and building a stronger, more buoyant one from the start.

By shifting from a deficit-based mindset to one of appreciation and potential, we move beyond mere compliance. We start building workplaces where people don’t just survive—they truly thrive.

If you would like to explore how we can help you to change the game in your workplace with your own BETTER Workplace Team or with any other of our PosWork programs for your workplace, please call us on 0438 533 311 or email info@poswork.com.au.

Leadership isn’t just about strategy, execution, and results. At its best, it’s also about inspiration. When leaders tap into creativity, they not only solve problems in fresh ways—they also spark curiosity, energy, and deeper engagement from their teams.

Creativity in leadership is powerful because it:

• Builds trust and openness – Creative leaders are seen as adaptable and approachable, encouraging others to contribute new ideas.

• Boosts motivation – People feel more invested when they know their contributions can shape outcomes.

• Drives innovation – Creativity helps teams find unique solutions rather than recycling old approaches.

• Fosters resilience – In uncertain times, creativity gives teams the flexibility to pivot and adapt.

In short, creativity makes leadership more human, dynamic, and engaging. It transforms the workplace from a routine environment into a space where people feel free to imagine and contribute.

HOW TO ADD CREATIVITY TO YOUR LEADERSHIP PRACTICE

So, how can leaders bring more creativity into their style of leadership? Here are six practical ways:

1. ASK “WHAT IF?” QUESTIONS

Instead of sticking to yes/no or black-and-white problem solving, ask open-ended questions. “What if we tried this?” or “What’s another way to look at this challenge?” sparks innovation and invites input from the whole team.

2. ENCOURAGE EXPERIMENTATION

A creative leader creates safe spaces for trial and error. Allowing small experiments reduces fear of failure and builds confidence in thinking outside the box. Even ideas that don’t work can lead to unexpected breakthroughs.

3. USE STORYTELLING

Facts inform, but stories inspire. Creative leaders use stories to connect ideas, share vision, and make complex concepts relatable. This approach engages both hearts and minds, helping people see themselves in the bigger picture.

4. BLEND PERSPECTIVES

Diverse voices are fuel for creativity. Seek out insights from across roles, departments, and backgrounds. By drawing from different perspectives, leaders generate richer ideas and show they value contributions from every corner of the organisation.

5. MODEL PLAYFULNESS AND CURIOSITY

Creativity thrives in environments where curiosity is encouraged. Leaders who show a sense of play, ask genuine questions, and demonstrate curiosity signal to others that it’s okay to think differently and push boundaries.

6. CELEBRATE CREATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS

Recognize not just outcomes, but also the creativity behind them. Celebrate bold ideas, unique approaches, and innovative problem-solving efforts. When people see their creativity being valued, they are more motivated to keep contributing.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Leadership that embraces creativity is leadership that engages. By encouraging experimentation, storytelling, curiosity, and diverse input, leaders cultivate a culture where innovation feels natural—and where people are excited to be part of the journey.

If you would like to explore ways that we can help you to build resilience practice or with any other of our PosWork programs for your workplace, please call us on 0438 533 311 or email info@poswork.com.au.

To us, the findings from SEEK’s inaugural Workplace Happiness Index survey are no surprise – study after study has shown much the same findings about the factors that are most important to people feeling happy at work. Let’s have a look at them.  

According to SEEK’s Head of Customer Insights and Strategy, Aimee Hutton: “The aim of this inaugural Workplace Index is to spotlight the strongest opportunities to improve happiness at work for both employees and employers and, ultimately, drive a happier workforce in Australia”.

You might think that pay and promotional opportunities and flexible working would be among the key factors that people reported as the things that make for a happy life at work. Not according to this study which found that the top 5 factors ranked as the most important for happiness at work were:

1. Purpose
2. Their manager
3. Day to day responsibilities
4. Company culture
5. Stress levels

Salary came in at a distant #9.

So why are we not surprised?

Because we have known it for years, for example:

1. In 2009, “Engage for success”, the report on employee engagement commissioned by the UK Government and created by Robert Macleod and Nita Clarke was published. We use their 4 pillars of engagement in our Better Workplace Projects and the first of those pillars is “Strong strategic narrative”, the centrepiece of which is “Purpose”
2. Again in 2009, the famous Simon Sinek published his celebrated work “Start with Why” which is all about purpose being at the heart of successful organisations.
3. Then in 2011, Professor Martin Seligman’s masterpiece “Flourish” was published. It sets out the 5 pillars of wellbeing that are necessary for living a flourishing life – the PERMA model in which the “M” stands for “meaning”. It is on his work that the PERMAH workplace wellbeing survey that we use in our Better coaching process is based.

That’s why we aren’t surprised that “purpose” has come out as the #1 factor for happiness at work. There is a huge body of evidence that has been telling us that for years.

Looking at #2, the second pillar in the Engage for Success framework is “Engaging management” which is about providing people with clarity of role and expectations, equipping them to be successful and coaching them to be the best that they can be. That is, it is about THEIR MANAGER enabling and supporting their people to be successful in managing their DAY TO DAY RESPONSIBILITIES.

Additionally, Gallup has been telling us for decades that the first line manager is the most dominant causal factor in whether an employee decides to stay or to go. They also preach a coaching model where there are regular catchups between an employee and THEIR MANAGER and they feel trusted and supported in undertaking their DAY TO DAY RESPONSIBILITIES.

So there isn’t really anything new in these latest findings from SEEK, is there?

Our “EngageMentality Coaching” model has been specifically designed to help managers to become coaches and be a reason why people want to stay because they feel trusted, supported and appreciated.

Perks are nice but…….

Over the last couple of years, we have seen new positive duties being introduced to prevent sexual harassment and gender-based behaviour and to eliminate or control psychosocial hazards. That is because, in too many workplaces, people aren’t enjoying work – the SEEK study showed that nearly half of the people surveyed said they were not happy at work.

The COVID experience has had the effect of causing people to reevaluate their priorities in life and what they want to do in a work sense, who they want to do it with and where they want to do it.

The value of the SEEK news is that it brings us back to what really matters when it comes to how we help people to enjoy work and be productive so that business and employees flourish together.

That is what PosWork is about – we have the tools and programs to help your workplace to flourish by design.

If you would like to explore the ways that we might be able to help you to make yours a great workplace, please call us on 0438 533 311 or email info@poswork.com.au.

Gallup has released a “2024 Employee Engagement Strategy Checklist” in which it tells us that 44% of employees worldwide say they are stressed and proposes some things that organisations can do to get people more engaged and less stressed. 

Here is Gallup’s list:

1. Check in on your managers because they are more likely to be feeling burned out and stressed and you need them to feel supported and capable of leading their people effectively.
2. Prepare managers to have meaningful conversations with employees in which they recognise strengths and achievements, set and refine goals and priorities and support then in relationships and collaboration.
3. Prioritise promoting vision and purpose, especially among remote workers for whom Gallup’s research says that only 28% feel connected to their organisation’s mission and purpose.
4. Measure engagement to show employees that you care about their feedback and want to know how they are doing.
5. Take action on survey results – nothing builds positive momentum for an engagement initiative more than asking for feedback, doing something about it and sharing and celebrating positive results.

They say that their research shows that 80% of employees who say they have received meaningful feedback in the past week are fully engaged, regardless of how many days they worked in the office.

When it comes to having meaningful conversations with employees, Gallup said that they should include:

1. Recognition or appreciation of recent work
2. Collaboration and relationships
3. Current goals and priorities at work
4. Employee strengths and the things that they do well

How long should these conversations be? If they are done regularly (ie weekly), they should take no longer than 15 to 30 minutes.

Our EngageMentality Model

This is a continuous coaching model which incorporates all of the features that Gallup recommends plus more.

We did our own research on the things that we believe impact on an employment experience and by extension employee engagement and wellbeing – these “coaching lenses” are:

1. Roles  – the job that I do plus any of those other responsibilities that I might take on as a leader or an employee or safety representative or first aider, etc
2. Relationships – I rely on certain people for certain things and others rely on me for certain things
3. Values and behaviours – the behavioural attributes that we want to see practised in our organisation to make it respectful, inclusive and high performing
4. Strengths – using the VIA Character Strengths framework to use a strengths-based approach which optimises opportunities for me to use my signature strengths and to work on and be supported with my lesser strengths
5. Wellbeing – using the PERMAH workplace wellbeing survey, build on my psychological safety, life balance and overall wellbeing. 

We explore and address each of those items through a process of:

1. Positioning – doing a stocktake of where I sit in each of those areas
2. Planning – identifying the actions that I want to take for my performance and development, timelines for doing that and supports that I need and any people who are involved
3. Performing – implementing my plan and catching up with my manager each week for a coaching session
4. Presenting – providing me with the opportunity to showcase my achievements in performance and development and areas for further development 

The coaching conversations simply involve asking and answering these 4 questions in the context of each of the 5 coaching lenses:

1. What has worked well (celebrate)?
2. What has been a struggle (recalibrate)?
3. What has changed (update)?
4. What are we going to do about all of that (activate)?

If you would like to explore our EngageMentality process or any other of our PosWork programs for your workplace, please call us on 0438 533 311 or email info@poswork.com.au.

I recently watched a video on Linkedin which featured expert employment and WHS lawyer, Andrew Douglas, talking about psychological safety in the workplace. In that, he spoke about the role that work plays as a haven from everyday personal stresses and anxieties and that really resonated. So I thought I should explore that concept further and here are a few thoughts.

Try the survey free at https://permahsurvey.com/

iInterested in learning more about PosWork’s workplace wellbeing and psychologically safe workplace services? Call us on 0438 533 311 or email info@poswork.com.au.

Want to know more about how we can help you define your EVP and make it real? Call us on 0438 533 311 or email info@poswork.com.au.

Want to know more about how we can help you to find your WHY? Call us on 0438 533 311 or email info@poswork.com.au.

Want to know more about how you can use the Engage for Success model to build a better workplace? Call us on 0438 533 311 or email info@poswork.com.au.