When companies fail to provide adequate care for the mental health of their employees, they risk a great deal more than simply financial penalties. Increased levels of stress, burnout, and toxic attitudes in the workplace lead to decreased productivity, increased rates of absenteeism and employee turnover, and an increase in the cost of compensation claims. According to Safe Work Australia, the average cost of a mental health claim is $45,900, and it takes far longer to recover from mental health issues than it does from physical injuries. Companies that fail to address psychological concerns may potentially be subject to workplace health and safety sanctions. As a result of employees openly criticizing poor workplace cultures, image damage may quickly spread in today's open society, which is formed by websites like as LinkedIn and Glassdoor. This can have a negative impact on both the hiring and retention of employees. When everything is said and done, failing to adhere to the rules is not just a formal failure, but it is also a failure for the company in the long run.

Employers in Australia are required by law to protect their workers from health and safety risks, such as psychological harm. This duty is strengthened by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth), WorkSafe Victoria's OHS Amendment (Psychological Health) Regulations 2022, and Safe Work Australia's Code of Practice on managing psychosocial hazards. These rules apply to all employers, no matter how big or small the business is. Even if someone breaks them by accident, they can be investigated, prosecuted, punished, and forced to take appropriate actions.

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) serves as a preventative compliance safeguard by providing early intervention support and private counseling services. Employers are able to demonstrate proactive risk management, which is a necessity for workplace health and safety. Regular use reports that are anonymous provide human resources and leadership with the data they require to identify patterns such as mental tiredness, stress caused by an excessive amount of work, and friction between coworkers. Because of this, they are able to address issues before they become more severe. It is also possible to utilize this documentation as evidence of compliance, demonstrating to the authorities that the organization is continually searching for and addressing psychological and social dangers that may be present in the workplace.

Employee assistance programs, often known as EAPs, not only satisfy legal duties, but they also help to the change of workplaces from reactive to resilient. They achieve this by cultivating trust among employees and proving to them that their well-being and contentment are of genuine value to the company. As a consequence, this results in an increase in both motivation and productivity. There have been a number of studies that have showed that companies who offer employee assistance programs (EAPs) experience a reduction of up to 25 percent in the number of days of absence and an improvement in employee retention. Furthermore, workers who are given support are more likely to voice their problems at an earlier stage, which helps to avoid small difficulties from escalating into official complaints, investigations, or resignations. This is because individuals who receive aid are more willing to share their worries.

The benefits of employee assistance programs (EAP) are clear when you compare them to the much higher costs of not providing them. A report published by Deloitte in 2022 found that mental health programs bring back $4 for every $1 invested. This is accomplished through increased productivity, decreased turnover, and fewer compensation claims. Some employers are hesitant to provide EAP services because they believe they will be too expensive. EAPs also save managers time and mental energy by providing employees with a secure and organized environment in which they may seek assistance. This alleviates some of the stress that managers experience.

WorkSafe inspectors discovered a gap in the psychosocial risk management capabilities of a medium-sized shipping firm in Perth when they saw an increase in the number of absences that were attributed to stress. Although the company had established standards, there were no genuine support services in place. After implementing an employee assistance program (EAP) and instructing managers on how to effectively promote it, the company saw a forty percent decrease in the number of complaints within a period of six months. After some time had passed, the leaders stated that the whole cost of the program was "less than one penalty fine" that they could have been subjected to. It wasn't just a matter of following the regulations; rather, it represented a genuine shift in the way the organization thought about things.

Compliance can no longer be seen as a chore that can be completed by checking a box; the organizations that are successful are those who integrate mental health into their culture rather than simply their rules. This is because the regulatory environment in Australia is also continuing to grow. EAPs contribute to the formation of this cultural bridge by offering a secure environment in which workers may freely express their thoughts and feelings, the reduction of stigma, and the alignment of individual well-being with organizational responsibility, which eventually results in compliance being a natural outcome of true care.