“Ensuring the mental health and emotional wellbeing of our workforce is not just a duty, but a foundation for a resilient organization,” says Catty Bennet Sattler, Director, Division of Human Resources at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Over the past three decades, UNHCR has been evolving its approach to mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of the workforce, embodying this effort in its latest initiatives. “We know that for such support to be successful, it has to be systemic and a part of how we work,” adds Catty Bennet Sattler. UNHCR’s recent Workplace Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing Strategy places a lot of emphasis on the roles of different stakeholders in promoting the mental health and wellbeing of employees. The strategy advocates for psychosocial risk management as a method to systematically enhance the organization’s approach to mental health and wellbeing initiatives.

Psychosocial Risk Management (PSRM) – another buzz term?

In recent years, terms like “psychosocial hazards,” “psychosocial risks,” and “psychosocial risk assessment” have become increasingly common across various sectors and countries due to rising mental health concerns about mental health and evolving legal requirements. Countries like Sweden and Australia now mandate that employers proactively address these psychosocial risks as part of their occupational health and safety obligations. It is the buzz that is going to stay. At UNHCR, we have observed the many challenges that our staff face as a consequence of working to support the most vulnerable in the most remote locations.

As part of routine risk management, we have developed various tools to analyze the risk and propose mitigation measures to address these. The development of a psychosocial risk management system is part of that evolution.

Professor Stavroula Leka, from Lancaster University, and UNHCR Contractor for the PSRM Project states that: “forecasts on the future of work unequivocally highlight the increasing prevalence of psychosocial risks and the importance of promoting wellbeing and sustainable work – achieving living and working conditions that support people in engaging and remaining in work throughout an extended working life.”

The importance of addressing psychosocial hazards

Every workplace contains different types of hazards, including the psychosocial ones. Just as organizations implement safety measures like fire extinguishers, warden systems, and regular fire drills to mitigate physical risks, they must also recognize and address psychosocial hazards. Professor Stavroula Leka ensures that: “The evidence is clear: exposure to psychosocial hazards can jeopardize the health of workers and the sustainability of organizations. The consequences could include mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety disorders, and burnout, as well as physical health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and diabetes. These hazards also cause organizational damage in the form of, for example, absenteeism, lower productivity, and higher reputational risks.

UN as an outlier in psychosocial risk factors

The 2023 Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) review of mental health and wellbeing policies and practices across the United Nations system determined that the UN was identified as an outlier due to the significant psychosocial risks faced by its personnel. The report highlighted that the unique nature of UN work contributes to a higher-than-average prevalence of mental health issues among staff. To address these challenges, the JIU recommended that UN organizations adopt an evidence-based, data-driven approach to managing mental health and wellbeing. It advised integrating these principles into their enterprise risk management processes, occupational health and safety frameworks, and human resources strategies by the end of 2025 to effectively create a psychosocial risk management system. 

What is Psychosocial Risk Management? 

PSRM is a systematic, evidence-based approach which collects and analyzes information about the psychosocial hazards such as work content, organizational culture, interpersonal relationships and others (see Figure 1). It engages the workforce to actively discuss the best way of controlling these hazards, creating a sense of shared ownership of mental health. By managing these risks, organizations protect their workforce from harming their mental health and wellbeing, enhance productivity, reduce absenteeism, and build a more resilient organizational culture.

Developing the UNHCR PSRM system

The Psychosocial Wellbeing team at UNHCR—along with other teams across the UN system—has long used validated tools to assess psychosocial risks.

However, these traditional methods are resource- and time-intensive, often requiring specialized expertise and significant staff involvement, which makes systematic implementation across the organization challenging. Recognizing the opportunity presented by modern technology paired with the need for a more efficient and scalable approach, UNHCR has teamed up with leading experts from the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology—Professor Stavroula Leka from Lancaster University, Professor Aditya Jain and Dr. Luis Torres from the University of Nottingham, and Dr. Kevin Teoh from Birkbeck University—to develop a PSRM system, incorporating a digital application that is expected to be ready for launch in March 2025. This project is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and UNHCR’s Innovation Service.

This innovation aims to streamline the assessment process by utilizing advanced technologies like machine learning and predictive modeling. The application will enable operations to conduct psychosocial risk assessments as part of their routine risk review process.

Results and recommendations will be delivered through an interactive dashboard, allowing management, stakeholders, and staff to discuss key risks and jointly prioritize mitigation measures.

These measures will be directly integrated with UNHCR’s comprehensive range of services, protocols, and policies aimed at enhancing the mental health of its workforce. The PSRM system, aligned with the UNHCR Workforce Mental Health Strategy, will offer an evidence-based framework designed to systematically address gaps and complement existing initiatives. By engaging diverse stakeholders and connecting activities across all levels—individuals, teams, managers, and the broader organizational environment—this approach is expected to reduce stigma, boost mental health literacy, and foster a supportive, inclusive work culture.

The tool is designed to facilitate regular assessments, ideally every two to three years, ensuring that psychosocial risks are systematically managed and that the wellbeing of UNHCR’s workforce is continuously monitored. “We are excited about the impact this tool will have, but we are also prepared for the patience, capacity building, and adjustments needed as we move forward. Our goal is to integrate psychosocial risks into organizational culture, putting them on the table alongside other risks,” says Dubravka Suzic, Chief of the Psychosocial Wellbeing Section of the Staff Health and Wellbeing Service at UNHCR.

Encouraging broader adoption and dialogue

UNHCR is committed to sharing its advancements in this area. The UN Workplace Global Mental Health Strategy Lead, Regan Shercliffe, is a member of the advisory committee for the UNHCR PSRM project and is closely monitoring its progress to encourage alignment. Integrating PSRM into existing HR, occupational health and safety, and risk management processes and aligning them with global standards is a key priority of the UN System Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2024 and beyond. Shercliffe has also set up an interagency working group on PSRM, of which UNHCR is a member. 

“This has been a tremendous journey for UNHCR” says Catty Bennet Sattler, Director of the Division of Human Resources, “and we hope to inspire a widespread adoption of comprehensive psychosocial risk management strategies across the humanitarian sector.”