Beyond Individual Resilience: Why Systems and Culture Matter for Workplace Mental Health
Description
In this live recording of the Psych Health and Safety Podcast, co-hosts Jason van Schie and Joelle Mitchell are joined by Dr Will Fleming to examine why many workplace mental health initiatives fail to produce meaningful or lasting change.
Drawing on his research, Dr Fleming will unpack the limitations of individual-level interventions – such as wellbeing programs, resilience training and mental health benefits – when organisational culture and systems of work remain unchanged. The conversation will explore how an over-reliance on individual solutions can obscure the structural drivers of mental harm and place responsibility on workers rather than the design and management of work itself.
The discussion will then turn to Dr Fleming’s ongoing research into systems-level approaches to improving mental health outcomes, including how leadership practices, job design, workload, and organisational decision-making shape risk and protection. This session will challenge common assumptions and offer a clearer, evidence-informed pathway for organisations seeking sustainable improvements in workplace mental health.
The final portion of the session will be opened to audience Q&A.
Dr William Fleming
Research Fellow
Dr. William Fleming is Research Fellow at the the University of Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre. Dr. Fleming’s research explores how work is better or worse for us, and how it might be improved, especially focusing on workplace interventions, what works, what doesn’t work, and why. William’s research on this topic has been featured in the New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes, New Scientist, and, in Australia, The Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald and more. Before taking up his current post, he completed a PhD in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge, conducting a sociological evaluation of workplace wellbeing practices and narratives. He also shortly held a role as a postdoctoral Research
Jason van Schie
CEO and Organisational Psychologist
Jason is an endorsed organisational psychologist and has been specialising in human factors and psychosocial risk management since 2007. He has a wealth of experience consulting with workplaces in the areas of health, well-being, and safety.
He is the founder of FlourishDx – a globally innovative company that combines consulting, education and technology to help leading organisations create psychologically healthy and safe workplaces.
Over the past decade, he has built a strong multi-disciplinary team that includes psychologists, software developers, marketing and communications, project management and operations staff.
Jason regularly contributes to the discussion of best practice in workplace mental health. This includes as co-host of the ‘Psych Health and Safety podcast’ and lead course instructor on the FlourishDx Academy. He
Joelle Mitchell
Director of Psychosocial Safety, Organisational Psychologist
Joelle is a registered organisational psychologist and human factors specialist. She takes academic research findings from the fields of Psychology, Occupational Health and Safety, and Human Factors, and translates them into the language and tools used in the field of risk management.
Joelle applies the principles of evidence-based practice to drive improvement in psychological health and safety outcomes. Her qualifications include a BSc(Honours) and a Master of Applied Psychology, and she is a certified ISO45001 auditor.
Joelle was previously a Human Factors specialist for the offshore petroleum safety regulator NOPSEMA, giving her unique insight into the expectations of safety regulators when it comes to psychological health and safety.
As Director of our Psychological Health and Safety delivery team, Joelle leads
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