Enabling Psychosocial Safety and Wellbeing in Australian Small Businesses – A Socio-Ecological Study

Small businesses (SBs) are vital to Australia’s economy, comprising 98% of all enterprises, employing 66% of the workforce, and contributing one-third of GDP. However, they face heightened vulnerability to psychosocial risks due to limited resources, tight operational constraints, and unique workplace dynamics. Recent legislation, including Safe Work Australia’s Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work: Code of Practice (2022), places new compliance demands on SB leaders, many of whom balance multiple roles and may lack capacity for implementation. This research highlights the scarcity of SB-specific research on workplace mental health (WMH) and psychosocial safety compliance, and positions socio-ecological approaches as promising frameworks for understanding multi-level influences on employee wellbeing. We propose that future researchers pursue qualitative investigations into SB leaders’ and employees’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours toward psychosocial safety, to inform tailored interventions. Strengthening psychosocial safety practices in SBs has the potential to enhance worker wellbeing, reduce stigma, improve organisational resilience, and deliver broad economic and societal benefit.