Discover the strategic role HR plays in managing psychosocial risks, how to comply with NR-1, and which actions help prevent medical leaves, harassment, and workplace mental health issues.
Mental health has become a strategic priority in organizations
Managing psychosocial risks is no longer just about employee well-being. Today, it is an integral part of talent strategy, corporate governance, and legal compliance.
With the update of Regulatory Standard No. 1 (NR-1), organizations are paying even closer attention to organizational factors that can impact workers’ mental health, such as work overload, harassment, interpersonal conflicts, poor communication, excessive working hours, job insecurity, and lack of leadership support.
In this scenario, Human Resources takes on a central role in preventing these risks and building healthier work environments.
What is HR’s actual role in psychosocial risk management?
First and foremost, HR is one of the main orchestrators of preventive actions against psychosocial risks. Although managing these risks is a shared responsibility among leadership, managers, the SESMT (Specialized Service in Safety Engineering and Occupational Medicine), CIPA (Internal Commission for Accident Prevention), Legal, and C-level executive management, HR typically coordinates various people-centered initiatives.
Key responsibilities include:
Developing policies and practices focused on respect and health at work;
Promoting training programs and awareness campaigns;
Supporting leaders in team management;
Monitoring organizational climate indicators;
Fostering a culture of dialogue and respect;
Collaborating to identify factors that could compromise employee mental health.
What are psychosocial risks?
Psychosocial risks are factors related to work organization and working conditions that can impact employees’ physical, emotional, and social health.
Examples include:
Workload overload;
Incompatible goals;
Extended working hours;
Aggressive communication;
Moral or sexual harassment;
Discrimination;
Constant conflict;
Lack of recognition;
Job insecurity;
Absence of leadership support.
When these factors persist over long periods, they can drive up occupational stress, absenteeism, presenteeism, and mental health-related leaves of absence.
How can HR take a preventive approach?
Mature organizations don’t wait for problems to arise—they proactively work on prevention. Key initiatives include:
1. Empowering leaders
A significant portion of psychosocial risks relates to how teams are managed. Strengthening leadership skills through training on feedback, communication, conflict management, and identifying signs of emotional distress fosters a healthier work environment and mitigates various psychosocial risks.
2. Delivering training for all employees
Training programs on topics such as:
Harassment prevention;
Non-violent communication;
Workplace mental health;
Ethics;
Diversity and respect;
Conflict management; All contribute to consolidating a healthier corporate culture.
3. Monitoring organizational climate
Tools like climate surveys and Pulse surveys serve as an organizational “thermometer.” They allow companies to continuously measure employee perception regarding leadership, workload, communication, respect, and overall environment. Identifying shifts in these indicators enables HR to act quickly, fixing issues before they impact mental health or create legal liabilities. However, analyzing results and executing action plans is even more crucial than deploying surveys.
4. Encouraging the safe use of reporting channels
When properly structured, reporting channels surface issues that might otherwise remain hidden, while strengthening employee trust in the organization.
5. Tracking key metrics
HR should regularly monitor metrics such as:
Absenteeism;
Presenteeism;
Turnover;
Mental health leaves;
Labor lawsuits;
Internal survey results;
Reporting channel usage.
These metrics highlight trends and guide strategic decision-making.
Does NR-1 require training on psychosocial risks?
NR-1 does not specify an explicit list of mandatory training modules for psychosocial risks. However, it mandates that workers receive proper training to prevent risks associated with their duties, requiring initial and periodic training whenever necessary.
In practice, many organizations are bolstering training programs around harassment prevention, mental health, non-violent communication, leadership, and company culture as core pillars of their prevention strategy.
What are the benefits for the company?
Preventive psychosocial risk management offers clear organizational benefits:
Reduction in internal conflicts;
A stronger corporate culture;
Improved workplace climate;
Higher team engagement;
Lower absenteeism and turnover rates;
Reduction in labor liabilities;
A strengthened corporate reputation.
More than just fulfilling legal requirements, investing in prevention means caring for people and ensuring they can perform their duties safely and healthily.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HR solely responsible for managing psychosocial risks? No. It is a shared responsibility among executive leadership, managers, HR, SESMT, CIPA, Legal, and employees themselves.
Does a climate survey replace other preventive actions? No. It is a valuable diagnostic tool, but it must be followed by concrete improvement plans.
Does training help reduce psychosocial risks? Yes. Integrated into broader organizational measures, training raises awareness among staff and leaders, promotes preventive behavior, and embeds best practices.
Should small businesses also focus on this topic? Yes. Regardless of size, every organization must identify, evaluate, and control activity-related risks, including those impacting mental health.
How TothBe can support your organization
TothBe designs corporate education programs tailored to preventing psychosocial risks, combining training, climate surveys, Pulse surveys, performance reviews, custom content, and analytics to help organizations foster a healthy corporate culture.
Want to build a continuous prevention program in your company?
