Workplace Options Center for Organizational Effectiveness Global Compliance Inventory and Synopsis of Requirements Empowers Employers to Address Psychosocial Risks and Advance Mental Health Protections

New resource from WPO’s Center for Organizational Effectiveness outlines psychosocial risk regulations across 68 countries to help global employers in building safer, healthier, and more resilient workplaces.

As international awareness of employee mental health reaches new heights, governments are rapidly implementing policies that make psychosocial risk management a legal and ethical priority. To support multinational employers in navigating this complex and changing landscape, the Center for Organizational Effectiveness (COE) at Workplace Options (WPO) developed the Psychosocial Risk Compliance—a first-of-its-kind global inventory and synopsis of requirements offering clarity, insights, and strategic direction.

Spanning 68 countries, the document maps out the latest regulations, compliance requirements, and risk mitigation frameworks organizations need to know—empowering HR leaders, risk officers, and senior executives to proactively protect their people and meet rising global standards.

“Psychological safety isn’t just a moral imperative—it’s a business imperative,” said Alan King, President and CEO of Workplace Options. “We created this resource so that leaders have the insights to move beyond compliance to build cultures where every employee’s wellbeing drives performance, retention, and resilience.”

Bridging Widening Gaps Between Strategy and Action

As workplaces undergo rapid transformation, organizations must prioritize employee wellbeing and engagement to stay competitive. To help businesses provide environments where employees feel supported, empowered, and equipped to perform at their best, WPO launched the Center for Organizational Effectiveness in early 2025, a global consulting and thought leadership hub dedicated to integrating real-time and real-life strategy into sustainable and successful action.

Developed from millions of insights and interactions across WPO’s EAP and Work-Life services, the COE provides data-driven, proactive solutions for today’s most pressing workplace challenges, including employee engagement, psychological safety, psychosocial risk management, change management, and inclusive leadership. By bridging the gap between business strategy and human experience, the COE is redefining how organizations may foster engagement, resilience, and long-term success at the international scale, while the companies maintain their local expertise and relevance.

The One Thing Every Generation Needs at Work: Psychological Safety

As psychosocial risks—including burnout, workplace stress, bullying, and harassment—rise globally, legislation is following suit. Countries such as Australia, Canada, France, and Japan are already enforcing specific standards, and others are quickly catching up.

Understanding and responding to these laws enables organizations to:

• Identify and manage workplace psychosocial risks
• Embed mental health and wellbeing into business strategy and action items
• Train managers to recognize and address early warning signs
• Protect employees and reduce the costs of non-compliance

“Governments are setting a clear expectation: psychological safety must be part of every organization’s DNA,” said Oliver Brecht, Vice President of the Center for Organizational Effectiveness. “Our global guide gives leaders and managers the practical insight they need to stay compliant and create thriving, inclusive workplaces—anywhere in the world.”

Organizations that fail to address psychological safety often experience:

• Higher turnover rates as employees seek workplaces that prioritize their mental health and wellbeing.
• Declining productivity due to unresolved workplace conflicts and stress.
• A disengaged workforce, where employees feel unheard and unsupported.

As companies expand across borders, a unified understanding of psychosocial risk compliance is more critical than ever. With this global guide, the COE continues its mission to equip organizations with the tools and knowledge to advance mental health, reduce liability, and elevate employee experience at scale.

From Boomers to Gen Z: Making Psychological Safety a Leadership Imperative

The Center for Organizational Effectiveness recently released its Psychological Safety Study to uncover how employees, across 18 countries, are struggling in ways that, if left unaddressed, could define the future of work for generations to come.

Key findings include:

• Workplace stress ranks as the top concern in nearly every country studied.
• Conflict at work is a widespread issue, particularly in China, France, and Japan.
• Performance pressure is rising globally, with employees citing struggles to meet expectations.
• Young adults are experiencing burnout—raising alarms about the future of workforce wellbeing.

Unlike surveys, The Center for Organizational Effectiveness Psychological Safety Study is based on real, anonymized conversations between employees and clinicians. This human-centered approach reveals the raw emotions, fears, and challenges employees are feeling—providing business leaders with real insights to drive meaningful change.

About The Center for Organizational Effectiveness

The Center for Organizational Effectiveness is a global consulting and thought leadership hub dedicated to helping organizations build thriving workplaces and resilient teams, on a global scale and with local impact. Leveraging real-time well-being insights from millions of interactions across 200+ countries and 68+ languages, the Center provides data-driven strategies in employee engagement, psychological safety, psychosocial risk management, and inclusive leadership. By integrating well-being into workplace strategy, we help organizations create environments where employees feel protected, empowered, and enabled to thrive, wherever they are.

About Workplace Options:

Founded in 1982, Workplace Options (WPO) is the largest independent provider of holistic well-being solutions. Through customized programs, and a comprehensive global network of credentialed providers and professionals, WPO supports individuals to become healthier, happier, and more productive both personally and professionally. Trusted by 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies, WPO delivers high-quality care digitally and in-person to more than 88 million people across 127,000 organizations in more than 200 countries and territories.