Psychological Health and Safety at Work: A Systems-Level Approach to Psychosocial Risk, Organizational Context, and Employee Well-Being

Psychological health and safety (PHS) has emerged as a critical priority in contemporary workplaces, reflecting growing recognition of psychosocial risks such as excessive workload, job insecurity, and poor organizational support. Traditionally, research on employee well-being has focused on individual-level stress and coping; however, there is increasing emphasis on organizational and system-level determinants of mental health at work. Frameworks such as the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model and psychosocial safety climate (PSC) highlight how work design, leadership, and human resource practices shape both risk and protective factors. Recent developments, including international standards such as ISO 45003, further underscore the need for integrated approaches to managing psychological health and safety. This Research Topic builds on this shift by examining how organizational systems create, sustain, or mitigate psychosocial risk and influence employee well-being.Despite growing recognition of psychological health and safety (PHS) as a workplace priority, the field remains conceptually fragmented and empirically uneven. Research is often divided across individual-level stress models, organizational climate frameworks, and human resource management approaches, with limited integration across levels of analysis. In addition, much of the existing evidence is cross-sectional and relies on self-reported data, constraining causal inference and practical application. There is also a gap between emerging standards and policies (e.g., ISO 45003) and rigorous evaluation of their implementation and effectiveness in real-world settings.This Research Topic aims to address these gaps by advancing PHS as a system-level construct that links organizational structures, work design, and leadership practices to employee well-being. Contributions are encouraged that integrate theoretical frameworks (e.g., JD-R, PSC), apply multilevel and longitudinal designs, and examine implementation processes and outcomes across diverse organizational contexts. Recent advances in psychosocial risk measurement, intervention research, and policy development provide a foundation for more robust, integrative, and actionable evidence.This Research Topic focuses on psychological health and safety (PHS) as a system-level construct within organizational contexts. We invite contributions that examine how organizational structures, leadership, work design, and human resource practices shape psychosocial risk and employee well-being across levels of analysis. Relevant themes include: (1) conceptual and theoretical integration of PHS with frameworks such as JD-R and psychosocial safety climate; (2) organizational determinants of PHS, including leadership, culture, and HR systems; (3) measurement and methodological advances, including development and validation of psychometric questionnaire and multilevel and longitudinal designs; (4) implementation and evaluation of PHS interventions, policies, and standards (e.g., ISO 45003); and (5) sector-specific and cross-cultural perspectives. We welcome original research, systematic and scoping reviews, theoretical/conceptual papers, and methodological contributions that advance understanding and application of PHS in diverse work settings. Topic editors: Heather Katherine Scott-Marshall, Francesco Cangiano, Renato Pisanti Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82037/psychological-health-and-safety-at-work-a-systems-level-approach-to-psychosocial-risk-organizational-context-and-employee-well-being