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Benefits of positive mental health have been demonstrated across work and non-work domains. Individuals reporting positive mental health experience better work performance, better social relationships and better physical health. Additionally, positive work environments can contribute to employee mental health. The purpose of this paper is to develop “expert” consensus regarding practical, actionable strategies that organisations can implement to promote positive mental health in the workplace.

A Delphi consensus method was used to establish expert consensus on strategies to promote positive workplace mental health. A 278-item questionnaire was developed and strategies were rated over three survey rounds by two panels comprising 36 workplace mental health practitioners and 36 employer representatives and employees (27 and 9, respectively), employees with experience of promoting positive mental health and well-being in the workplace (total – 72 panellists).

In total, 220/278 strategies were rated as essential or important by at least 80 per cent of both panels. Endorsed strategies covered the topics of: mental health and well-being strategy, work environment that promotes positive mental health, positive leadership styles, effective communication, designing jobs for positive mental health, recruitment and selection, supporting and developing employees, work-life balance, and positive mental health and well-being initiatives.

The guidelines arising from this study represent expert consensus on what is currently appropriate for promoting positive mental health at work from the perspectives of workplace mental health practitioners, employers and employees, and constitute a resource for translating the growing body of knowledge in this area into policy and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the efficacy of the demand‐control‐support model, augmented with employee perceptions of organisational justice and degree of met expectations.

Data were collected from 128 public sector employees working in a large state police force operating under many of the elements of new public management. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted using four indicators of occupational strain: employee wellbeing, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and intent to quit.

The results of this study suggest that the demand‐control‐support model has great utility in identifying those aspects of the work environment associated with employee strain. Job control and social support at work in particular were the most consistent predictors. In contrast, the expectation and justice variables failed to make significant contributions to the model in all but one analysis providing no support for the “injustice as stressor” perspective.

Although a cross‐sectional design was utilized, these results highlight the value of applying the parsimonious demand‐control‐support model to a wider set of outcomes, especially in a public sector environment.

The results emphasize the importance of the relatively neglected “softer” work characteristics support and control. In order to combat the ill‐effects of organisational reforms and prompt a shift towards the public value approach, managers operating under elements of new public management should ensure that adequate social support at work is available and that employee control is commensurate with their demands.

This study examined an augmented demand‐control‐support model and identified that whilst perceptions of justice can influence employee attitudes and wellbeing, the demand, control, and support variables remain the most influential factors with regard to public sector employee attitudes and wellbeing.

Frequent absences from work can be highly disruptive, whilst also potentially indicating problematic working conditions that can lead to increased withdrawal behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to test the predictive capability of an expanded effort-reward imbalance model on employee absenteeism within the context of policing.

Three separate reward systems are identified by the effort-reward imbalance model. In this study, the authors assessed these individual components for their contribution to officer withdrawal behaviour in the form of absenteeism frequency. Data were gathered from a sample of operational officers (n=553) within a large Australian police agency.

Findings indicate that there was a strong influence of social rewards such as social support and recognition in the workplace on officer absenteeism rates. Low workload was associated with a higher frequency of absenteeism suggesting a potential underloading effect. There were a number of significant interactions providing support for the effort-reward imbalance mechanism and the separation of the reward construct. Security rewards were particularly influential and significantly moderated the relationship between effort and absenteeism.

Differential effects of occupational rewards were identified in the study, indicating that there are significant opportunities for expansion of the effort-reward imbalance model along with opportunities for HRM practitioners in terms of employee recognition and remuneration programmes. This research was focused on a specific sample of operational officers, therefore should be expanded to include multiple occupational groups.

This paper considers and expanded model of worker strain and contributes a longitudinal assessment of the association between perceived effort and reward systems and worker absenteeism.