Judgemental - a psychologist and a lawyer walk into a bar

When Consultation is actually a control, and changes everything

Episode Summary

What happens when a stubborn safety issue turns into a crisis of trust, culture, and psychosocial risk? In this episode, Kate and Greg are joined by Louis Webb and Brendan Luker from Hume City Council to unpack a real-world case study that started with a manual handling safety concern, and evolved into something much bigger.

Episode Notes

What happens when a stubborn safety issue turns into a crisis of trust, culture, and psychosocial risk?

In this episode, Kate and Greg are joined by Louis Webb and Brendan Luker from Hume City Council to unpack a real-world case study that started with a manual handling safety concern, and evolved into something much bigger.

When vehicle mounted cranes were taken out of service, it sparked frustration, confusion, and fear across the team. Workers felt unheard. Management felt stuck. And over time, unresolved physical safety risks began to intersect with rising psychosocial risks—low trust, poor communication, and genuine concerns for mental wellbeing.

Instead of more policies, more meetings, or more top-down decisions, Louis took a different approach—bringing everyone into the room. No scripts. No fixed agenda. Just real, structured conversations grounded in curiosity, transparency, and genuine consultation.

Over a series of open sessions, the team:

  • Voiced frustrations that had been building for years
  • Explored both frontline and management perspectives
  • Challenged assumptions and unpacked the “why” behind decisions
  • Co-designed safer, more practical ways of working

The outcome? A complete turnaround. And a WorkSafe inspector surprised - yet delighted at what had been achieved. 

The crew (who had been strongly advocating to keep cranes on their trucks) ultimately made the call themselves to move away from them after fully understanding the broader risks and constraints. More importantly, trust was rebuilt through transparent and honest conversations, morale lifted, laughter and humour returned to the workplace and psychosocial risks were significantly reduced.  

This episode is a powerful reminder that:

  • Consultation isn’t a checkbox—it’s a control
  • Psychological safety enables better safety decisions
  • People don’t resist change—they resist not being heard
  • The best solutions often come from the people doing the work

If you’re dealing with conflict, resistance, or stuck safety issues in your organisation, this conversation shows what’s possible when you stop talking at people—and start working with them.

 

Connect with us:

LinkedIn – Kate Connors

LinkedIn – Greg Smith

LinkedIn – EML 

LinkedIn – Mutual Benefits 

Resources:

Elemental Psychology & Coaching   website

Greg Smith – Safety Books Proving Safety and Paper Safe

EML website

EML Psychosocial resources – Mutual Benefitshttps://www.eml.com.au/news-community/latest-news/reduce-psychosocial-risks-in-workplaces/

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