Dr Ali Afsharian is a highly qualified clinical psychologist with Bachelor's and Master's degrees from USWR, Iran, and a PhD from UniSA, Australia. His research focuses on Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) from composition and dispersion perspectives, with the aim of identifying and preventing psychosocial risk factors at national and international levels in the workplace. He has compared PSC in different cultural contexts, particularly in Australian and Iranian workplaces. Dr Afsharian is currently an academic researcher at the Centre for Workplace Excellence at UniSA, where he continues to pursue his research interests in organisational and clinical psychology, psychosocial safety climate, psychosocial risk factors, and employees' perception of managerial policies. He is also skilled in developing management plans to create a healthy working environment, addressing psychosocial health issues and risk factors at work.
EDUCATION
PhD in Work and Organisational Psychology UniSA
MA in Clinical Psychology USWR, Tehran, Iran
BA in Psychology FUM, Mashhad, Iran
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Organisational and clinical psychology,
Psychosocial Safety Climate and the climate strength
Managerial policies and plans to design working environments,
Psychosocial health risk factors at work and MSDs,
PSC and biomarkers (HRV, BP, sleep data) of workplace stressors
Cross-cultural investigation
22
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Investigating the Impact of Prolonged Exposure to Low Psychosocial Safety Climate on Serious Depressive Symptoms Ali Afsharian, May Young Loh, Maureen Frances Dollard Safety and Health at Work, 2025 Previous research has shown that the organization’s psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is crucial for protecting workers' psychological well-being. In this study we sought to understand how different exposure (prolonged [long-term] vs. short-term) to low levels of PSC affects new future depressive symptoms. Three waves of data from 1160 full-time workers were used to analyse the effect of prolonged exposure to low PSC over two to three years on depressive symptoms and the emergence of new depressive symptoms, after excluding depressed cases at baseline. Additionally, we tested the effects of short-term low PSC exposure. Data were analysed using SPSS and binomial logistic regression. Results showed that prolonged low PSC increased the risk of developing new depressive symptoms four-fold in the next three to four years (OR = 4.02, p < .001). Short-term low PSC exposure tripled the risk of newly developed depression (OR = 3.03, p < .001). Future research should consider prolonged effects of exposure to a low PSC. To prevent future depressive symptoms, it is important to build and improve PSC in the organisations, to prevent the accumulative deleterious effects on workers’ psychological health.
Australia's national laws for worker psychological health: a policy evaluation and psychosocial safety climate analysis Rachael E. Potter, May Young Loh, Maureen F. Dollard, Ashira Friebel, Daniel Neser, Ali Afsharian, Sharon K. Parker, Ross Iles Safety Science, 2025 Improving workers’ psychological health is an international priority. This multi-study policy evaluation research integrates institutional and organisational theory to determine if—and why—the introduction of enhanced pro-worker psychological health law (Work Health and Safety [WHS] Regulations) within a country (Australia) can lead to impact in organisations within jurisdictions (i.e., regions) and industry sectors. We assess organisational impact via changes in Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC), which captures perceptions of the organisational safety system for worker psychological health, as well as worker psychological distress. Study 1 explores the international legal context, using expert reports from 19 countries to assess national work-related psychological health law development between 2021 and 2024. Results verify that Australia had an increased legislative work-related psychological health focus. Study 2, a quasi-experimental design, using large national data sets, compared jurisdictions within which the national law was implemented in 2023 (Legislated group) or not (Comparison group). Significant group-by-time interaction effects were found for PSC, aligning with expectations whereby PSC increased significantly in the Legislated group. Study 3, a longitudinal field experimental study explored the reach of the legal changes in a specific industry sector (university). With three-waves of data (n = 339), comparing universities across different jurisdictions, a group-by-time interaction was found for PSC and psychological distress. Findings show a positive impact of targeted psychosocial law on organisations’ safety system and workers’ health. The current study provides a theory-driven framework for evaluating and explaining legislated policy effects—across jurisdictions and within sectors—showing it can be a wide-reaching lever for improving work conditions and psychological health in the longer term.
A ‘living intervention’: Evaluating a real-time feedback system to help teams co-create psychosocial safety climate Sarven S. McLinton, May Young Loh, Maureen F. Dollard, Ali Afsharian, Michelle M.R. Tuckey Safety Science, 2025 Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) is a leading indicator of safety issues, and Real-time monitoring (RTM) interventions offer the opportunity to address safety concerns for worker psychological health before problems compound. We pilot a new intervention that combines RTM of PSC, enabling teams to engage in a co-creation process to develop ownership over their ‘living intervention’. We ran the PSC-RTM system in N = 3 healthcare teams in a large metropolitan government hospital in Australia. Pre-intervention PSC training was followed by 10 weeks of a 24/7 app kiosk that provided continual feedback to guide team discussion of psychosocial safety. Results demonstrated that the PSC-RTM system could capture clear safety signals, and our data provides evidence of a PSC emergence process. There was also support for a PSC action potential effect whereby improvement in PSC only occurred for teams that met a threshold for change. Findings show that PSC is fluid not monolithic; it’s dynamic and responsive to immediate changes in the safety environment, with real-time safety signals followed by ‘recovery’ phases to a set point indicating evidence for a “PSC Pulse”. The PSC-RTM poses a potentially cost-effective system for organisations to monitor psychosocial risk before hazards arise. Our findings also provide new evidence on trending topics such as PSC emergence, PSC set point, the nature of safety signals, forms of PSC enactment, and how real-time monitoring systems play a role in feedback-seeking and feedback-sharing behaviours to improve safety. Therefore, future studies might consider going beyond measuring a ‘snapshot’ of PSC, but rather monitor a team’s PSC Pulse.
The Generality of Psychosocial Safety Climate Theory—A Fundamental Element for Global Worker Well-Being: Evidence From Four Nations May Young Loh, Michelle Chin Chin Lee, Maureen Dollard, Dianne Gardner, Kazuki Kikunaga, Tsukumi Tondokoro, Akinori Nakata, Mohd. Awang Idris, Tim Bentley, Ali Afsharian, David Tappin, Darryl Forsyth Stress and Health, 2025 Occupational health and safety researchers and policymakers often rely on organisational theories and evidence to provide valuable information for effective policy making and understanding. Yet, most traditional and contemporary organisational theories are developed within a single nation, often in high‐income countries. Therefore, cross‐national validation is required for generalisable worldwide use. The current study focuses on an antecedent to workplace health and safety, that is, the psychosocial safety climate (PSC), and aims to investigate if PSC is an etic (i.e., universally applicable) or emic (i.e., nationally/context specific) theory. Across nations, we investigate the construct meaning of PSC by testing PSC measurement invariance and the invariance of a nomological network of PSC relationships, (1) PSC to co‐worker to work engagement (PSC extended Job‐Demands Resources (JD‐R) motivational pathway), (2) PSC to co‐worker support to psychological distress (PSC extended JD‐R health erosion pathway), and (3) the moderation of PSC on the co‐worker to outcomes relationship. A total of 5854 employees from four nations (Australia = 1198, New Zealand = 2029, Malaysia = 575, Japan = 2052) participated in the study. Multi‐group structural equation modelling suggested that there was measurement invariance in a four‐factor PSC model across the four samples. Findings from multigroup analyses support both the PSC extended motivational and health erosion pathways across nations, as well as the moderation effect of PSC in the Australian and Japanese samples. Together, the results largely support the etic nature of PSC construct and theory, with a few national nuances.
Longitudinal investigation of restructuring, psychosocial safety climate and burnout in Australian universities during COVID-19 2020–2022 R. Potter, A. Afsharian, S. Richter, D. Neser, A. Zadow, M. F. Dollard, K. Lushington Journal of Industrial Relations, 2025 Australian universities have undergone considerable restructuring within the last few decades such as downsizing, unit amalgamations and adopting new digital work practices. This article draws together industrial relations and organisational psychology literature, exploring restructuring and effects within universities. It presents national data on university restructuring, levels of organisational psychosocial safety climate (PSC), and burnout from 2020 to 2022, from the workers’ perspective. Survey responses were collected across 39 Australian universities at 3 time points: 2020 (n = 2191), 2021 (n = 1731) and 2022 (n = 1373). A large proportion reported ‘high’ levels of restructuring at each data collection phase (2020 = 41%, 2021 = 56% and 2022 = 49%). A multi-level model showed that PSC is an organisational climate predictor of restructuring, and in turn, worker burnout. Hierarchical linear modelling of the longitudinal data revealed significant pathways and a good model fit. Findings suggest that organisations with poor climates for psychological health (i.e. low PSC) are more likely to restructure, which is then associated with higher levels of burnout. Primary-level PSC-focused interventions are needed to prioritise the psychological health of the workforce over persistent productivity concerns, which is the conventional driver of restructuring.
Psychosocial Safety Climate as an Enabler of Teacher Health and Occupational Well-being João Viseu, Liberata Borralho, Ali Afsharian, Tiago Domingues Universitas Psychologica, 2025 The aim of this quantitative research was to understand the mechanisms that intervene in the relationship between Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) and work outcomes through the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model in a sample of Portuguese school teachers. 1481 participants, mostly female (78.9%), completed a research protocol consisting of six self-report questionnaires and one sociodemographic and professional questionnaire. The results indicated that PSC correlates positively with teacher health, work engagement and positive psychological capital (PsyCap); teacher health mediates the relationship between PSC and both work engagement and PsyCap, promoting both; PsyCap is linked to higher job satisfaction and lower stress; and work engagement and PsyCap partially mediate the relationship between PSC and job satisfaction, promoting the latter, and stress, reducing its levels. It would be important that these results would have a driving effect on interventions with teachers to prevent and improve their health and well-being.
PSC as an organisational level determinant of working time lost and expenditure following workplace injuries and illnesses Maureen F. Dollard, May Loh, Harry Becher, Daniel Neser, Sophie Richter, Amy Zadow, Ali Afsharian, Rachael Potter Safety Science, 2024 Finding an association between organisational factors and working time loss following workplace injury and illness (hereafter injury) could rightfully shift the focus in injury management strategies from the individual to the organisation. We investigate whether working time loss and expenditure following compensable injury can be predicted by knowing about organisational characteristics, particularly the Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) − the organisation’s climate for worker psychological health. Our prospective multisource study linked ‘objective’ reports of working conditions assessed in an independent Australian Workplace Barometer (AWB) sample (random population interviews of 1067 workers) to future workers compensation claims data held by a government safety regulator, by aggregating both data sets to the organisational (employer) level. We selected compensation data prior to big policy changes to a short tail scheme. We selected claims with working time loss due to injury or illness ≥1 day yielding 100 organisations and 12,624 claims. Results support organisational PSC as a leading indicator of future time loss and expenditure, and its effect was mediated through skill discretion, job satisfaction, and rewards. Decision authority, supervisory support, and bullying were also related to time loss but not as strongly as PSC. In very low PSC organisations, days lost were 160 % higher than for those in high PSC organisations (177 vs 68 days). Likewise, expenditure for the injury or illness (e.g., health expenses, wages) was 104 % higher in very low PSC vs high PSC organisations (AUD $67 260 vs $32 939). PSC is a modifiable social determinant of injured workers working time loss and expenditure. Practically, it is essential to target PSC for safety improvement — beyond injury prevention PSC is important for return to work and to prevent the shift of the burden of organisational problems to the individual and public health.
Work stress May Young Loh, Rachael Potter, Ali Afsharian, Amy Zadow, Maureen Dollard Elgar Encyclopedia of Organizational Psychology, 2024
