The bloke every supervisor names as the one they're least worried about is often the one running on empty. Presenteeism — showing up while operating at a fraction of capacity — is invisible on a leave report and invisible to a single start-of-shift check-in. Three check-ins per shift catch the drift he would never report himself.

A supervisor who had a quiet word with a struggling worker last month did the right thing. But if there is no record of that conversation, then as far as an inspector is concerned, it didn't happen. Employers who win psychosocial claims share one thing in common: documented, ongoing records — not policies, not posters, not good intentions.