3.4.C From Individual Distress to System Responsibility: Reframing Moral Injury in Workplaces
Tracks
Concurrent Session D
| Friday, May 22, 2026 |
| 9:50 AM - 10:10 AM |
| Chancellor 5 |
Overview
Presenter: Dr Caitlin Connolly
Details
Chairs: Snr Chap Andrew Nixon & Dr Melissa Bakhurst
Speaker
Dr Caitlin Connolly
Psychologist
Coherence Psychology
From Individual Distress to System Responsibility: Reframing Moral Injury in Workplaces
Abstract Document
Moral distress and injury have traditionally been conceptualised as individual psychological responses to ethically distressing experiences. However, this framing risks obscuring the systemic conditions that give rise to such harm. This presentation argues for reframing of moral injury as a predictable outcome of organisational and structural failure, rather than individual vulnerability. From the lens of both a researcher/psychologist as well as a WorkSafe Tasmania employee, it will explore how workplace policies, resource constraints, leadership practices, and regulatory environments can create conditions in which workers are exposed to repeated ethical conflicts or value violations. The role of organisations and leaders will be examined in both the production and prevention of moral injury. By shifting the focus from individual resilience to system responsibility, this presentation will outline pathways for embedding moral injury prevention within organisational governance, leadership practice, and regulatory frameworks.
Biography
Dr Caitlin Connolly is a psychologist working in both the public and private sectors. In her role as WorkSafe Tasmania’s Psychologist of Workplace Wellbeing, her work focuses on enhancing mental health, wellbeing, and performance in complex, high-demand work environments. She has worked across research, policy, and clinical settings, applying human-centred and systems-focused approaches to understanding how work design, psychosocial factors, and organisational culture shape behaviour and wellbeing.
Dr Connolly holds a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours), a Master of Professional of Psychology, and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Tasmania. Her work bridge research and practice, with a strong commitment to designing healthier, safer, and more sustainable workplaces.
Her career has a strong focus on high-risk occupational groups, with specialised research in demographics including veterinary and emergency services professions. In her clinical practice, Dr Connolly integrates evidence-based, trauma response approaches to support emotion regulation, resilience, and effective functioning across clients’ broader systems – families, schools, and workplaces.