News
Identifying workplace psychosocial hazards
Business journals, social media and professional development workshops have been abuzz with information about psychosocial hazards over the past few years, and while information is great it can also be quite overwhelming en masse. We thought we would take the opportunity to break it down into easy to follow, real-world language.
What is a Psychosocial Hazard?
A hazard that:
- arises from, or relates to: the design or management of work; or a work environment; or plant at a workplace; or workplace interactions or behaviours; and
- may cause psychological harm (whether or not it may also cause physical harm).
Some examples of common psychosocial hazards are:
- job demands
- low job control
- lack of role clarity
- poor organisational change management
- violence or aggression from colleagues or customers
- inadequate reward and/or recognition
- remote or isolated work
- bullying or harassment, including sexual harassment
What Does this Mean for Businesses and Organisations?
Businesses and organisations have a legal and ethical responsibility to create work that does not cause psychological harm to workers.
To do this, businesses need to identify the psychosocial hazards that are present in the workplace and take action to eliminate or reduce them.
I’m a Business Owner / Manager, How can I get Started?
Whether you are a small, medium, or large business you need to take steps to identify the psychosocial hazards in your workplace, the risk they pose to your workers and the ways they can be reduced or managed.
- If you own or manage a small business, start by talking to your workers about the parts of their work that cause them stress and concern. Workshop these areas, and come up with steps that can be taken to address these issues.
- For medium to large businesses, WorkSafe Tasmania provides a free psychosocial risk assessment survey called People at Work (PAW). Workers can complete the PAW survey anonymously and the results collected will help to inform employers as to the most common psychosocial hazards that they need to manage in their business.
It’s easy to get caught up in the jargon and feel that it’s too difficult to make changes. But remember that as a business owner or manager it’s your legal and ethical responsibility to ensure work does not cause psychological harm to your team.
Take advantage of the tools available through WorkSafe Tasmania and Safe Work Australia. In particular, have a look at the Model Code of Practice for Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work. This Code of Practice was adopted by WorkSafe Tasmania in late 2022 and has been designed specifically to help PCBUs (persons conducting a business or undertaking) meet their duties in this area.
And finally, make sure you engage in and foster open, two-way conversations in your workplace.
Author: Adam Nebbs, Higher Degree by Research Candidate