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Like any other physical health and safety risk, psychological health risks from psychosocial hazards must be managed in a workplace. These hazards are anything in the design or management of work that increases the risk of work-related stress.

Work-related stress is the physical, mental and emotional reactions that occur when a worker perceives the demands of their work exceed their ability or resources to cope. Work-related stress if prolonged and/or severe can cause both psychological and physical harm. The longer that the work-related stresses continue unresolved, the higher the risk that a psychological injury will occur.

Psychosocial hazards, psychosocial risk and injury, and psychosocial safety: what's the difference?

  • A psychosocial hazard is anything that could cause psychological harm (e.g. harm to someone’s mental health).
  • Psychosocial risk and injury is cumulative. The likelihood of injury increases over time if the risks are not controlled adequately.
  • Psychosocial safety is a management practice that prioritises organisational policies, procedures, and practices to protect workers' psychological health and safety – integrating critical aspects of psychology and sociology to understand what humans categorise as safe and how they feel safe.

Legislation on psychosocial hazards in the workplace in South Australia

New regulations to help workers and employers manage the risk of psychological injuries and illnesses in the workplace came into effect on 25 December 2023. The changes to the regulations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 will help provide better guidance to workers and employers. Please refer to the Work Health and Safety (Psychosocial Risks) Amendment Regulations 2023 (external site) (external site).

The costs of psychosocial risks and injuries in the workplace and the benefits of proactive measures

Consider the following facts:

  • Mental health conditions cost Australian businesses $6 billion annually due to absenteeism, reduced work performance, turnover rates, and compensation claims.
  • Psychological injuries require three times more time off work than other injuries.
  • Workplaces with poor psychological conditions have 43% more sick days per month.
  • Mental illness is linked to high presenteeism, where employees stay at work despite symptoms, leading to lower productivity.
  • Creating and promoting mentally healthy workplaces benefits businesses with improved productivity, performance, staff retention, and a positive employer image. Average return on investment for mental health initiatives is $2.30 for every $1 spent. (Source: SafeWork SA)

Potential sources of psychosocial hazards in the workplace

Psychosocial hazards are aspects of work which have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm. They often arise from job design, work environment and organisational factors. This could include high job demands, low support, or exposure to traumatic events. Stress itself is not an injury. But if workers are stressed often, over a long time, or the level of stress is high, it can cause harm.

Model of work-related stress showing where psychosocial hazards can arize from or what they can relate to, the stress response and then the psychological and physical harm that can occur as a result.
Image source: SafeWork SA

Common psychosocial hazards in the workplace

Job design and management, including:

Harmful behaviours, including:

A single or irregular exposure to these hazards may not create psychosocial risks, or the risks may be very low. However, if workers’ exposure to a hazard (or a combination of these hazards) is frequent, prolonged or severe it can cause psychological and physical harm.

Illustrated image of a person standing at a blackboard surrounded by intrusive thoughts of self doubt, worry and despair about their working situation.

Image source: Safe Work Australia

Managing psychosocial hazards in the workplace

  1. Identify hazards
  2. Assess risks
  3. Control risks
  4. Review control measures

Infographic detailing the four steps to managing psychosocial hazards in the workplace (listed above in the bullet points)

Infographic source: Safe Work Australia

Addressing psychosocial hazards in the workplace

The controls provided are examples. You must consider what is reasonably practicable to eliminate or minimise the risks in your workplace.

NB: This list is only a small sample. For further examples see SafeWork Australia, Model Code of Practice – Managing psychosocial hazards at work. (external site) (external site)

Psychosocial HazardControl

Job demands

  • High physical demands
  • High mental or cognitive demands
  • High emotional demands
  • Low job demands

Job/work design

  • Schedule tasks to avoid intense or sustained low or high job demands (e.g. schedule non-urgent work for quieter periods).

Physical work environment

  • Provide quiet spaces for workers doing mentally demanding work.

Modifying job demands

  • Rotate workers through demanding or repetitive tasks.

Safe work systems and procedures

  • Have systems for escalating problems and getting support from managers.

The worker

  • If emotional demands are an unavoidable part of a worker’s role, ensure these are captured in the position description and applicants are informed at the pre-selection stage (e.g. at interview) of the demanding nature of the role.

Poor organisational change management

  • Not consulting workers on changes in the workplace.
  • Poor consideration of work health and safety risks or performance impacts of a change.
  • Poorly planned changes.
  • Poor communication about planned changes.
  • Insufficient information is provided regarding changes.
  • Inadequate support for workers through the change process.
  • Providing insufficient training to support changes.

Job/work design

  • You must consult workers who are, or are likely to be, affected by a work health and safety matter. You must agree consultation arrangements with your workers and should design them to suit your workplace. You must use agreed consultation arrangements when planning changes that raise work health and safety concerns.

Physical work environment

  • Provide practical support for changes in duties, tasks or objectives (e.g. ensure workers have access to the tools and resources they need to perform a new task).

Managing and communicating organisational change

  • Provide authoritative information about upcoming changes and options being considered as soon as possible, keep workers up to date, and ensure workers understand the changes (e.g. provide updates at team meetings or on notice boards).

Safe work systems and procedures

  • Respect individual differences and recognise workers will respond to change in a range of ways and will have different needs in consultation and engagement.

The worker

  • Ensure the person communicating changes has the skills and authority to do so, and supervisors have the skills to support workers through periods of change.

Simple steps to start addressing psychosocial hazards in your workplace

You must identify all reasonably foreseeable psychosocial hazards arising from the work carried out by your business or undertaking.

In addition to identifying common hazards, you also need to have systems and processes in place that enable you to identify hazards that are less common but serious, such as sexual or physical assault.

Simple steps to begin include:

  • Consult your workers.
  • Use surveys and tools.
  • Observe work and behaviours.
  • Review available information.
  • Look for trends.
  • Have a reporting mechanism and encourage reporting.

Resources

Managing psychosocial hazards in the workplace

Model Code of Practice (external site) (external site) (SafeWork Australia)

This model, from SafeWork Australia, provides practical guidance to PCBUs (Person conducting a business or undertaking) on how to manage psychosocial hazards at work.

Apply the risk management process to manage psychosocial hazards (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF)

Learn about the importance of addressing psychosocial hazards that can lead to significant psychological and physical injuries. The document outlines a comprehensive four-step risk management process: identifying hazards, assessing risks, controlling risks, and reviewing measures.

Mentally healthy workplaces (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF)

A comprehensive guide for small businesses to manage and improve psychological health within the workplace that also includes practical strategies for mitigating psychosocial hazards and maintaining a positive work environment.

How to examine and interrogate workplace data

Get access to a structured risk management process as mandated by the Managing the Risk of Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2022. This psychosocial risk assessment tool (external site) (PDF) (external site) (PDF) offers specific guidelines and checklists (amongst other things) to assist employers and managers in monitoring various psychosocial factors, such as job demands, workplace relationships, and organisational change management, to maintain a mentally healthy workplace.

The Mentally healthy workplaces page (external site) (external site) is designed to provide comprehensive guidance on fostering mental health in the workplace. It covers the importance of mental health, strategies to mitigate psychosocial hazards, managing work-related stress, and the significance of bullying prevention. The site provides tools for risk assessment, data analysis, and practical advice for small businesses to create a supportive work environment. It also includes resources for managing anxiety and depression and promoting overall wellbeing in the workplace.

People at Work tool (external site) (external site)

People at Work is a step-by-step process that workplaces can use to identify and measure risks to psychological health and safety. A core part of the People at Work process is a survey tool that measures psychosocial hazards and factors.

Healthy Workplaces - Good work design

Explore guidelines for designing safe and efficient workplaces that emphasises the importance of early hazard identification and risk management to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. The principles outlined aim to create environments that consider worker abilities and vulnerabilities, enhancing performance, productivity, and job satisfaction. The page includes links to resources, case studies, and frameworks that support effective work design, ultimately benefiting both employee wellbeing and business success.

APHIRM (A participative hazard identification and risk management) Toolkit (external site) (external site)

The APHIRM Toolkit addresses both the physical and psychosocial hazards and provides free cloud-based tools and resources to help you manage risk.

SafeWork SA's Psychosocial Hazards page (external site)