Employer Duty of Care: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work

  
Psychosocial hazards in the workplace are any hazards that can harm a worker’s mental health. 

While most jobs involve some psychosocial hazards, new Work Health and Safety (WHS) regulations require employers to take steps to manage psychosocial risks in the workplace.

So, how can employers identify and manage psychosocial risks, and create mentally health workplace cultures as a result?

 

🔍 Understanding psychosocial hazards

Psychosocial hazards are aspects of work design, systems, culture, or the environment that create stress.

Over time, or if the level of stress is particularly high, workers can experience psychological or physical injury as a result of this stress.

Common psychosocial hazards include:

  • High job demands (excessive workload, long hours).
  • Low job control (little autonomy, rigid processes).
  • Poor workplace relationships (bullying, conflict, discrimination).
  • Low role clarity (unclear expectations, frequent changes).
  • Inadequate support (lack of supervision, training or resources).
  • Exposure to traumatic or distressing content.
  • Organisational change that’s poorly managed.

 

⚠️ Recognising signs of a psychologically unsafe workplace

By recognising the warning signs of a psychologically unsafe working environment, employers can provide timely support to workers.

Warning signs can include:

  • Increased conflict among co-workers.
  • A noticeable increase in misunderstandings and miscommunication.
  • Increased use of abusive language and conduct. 
  • Signs of disengagement from work and co-workers. 
  • More talk of stress and pressure among staff.
  • Increased absenteeism. 
  • More grievances and complaints, covering more issues.

 

🎯 Supporting workers experiencing mental distress

Taking a proactive approach to supporting a worker who is experiencing mental distress is always best.

The Fair Work Ombudsman recommends a five step approach to managing workplace concerns:

  1. Identify the problem.
  2. Check the relevant law.
  3. Talk to the employee.
  4. Fix the problem.
  5. Get help from an independent third party, if need be.

 

🛠️ Building a mentally healthy workplace culture

While supporting individual employees who are already experiencing distress is critical, there are also organisation-wide strategies that can be used to manage psychosocial risks.

In turn, this helps to build a more mentally healthy workplace culture.

Safe Work Australia recommends a four-step risk management process:

  1. Identify – identify psychological hazards and risks.
  2. Assess – consider what could happen if workers were exposed to the identified hazards.
  3. Control – where possible, eliminate the risk. 
  4. Review – maintain, monitor and review these measures when necessary.

      

✏️ Want to learn more?

If you’d like to develop a deeper understanding of psychosocial risks in the workplace, as well as the ways you can support workers in mental distress, join us for Mental Health in the Workplace.

 

📜 Sources