Under WHS/OHS laws, employers must eliminate or minimise psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
Safe Work Australia has developed a model Code of Practice focusing on the identification, management and control of such hazards at work. It provides practical guidance for employers, explaining the relevant laws and how to comply with them.
Employers have a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of workers and others, so the duty to manage psychosocial hazards at work is nothing new. Rather, the model Code clarifies how employers can fulfil this obligation.
So, what is a psychosocial risk?
A psychosocial risk is a risk to a person’s health and safety arising from a psychosocial hazard. Psychosocial hazards are anything at work that may cause psychological harm, including:
- job demands
- low job control
- poor support, particularly from management
- role conflict or lack of role clarity
- role overload/underload
- poor organisational change management
- poor procedural justice (i.e. processes for making decisions)
- inadequate reward and recognition
- exposure to traumatic events or material
- fatigue
- remote or isolated work
- poor physical environment
- violence and aggression
- bullying
- harassment, including sexual harassment
- conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions
Psychosocial hazards can cause stress, which can lead to psychological harm (including anxiety, depression, PTSD and sleep disorders) and physical harm (including musculoskeletal injuries, chronic disease or fatigue-related injuries). On average, compared with physical injuries, work-related psychological injuries have longer recovery times, higher costs, and require more time away from work.
While the risks listed above may not cause psychosocial risks on their own (although certainly can in more severe cases) they may do so if combined with other hazards.
How can such risks be managed?
When managing psychosocial hazards, employers should take into account tasks and activities that may increase risks to particular groups, for example, workers:
- who are younger, in training, older, or who are new to the organisation or doing those tasks
- with diverse language, literacy, numeracy, or cultural backgrounds
- who have experienced work-related injury, illness or previous exposure to a traumatic event
In line with the model Code, employers should:
- identify reasonably foreseeable risks for these workers, and assess these risks;
- ensure risk controls take these workers’ needs into account;
- ensure a fair and transparent process, so workplace behavioural standards are known and upheld, including reminding all workers of their legal duty not to cause harm through their behaviours to others or themselves; and
- last, but certainly not least, regularly review control measures.
It is important to note that reasonable management action, when carried out lawfully, though may be uncomfortable or distressing to some, is a legitimate way for management to:
- lead, direct and control how work is done
- give feedback and manage performance, including around inappropriate or harmful workplace behaviours
- deal with differences of opinion and disagreements
- recruit, assign, transfer, implement disciplinary action or terminate employment.
By talking to your workers, including those from at-risk groups, you can decide if they may need additional support to be healthy and safe at work. Where non-work-related factors, for example, a worker’s personal circumstances or mental or physical health status may increase their risk of harm at work, employers are required to make reasonable adjustments under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).