Why psychosocial hazards need to be top of mind for HR & WHS Leaders
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The importance of having proper procedures in place to manage psychosocial hazards has reached an all-time high. Is your organisation equipped?
Psychosocial hazards is a topic that has gained considerable traction in HR circles in the last year.
In July 2022, Safe Work Australia released its new model Code of Practice: ‘Managing psychosocial hazards at work’. Based on the Work Health and Safety Act and wider Workplace Health and Safety regulations, it follows the landmark ISO 45003 global standard, published in 2021.
Not long after, in September 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released new global guidelines, addressing mental health at work with a special focus on psychosocial hazards.
“Psychosocial hazards are aspects of work which have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm,” explains Dr Heather Bolton, Director of Science at Unmind.
“Examples include excessive workloads, tight deadlines, conflicting demands or a lack of control over ways of working.
“Just like physical risk factors, the accumulation of psychosocial risks can lead to poor health outcomes like stress, burnout or depression.”
The impact on organisations
Managing psychological health and safety in the workplace is now not only a top concern, it’s a legal responsibility – and having inadequate procedures in place is both costly and neglectful.
In May 2022 – before the Safe Work Australia’s model Code of Practice came out – the Supreme Court of Victoria ordered the Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP) to pay a former employee $435,000 after she developed PTSD and a depressive disorder as a result of viewing distressing material for her job.
Given this ruling emerged before the Safe Work Australia’s model Code of Practice came out, this should send a clear warning to employers, both around the seriousness of psychosocial hazards and your duty of care to every single staffer, as well as the legal jeopardy that may come from getting it wrong.
In Australia, mental ill-health is the leading cause of time off work, with compensation claims growing at 15 times the rate of physical ones. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists claim mental ill-health costs the Australian economy around $60 billion a year.
Exposure to psychosocial hazards are a driver for mental health outcomes. Research shows low levels of social support, high job strain and role stress all substantially increase chances of developing mental health difficulties.
What business leaders can do
Aside from reading the Safe Work Australia ‘Managing psychosocial hazards at work’ Code of Practice, there are several strategies you can explore to help protect your people from psychosocial risk factors:
- Expert-led training
There are two dominant sources of psychosocial risk: poor colleague relationships and lack of support from management. Research shows that expert-led training to support team-level wellbeing can tackle these challenges.
Dispelling common misconceptions around mental health can help reduce stigmatising attitudes. When employees know where to seek help and feel empowered to do so, workplaces have improved access to support through training.
There’s also a wealth of evidence to show that leadership styles are strongly associated with employee wellbeing. This means that leadership training that focuses on motivating, considerate and inspiring leadership can also reduce team-wide exposure to psychosocial risk.
- Data that demonstrates impact
Pinpointing the mental health challenges that cause absenteeism, burnout and staff turnover, then shaping your strategy to reverse these trends is a proactive way to address psychosocial risks in the workplace.
Make use of existing HR data. Studies have shown that levels of increased sickness absence are predicted by measures of workplace culture including working relationships, organisational support, and leadership quality.
Review records, including exit interviews, staff turnover and any workforce surveys that can help build a picture of what is (and what isn’t) working for your organisation.
Unmind’s Workplace Index captures aspects of workplace culture that drive wellbeing outcomes. Using these measures, organisations can access actionable insights and take expert-backed steps to minimise risk.
- Company-wide cultural change
Workplace culture generally refers to how we experience working life. The ISO 45003 breaks culture into three areas where measures can be implemented to minimise hazards:
- Workplace measures (e.g. defining work roles, consulting workers on change)
- Social measures (providing wellbeing information, increasing awareness of psychosocial risk)
- Workplace environment (protecting employees from threats of violence, use of appropriate protective gear)
Engaging with culture is central to the future of better mental health at work. Delivering training in the context of inclusive policies, open communication and stakeholder engagement will drive culture change.
These changes can also boost the effect of individual, employee-level support by forming a comprehensive, organisation-wide approach to mental health.
Leaders should set the tone by being open with their own mental wellbeing and instil wellbeing champions and employee resource groups.
To find out more about how Unmind can help psychosocial risk management at your organisation, check out our practical psychosocial deep dive or schedule a call with an Unminder today.
