Understanding the impact of psychosocial hazards
Under work, health and safety laws, Australian businesses may be subject to maximum penalties of over $2 million for individuals and over $11 million for body corporates for offences.
Job demand hazard
Sam is a staff nurse who has just completed a 16.75-hour stint at a local hospital. She started at 9.00AM and finished at 1.45AM the following morning. She is then expected to start her next shift after an eight-hour break.
Low job control hazard
Pete works in an auditing firm and has a set number of processes he needs to complete during the end of financial year activities. He sees several shortcomings and wants to propose alternative ways of working, but his manager is very prescriptive and is not open to suggestions or feedback. Pete has developed severe migraines over the last three weeks that don’t seem to go away.
He feels increasingly stressed by the nature of his work and hopeless about his ability to change it.
Traumatic event hazard
There was a recent violent attack on a university campus grounds that resulted in a death. Lee, who works in administration, has been deeply traumatised by the incident and the university’s lack of communication about it. This event has triggered Lee’s personal history of abuse and they are unsure where to obtain support at work.
The university administration is keeping tight-lipped about the entire incident.
The impact of hazards
While workplaces can provide opportunities for collaboration, camaraderie, and a sense of personal accomplishment, they also present many opportunities for hazards to arise. These hazards can be wide-ranging, some arising sporadically while others are constantly present.
We may typically be more familiar with physical hazards, such as constant loud noises where heavy machinery is in use for long periods, or exposure to dangerous chemicals. However, what has gained more prominence in recent times is the rise of psychosocial hazards.
A psychosocial hazard includes anything capable of causing psychological harm, including bullying, role ambiguity, limited job control, remote or isolated work, violence, aggression, harassment and more.
For organisations that may be unperturbed by high turnover, absenteeism, decreased employee job satisfaction, or harassment occurring at their workplace, it is important to understand the full impact of psychosocial hazards. These hazards do not only affect employees but can pose significant risks to the organisation.
The fact is that every employee has the right to a safe and healthy workplace. Employers must ensure that the systems, processes and practices in place, are legally compliant, at all times.
This involves a clear understanding of possible risks that may impact the business, steps taken to mitigate and manage these risks, as well as ongoing monitoring in an increasingly agile business environment.
Risks
What may some of these risks involve? The following are a few examples:
- Reduced productivity — Unless you are taking steps to measure this, you won’t be aware of the financial and non-financial impacts
- Increased absenteeism — This could be due to stress-related illnesses, prolonged sick leave and mental health days. This creates unnecessary burdens on those left to pick up the slack, increased healthcare costs (where health insurance is provided) but disrupts the organisation
- High turnover — Do you realise the full weight of financial losses resulting from continuous recruiting, hiring, onboarding and training? Are you aware of the resulting damage to your organisation’s reputation as an employer?
- Operational errors — Whether caused by stress, fatigue or a hostile work environment, there may be more errors or accidents, which in turn, can lead to impacts on your organisation’s products or services, or lead to safety incidents
What can be particularly concerning is the possibility that one or more psychosocial hazards may be present at your workplace, and these hazards may interact and combine to create new or higher risks.
Workplace health and safety laws include protections against psychosocial hazards. Your obligation as an employer is to ensure that you eliminate psychosocial risks. Where that is not possible, you must minimise them as far as practicable.
If you are keen to learn more about your obligations, see Safe Work Australia’s Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work. This is a practical guide for compliance under the model WHS Act and regulations.
Employers must remain aware of their obligations in this respect and take appropriate steps to remain compliant, paying attention to applicable timeframes. Wurth HR offers consulting and training on the issues above. Feel free to contact us if you have questions or require guidance on specific steps your organisation needs to take. Email David Wurth for an obligation-free discussion at info@wurthhr.com.au
The jurisdictions that have adopted the model WHS laws are the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Commonwealth and Western Australia.
