Practical steps to reduce psychosocial risks in the workplace

The following article is a news item provided for the benefit of the Workplace Health and Safety profession. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Institute of Health & Safety.

There are a number of challenges for organisations looking to reduce and manage psychosocial risks and hazards in the workplace, but the organisational and cultural change associated with real change may put some organisations off.

“Sometimes a good control for a risk may require structural change which many organisations are hesitant or unable to,” said Professor Angela Martin, co-director of Pracademia, a knowledge translation company working with government and industry to create evidence-informed approaches to improving the quality of working life.

When asked about how well most organisations fare when it comes to managing psychosocial risks and hazards in the workplace, Martin responded: “Generally, not well,” she said.

Martin said this is why she believes policy change to reference a code of practice in the regulations of the Work, Health & Safety Act had to be brought in.

“Awareness among leaders and managers of organisations has been low,” said Martin, who will be speaking about the model Code of Practice(link is external) for the management of psychosocial risks as part of the AIHS Tasmanian Safety Symposium on 3 August 2023 in Hobart.

“Now the regulations are in place in most states, interest in the topic has increased but there is currently a lack of specialist capability in relation to the assessment and control of risks and hazards.”

There are many important points of relevance in the new code of practice for PCBUs and employers more generally, said Martin, who has 20 years of experience as an academic and practitioner in the fields of organisational behaviour and occupational health psychology.

“There are currently 14 psychosocial hazards that are referenced in the code of practice as requiring assessment, and depending on the level of risk, some or all will need control strategies in place,” said Martin.

“The key is to document strategies to eliminate or reduce impact so far as is reasonably practicable (controls),”

The code outlines a continuous improvement process that employers should follow, and Martin said consultation with staff is critical at all stages.

There are also “wide-ranging implications” for OHS professionals, as Martin said there is considerable complexity to psychosocial hazard management.

“At the moment I think it is about developing knowledge and capability, building shared understanding within your industry and organisational context and where possible, embedding research to assist with understanding ‘what works”, she said.

Martin will be speaking at the Tasmanian Safety Symposium, which will be held on 3 August 2023 at Vibe Hotel, Hobart. The full-day conference will focus on psychosocial hazards and management in the morning and the afternoon session will focus on silicosis. For more information please call (03) 8336 1995, email events@aihs.org.au or visit the event website(link is external).