Reducing the risk of workplace psychosocial hazards

The negative effects of psychosocial hazards have come to the fore as employees speak up about the common workforce challenges pushing them to the brink mentally, including harassment, isolation and lack of role clarity. The impact of these risks is a topic worth discussing, and so it begs the question – what do you know about psychosocial hazards and the role you play in managing them?

What are psychosocial hazards?

• According to Safe Work Australia, a psychosocial hazard is anything that could cause psychological harm to an employee
• Examples include being ignored by management, high or low workloads, low job control, ongoing threats of redundancy and minimal organisational structure
• These hazards can impact everyone differently, leading to short-term and long-term psychological distress or injury such as anxiety, sleep disorders or depression 

Sophie (not their real name) spoke to ABC RN’s Life Matters about the impact of passive-aggressive management and dismissive leadership that led to her resignation. She said the role had led to increased anxiety, self-doubt and self-hatred, which continued beyond her departure. 

“I’ve always been an anxious person, but [previously] that was very easily managed. But since this instance has occurred, I’ve been diagnosed with depression [and] my anxiety medication has had to be doubled, just so I can manage through my days,” she said.

“I find myself panicking over very minor situations. I even have clothes that I can’t wear anymore because they remind me of certain days and instances from my previous workplace.”

Her stress has even manifested physically, causing skin rashes and hair loss. It is an impactful example of how workplace psychological hazards can lead to far more than general stress and worry. Long-lasting impacts of a poor work environment can leave employees struggling for months if not years. 

New Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations were introduced in April 2023 to better protect employees from psychosocial risks and hazards, however, it is still up to employers to mitigate risks on a daily basis. Employers must build on policies and protections by actively working to look after the mental health and well-being of workers.

How you can manage psychosocial risks

Ultimately, risk management comes down to addressing the root causes. This in itself can be difficult when there are a number of risk factors and hazards in the workplace. Therefore, one of the best things to do as a manager or employer is to listen to your staff.

Even the most attentive manager may not see a certain employee working unpaid overtime, struggling to keep up with tasks or being told to do different things by different managers. There will be times when employers have to initiate conversations regarding potential work hazards. Additionally, there will be times when employers need to sit back, listen, and create a solution. 

• If an employee is stressed due to a high workload, make sure you provide them with support. This could be simple, such as an additional well-being day, or more long-term, such as recruiting a new team member to spread the workload.
• Avoid offering suggestions and not following up; this is when issues worsen as employees are promised one thing and never receive it.
• Provide a recognised support system for staff so there are clear opportunities for feedback when they’re feeling stressed. This should include promoting HR’s accessibility and resources available to help staff.
• Remember that major psychological stress cannot be fixed quickly. If an employee has been experiencing high levels of anxiety or ongoing depression, it’s important to regularly follow up. HR may even have to develop mechanisms or prompts to ensure duty of care remains consistent. 

All employees should feel comfortable when seeking help for chronic workplace stress. The fact they may not have structured support systems can be a cause for concern in itself as it appears no one is interested in their own mental health and well-being. Take the example of Sophie, who said no manager checked in to see how she was doing in the eight weeks after she handed in her notice of resignation.

No matter what, an employer must be there for their employees. Listen to concerns, provide resources to help, and most importantly, deliver solutions. Otherwise, you will lose staff members and they could well lose themselves.