Psychosocial hazards in the workplace

Gone are the days when organisations neglected to address psychological safety as a crucial factor in creating positive environments for workers to thrive. Thanks to a massive cultural shift in recent years, we now have a greater understanding of the crucial role psychological safety plays in creating safe and healthy work environments. Companies have started to invest more in supporting the mental health of their workers, and employees have rightfully increased their expectations to work in environments that place value on psychological safety. An important part of creating psychological safety is addressing factors that increase the risk of work-related stress and may lead to psychological or physical harm – otherwise known as psychosocial hazards.

The Productivity Commission estimates that work-related mental illness costs the Australian economy up to $17.4 billion each year. On average, 7,984 Australians are compensated for work-related mental health conditions annually. In fact, nine per cent of all serious workers’ compensation claims are for work-related mental health conditions. While perhaps not as prevalent as physical injury claims, when you consider that all these claims may have been avoided if the workplace had been psychologically safe, that percentage is still far too high. 

On an individual level, exposure to psychosocial hazards can cause serious psychological and even physical injury. In addition to stress, psychosocial hazards can lead to anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep disorders. They can cause physical harm such as musculoskeletal injuries, chronic disease or fatigue related injuries. On average, work-related psychological injuries require longer recovery times, higher costs and require more time away from work.

Naturally, none of us want the menace of psychosocial hazards encroaching on our workplaces. However, psychosocial hazards can be insidious – hidden from plain view but nevertheless wreaking havoc on staff morale, performance and overall wellbeing. What are some examples of psychosocial hazards? 

According to Safe Work Australia, common psychosocial hazards at work include: 

• Job demands 
• Low job control 
• Poor support 
• Lack of role clarity 
• Poor organisational change management
• Inadequate reward and recognition 
• Poor organisational justice 
• Traumatic events or material 
• Remote or isolated work 
• Poor physical environment 
• Violence and aggression 
• Bullying 
• Harassment, including sexual harassment, and 
• Conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions 

It’s easy to notice if someone breaks a leg in our workplace, but it can be a lot harder to detect someone who is suffering from psychological harm, especially if they feel their job depends upon them masking their situation. While workers may not be comfortable labelling and communicating psychosocial hazards, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Our job as leaders, colleagues, and good humans, is to listen between the lines to detect if anyone is suffering the effects of a psychosocial hazard. 

Workers may reference their exposure to a psychosocial hazard in various ways. It might sound like: ‘I just don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing’ (lack of role clarity), or ‘micromanaging is undermining my confidence’ (low job control). It may be more general, such as ‘I feel stressed’ or ‘I’m burnt out,’ in which case you may need to ask further questions to get to the bottom of what they are trying to say.