Psychosocial Health

Psychosocial health refers to the mental, emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing of individuals in the workplace. It involves managing risks that can lead to stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. 

Promoting good psychosocial health is crucial because it helps reduce the likelihood of long-term psychological harm and improves overall employee wellbeing and productivity.

Common psychosocial hazards include:

• Workplace bullying: Repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed at an employee that creates a risk to health and safety.
• Sexual harassment: Unwelcome sexual behaviour in the workplace that makes an employee feel offended, humiliated, or intimidated.
• High job demands: Excessive workload or pressure can lead to stress, burnout, and other mental health problems if not properly managed.
• Low job control: Lack of influence over work tasks or decisions can increase stress and decrease job satisfaction, impacting overall employee wellbeing.
• Poor support: Insufficient support from supervisors or colleagues can lead to feelings of isolation and increased vulnerability to stress.
• Exposure to traumatic events: Encountering distressing situations or content at work can cause significant psychological harm, including anxiety and post-traumatic stress.

These factors can negatively affect an employee’s mental health, leading to serious psychological and physical consequences. Employers are required to identify these hazards and implement control measures to mitigate the risks associated with them.

Managing psychosocial health is crucial because it directly impacts employees’ mental and physical wellbeing and can reduce workplace accidents. 

Employers have a legal duty to identify, manage, and eliminate psychosocial risks to comply with national safety regulations. 

Failure to do so can result in significant penalties and increased compensation claims, which can be costly for businesses.

Your Safety Partners can assist by developing tailored policies, procedures, and training programs designed to address psychosocial risks. 

We provide tools and resources to help businesses conduct risk assessments, implement effective control measures, and maintain compliance with current workplace health and safety laws. 

Our expert consultants are available to guide you through the entire process to create a safer, healthier workplace.

One of the main duties for the employer is to have a mechanism to identify psychosocial health hazards in the workplace. Common risk factors include:

● Bullying

● Sexual harassment

● Aggression or violence

● Exposure to traumatic events or content

● High or low job demands

● Low job control

● Poor support

● Poor organisational justice

● Low role clarity

● Poor environmental conditions

● Remote or isolated work

● Poor organisational change management

● Low recognition and reward

● Poor workplace relationships

The Queensland Government has developed a useful risk assessment Tool that can be found here which can be used to kick off the process.