Workplace Psychosocial Hazards
These are the psychosocial hazards in the workplace that arise from how work is designed, managed, and performed, which can cause psychological or physical harm to workers.
Work Design & Management Hazards
These hazards relate to the structure of the work itself, job responsibilities, and management processes.
Job Demands: Refers to work that requires sustained high or low levels of physical, mental, or emotional effort.
High Demands: Excessive workloads, unachievable deadlines, long working hours, or high emotional labor (e.g., customer service roles requiring false emotional displays).
Low Demands: Highly repetitive, monotonous tasks with little variety or low mental stimulation.
Low Job Control: When workers have little say over how their work is done, the pace of work, when they can take breaks, or the decisions that affect their job. This limits the ability to manage stress effectively.
Poor Support: Inadequate emotional or practical assistance from supervisors and/or co-workers. This also includes insufficient training, information, tools, or resources to perform the job safely and effectively.
Lack of Role Clarity: Uncertainty about, or frequent changes to, tasks, responsibilities, expectations, or work standards. This can include conflicting instructions from different managers or a lack of necessary information.
Poor Change Management: Organisational change that is poorly planned, communicated, consulted upon, or supported. Insufficient information, training, or support during periods of change can significantly increase stress.
Lack of Recognition: An imbalance between a worker's effort and the formal and informal recognition or rewards they receive. This includes a lack of positive feedback, appreciation, or opportunities for skills development.
Poor Organisation Justice: The perception of unfairness or lack of equity in workplace processes and decisions. This can involve:
Procedural fairness: Unfair processes to make decisions (e.g., about promotions or resource allocation).
Informational fairness: Not keeping relevant people informed.
Interpersonal fairness: Treating people without dignity and respect.
Interpersonal & Environmental Hazards
These hazards relate to workplace behaviours, relationships, and the physical setting.
Conflict & Poor Relationships: Frequent or excessive interpersonal conflict between colleagues, managers, or clients, which disrupts team performance and psychological health. It also encompasses a general breakdown in positive workplace relationships.
Violence: Any incident where a worker is abused, threatened, or assaulted in circumstances arising out of, or in the course of, their work. This can include verbal, physical, or sexual assault, threats, and aggression from co-workers, clients, or the public.
Bullying: Repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed toward a worker or a group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety.
Harassment (including Sexual Harassment): Offensive, intimidating, or humiliating behaviour directed toward a worker based on a protected characteristic (like age, race, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation).Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that a reasonable person would anticipate would make the person feel offended, humiliated, or intimidated.
Traumatic Events: Exposure to traumatic situations at work, which may involve witnessing, investigating, or being directly involved in a traumatic event (e.g., serious injury, fatality, or violence). This can also include exposure to distressing content or materials.
Remote or Isolated Work: Working in isolation from the assistance of other people due to location, time, or the nature of the work. This increases the risk to physical and psychological health, especially concerning difficulty with immediate rescue or emergency service attendance.
Poor Physical Environment: Exposure to unpleasant, poor quality, or hazardous physical conditions that create a stress response. Examples include poor air quality, high noise levels, extreme temperatures, or inadequate workspace design.
