Managing Psychosocial Hazards - your obligations as an employee

The 2022 Safework Australia “Managing psychosocial hazards at work” Code of Practice outlines the obligations of Australian employers regarding identifying, addressing and monitoring psychological risks at work. While Australian employers have already been responsible for managing the wellbeing of their staff, the Code of Practice goes into more detail regarding the types of psychological hazards employees may encounter in the workplace, and the steps employers should take to identify and manage these risks. Failure to follow the code could result in an organisation being found to have breached the Work Health and Safety Act of 2011

Identifying psychosocial risks

Employers have an obligation to identify potential psychosocial hazards that employees may be exposed to. Saying that you were unaware of a psychosocial hazard is not an adequate excuse: As an employer it is your responsibility to be informed about the potential psychosocial hazards your employees may be facing. Different workplaces will have their own psychosocial hazards depending on the working conditions and organisational structure. Some of the more common hazards include:

·?????? Excessive time pressures or workloads

·?????? Hostile working environments, for example bullying from customers or other staff members

·?????? Inconsistent, unfair or discriminatory management decisions and application of policies.

How VCPS can help

A quality employee assistance program is a great first step in identifying psychosocial hazards. An EAP arrangement with VCPS means employees have a qualified resource that can provide confidential and expert advice for employees dealing with workplace stressors. In addition to providing support to employees, VCPS provides organisations with quarterly reporting on trends in utilisation and any potential workplace issues. One of the most useful metrics is the percentage of employees requesting counselling for work-related incidents or stress. While it is normal to expect some employees accessing support from their EAP due work-related incidents in any organisation, if a significant percentage of people accessing EAP services are doing so due to work stress or if there is an increase in work-related stress between quarters further investigation may be required.

Preventative interventions may include:

• An organisational analysis of potential stressors within your organisation followed by exploration of strategies to manage that risk (For example, if you have a remote and/or isolated workforce, how can this be managed to prevent psychosocial stress for your staff).
• Training on respect at work, managing mental health in the workplace, or other wellbeing related topics.
• Regular pulse checks for staff working in high-risk roles to identify any issues early and to provide support and coaching as required
• Peer supervision sessions to provide staff “space” for reflection and consider their practice, behaviours, thoughts, ethics, emotions, triggers, responses and self-care strategies.

Addressing psychosocial hazards

Once a risk has been identified, organisations have a responsibility to manage that risk effectively. This can include modifying job roles, providing additional training, or working to change workplace culture. Any changes should be done collaboratively, with feedback from employees during both the development and implementation of the proposed changes.

How VCPS can help

VCPS has a range of potential interventions for workplaces looking to improve workplace culture and address psychosocial hazards. Some examples of potential solutions include mediation, group supervision, debriefing sessions and psychological skills training.

Assessing outcomes

Once a change has been implemented, organisations should continue to monitor the situation and seek to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures implemented. Steps should be taken to ensure that the measures implemented were effective, and that the new systems and procedures continue to be used into the future.

How VCPS can help

An employee wellbeing survey is an effective way of monitoring your organisations mental health and assessing the effectiveness of any potential interventions. In addition, VCPS can offer more detailed feedback or debriefing interviews, to ensure psychosocial hazards have been properly addressed and employees feel the proposed solutions are adequate.