Does your Business Comply with Psychosocial Legislation?

Psychosocial hazards are becoming an increasingly important topic in Australian workplaces, significantly impacting employees’ mental and physical health, job satisfaction, and overall well-being. The consequences of these hazards have become so substantial that respective state governments are enacting regulations and introducing new codes of practice to address the issue.  

At Paradigm Safety, we understand that a healthy workforce is essential for your business's success. Our team of safety consultants is dedicated to helping you identify, manage, and mitigate psychosocial risks, creating a workplace where employees thrive, and your organisation prospers.

Together, we can foster a safe and supportive work environment that benefits everyone involved.

WHAT ARE PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDS?

Psychosocial hazards are factors in the workplace that can cause a worker psychological or physical health. These factors include:

• workplace systems
• management
• social interaction
• environments, and
• culture.

Although psychosocial hazards aren’t new, the awareness of them in WA has intensified since the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 came into effect in March 2022.   

Psychosocial issues are generally easier to hide than physical injuries, but there are a number of strategies that can help you spot them including:

• Observing workplace interactions and behaviour, and gauging workplace culture
• Reviewing organisational structure
• Observing how work tasks are completed
• Consulting with workers, and safety and health representatives
• Inspect the physical workplace
• Analysing workplace data, such as incident reports
• Review work arrangement and job design

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.

The WHS Act stipulates the PCBU must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and the health and safety of others is not put at risk. This is known as the primary duty of care. The primary duty also requires the PCBU to:

• Provide and maintain safe systems of work (this includes any time a worker’s activities are directly influenced by the PCBU)
• Provide adequate facilities for the welfare of workers
• Provide information, training, instruction, or supervision necessary to protect workers; and
• Monitoring workplace conditions to ensure the health of workers.

It’s this primary duty of care that makes it crucial for organisations to take psychosocial hazards seriously, and to implement systems to ensure a person’s mental well-being is not put at risk .

Our practical, evidence-based approach to managing psychosocial risks will help you stay compliant, and most importantly, keep your team at their best.

What we provide:

• Psychosocial Risk Assessments & Surveys

• Psychosocial Risk Strategy – Facilitation & Development

• Psychosocial Risk Training & Coaching