“Psychosocial hazards” or “psychosocial risks” have been getting a lot of press lately in the world of health and safety. With the release of international standards like ISO’s guidelines for managing psychosocial risks and legislation changes across the ditch mandating psychosocial risk reporting, it appears the landscape is changing for business owners.
Every workplace and occupation has its own set of risks and hazards, regardless of the sort of job involved. Some jobs have factors that are presumably more stressful or distressing than others, such as first responders who are frequently exposed to distressing scenes. However, even for those of us in day-to-day office or factory environments, their jobs can have aspects that impact their emotions and general wellbeing. These potentially cause psychosocial harm to workers.
What are Psychosocial Hazards?
According to the occupational health and safety definition, the term ‘psychosocial hazards’ refers to “the aspects of design and management of work and its social, organisational context that may have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm.”
Working extended hours or night shifts and in highly demanding or stressful work conditions can negatively impact almost every aspect of one’s life and health. In addition, work environments that expose employees to bullying, discrimination or aggression pose a risk to their psychological health, whether these stem from colleagues or customers. Ongoing stress at work can trigger mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, or sleep disorders. Also, employees who face persistent professional challenges may be at risk of burnout.
Still, in many organisations, the emphasis remains on physical risks and hazards. At the same time, psychosocial harm and its potential implications are often overlooked. Acknowledging how important it is to reduce psychosocial hazards in the workplace and putting workplace interventions in place to eliminate or mitigate psychosocial harm can help improve employees’ mental health, engagement, and job satisfaction, which can all lead to many other positive outcomes including for business.
What are Common Psychosocial Hazards?
Psychosocial risks connected to one’s job and their potential effects on employees include:
• Work-related stress
Excessive job demands, heavy workloads, intense work environments, the level of responsibility involved, and pressing deadlines can all lead to employee stress and burnout. Research shows that about 77% of employees in New Zealand experienced burnout at work in 2020.
Stress wreaks havoc on the mind and body. An employee might feel exhausted, anxious, and hopeless. They may become irritable and unmotivated or use substances to cope. Furthermore, an employee who experiences burnout at work may hold a negative attitude toward coworkers, clients, or business owners and want to take a mental and physical break from their workplace. Work-related stress and burnout can also manifest in headaches, sleep problems, muscle tension, or stomach issues.
• Bullying and harassment at work
Bullying, harassment, and aggression at work make the workplace very intimidating and stressful.
An employee being bullied can be preoccupied with how to deal with or prevent the situation. Because of this, they might feel anxious, helpless, and worn out or be not as focused and productive. This has a negative impact on the organisation, reducing satisfaction and productivity. Bullying in the workplace may lower employee morale and increase employee turnover. Finally, it can result in personal grievances, significant legal consequences and reputation damage.
• Inadequate support and unfairness
Employees who do not receive appropriate support from their supervisors and colleagues may feel isolated, hopeless, and worried. Similarly, a worker who experiences unfair treatment at work sometimes referred to as “organisational injustice”, such as unequal promotion opportunities, may feel undervalued or under-compensated for their contribution. They may show lower morale and productivity, be absent from work more frequently, and be at a higher risk of mental health disorders such as anxiety or depression.
• Work-life imbalance
It’s important for workers to have adequate time away from work and to “turn off” when they’re not at work. Working long hours without appropriate breaks and lack of boundaries between professional and personal life can cause ongoing stress and impair employees’ wellbeing and relationships.
• Unclear job expectations and responsibilities
When employees lack clarity about their position requirements or responsibilities, they may begin to procrastinate, feel incompetent, or conflict can arise between workers. Also, this ambiguity can lead to job dissatisfaction, feelings of uncertainty, and persistent stress, increasing the risk of turnover.
Why Should Employers Care?
• New Laws and Guidelines
Times are changing, bringing new expectations and regulations surrounding workplace mental health and wellbeing. The Health and Safety at Work Act (2015) recognises bullying and harassment, excessive workloads, and a lack of autonomy at work as risks for which employers can be held accountable. Following worldwide trends, WorkSafe released draft guidelines for managing psychosocial risks in December 2023 to compel employers to assess and manage these actively.
• Help Mitigate the Increase in Mental Health Concerns
Mental health needs have skyrocketed, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and in the current climate with the high cost of living and political uncertainty. In workplaces, research increasingly highlights better return on investment when organisational factors to help reduce rates of mental illness, such as flexible working policies and mental health training for leaders, are prioritised. Interventions targeting individual employees, such as stress-management training for kaimahi (staff), are ineffective when there are hazards in the workplace that need to be addressed head-on.
• Absences and Productivity
Furthermore, the costs of dismissing psychosocial risks at work are substantial and long-term. Absenteeism (i.e., absences from work), in the first place, can cause significant disruptions in workflow. When some team members are absent from work, this increases the workload for other team members. Such work dynamics can potentially lead to conflicts, reduced engagement, and a drop in performance, eventually hitting the business’s productivity and profits. Similarly, the company’s productivity drops when employees are physically present but are not fully functioning in the workplace due to illness, procrastination, and other reasons (a phenomenon known as presenteeism).
• Staff Turnover
Staff turnover caused by psychological risks in the workplace adds another layer of concern. The expense of hiring and training new employees to replace those who quit can be high, not to mention potential legal complications such as personal grievances and settlements that may be financially and reputationally harmful.
What Can an Employer Do?
To properly deal with psychosocial risks in your organisation, it is necessary to create a supportive and inclusive workplace in the first place. Encouraging empathic leadership and implementing inclusive policies and procedures is important.
Next, assessing for psychosocial hazards at an organisational level helps identify and address psychosocial risks early, which can in turn reduce the adverse effects on workers and businesses. This can help reduce the costs of turnover, absences, presenteeism and settlements. There are psychosocial risk assessment tools out there, but these tend to be long or complex for SMEs to implement. Instead, try incorporating a few key points into your existing routine health and safety checks to start with. For instance, check with kaimahi (staff) whether they have any concerns about job clarity, lack of autonomy, bullying or harassment, workloads, and whether there are other key areas they believe are impacting their wellbeing that you should be aware of.
Once you have the results of your assessment, consider what you need to do. Ensure your Health and Safety (H&S) policies are updated to include these hazards. Choose initiatives to reduce psychosocial risks and enhance kaimahi (staff) wellbeing, such as a flexible working policy, reviewing job descriptions or recruitment processes, or getting support with a bullying issue. WorkSafe offers several helpful guidelines. MindMatters Clinic can assist with pragmatic psychosocial risk assessments and planning targeted, cost-effective interventions depending on your results and business needs.
In summary, addressing psychosocial hazards goes beyond a legal or ethical obligation. It also makes a healthier and more productive workplace, making good business sense and providing benefits for both individuals and businesses.
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MindMatters
NZ’s leading clinical experts in workplace mental health and wellbeing, contact us today to be connected to the best psychologist to meet your specific needs. MindMatters Clinic provide individual executive coaching and psychological support to businesses, as well as working with organisations to manage mental health and psychosocial risks. We also do speaking events.
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