Psychosocial hazards
The ACT's Work Health and Safety (Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice) Approval 2023 comes into effect on 27 November 2023.
This Code of Practice practical guidance on how to manage the risks associated with psychosocial hazards.
This page provides guidance for persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) and workers on psychosocial hazards.
Psychosocial hazards are factors in the design or management of work, or harmful workplace behaviours. Psychosocial hazards can cause physical and psychological harm to workers. Examples of common psychosocial hazards include:
- low job control
- role overload
- role conflict
- poor organisational justice
- low reward and recognition
- low role clarity
- a lack of support
- poor consultation
- poor workplace relationships and conflict
- isolated and remote work
- cognitively and emotionally demanding work (high or low)
- exposure to traumatic events, and
- remote or isolated work.
Psychosocial hazards can also result in harmful workplace behaviours such as incidents of:
- bullying and harassment
- work-related violence
- sexual harassment, and
- sexual assault.
These harmful behaviours can be both incidents as a result of a psychosocial hazard and psychosocial hazards on their own.
Psychosocial hazards may be reoccurring and ongoing, for example, a worker experiencing low role clarity or a lack of support daily, over a number of months. Psychosocial hazards occurring in these forms are common across many workplaces and are less obvious than incident-based hazards. Because of their ongoing occurrence, they are often viewed as cultural or industry norms, or a result of external factors.
Psychosocial hazards can also occur as significant one-off incidents, for example, a worker exposed to work-related violence and aggression from a customer or colleague. Psychosocial hazards that occur as a defined incident, such as work-related violence and aggression, are easier to identify.
Work-related violence and aggression is a psychosocial hazard that could occur just by the way work is designed, for example, workers engaging with customers. The hazard of work-related violence and aggression also becomes an incident after a worker is exposed to the harmful behaviour. The risk of an incident of harmful behaviour such as work-related violence and aggression occurring increases with the number of psychosocial hazards present. For example, psychosocial hazards including poor support, low role clarity and role overload can all increase the risk of a work-related violence and aggression incident occurring.
Psychosocial hazards and psychological injury
Psychosocial hazards or factors are anything in the design or management of work that increases the risk of work-related stress.
Psychological injury may occur when a stress response from physical, mental and emotional reactions occurs, and a worker perceives that the demands of their work exceed their ability or resources to cope.
The risks posed by work-related psychosocial hazards is the resulting stress response for the worker or other person exposed. Lower levels of stress over prolonged periods or high levels of stress during a single incident can result in physical and psychological harm to workers.
Stress from work is not in itself a disorder, illness, or psychological injury. However, if work-related stress is excessive or prolonged it may lead to psychological or physical injury.
Duties to manage psychosocial risks
Duty holders who have a role in managing psychosocial risks under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (the WHS Act) include:
- PCBUs
- officers
- workers, and
- other persons at the workplace.
| Duty Holder | Definition |
|---|---|
PCBU | A PCBU is the person conducting the business or undertaking. A PCBU has the primary duty to make sure workers and other people are not exposed to psychosocial hazards arising from the business or undertaking. This duty requires PCBU’s to ‘manage’ risks by eliminating or minimising exposure to psychosocial hazards so far as is reasonably practicable. |
Officer of a PCBU | An officer is a person involved in making decisions that affect the whole or a substantial part of the organisation. Officers have a duty to make sure the PCBU complies with their duties under the WHS laws. This includes taking reasonable steps to gain an understanding of the psychosocial hazards and risks associated with the operations of the business or undertaking, and to make sure the business or undertaking has and uses appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks of harm. |
Worker | Workers undertake work for the PCBU – this could be paid or unpaid work, such as volunteers. Workers have a duty to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and to not negatively affect the health and safety of other persons. Workers must comply with reasonable instructions, as far as they are reasonably able, and co-operate with reasonable health and safety policies or procedures that have been notified to them. |
Other persons | Other persons at the workplace, like visitors, must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and must take reasonable care not to negatively affect other people’s health and safety. Other persons must comply with reasonable instructions given by the PCBU to allow them to comply with WHS laws. |
A person can have more than one duty and more than one person can have the same duty at the same time.
More information about WHS duties and how to manage WHS risks can be found in the Code of Practice: How to manage work health and safety risks.
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