We asked the Principal Inspector to answer our questions about the New Psychosocial Regulations. Have a read and prepare your business to manage psychosocial risks in the workplace.

  1. Can you provide us with a brief overview of the legal duty in South Australia to manage psychosocial risks in workplaces and what prompted their introduction?

    The broad intent of the legal duty to manage psychosocial risks in workplaces is that duty holders in businesses and organisations consult with other workers to identify and manage psychosocial hazards (sources of stress such as high work demands, bullying and poor organisational justice) associated with their work. Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs) are required to do what is reasonably practicable to either minimise exposure to psychosocial hazards or minimise the impact of exposure.
    This duty has always been an implicit requirement under the Work Health and Safety Act (the Act) and Regulations (the Regulations) 2012 (SA). However, following amendments to the Regulations, a formal, positive duty has been in place in South Australia since December 2023.
    The Regulations define psychosocial hazard and risk and set out requirements for how to protect workers from them through a consultative risk management approach.
    The introduction of these regulations was largely driven by increasing awareness of the significant impact of work-related psychosocial hazards on workers’ health, safety, and productivity.
  2. Why is it essential for businesses to understand and comply with these Regulations?

    While businesses and organisations have a legal obligation to manage psychosocial risks to people in their workplaces, doing so makes good business sense. Reducing sources of stress on workers wherever possible protects workers from burnout, psychological illnesses and injuries, and other conditions such as musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal issues. In turn, this reduces the likelihood of absenteeism, low productivity and turnover, and legal and reputational risks.
  3. What are some common challenges that businesses and organisations face in meeting their obligations to manage psychosocial risks and how can they be overcome?

    Establishing and maintaining manager or executive buy-in and commitment

    Making a strong business case to invest in psychosocial risk management is a common challenge. This may be due to genuine resource constraints. However, it may reflect a lack of understanding of how stressful working conditions impact on worker health and workforce and organisational capability.

    If resource constraints are in issue, businesses and organisations can still take some low-cost steps to meeting their obligations. It helps to remember that the legal requirement is that businesses and organisations take reasonably practicable steps to manage psychosocial risks given their resources and circumstances. A reasonably practicable step can be as simple as talking with workers to identify their sources of stress and making modest adjustments to their work processes to make work less stressful.

    Buy-in and commitment can also be gained by explaining the bottom-line benefits of reducing psychosocial risk: reduced sickness absence, turnover and associated monetary costs and legal risks.

    Identifying psychosocial hazards

    Compared to physical hazards, psychosocial hazards, such as bullying, low reward and recognition, or poor organisational justice can be somewhat harder to recognise and define. Also, workers can have real or perceived barriers to reporting psychosocial hazards.

    Such challenges can be overcome through educating workers about how different types of psychosocial hazards are defined, encouraging regular discussions about them in individual and team meetings and encouraging workers to report them through their management chains, Health and Safety Representative or through a formal WHS reporting system.

    Understanding what is meant by primary duty of care

    It is not uncommon for business and organisations to rely on measures like Employee Assistance Programs, mental health first aid and resilience training to manage psychosocial risk. These measures have value as part of a psychosocial risk management plan, but largely place the onus on workers to cope with exposure to psychosocial hazards.

    This challenge can be addressed by ensuring that executives, directors, owners and managers understand that the primary duty of care to ensure workers’ health and safety rests with the organisation or business. This means that they must take reasonably practicable steps to either eliminate risks to workers’ health and safety, or, if this is not possible, minimise the risk. This usually requires at least some measures to prevent workers from being exposed to psychosocial hazards, rather than rely on workers to manage the impact of exposure.
  4. How does the Managing Psychosocial Hazards and Risks in the Workplace course help businesses and organisations to manage psychosocial risks?

    The Psychosocial Hazards and Risks Course is designed to equip organisations and businesses with the knowledge and practical skills necessary to prevent harm associated with psychosocial risks in the workplace.

    The course provides a comprehensive understanding of common psychosocial hazards, including workplace bullying, job strain, and poor organisational culture and how they can impact worker’s physical and mental health.

    By describing processes, tools and strategies, the course helps organisations and businesses develop and implement effective risk management practices to address these hazards. This includes learning how to identify hazards, risks and control measures through a consultative risk management process.

    By completing this course, organisations and businesses are better positioned to reduce psychosocial risks to workers’ health and safety and enable stronger workforce capability.
  5. Can you explain how the 4-step risk management process taught in the course can be applied to improve workplace safety?

    The 4-step risk management process taught in the course is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing, controlling and reviewing psychosocial risks in the workplace:
    1. Identify the hazards: The first step is to recognize potential psychosocial hazards, such as high job demands, poor communication, lack of support, or workplace bullying.
    2. Assess the risks: Assessing risks to workers’ health and safety entails a consideration of multiple factors such as frequency, duration and severity of exposure, the nature of work performed and how psychosocial hazards interact.
    3. Control the risks: In this step, organisations and businesses implement strategies to eliminate or mitigate the identified risks. Wherever possible, a mix of preventative and reactive measures should be used. For example, improving job design to reduce workload pressures and role clarity as a preventative measure can be augmented with policies and procedures for resolving interpersonal conflicts between workers.
    4. Review and monitor: Finally, organisations should continuously monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the control measures. This ensures that psychosocial risks remain well-managed over time and are adapted when there are changes in the work environment or workforce.

    By applying this structured 4-step approach, businesses can create a safer and more supportive workplace environment that addresses both physical and psychological risks, ultimately enhancing employee health and safety and organisational performance.

    To learn more about managing Psychological Risks in the Workplace take this free course now – https://gpex.com.au/course/managing-psychosocial-hazards-and-risks-in-the-workplace/