Two significant events have happened recently regarding psychosocial hazards and risks. These events should have us all on notice – and not just the safety team! If you work in HR, Change Management, or Risk Management, or you hold a leadership position, this information will be important to you.
Firstly, the commonwealth safety regulator Comcare, successfully prosecuted the Dept of Defence, who were convicted and fined, for failing to manage psychosocial risks relating to the death of a worker – the first penalty of its kind for a Commonwealth employer.
Secondly, SafeWork NSW has ordered two major organisations to pause their planned restructures after finding a ‘serious and imminent risk’ of psychological harm to employees. This is the first time SafeWork has taken such action, showing that protecting psychosocial safety at work is now a top priority. They are now actively ensuring that employers identify and manage psychosocial risks in accordance with work health and safety requirements.
In our most recent email, we outlined “positive duties”. These positive duties apply directly to the identification of psychosocial hazards and risks. You are required to identify the psychosocial hazards that are present in your workplace and work environment and take action to prevent them from occurring.
Psychological injuries are on the rise across all industries. Common psychosocial hazards can be conflict between workers, bullying, and occupational violence to name a few. However, a key hazard listed in the Code Of Practice is Poor Organisational Change Consultation.
All safety regulators across Australia have psychological safety management firmly on their list of priorities. The fact that the NSW regulator took the above mentioned action is testament to that! But tackling this seems a bit overwhelming, read on …………………………………….
One key action you can take right now to get your organisation’s psych safety journey underway
Complete your psychological safety risk assessment, following the 4 step risk assessment process:
- Identify the hazards
- Understand the risks
- Establish the risk controls
- Monitor and review – no set and forget! Make sure everything is working as intended. Make sure no new hazards present themselves, and make sure your risk controls are effective
And don’t forget the importance of consultation with workers through all of these steps.
Completing this one very important risk assessment can help your organisation to manage the risks in a proactive and positive way.
All Australian safety regulators have issued a Code of Practice for Psychosocial Hazards in the Workplace, and these Codes of Practice provide a wealth of information on how to identify hazards and manage the risks, as well as some great industry scenarios.
Reach out to us at The Mindful Risk Group if you would like to chat about psychosocial hazards & risks at your workplace, or if you need some further guidance and support.
Have a great week,
Bron and the Team