This is page 10 in a series of 11 that comprise the Psychological health compliance code. You must read the whole Code so that you understand how to meet your deemed compliance obligations.
This is page 10 in a series of 11 that comprise the Psychological health compliance code. You must read the whole Code so that you understand how to meet your deemed compliance obligations.
How to use this appendix
Appendix B is a tool to help you work through Step 1: Identify hazards. You can use this tool to help identify possible indicators or sources of psychosocial hazards in the workplace. It lists:
- information you can review
- questions you can ask.
Review internal information
Reviewing information and records that you already have in your organisation can help identify patterns. These patterns could indicate possible psychosocial hazards.
For example, leave reports may show that unplanned leave has been increasing. This could indicate a psychosocial hazard like high job demands or poor support that needs to be controlled.
Organisational/operational records – Examples of records to review
- Organisational structures, including reporting lines and supervisory responsibilities
Examples of questions to ask:
- Are organisational structures, reporting lines, roles and responsibilities clearly defined?
- Is the organisational structure causing inefficiency, such as slower communication or increased administrative processes?
- Are all roles in the structure adequately supported?
- Work systems, policies, governance arrangements and procedures
Examples of questions to ask:
- Are there documented work systems, policies, governance arrangements and procedures?
- Are employees aware of, and trained in, relevant policies and procedures?
- Are work systems, policies, governance arrangements and procedures implemented and effective?
- Position descriptions, duty statements and performance agreements
Examples of questions to ask:
- Are roles and responsibilities clearly defined?
- Are induction and performance development processes clearly defined?
- Are performance agreements reasonable, clear and achievable?
- Are these documents up to date and reflective of current work practices?
- Staffing, resourcing and procurement decisions
Examples of questions to ask:
- Are all positions filled?
- Is there a workforce planning system or employee replacement process in place?
- Are staffing and resources reviewed in line with workload and available skills?
- Is there a plan in place to manage workload during peak or seasonal demands?
- How many employees are in insecure positions; for example, contractors and labour hire workers?
- Has outsourcing work increased work demands for other areas; for example, contract managers?
- Is workload shared fairly between employees?
- Customer feedback
Examples of questions to ask:
- Have customers provided feedback about issues such as wait times or service levels?
- Have customers provided feedback after experiencing unprofessional behaviour?
- Is there a pattern of feedback, such as repeated information showing multiple instances of the same behaviour?
- Employee feedback
Examples of questions to ask:
- Are documented processes in place for employees to provide feedback and report psychosocial hazards and incidents?
- Are there any themes emerging from employee feedback or concerns that indicate psychosocial hazards are present?
- Is employee feedback encouraged and considered?
- Do employees feel comfortable to provide feedback in one-on-one meetings, team meetings or surveys?
- Productivity
Examples of questions to ask:
- Has there been a change in productivity?
- Have any significant events occurred recently that may have affected productivity?
- Leadership capability
Examples of questions to ask:
- Do leaders have the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to provide supportive and effective leadership?
- Are leaders given the knowledge and skills they need to identify psychosocial hazards and control associated risks?
- Are leaders trained how to recognise and respond to early signs of psychological harm in the workplace?
- Are leaders supported by senior executives to identify psychosocial hazards and control associated risks?
- Employee surveys and focus groups
Examples of questions to ask:
- Are there workforce survey results that measure employee engagement/morale?
- Do workforce survey results, including any free-text responses, indicate exposure to psychosocial hazards in certain teams, roles or the organisation as a whole? What areas of concern have been raised by employees?
- Has there been a recent change in employee engagement/morale?
- Analysis of work tasks, schedules and locations
Examples of questions to ask:
- Have work tasks, content and scheduling been clearly defined and communicated to all employees, including contractors and labour hire workers?
- Are employees given reasonable time, resources and support to complete tasks?
- Does a review of workflows, tasks and schedules show any inefficiencies that may increase workload?
- Is the physical working environment appropriate?
- Are employees regularly working in remote or isolated locations, or working alone?
Human resources information – Examples of records to review
- Records of hours worked
Examples of questions to ask:
- Are any employees working excessive or unusual hours?
- Are employees regularly working extra hours?
- Are shifts longer than 12 hours?
- Are hours of work more than 48 hours per week?
- Are employees taking sufficient and regular annual leave?
- Are employees working late or night shifts?
- Sick leave and absenteeism
Examples of questions to ask:
- Are rates of sick leave and unplanned leave higher than usual or higher than average?
- Do rates of sick leave or other unplanned leave show any trends; for example, higher levels of absenteeism in some work areas compared to others, or more leave being taken at certain times?
- Employee turnover and exit interviews
Examples of questions to ask:
- Has employee turnover increased?
- Is employee turnover higher than average?
- Is employee turnover higher in some working areas than others?
- What reasons do employees give in exit interviews for leaving the organisation? Are there themes emerging from exit interviews?
- Are there any issues identified that indicate exposure to psychosocial hazards?
OHS information – Examples of records to review
- Reports from workplace inspections and walkarounds
Examples of questions to ask:
- What hazards have been identified in these reports?
- Were inspections done by appropriately skilled people and any employee representatives, such as HSRs?
- Validated psychosocial hazard identification survey tools
Examples of questions to ask:
- What areas of concern have employees raised?
- Are procedures in place to consider, consult on and address concerns identified through surveys?
- Health and safety committee meeting records
Examples of questions to ask:
- Have potential psychosocial hazards and controls been identified in these meetings?
- Has any action been taken to control risks associated with the potential psychosocial hazards identified?
- Hazard and incident reports (physical and psychological)
Examples of questions to ask:
- Does the organisation have an incident reporting system or risk register for reporting incidents that affect employee health and safety?
- Are employees aware of, and using, the incident reporting system?
- Does the incident reporting system or risk register include psychosocial risks?
- Do any reports of physical hazards or incidents suggest psychosocial hazards may have contributed?
- Are there any trends or patterns in the data that show psychosocial hazards are present?
- Is there a clearly defined process for how the organisation and supervisors and managers will respond to reports of psychosocial hazards and incidents?
- Is hazard and incident reporting data being used to inform proactive employee intervention?
- What is the source of the hazards and incidents being reported?
- How often are hazards and incidents being reported?
- Employee complaints and investigation reports
Examples of questions to ask:
- Are there complaints of harmful behaviour, such as bullying, sexual harassment, or aggression or violence?
- Are there any patterns or themes to complaints or findings from investigation reports?
- De-identified medical and EAP data
Examples of questions to ask:
- Are there any trends or patterns in the data that show potential exposure to psychosocial hazards?
- Have any steps been taken to address previously identified psychosocial hazards or risks?
- Previous psychosocial risk assessments and any information feeding into them
Examples of questions to ask:
- What psychosocial hazards or risks have previously been identified?
- Are risk controls adequately controlling the identified risks?
- Workers compensation claims
Examples of questions to ask:
- Has claims data (including rejected claims) been analysed to identify trends or patterns of psychosocial hazards?
- Has the information from these claims been used to review current risk control measures and revise them if necessary?
- Is data analysed by areas like work location and role?
- What is being done to support employees who have lodged claims?
Review external information
Reviewing information from outside your organisation can help you understand the current state of knowledge. This includes what psychosocial hazards are common in organisations like yours and what risk controls are being used. Look for information from:
- WorkSafe Victoria, including compliance codes and other guidance and information
- similar organisations to yours; for example, news updates or articles in trade publications
- employer organisations and unions
- OHS professionals.
Observe the workplace and assess job-specific requirements
Psychosocial hazards can also be identified by:
- observing how employees work and interact with each other
- assessing job-specific requirements.
Where possible, more than one person should do these observations. Any HSRs should also be invited to participate.
Workplace observation – Questions to ask
- Are employees working in remote or isolated conditions?
Possible hazard indicators:
- Employees working in geographically isolated locations
- Employees travelling long distances or for long periods
- Employees working alone
- Employees working out of scheduled hours
- Employees working unsupervised
- Employees working from home
- Employees working from locations other than their usual place of work
- Employees living in employer-provided accommodation
- Employer-provided accommodation has inadequate facilities
- Are employees appropriately supported?
Possible hazard indicators:
- New employees
- Young employees
- Migrant workers
- Casual, seasonal or fixed-term employees
- Employees living away from family and friends; for example, fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers or ship and flight crew
- The workplace is culturally and linguistically diverse
- If known, employees who have:
- a pre-existing disability, injury or illness
- previously been exposed to a traumatic event.
- Are employees exposed to poor-quality environments?
Possible hazard indicators:
- Workplace is too loud or quiet
- Uncomfortable temperature
- Workplace lighting is too bright or dark
- Workspace is uncomfortable or not appropriate for the work being done
- Insufficient space to perform work
- Equipment or plant is not in a condition needed to complete work
- Are employees respectful to each other?
Possible hazard indicators:
- Employees using inappropriate language
- Employees talking over each other
- Are customers and clients respectful towards employees?
Possible hazard indicators:
- Customers/clients observed to be verbally or physically aggressive towards employees
- Employees working with customers/clients who are upset or unhappy
- Are potentially harmful behaviours tolerated?
Possible hazard indicators:
- No incident reporting systems in place
- Incident reports not being taken seriously
- Employees unwilling to use incident reporting systems because of possible retribution
- Supervisors and managers not addressing inappropriate behaviours
- Bystanders not calling out harmful behaviours
Assessment of job-specific requirements – Questions to ask
- Are employees rushed? Are tasks timed?
Possible hazard indicators:
- Employees have inadequate time to complete their work/tasks
- Performance measures are based on workload or how fast tasks are completed
- Employees have low levels of autonomy and flexibility
- Employees take shortcuts to complete a task rather than using standard procedures
- Is work delayed?
Possible hazard indicators:
- Inefficiencies in work systems; for example:
- technology issues
- slow decision-making
- burdensome administrative processes
- lack of leadership
- Inefficiencies in work systems; for example:
- Do certain tasks result in confusion or frequent mistakes?
Possible hazard indicators:
- Conflicting job roles, responsibilities or expectations
- Poor explanation about performance objectives or accountabilities
- Poor understanding of scope of role from other employees, supervisors, clients or customers
- Are employees working with machinery?
Possible hazard indicators:
- Any potential exposure to poor-quality or hazardous environments; for example, working near loud or high-risk machinery
- Employees reporting that machinery is difficult or frustrating to use
- Employees taking shortcuts to complete a task rather than using standard procedures
- Are employees at risk of physical and/or verbal aggression?
Possible hazard indicators:
- Employees are working with customers or clients
- Employees are delivering difficult or unwelcome information
- Employees do not get along with one another at personal, professional or team levels
- Do tasks need sustained attention or high levels of mental effort?
Possible hazard indicators:
- Long periods of heightened attention looking for infrequent events; for example, watching CCTV cameras for any suspicious activity
- Employees do cognitively demanding tasks for long periods
- Tasks that involve large volumes of information or data analysis
- Do tasks carry a heavy emotional load?
Possible hazard indicators:
- Responding to distressing situations or aggressive clients
- Having difficult conversations
- Hearing, observing or reading distressing stories
- Helping people who are upset or unhappy
- Exposure to traumatic incidents, material or content in the work environment or context
- Do certain tasks have high-risk or severe consequences if errors are made?
For example, driving a large vehicle in peak-hour traffic.
Possible hazard indicators:
- Increased rates of error
- Reports of near misses
- Tasks that could result in severe injury or fatalities if an error is made
- Tasks that will result in extensive property, financial or reputational damage if an error is made
- Tasks that involve vulnerable clients
- Tasks being performed in the early hours of the morning or at peak periods
Use validated psychosocial hazard identification tools
Employers can use validated tools, such as surveys, to help gather information from employees, HSRs, supervisors and managers about psychosocial hazards and risks. These tools are particularly useful when:
- the employer is a medium to large organisation (50+ employees)
- anonymity is important – validated tools are anonymous and protect employees from stigma or other adverse outcomes when reporting hazards or concerns
- employees are physically dispersed; for example, they work across multiples sites or shifts
- employees are given time to consider the survey questions and their response
- employees may struggle to understand or otherwise participate in other forms of consultation.
There is a range of validated tools online. It is important to choose a tool that is appropriate for your workplace. Some tools may not cover all hazards that might exist in the workplace.
When choosing a tool, think about:
- What was it designed for?
- What does it measure?
- What timeframe does it consider (for example, 6 months, 12 months)?
- What knowledge, skills and capacity are needed to apply the tool?
- How long will it take people to complete?
- Are the results anonymous?
- Where is the data stored?
- What level of support does the tool provider offer?
- What is your budget? Some tools are free, but others have licence fees
- What is the size of your workplace? Can the tool be applied based on the number of employees?
Surveys and tools must not replace agreed consultation procedures, but they can be used as an additional tool for consultation.
This is page 10 in a series of 11 that comprise the Psychological health compliance code. You must read the whole Code so that you understand how to meet your deemed compliance obligations.
This is page 10 in a series of 11 that comprise the Psychological health compliance code. You must read the whole Code so that you understand how to meet your deemed compliance obligations.