Appendix C – Examples of psychosocial hazards and risk controls

• Verbal or physical assault
• Being bitten, spat at, scratched or kicked
• Banging, kicking, throwing or hitting objects
• Being threatened with or without a weapon
• Verbal abuse through phone or online client interactions
• Online abuse or threats, including on social media

• Where possible, eliminate tasks with known aggression and violence risks by using technology; for example, online complaint lodgment
• Design or modify the workplace environment to separate employees from the public; for example, protective barriers or screens, secure employee areas and facilities, safe rooms
• Ensure buildings are secure and well maintained, and have secure entry and exit points
• Design work so that employees don’t work alone, where possible, particularly for higher risk shifts or times
• Alter environmental factors, such as noise, to reduce emotional arousal or known behavioural triggers
• Clearly communicate to clients and customers that any form of aggression or violence will not be accepted
• Refuse entry to clients and customers with a higher risk of aggression or violence
• Ensure visibility of supervisors and employees in leadership roles
• Install, and regularly maintain and test, communication and duress alarm systems
• Provide employees with appropriate PPE
• Provide uniforms with removable identifiable material, such as Velcro logos, to reduce the chances of employees being exposed to aggression or violence while entering or exiting the workplace
• Install CCTV cameras or other surveillance features. If using surveillance devices, develop policies and procedures before installation that make clear:
  • the purpose of the surveillance, including how and when it is being used
  • how employees and any HSRs will be consulted
  • what data will be captured
  • how long data will be stored
  • who will have access to data
• Do risk assessments and develop management or support plans for clients or customers with a known history of aggression or violence, or complex or challenging behaviours. This should be done in consultation with relevant professionals. Make employees aware of these plans and train them to respond appropriately. Regularly review these plans and communicate any changes
• Do a risk assessment before any work is done remotely. Monitor employees working in the community or away from the workplace
• Develop and maintain a system to report and manage incidents of aggression or violence
• Encourage employees to report incidents of aggression or violence, and not to accept them as a normal part of their work
• Monitor cumulative exposure to aggression or violence to identify employees who may need additional support
• Develop and implement procedures for:
  • working in isolation or unpredictable environments, including for emergency communications
  • opening and closing the workplace
• Provide professional clinical supervision and/or reflective practice for employees who may be regularly exposed to aggression or violence
• Provide appropriate post-incident support; for example, psychological first aid and professional psychological support, such as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Implement Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles where possible

• Provide information, instruction and training to all employees, including supervisors and managers, on aggression and violence. This should cover:
  • the organisation’s policy and procedure, including definitions of aggressive and violent behaviours and reporting options
  • how the organisation will respond to a report
  • support available to all parties.
• Provide skills-based training to employees where relevant. For example:
  • violence prevention measures
  • situational risk assessments
  • behavioural observations
  • positive behaviour strategies
  • de-escalation techniques
  • emotional regulation strategies

• High job demands
• Low job control
• Poor workplace relationships
• Bullying
• Gendered violence

• Verbal abuse, including:
  • being sworn at, threatened or insulted
  • continued inappropriate and/or invalid criticism
  • name-calling
  • practical jokes
  • unjustified punishment
  • belittling and humiliation
  • gossip and malicious rumours
  • inappropriate language
  • yelling
• Hostile or isolating behaviour; for example, exclusion from conversations, activities or access to training
• Abusive or offensive emails or other correspondence
• Threatening or intimidating body language
• Unreasonable demands, unnecessary pressure and impossible deadlines targeted at an employee or group of employees
• Unfair allocation of tasks and/or working hours
• Undermining a person’s work performance, recognition or position
• Deliberately withholding necessary work-related information or resources, or supplying incorrect information
• Setting tasks that are above or beyond a person’s skill level without access to training or support
• Inappropriate surveillance or monitoring
• Inappropriate interference with personal belongings or work equipment
• Unreasonably isolating an employee from others

• Leaders commit to creating a culture of respect and inclusion
• Supervisors and management role-model appropriate workplace behaviours
• Develop and communicate the organisation’s plan to prevent bullying, including strategies to address any power imbalances
• In workplaces where employees work remotely, managers use regular meetings to create an inclusive team culture and build social cohesion across groups of employees
• Use a buddy system to match appropriate experienced employees with young and new employees
• Adopt recruitment processes that help to identify candidates with a history of harmful behaviour. For example, referee checks or psychological pre-employment screening
• Encourage the reporting of any bullying behaviour experienced or witnessed
• Provide various formal and informal options for protected or confidential reporting, including circumstances where the report involves a direct manager or member of the senior management team
• Develop and communicate an accessible bullying policy and procedure that:
  • defines what bullying is and isn’t
  • sets expectations about behaviour
  • explains reporting options and how the organisation will respond to reports
• Support all parties throughout the process when a report of bullying is made
• Independently investigate reports of bullying and action outcomes in a fair, timely and transparent way
• Enable OHS and Human Resources (HR) teams to work together when investigating reports of bullying. This will help to identify all psychosocial hazards contributing to bullying behaviour and control any associated risks
• Install CCTV cameras or other surveillance features. If using surveillance devices, develop policies and procedures before installation that make clear:
  • the purpose of the surveillance, including how and when it is being used
  • how employees and any HSRs will be consulted
  • what data will be captured
  • how long data will be stored
  • who will have access to data

• Provide information, instruction and training to all employees on:
  • appropriate, potentially harmful and harmful workplace behaviours
  • the organisation’s policy and procedure for bullying, including defining what is and is not bullying
  • being an active bystander and what to do if you witness bullying (including cyberbullying)
  • how to make a report of bullying, how the organisation will respond and what supports are available to all parties through the process
  • how to identify and respond to other psychosocial hazards and risks that may increase the risk of bullying
• Provide targeted training for supervisors and managers on:
  • how to conduct performance management discussions effectively and fairly
  • how to respond to informal and formal reports of bullying

• High job demands
• Low role clarity
• Poor workplace relationships
• Poor organisational justice
• Gendered violence

• Being involved in, or witnessing, serious motor vehicle or transport accidents
• Being verbally, physically or sexually assaulted, or witnessing an assault
• Acts of violence such as armed robbery, war or terrorism
• Being threatened with or without a weapon
• Attending potentially distressing events such as death, suicide, accident or injury
• Ongoing bullying
• Natural disasters such as bushfires, earthquakes or floods
• Severe or life-threatening weather events
• Needlestick injuries
• Workplace incidents, injuries or deaths
• Repeated exposure to potentially traumatic content in reports
• Repeated exposure to information about potentially traumatic incidents that have happened to other people
• Viewing graphic images; for example, those involving death or distressing images involving children
• Reading graphic details about cases involving death or life-threatening incidents

Repeated exposure to traumatic events and content is common in groups such as:

• first responders
• healthcare workers
• veterinarians
• disaster and emergency services
• psychologists and social workers
• human services workers
• allied health practitioners
• law enforcement, investigators and defence personnel

However, exposure can also occur in a range of workplaces and professions, including:

• tradespeople
• park rangers
• journalists
• lawyers
• teachers
• translators
• public transport drivers
• workplaces located in places where potentially traumatic incidents frequently occur (for example, near freeways)

• Develop recruitment and selection practices to appoint appropriately qualified, skilled and experienced candidates into roles involving inherent exposure to potentially traumatic events or content
• Give a realistic job preview during the recruitment process so applicants know if the role may expose them to trauma
• Use software to replace manual identification, categorisation and/or analysis of potentially traumatic content. For example, automated filter or flagging systems
• Face office computer screens away from the centre of the office or put a privacy screen filter on computer screens. This will stop passing employees from unnecessarily seeing potentially traumatic content
• Do a job/task analysis to identify where potential exposure can be eliminated or reduced. Where exposure cannot be eliminated, design tasks to minimise exposure. For example:
  • employees viewing images of potentially traumatic content in black and white or thumbnail
  • employees viewing footage without sound or skipping past graphic content where possible
  • making the focus of the task clear and organising work beforehand to reduce the need to re-review potentially traumatic content and limit exposure time
  • scheduling tasks involving exposure to potentially traumatic events or content in the earlier part of a shift. This gives employees time to access social support and wind down if needed before leaving work
• Use file flagging on potentially traumatic files or cases to avoid inadvertent exposure to traumatic content
• Restrict access to security camera footage involving potentially traumatic content to authorised personnel only to limit exposure
• Rotate high-risk roles or tasks to manage the risk of cumulative exposure
• Where exposure is more unpredictable, give attending employees as much information as possible about the task beforehand, so they can plan and manage expectations
• Implement and maintain a system of work for reporting and managing incidents of exposure to potentially traumatic events or content
• Monitor employees who have repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events or content to understand the effect of that exposure
• Do regular preventative wellbeing checks for employees in high-risk roles
• Ensure manager support is regularly available and accessible
• Establish appropriate post-incident support procedures; for example, psychological first aid and/or professional psychological support, such as an EAP
• Provide professional clinical supervision and/or reflective practice for employees who may be regularly exposed to potentially traumatic events or content
• Implement peer support programs, including appropriate training and support (such as clinical supervision)

• Provide information, instruction and training to all employees who may be exposed to potentially traumatic events or content, including supervisors and managers. This should include:
  • what the trauma exposure may involve
  • how they may be exposed in their role (direct or indirect exposure)
  • risk factors (individual, workplace and community-related)
  • potential effects (including cumulative effects of trauma exposure)
  • examples of individual and organisational risk control measures
• Provide specific training for managers and supervisors that covers:
  • how to identify early signs of cumulative trauma exposure
  • when this is likely to affect employees or is affecting employees
  • how to respond to cumulative trauma exposure, including implementing effective risk control measures that are reasonably practicable

• Aggression or violence
• High job demands
• Low role clarity
• Low job control
• Poor environmental conditions
• Poor support

Gendered violence can range from comments and gestures to physical assault. It can occur via digital platforms and may not be connected to work. Examples include:

• sexual harassment and assault
• physical assault
• offensive language and imagery such as displaying pornographic or sexist posters
• verbal abuse
• innuendo, insinuations and put-downs such as questioning or criticising a person’s sexual orientation or appearance
• stalking, intimidation or threats
• sexually explicit gestures
• ‘deadnaming’ someone by deliberately:
  • misgendering them
  • using incorrect pronouns
  • not using their preferred name
• ostracism, exclusion, discrimination or victimisation based on sex, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation, such as:
  • direct or indirect exclusion from training or promotion opportunities
  • policies or procedures being inconsistently applied
  • complaints about transgender staff using gendered toilets

• Appoint a diverse group of leaders who are committed to creating a culture of equality, respect and inclusion
• Develop formal workplace standards that state how all people in the workplace are expected to act, including appropriate behaviours and language
• Encourage supervisors and managers to role-model appropriate workplace behaviours
• Develop and communicate the organisation’s plan to prevent gendered violence
• Design uniforms so they are not gendered and suit the needs of all employees
• Structure and schedule meetings and forums to be inclusive
• Monitor work environments, including online spaces, for harmful behaviour
• Enforce a responsible service of alcohol policy to promote appropriate behaviour at licensed venues and workplace functions
• Provide ways for employees to limit or end high-risk contact, or to escalate a situation to management
• Respond to any sexist, homophobic or transphobic material or comments in an appropriate and timely way. For example, immediate refusal of service to a client or customer
• Provide facilities and equipment that give privacy and security for all employees. For example:
  • all-gender toilets with separate cubicles
  • facilities that meet employees’ menstrual needs, especially in remote or off-site locations
  • private change rooms and accommodation
• Where possible, design work so that employees don’t work alone, particularly for higher risk times, shifts or tasks
• Through workplace design, enable employees to see who is entering the premises and restrict access when necessary
• Keep the workplace secure, maintained, adequately lit and fit for purpose, including car parks
• Install, and regularly maintain and test, communication and duress alarm systems
• Install CCTV cameras or other surveillance features. If using surveillance devices, develop policies and procedures before installation that make clear:
  • the purpose of the surveillance, including how and when it is being used
  • how employees and any HSRs will be consulted
  • what data will be captured
  • how long data will be stored
  • who will have access to data
• Encourage employees to report any gendered violence they experience or witness
• Provide options for protected or confidential reporting. This includes circumstances where the report involves a direct manager or member of the senior management team
• Provide and communicate an accessible policy and procedure that:
  • defines gendered violence
  • sets expectations about behaviours
  • explains reporting options and how the organisation will respond to reports
• Support all parties throughout the process when a report of gendered violence is made
• Independently investigate reports of gendered violence. Action any outcomes in a fair, timely and transparent way

• Provide information, instruction and training to all employees on the organisation’s gendered violence policy and procedure. This includes:
  • defining what behaviours constitute gendered violence
  • explaining reporting options and how the organisation will respond to the report
  • outlining what supports are available to all parties
• Provide skills training on being an active bystander and what to do if gendered violence is witnessed
• Provide training on how to identify and respond to other psychosocial hazards and risks that may increase the risk of gendered violence
• Provide targeted training to supervisors and managers on how to respond to informal and formal reports of gendered violence

• Sexual harassment
• Bullying
• Aggression or violence
• Poor support
• Remote or isolated work
• Poor workplace relationships
• Poor organisational justice

Tasks or jobs with:

• long work hours
• unpredictable shift patterns or work hours
• frequent night shifts
• working hours that do not allow adequate time for employees to recover between shifts
• high or unrealistic workloads; for example:
  • too much to do
  • too many clients
  • fast work pace
  • significant time pressure
• frequent exposure to or a caseload involving potentially traumatic events or content
• work that is beyond the employee’s capabilities or training
• long periods of heightened attention looking for infrequent events, prolonged surveillance or watchfulness
• emotionally demanding work, including high emotional involvement or regular suppression of emotions

• Design or re-design roles and tasks to identify risks and/or underlying sources of high job demands

• Do regular workforce planning and reviews to identify workforce needs. Look at:

  • job or task requirements
  • anticipated business growth or future needs
  • roles and skill mix

  Develop and implement action plans to address identified gaps

• Provide appropriate resources to meet demands
• Design the recruitment process to find employees with appropriate experience and qualifications
• Develop an internal process for managing peak demand, planned leave and unplanned absences. This should:
  • forecast needs and gaps
  • provide sufficient coverage and an appropriate skill mix
  • consider the risk of fatigue
• Do a work design analysis. Use results to inform the development and implementation of an action plan to address high job demands where required
• When designing roles, set achievable performance targets
• Give employees adequate time to complete their tasks within their allocated work hours. Consult with them when deciding the timing and pace of work
• Choose equipment or appliances with automated or streamlined functions to save time and preserve energy
• Design rosters so employees have a lower risk of fatigue. Include adequate breaks during and between shifts
• Monitor actual hours worked and breaks taken. Intervene to prevent issues or restore capacity until employees have an opportunity to recover
• Avoid the need for overtime whenever possible and monitor overtime hours worked. Consider doing a fatigue risk assessment where appropriate
• For work involving high levels of concentration or exposure to emotionally demanding work for sustained periods:
  • support and encourage regular breaks
  • provide adequate support
• Reduce unnecessary demands and avoid scheduling safety-critical work during night shifts
• Distribute tasks and responsibilities equitably among team members. This avoids certain employees being repeatedly given tasks with high physical, cognitive or emotional demands
• Give a realistic job preview during the recruitment process so applicants know if the role may involve high emotional demands (such as managing disclosures). Do appropriate pre-selection screening
• Consider employees' skills, abilities and capacity when allocating tasks
• Support employees when:
  • they must make difficult decision
  • challenging situations arise from decisions they have made
• Provide plant, machinery and equipment to reduce physical demands and prevent fatigue
• Provide professional clinical supervision and/or reflective practice for employees who may be regularly exposed to work involving high emotional demands

• Make employees aware of and adequately train them on the organisation’s:
  • workload management system
  • fatigue risk management system
• Provide additional training for supervisors or managers on how to prevent and manage high job demands in their work groups, in accordance with the organisation’s systems. For example:
  • workload management system
  • fatigue risk management system

• Low job control
• Low role clarity
• Poor organisational change management
• Aggression or violence
• Exposure to traumatic events or content
• Poor support
• Low recognition and reward

Tasks or jobs where:

• work is ‘micromanaged’ (every part of work is controlled or scrutinised)
• there is excessive monitoring of work tasks
• work is machine- or computer-paced
• employees have little say in:
  • how they do their work
  • when they can take breaks or change tasks
  • when they do their work
• employees are not involved in decisions that affect them, or their customers or clients
• employees have limited control over rosters or work hours
• employees have limited control over working with clients who present with high levels of distress or unpredictable behaviour
• there is intrusive or excessive surveillance of employees

• Analyse how tasks are structured and managed to identify risks of low job control. Use the results to design or re-design roles and tasks where required
• Where the pace of work is determined by machine or computer processes, allow employees to:
  • alter the pace
  • pause to take adequate breaks or rotate tasks
• Consult with employees on:
  • how to allocate tasks within teams
  • work objectives and anticipated outputs
  • how work is structured
  • roles, timeframes and resourcing
• Develop performance measures based on criteria that are within employees’ control. For example, performance measures that:
  • are achievable
  • do not rely on factors outside the employees’ or employer’s control
• If using surveillance devices, develop policies and procedures before installation that make clear:
  • the purpose of the surveillance, including how and when it is being used
  • how employees and any HSRs will be consulted
  • what data will be captured
  • how long data will be stored
  • who will have access to data
• Provide opportunities for role rotation to enable skill development and job variation

• Provide training and guidance to managers and supervisors on how to encourage participation in decision-making
• Give employees with insecure work arrangements (such as casual and labour hire employees) equal access to information, instruction and training to allow them to perform their role safely

• Low job demands
• High job demands
• Poor organisational justice
• Poor support
• Poor workplace relationships

Tasks or jobs where there is:

• insufficient tasks, affecting an employee’s motivation
• highly repetitive or monotonous tasks that require low levels of thought-processing and have little variety
• regularly doing tasks that are well below an employee’s capabilities
• work that is not comparable to an employee’s qualifications, skills and experience

• Design recruitment processes to align a candidate’s skills, experience and abilities to the demands of the job
• Analyse how tasks are structured and managed to identify risks of low job demands. Use the results to design or re-design roles and tasks where required
• Consider employees' skills, experience and abilities when allocating tasks and setting performance targets
• Consult with employees about the opportunity to broaden the scope of their job. This could include expanding the range of tasks and responsibilities assigned to them
• Rotate tasks and schedules so employees are not always assigned tasks:
  • that need minimal decision-making or thought-processing
  • have little variety
• Provide opportunities for skill development through internal job rotation
• Help managers to be competent supervisors, including by providing support and training where required
• Have regular supervisor/manager check-ins with employees to identify and manage low job demands
• Provide sufficient lighting during night shifts to increase alertness for jobs with low demands. This will reduce the risk of fatigue

• Provide training and guidance to supervisors and managers on how to identify:
  • employees who may be experiencing low job demands
  • ways to challenge employees; for example, opportunities for task rotation, skill and career development
• Properly induct and train employees on workload management

• Poor environmental conditions
• Poor support
• Poor organisational change management

Tasks or jobs where:

• there is a lack of positive feedback or inadequate feedback about performance
• there is a lack of appropriate reward that is proportionate to performance
• there is a lack of recognition of an employee’s qualifications, skills and expertise, and the value this brings to an organisation
• there is an imbalance between an employee’s efforts and formal or informal recognition and rewards
• there are inadequate employee reward and recognition processes that do not reflect an employee’s contributions to the organisation

• Hold regular review meetings between employees and their supervisor or manager. These can be a good way to recognise completed work
• Introduce a recognition or rewards system to promptly:
  • express appreciation
  • acknowledge contributions, achievements and efforts
  • celebrate success
• Promote the organisation’s reward and recognition program to employees, including its purpose and how to access it
• Make the level of recognition or value of a reward comparable to the level of acknowledgement or achievement, where possible
• Make the recognition and reward system fair and equitable for all employees. It should not require unrealistic efforts
• Formally or informally congratulate employees on a job well done by:
  • holding events such as team lunches or morning teas
  • recognising individuals in team meetings
  • running employee awards programs
  • writing articles in internal publications
  • advising management if an individual or team goes above and beyond
• Consider past contributions and achievements when choosing appropriate employees for internal promotion or other career opportunities

• Provide training to supervisors and managers on:
  • providing fair, constructive and valid feedback
  • recognising and rewarding good performance
  • identifying skills, capabilities and attributes in employees and matching these to the organisation’s structure, to provide rewarding career development opportunities

• High job demands
• Low role clarity
• Poor support

Tasks and jobs where there is:

• no formal position description
• uncertainty about inherent requirements of the role
• uncertainty about, or frequent changes to, tasks, priorities and work standards
• important task information not available to the employee
• conflicting role responsibilities or expectations; for example, when an employee is told one job is a priority but another manager disagrees or priorities are changed
• overlapping roles and responsibilities
• a manager or supervisor allocating the same tasks to multiple team members, without communicating and clarifying the involvement of other team members
• poor explanation about an employee’s performance objectives and accountabilities, and others’ expectations of their performance

• Do a job analysis before recruitment. This can help to refine a position description so it clearly explains the:

  • required qualifications, skills and experience
  • role objectives, requirements and responsibilities

  A job analysis can also clarify skills, abilities, aptitudes and training requirements before recruitment starts

• Clarify management structures and reporting lines so employees:
  • know who they are directly accountable to
  • are only accountable to one immediate supervisor
• Give employees an up-to-date role or position description that includes the purpose, objectives, requirements, responsibilities, duties and reporting lines
• Clearly communicate expected performance measures that are achievable and reasonable
• Encourage employees to talk to their supervisor or manager early if they are unclear about the scope or responsibilities of their role
• Provide an organisational chart that gives a clear view of structure and communication channels
• Use the organisational structure to reduce duplication and confusion over different work areas who may do similar tasks
• Implement a system for onboarding and induction to help employees understand their role in the context of the organisation. This could include a structured process designed to address training needs of a new employee, and a supportive buddy system to help with on-the-job learning
• Where there are multiple roles or teams involved in a project, clarify and communicate the following before the project starts:
  • how tasks are structured and managed
  • roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of each party in each task and/or phase of the project
• Consult with employees on any changes that may affect their work
• Develop and maintain a system of work for the reporting and management of low role clarity
• If some role overlap cannot be eliminated, clearly communicate with the employees or teams doing those roles

• Train managers to communicate effectively with their team; for example, clearly explaining task allocation to team members
• Where there are multiple roles or teams involved in a project, provide information and instruction to everyone on:
  • how tasks are structured and managed
  • roles, responsibilities and accountabilities in each task and/or phase of the project
• Give employees role-specific training through onboarding and induction processes

• Poor organisational change management
• High job demands
• Poor workplace relationships
• Remote or isolated work
• Poor support

Workplace environments with:

• poor air quality
• high or disturbing noise levels
• poor lighting
• inadequate workspace
• poor ergonomics
• extreme temperatures
• employees working near unsafe machinery
• poor workplace hygiene facilities
• vibration
• hazardous manual handling

Poor environmental conditions in work-provided accommodation can include:

• noisy or uncomfortable conditions that disrupt employees’ sleep
• crowded conditions
• poor hygiene facilities
• being isolated from support or amenities
• accommodation that cannot be secured
• being unable to freely enter or leave accommodation

• When choosing work-provided accommodation:
  • minimise any risks associated with other psychosocial hazards; for example, aggression or violence, or sexual harassment
  • provide appropriate facilities that are regularly cleaned and maintained
  • provide appropriate space to avoid overcrowding
  • provide secure accommodation
• Where poor environmental conditions cannot be eliminated, provide appropriate equipment or modifications to minimise the risks. For example:
  • appropriate lighting for the work being done
  • noise-reducing barriers or equipment
  • a temperature that is comfortable for employees and appropriate for the work being done
  • PPE such as hearing protection and appropriate workwear for extreme temperatures
• For desk-based work, provide ergonomic workstation assessments and suitable ergonomic equipment

• Provide information, instruction or training to help employees understand:
  • the potential risks from poor environmental conditions
  • risk controls in place
• Provide adequate information, instruction and training in using any equipment needed for the role

• Remote or isolated work
• Aggression or violence
• Exposure to traumatic events or content
• High job demands

Workplaces where:

• employees are not given sufficient information about organisational change
• there is a lack of meaningful consultation before major changes
• new technology is introduced and implementation difficulties are poorly managed
• broad organisational change, such as mergers, acquisitions, restructures or downsizing, is poorly managed or communicated
• employees are not given sufficient time to adjust to changes
• employees are not given adequate support for changes that may affect their ongoing employment

• Engage and consult with employees so that updates and planned changes are communicated and actioned:
  • clearly
  • consistently
  • transparently
  • at the right time
• Do a change impact assessment to identify and analyse potential risks and effects from the proposed change. Develop a risk management plan
• Communicate the change management and implementation plan to relevant employees
• Communicate updates or changes to the change management and implementation plan in a timely and transparent way
• Tell employees about:
  • any potential effect on their roles as early as possible
  • decisions affecting the security of their employment, including reasons for those decisions. This should be done both verbally and in writing within a reasonable timeframe
• Provide adequate support for employees during meetings where significant changes are being discussed. This includes psychological support, such as EAP, where required
• Before asking any employees affected by change for a decision, give them enough time and support to consider the information and their options
• Where possible, give employees opportunities to take part in the change process. Encourage feedback from employees
• Use a role-mapping process to identify suitable internal redeployment opportunities for affected employees
• Update or provide new position descriptions to reflect any changes in roles. Include employee feedback where possible
• Consider how new psychosocial hazards may arise and create a risk following a period of change

• Provide regular and transparent updates to employees affected by change through various communication methods
• Provide employees with adequate training and supervision to help them adjust to any changes
• Provide supervisors and managers with training on how to adequately support employees through periods of change

• Poor support
• High job demands
• Low job control
• Low role clarity

• Inconsistent application of policies and procedures
• Unfairness or bias in decisions about allocation of resources and work
• Unwillingness to listen to other points of view or consider all available information
• A lack of transparency in sharing relevant information or withholding information
• Poor management of underperformance or harmful behaviours, including failing to take action in a reasonable timeframe
• Favouritism, nepotism, bias and lack of impartiality in decision-making
• Hiring or promoting people for reasons that are not related to performance and experience, or not using valid selection and consistent recruitment methods
• A lack of transparency or structure around decision-making and work outcomes
• A lack of respect or dignity in the treatment or management of staff
• Intrusive or excessive surveillance of employees
• Employees or managers believing that rules do not apply to them and failing to follow policies, guidelines and procedures, without accountability

• Foster a leadership culture of transparency, openness, respect, fairness and equity
• Set clear expectations for supervisors and managers to treat all employees with respect, dignity and civility
• Develop performance measures based on criteria that are within employees’ control. For example, performance measures that:
  • are achievable
  • do not rely on factors outside the employees’ or employer’s control
• Ensure supervisors or managers regularly provide constructive, fair and valid feedback to employees so:
  • they know how well they are performing
  • role expectations are aligned
• Appoint or promote employees based on performance, using standardised, valid and reliable selection and recruitment methods
• Use interview panels, rather than a sole interviewer, in recruitment processes. This includes for internal promotions
• Tell employees about decisions affecting them, including reasons. This should be done both verbally and in writing within a reasonable timeframe
• Provide employees with a mechanism to appeal the result of a completed process or procedure
• Tell employees about the processes used to manage poor performance; for example:
  • expectations of all parties
  • stages and timeframes of the process
  • involved parties
  • supports provided
• Consult with employees on the performance feedback process; for example, encourage employees to respond to issues raised about their work performance
• Keep discussions focused on improving work tasks or behaviours that are within the employee’s control
• If using surveillance devices, develop policies and procedures before installation that make clear:
  • the purpose of the surveillance, including how and when it is being used
  • how employees and any HSRs will be consulted
  • what data will be captured
  • how long data will be stored
  • who will have access to data
• Communicate organisational policies and procedures to all employees, both at induction and when they are updated. Make these accessible to all employees
• Apply policies and procedures consistently and fairly
• Communicate about organisational direction, strategy, objectives and planning to all employees

• Provide supervisors and managers with instruction and training on how to:
  • communicate information fairly and transparently
  • apply policies and procedures fairly
• Provide adequate information, instruction and training to employees to enable them to perform in their role, particularly when there have been changes to their role or work
• Provide clear information, instruction or training to employees when changes are made to the systems of work

• Poor support
• Low role clarity
• Low job control
• Poor organisational change management

• Supervisors or managers who are not available, practically or emotionally, to help or provide guidance
• Supervisors or managers who lack empathy and self-awareness
• Inconsistent or insufficient communication from supervisors or managers
• A lack of proactive and meaningful contribution and collaboration from co-workers
• Co-workers are too busy to help each other
• Inadequate information, instruction or training to support employees to do their job
• Inadequate training provided on how to use tools and equipment needed to complete the job
• Insufficient resources provided to complete tasks needed for a role, such as appropriate staffing and time

• Give employees the necessary tools, equipment and resources to do their jobs properly and safely
• Provide additional assistance when employees do challenging tasks, such as:
  • new duties
  • roles and tasks involving high physical, cognitive or emotional demands
• Backfill roles in a timely manner
• Design work to emphasise team collaboration rather than independent working. Allow opportunities for incidental peer discussion and team collaboration
• Foster a supportive culture in the workplace by coaching leaders to engage in behaviours such as:
  • active listening
  • being self-aware and culturally aware
  • providing emotional and practical support
  • encouraging team cohesion
• Identify and support opportunities for team members to engage in professional development
• Provide management with appropriate resourcing so they can support employees adequately; for example, sufficient and appropriate staff resourcing
• Consider the number of employees who report to each supervisor or manager, and if managers have enough time to provide adequate support to each employee
• Hold regular performance reviews with fair, valid and constructive feedback, with a focus on development goals
• Provide new employees with:
  • a thorough induction to the organisation and work unit
  • a structured process designed to address training needs of a new employee, and a supportive buddy system to help with on-the-job learning
• Provide and promote flexible work practices that best suit individual and business needs
• Implement a system for regular and reliable communication. For example, one-on-one meetings, team meetings, all-staff meetings, internal newsletters, emails, intranets or noticeboards
• Make regular check-ins and timely support available for employees who need to escalate operational issues, or work remotely or in isolation

• Provide suitable training for employees to be competent in their roles. Training should be both task-specific and more general. For example, code of conduct training in ethics and behavioural expectations, psychological health and cultural awareness training
• Provide management training, which could include:
  • effective communication, including active listening
  • interpersonal skills
  • emotional intelligence, including empathy and expressing and managing own emotions
  • self-awareness and management styles
  • cultural awareness
  • understanding and managing team dynamics
  • providing emotional and practical support to team members
  • workload and resource management
  • health and safety
  • performance management, including the provision of fair, valid and constructive feedback
  • conflict resolution
• Make relevant training available to all employees, including part-time, contract, casual and shift-work employees, and those in remote locations

• High job demands
• Remote or isolated work
• Low role clarity
• Poor organisational justice
• Low recognition or reward

Jobs or workplaces with:

• poor relationships between employees and:
  • their supervisors or managers
  • other employees
  • clients or others the employee interacts with
• low-level incivility; for example, sarcasm or mocking
• conflict between employees and their supervisors, managers or other employees. This becomes worse if managers are reluctant or refuse to deal with harmful behaviours and the conflict remains unresolved
• harmful behaviours between employees resulting from:
  • a lack of fairness and equity in dealing with organisational issues
  • poorly managed performance issues
• a hostile or isolating working environment due to:
  • acts targeted at an employee or group of employees
  • exclusion of an employee or group of employees
• supervisors or managers not modelling appropriate workplace behaviours

Proactive steps need to be taken as early as possible to prevent or reduce interactions that may become harmful

Unresolved conflict may be a precursor to other hazards like bullying, or aggression or violence

• Use thorough recruitment processes, including:

  • psychometric testing
  • structured and consistent interview questions based on your organisation and team values and needs
  • choosing appropriately qualified, skilled and experienced candidates

  This may help to make recruitment and promotion decisions that complement the culture and values of the team and organisation

• Set and manage behaviour expectations, which could include:
  • a code of conduct
  • consulting with employees to develop team rules or a charter that defines the team’s purpose and outlines factors for success
  • encouraging employees to communicate effectively with each other to resolve issues in the first instance, where appropriate
  • clear accountabilities for supervisors and managers to appropriately respond to reports of potentially harmful behaviours
  • formal and informal confidential complaint-handling processes to enable the reporting of potentially harmful behaviour
  • conflict resolution processes such as conflict coaching, facilitated discussions or mediation
  • independent investigations into serious allegations of misconduct or other harmful behaviours, and acting on the findings in a timely manner
  • clearly allocating all tasks so there are no conflicts over role uncertainty
• Create and promote a team culture where employees:
  • help each other
  • provide support when required
  • trust and encourage each other to perform at their best
• Recognise that differences in employees’ ideas and opinions lead to positive and creative outcomes and opportunities for respectful discussion
• Manage people issues and their resolution in a fair, consistent and timely manner. This includes coaching individual employees who are demonstrating harmful behaviours

• Providing conflict management training to all employees, including managers, to teach them how to diffuse difficult or confronting situations
• Training managers how to:
  • respond to complaints in a sensitive way
  • support employees who have experienced poor workplace relationships
• Providing training for all employees on workplace harassment, discrimination or other unreasonable behaviour. This should include how to identify and report these behaviours

• Bullying
• Aggression or violence
• Sexual harassment
• High job demands
• Low role clarity
• Low job control
• Poor support

Employees who:

• work in geographically isolated or remote locations; for example, a farm or mine
• work or travel alone
• travel long distances or for long periods for work
• fly-in fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in drive-out (DIDO)
• work offshore
• work in isolation from other employees; for example:
  • a contractor at a location of another employer
  • a community nurse conducting home visits
  • an employee working interstate away from their team members and/or their supervisor or manager
• work from home
• are recent migrants and may feel socially isolated because of language and cultural differences

• Do thorough risk assessments for work identified as being remote or isolated, including when workplace locations change daily
• Where possible, design work so employees do not work alone, particularly:
  • during higher risk shifts or times
  • for certain tasks where additional risks may be present; for example, caring responsibilities for clients with a high risk of aggression or violence
• Implement a buddy system
• Consider the layout and design of the workplace to minimise risk; for example, client consultation rooms
• Control access to the workplace by installing effective barriers
• Consider visibility and coverage of monitored CCTV
• Develop and implement emergency management and response plans
• Develop and implement clear communication procedures so employees can access immediate support from co-workers, management, others or emergency services when required
• Provide employees with appropriate equipment to facilitate communications in their location; for example, satellite phones
• Provide satellite tracking systems or devices. Consult with employees about the purpose of the tracking and limits for privacy purposes
• Develop and implement check-in procedures before and after travelling or meeting customers and clients off site. For example, texts, phone calls or messages to a team chat
• Provide security guards or patrols
• Provide escorts for employees to their vehicles or work-provided accommodation if working alone after hours
• Provide access to safe and suitable work-provided accommodation:
  • for FIFO or DIDO employees
  • if extended travel and stopovers are required
• Provide personal duress alarms. These should include an automatic warning feature that:
  • raises the alarm in an emergency
  • is activated by a lack of employee activity
• Provide adequate time for employees to connect with their social support networks, both onsite and away from the workplace
• Connect employees with support from local cultural groups and networks
• Provide interpreter support, where possible or required
• Regularly check in and monitor to make sure employees feel supported and are coping with working from their remote or isolated location. For example, set up regular meetings
• Create opportunities for team communications; for example, by using online tools or apps to establish team-wide chat groups
• Provide a 24/7 point of contact if employees need to contact the office

• Require all employees, including contractors, to:
  • do a site-specific induction
  • be made aware of the unique risks of the site and management plans
• Provide training on procedures for remote and isolated work, including emergency management plans and communication protocols
• Provide skills training in situational awareness, dynamic risk assessment and de-escalation techniques
• Provide first aid training, including for emergencies

• Poor support
• Poor environmental conditions
• High job demands
• Low job control
• Aggression or violence

Sexual harassment can be:

• physical, including gestures
• verbal, including through online spaces
• written (text or images), including through online spaces and messaging or social media platforms – these don’t have to be connected to work

Sexual harassment can come in many forms. Some examples can include:

• actual or attempted sexual assault
• sexual acts, such as masturbating directed at or in front of an individual
• intrusive questions or sexualised comments about things like:
  • appearance
  • relationship status
  • sexuality
  • bodily functions
• sexually suggestive behaviour, such as leering or staring
• brushing up against someone, touching, fondling or hugging
• sexually suggestive comments, questions or jokes
• displaying offensive sexual images or objects
• repeated requests to go out
• requests for sex
• sexually explicit emails, text messages, images or posts on social media, messaging or online platforms
• contact that has been welcomed in the past, but is not anymore

• Leaders commit to creating a culture of respect and inclusion
• Supervisors and managers role-model appropriate workplace behaviours
• Develop and communicate the organisation’s plan to prevent sexual harassment, including strategies to address:
  • gender inequality
  • lack of diversity
  • power imbalances at the workplace
• Where possible, design work so that employees don’t work alone, particularly for higher risk times, shifts or tasks
• Clearly communicate behaviour expectations to clients, customers and the public
• Through workplace design, enable employees to see who is entering the premises and restrict access when necessary
• Control access to the workplace by installing effective barriers. Ensure they are used at high-risk times and for high-risk tasks
• Keep the workplace secure, maintained, adequately lit and fit for purpose, including car parks
• Install, and regularly maintain and test, communication and duress alarm systems
• Install CCTV cameras or other surveillance features. If using surveillance devices, develop policies and procedures before installation that make clear:
  • the purpose of the surveillance, including how and when it is being used
  • how employees and any HSRs will be consulted
  • what data will be captured
  • how long data will be stored
  • who will have access to data
• Enable access to private and secure work-provided accommodation and facilities
• Design work uniforms or clothing requirements to be practical for the work undertaken
• Enforce responsible service of alcohol requirements in workplaces where alcohol is served
• Do a risk assessment and develop a management or support plan for students, clients, patients or residents who engage in sexually inappropriate behaviours. This should be done in consultation with relevant professionals. Make employees aware of these plans and train them to respond appropriately. Regularly review these plans and communicate any changes
• Encourage employees to report any sexual harassment they experience or witness
• Provide various formal and informal options for protected or confidential reporting. This includes circumstances where the report involves a direct manager or member of the senior management team
• Provide and communicate an accessible policy and procedure that:
  • defines sexual harassment
  • sets expectations about behaviours
  • explains reporting options and how the organisation will respond to reports
• Support all parties throughout the process when a report of sexual harassment is made
• Independently investigate reports of sexual harassment. Action any outcomes in a fair, timely and transparent way

• Provide information, instruction and training to all employees on the organisation’s sexual harassment policy and procedure. This includes:
  • defining what behaviours constitute sexual harassment
  • explaining reporting options and how the organisation will respond to the report
  • outlining what supports are available to all parties
• Provide skills training on being an active bystander and what to do if sexual harassment is witnessed
• Educate employees about the organisation’s risk management plan and behavioural expectations before work events or travel. For example, responsible consumption of alcohol
• Provide training on how to identify and respond to other psychosocial hazards and risks that may increase the rise of sexual harassment
• Provide targeted training to supervisors and managers on how to respond to informal and formal reports of sexual harassment

• Remote or isolated work
• Aggression or violence
• Poor support
• Low job control
• Gendered violence