Psychosocial harm at work on the rise

More than two-thirds of workers have experienced bullying at work in the past year, according to a NSW Government survey.

The Centre for Work Health and Safety has developed the Australian WHS Survey to provide a platform for workers from across the nation to share their first-hand experiences and contribute to a greater understanding of practices, barriers and enablers to WHS in workplaces.

The survey examines a series of indicators measuring WHS at various levels, including:

• the level of awareness of workers of their and their employer’s WHS rights and responsibilities
• their empowerment to participate in WHS discussions
• the level of commitment to WHS
• the level of WHS systems in place in their workplaces.

What were the findings?

The survey, which engaged 1017 Australian workers, has uncovered a high and increasing level of psychosocial harm in the workplace. 70% of workers in small businesses experienced harassment and bullying in the last 12 months, while employees from large organisations were found to experience a higher level of burnout associated with job demands.

In addition, the survey found that healthcare workers felt more exposed to hazards, including harassment and bullying, with results suggesting that sexual harassment is more predominant in healthcare workplaces.

WHS Radar report

The Centre for Work Health and Safety also released its biannual WHS Radar report, which adopts a contemporary method of information interrogation that is relatively new to WHS regulation.

Radar synthesises the latest on WHS issues and trends collected from workers compensation and incident databases, a review of news and academic articles, consultation with the Australian WHS regulatory inspectors and experts, and the WHS Survey. Cross-referencing these insights highlights the current issues, while also flagging potential WHS issues that require attention.

Following the inaugural report in April 2023, the WHS Radar will be released twice a year to provide regular and actionable insights about WHS in an Australian context.

“If you are in business in NSW there is no excuse for cutting safety for the sake of productivity or profit,” said Andrew Gavrielatos, Executive Director of Community Engagement at SafeWork NSW.

“We are seeing continued economic pressures, such as inflation and supply chain disruption, challenging the attitudes and the priority business place on health, safety and worker wellbeing.

“This is where the Radar comes in to tell us not just what the WHS challenges workers and businesses are facing, but also how we might tackle these to make work safer.

“These insights will be shared with WHS regulators, businesses and researchers to support early identification of new practices, new risks and new solutions in Australian workplaces.”

Managing psychosocial risks

According to Safe Work Australia, persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs), such as employers, must eliminate or minimise psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable.

To manage psychosocial risks, employers should follow a four-step risk management process:

1. Identify the hazards.
2. Assess the associated risks.
3. Implement control measures to eliminate or minimise risks.
4. Regularly review control measures to ensure they remain effective.

Every step of the risk management process also needs to be supported by consultation with workers and their representatives. Good consultation with workers can help organisations to identify and control risks, and ultimately leads to better outcomes.

Image credit: iStock.com/skynesher