Why Psychosocial Risk Management Often Falls Short—And What to Do About It
Across all industries, we are witnessing a substantial surge in both awareness and dedicated effort towards managing psychosocial risks within the workplace. This heightened focus is undoubtedly a positive development, indicating a growing understanding of the profound impact that psychological hazards can have on employee well-being, productivity, and overall organisational health.
However, despite this encouraging rise in awareness and the considerable resources being invested, we continue to observe a recurring pattern of common pitfalls and missed opportunities. It seems that while the intent is strong, the execution often falls short of achieving truly effective and sustainable psychosocial risk management. This discrepancy highlights a critical need to move beyond mere acknowledgment and delve deeper into practical, actionable strategies.
Through our extensive experience and observation, we have identified five of the most frequent and impactful gaps and, and pragmatic solutions.. By focusing on these key areas, businesses can transform their approach from a reactive, compliance-driven exercise into a proactive, integrated, and genuinely beneficial component of their overall risk management framework.
1. Focus on the ‘best’ risk assessment tool
There is no singular ‘best tool’ out there. Instead, there is a need to focus on an evidence based methodology that applies to your organisation. Integrated data analysis, effective worker and leader consultation, and work design and work system controls should be the key focus.
2. Using ‘traditional’ risk methodologies for assessment and reporting
Integrating psychosocial risks into traditional risk methodologies and matrices is tricky due to their nuances and overlap. Risks should be assessed based on applicable workplace scenarios. We generally find that existing risk language and templates need adaptation to allow for more effective risk control review.Integrating psychosocial risks into traditional risk management can be challenging due to their nuanced and overlapping nature. To effectively assess these risks, it's crucial to consider specific workplace scenarios. We often observe that current risk language and templates require adaptation to facilitate a more effective review of risk controls.
3. Lack of integration between HR and WHS
Transdisciplinary collaboration is improving but integration of HR/WHS data is often lacking. Start integrating data such as leave monitoring, grievances, EAP utilisation, reported incidents, engagement data, claims and more to highlight hazards now, and to provide a benchmark for risk control effectiveness.While transdisciplinary collaboration is improving, the integration of HR and WHS data often lags. Begin integrating data points such as leave monitoring, grievances, EAP utilisation, reported incidents, engagement data, and claims. This will help identify hazards proactively and establish a benchmark for the effectiveness of risk controls.
4. Risk assessing ALL hazards in the COPs
Creating a risk register by merely ticking off hazards from the Codes of Practice might seem like a compliant approach, but it often falls short. It's crucial to identify potential sources of harm in your workplace through careful analysis of workplace data and active consultation. These identified hazards should be directly relevant to your organization, its systems, and the way work is designed. Therefore, begin by actively listening and engaging in discovery, rather than solely relying on the Codes of Practice.
5. Workplace protective factors not identified
Workplace characteristics or resources that buffer workers from negative impacts from psychosocial hazards and can promote wellbeing, are key to identifying and implementing effective risk controls. Use your worker consultation to identify these factors. Effectively controlling psychosocial risks and fostering well-being requires identifying workplace characteristics or resources that protect workers from negative impacts. Engage in worker consultation to pinpoint these crucial factors.
Bottom line: Psychosocial risk management belongs right alongside your traditional WHS strategies—and should be approached just as practically.
If you’re ready to move beyond checklists and build a people-first approach that reflects how your team actually works, we’d love to support you. Contact us at info@sharedsafetyandrisk.com.au.
