As shown in the diagram below, risk management requires planning and is an ongoing process. However, considering risks early prevents costly changes later and allows for more effective control measures to be used, resulting in less harm to workers. For example, you should consider psychosocial hazards at the design phase when planning an organisational restructure.

The information below describes the steps to follow to manage psychosocial hazards.

More information can be found in the Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work.

This Model Code of Practice is not legally enforceable in SA but provides useful guidance for PCBUs on how to manage psychosocial health and safety risks in workplaces.

This is about consulting with your workers to understand the types of psychosocial hazards are your workers exposed to. Options for doing this include:

  • Face to face discussions with your workers, including through focus groups
  • Capturing and analysing worker survey data
  • Direct observation of the workplace and how your workers interact with each other
  • Analysing data about your workers and their workplace

This is about considering the following questions:

Here’s two risk scenarios as examples

High risk

Young hospitality workers are exposed to aggressive customers at least once a week. Their interactions with aggressive customers are brief, but on some occasions, customers have thrown objects at workers. Workers are also exposed to high work demands one to two times a week when shifts are short-staffed. The workers say that they find these experiences stressful and are very concerned that a highly aggressive customer will seriously injure them.

Low risk

Experienced truck drivers regularly drive to remote and isolated locations with limited facilities.  Round trips can take up to three days overall. However, they report good support from their employer in terms of communication methods and technology, scheduling, and fatigue management and emergency management procedures. They also report that they are satisfied with their pay and conditions and have good relationships with their managers and co-workers.

Tools and tips:

How you choose to answer the above questions depends on what is reasonably practicable for you and your workers. ‘Reasonably practicable’ is an objective test that is considered when determining the standard of WHS that is expected of a business under the WHS Act and Regulations.

PCBUs may opt to use a proprietary tool to assess psychosocial risk. If so, it is useful to consider whether the tool enables you to assess a customised range of hazards, whether it can assess the full range of hazards listed in the Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work, whether it assesses the interrelationship between hazards, whether protective factors are assessed and, whether it provides insight into the risk of harm to workers.

Consulting with workers with focus groups

Focus groups can help you identify and analyse emerging psychosocial hazards and inform future planning identified in the risk assessment process.

Reasons for using focus groups include:

  • to obtain more detailed information about the root causes of psychosocial hazards and risks in a workplace
  • to better understand opinions and issues regarding the work environment and design of work
  • to establish a safe and open environment for workers to talk about psychosocial risk and protective factors in their work environment
  • to generate strategies and solutions for managing psychosocial hazards, including reviewing the effectiveness of existing control measures.

Factors to consider in assessing risk

While considering these factors is not specified in the legislation, it is good practice for PCBUs to consider both risk and protective factors.  Protective factors are those that may mitigate psychosocial risks for workers.

It’s also recommended that PCBUs drill into not just the what, but the why.

This helps a PCBU to focus its attention on treating the causes of workplace stress and not just its symptoms.

Preparing for a focus group

Consider the following points to ensure success as you draw out accurate and practical information from your participants.

Size

The ideal size for a focus group is six to twelve participants - ensuring the group is large enough to generate energy and diversity of ideas, but not too large that people may miss the opportunity to contribute. Large groups can make it difficult for the facilitator to manage.

Composition

Teams or workgroups are a good option if the consultation is only relevant for one area, or when a thorough consultation is required. Forming focus groups from a representative sample of workers across teams can speed up the data collection process but may require extra facilitation skills to develop rapport between members and promote open discussions.

You can also change the group dynamic through cross-team participation, offering a variety of backgrounds and experiences. The best approach will depend on culture, team dynamics and facilitator experience.

Duration

Allow at least two hours for a focus group. Short sessions are unlikely to explore issues in a meaningful way and long sessions may lead to participants becoming fatigued or bored, withdrawing from the conversation.

Location

Whether the focus group is held on or offsite, it’s important to consider participants’ perception of the location. Consideration should be given to privacy, size, amenities and equipment in the room.

The ideal seating plan for a focus group is a U-shape or a circle, preferably without a table acting as a physical barrier.

Materials

The facilitator should consider supplying the following:

  • notepads/pens
  • refreshments

Conducting a focus group

The following points will help manage your focus group and elicit the best possible input from participants:

Facilitator’s role

The facilitator of a focus group should be someone who is independent and impartial, with no actual or perceived conflicts of interest with the processes and outcomes. This means that the facilitator should not be someone in the managerial chain of the focus group participants. Appropriate options may include a Health and Safety Representative or a member of the human resources team.

The facilitator’s role is to:

  • observe and listen
  • set ground rules for group behaviour
  • give consideration to participant availability and the importance of time management (ensure you start and finish on time)
  • ensure all questions are covered
  • attend to group dynamics and manage conflicts
  • ensure each participant has the opportunity to speak
  • keep the discussion on topic
  • reassure participants their confidentiality will be maintained
  • providing non-identifiable feedback to management.

A dedicated scribe should be present to record information in writing, allowing the facilitator to focus on questioning and group dynamics. The facilitator should take time afterwards to reflect and create their own set of written notes.

Format

The facilitator will introduce the session’s purpose and expected outcomes. If a survey precedes the focus group, a brief summary of the survey results should be provided to participants both before and upon arrival at the focus group. Below is a suggested focus group format:

  • introductions
  • ground rules and participant guidelines (see list below)
  • confidentiality
  • questioning (e.g. engagement, exploration, exit questions – see examples below)
  • questions to avoid (see examples below)
  • summary of themes
  • next steps.

It is important to finish with ‘next steps’ as this is critical for participants to understand what happens with their comments after the focus group, how their comments will be presented and to who, and when they will hear back about a plan of action.

The facilitator should:

  • ask participants to switch off or silence mobile devices
  • advise participants there are no right or wrong answers, each view shared will be respected and while it is appropriate to respectfully disagree, this can also be counterproductive.
  • encourage participants to rephrase statements using “I” such as “I hear what you are saying, but I think…” instead of “you’re wrong”.
  • remind participants not interrupt others so all participants have an opportunity to contribute equally, feel heard and respected.
  • remind participants the focus group’s aim is to address the issue, not an individual.

Confidentiality

The facilitator is responsible for maintaining confidentiality of responses and opinions expressed. Participants should be advised their responses will be documented through note-taking and potentially identifiable information will not be recorded in relation to specific issues, direct quotes or reports produced. Explaining how the data will be used after the focus group will help alleviate concerns about confidentiality.

Participants have the responsibility of upholding confidentiality and should be instructed not to repeat focus group discussions outside of the session.

Questioning

Questioning is the most important tool the facilitator will use to obtain relevant information. The facilitator should prepare a list of open-ended questions, starting generally to encourage involvement and then moving towards more specific questioning.

Engagement questions prompt factual responses, are non-threatening and can be good ice-breakers to encourage participants:

  • Has anyone participated in a focus group before?
  • How was the experience for you?
  • What worked well or not so well?

Exploration questions provide an opportunity to gather more specific information, introduce dedicated questions and explore answers more thoroughly:

  • Do you feel involved in how decisions about your job are made? Think about whether you feel listened to and trusted, how you are consulted and any opportunities for input.
  • What is the level of support like in the organisation?
  • Do you feel you understand how work is structured in your department and in the wider organisation?
  • What are some of the things this organisation can do to address or help with the issues you have talked about?

Exit questions help to ensure the facilitator has not missed important issues and that all participants have had their say:

  • Does anybody have anything else to add?
  • Have I missed any key issues you would like to discuss?

Value-laden questions are emotionally charged and should be avoided, for example:

  • Should staff be forced to…?
  • Should managers demand…?
  • Some examples of emotionally charged words include blame, claim, demand, fair, ignore, force, coerce and insist.

Data analysis

The entire focus group conversation does not need to be recorded verbatim.

It is critical for the scribe to transcribe the data electronically as soon as possible after each focus group to ensure accuracy. The facilitator should then record their notes into a database or other file for analysis, and both should meet to ensure they agree on the content.

Reporting

It is important that a summary of the focus group is developed and shared with others in the organisation. If workers do not see any findings or subsequent action from participating in a focus group then they lose meaning and are less likely to participate in the future.

The key themes identified from the focus groups can be summarised for workers at face-to-face meetings or other existing communication channels. The summary should also include actions that will be taken in response to the focus group results.

For management, the best approach is to summarise the categories and provide powerful comments as justification of the categories. Adding quotes also helps to give life and meaning to the summary report. However, ensure these comments cannot be traced back to an individual. If several focus groups are conducted across departments or workgroups, it can be worthwhile to compare the results across different focus groups to identify patterns.

After you have identified psychosocial hazards and the actual (or potential) impact on workers, the next step is to identify and implement ways of controlling them.

The general risk management principle of a hierarchy of controls, originally designed for managing physical health and safety risks, must also be applied to psychosocial risks. This is a requirement under the WHS Regulations 2012 (SA) (regulation 36).

The below hierarchy of controls for psychosocial hazards can guide you.

Tools and tips:

Below is a guide as to what to think about when controlling psychosocial hazards.

Adequacy of existing controls

Review what existing controls you already have, their effectiveness and whether you can strengthen or add to them.

Seriousness of the risk

Consider the frequency, duration, and severity of exposure. Frequent, ongoing, and severe exposure warrants preventative controls.

Also consider that the risk of illness or injury is cumulative. The likelihood of injury increases over time if the risks are not controlled adequately.

The hierarchy of controls

Wherever possible, eliminate risks. You should implement controls that eliminate risks to workers health and safety (like ensuring work demands are reasonable).

If this isn’t possible, minimise risks. Implement controls that are designed to reduce the likelihood or impact of exposure (like giving workers who are exposed to potentially distressing events or materials regular respite and emotional support).

How hazards interact or combine

For example, think about how exposure to both high work demands, low control and low support can elevate the risk to workers’ health.

Other features of the workforce and the work

Such as: whether any workers are young or trainees; whether they undertake high risk work in high-risk environments; how well trained and supervised workers are; the physical design of the workplace.

Options for controls for different types of hazards can be found in these two resources.

Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work.

This Model Code of Practice is not legally enforceable in SA. Unlike the WHS Regulations 2012 (SA) which specifies that PCBUs must apply the hierarchy of controls to manage psychosocial health and safety risks, the Model Code of Practice does not specify this requirement.  However, it is useful guidance for PCBUs on how to manage psychosocial health and safety risks in workplaces.

Managing psychosocial hazards through work redesign

Redesigning work to make work itself less stressful is one of the best ways to reduce psychosocial risk for workers. It can also remove obstacles that can hinder productivity.

It’s about ‘designing out’ physical and psychosocial hazards and risks.

Work redesign as a control measure refers to the intentional re-structuring and re-thinking of work tasks, processes, and roles within an organisation to enhance productivity, safety, and employee health.

Work redesign involves consulting with workers to make changes to reduce workers’ exposure to things that are unnecessary, physically or mentally difficult or dangerous. It may entail whole of organisation changes, team level changes or…changing what an individual worker does.

Examples include:

  • Restructuring and reallocating tasks to increase variety and motivation for workers.
  • Systems that enable managers to monitor and address patterns of excessive work hours.
  • Upgrading ICT systems with applications that enable increased automation of procedural tasks.
  • Design individual and team work plans to aid role clarity and reduce role conflict.
  • Design the layout of work environment to support efficient workflow to limit ‘bottlenecks’ and physical and cognitive strain.
  • Programs of individual and team task training to improve competency.
  • Giving workers more autonomy to control the volume and complexity of their work.
  • Obtain nominations from experienced workers who are interested in training inexperienced workers. Quarantine dedicated time for the experienced workers to pair with, and train inexperienced workers.
  • Implement ‘handover whiteboards’ to communicate essential information typically conveyed by shift managers to reduce start of shift delays.

By focusing on work design, organisations can create more efficient and effective risk management strategies that are less reliant on individual behaviour.

See Resources and Links for more information about work redesign

Training and education

While providing information, instruction, training and supervision is helpful, be aware that they are administrative controls. That means that, alone, they are insufficient ways of preventing harm. For example, using administrative controls to reduce risks does not control the hazard at the source. Administrative controls rely on human behaviour and supervision and, used on their own, tend to be least effective in minimising risks.

Training, instruction and information may include:

  • induction training designed to help workers understand behavioural expectations
  • education about psychosocial health and safety
  • information for workers about how to report psychosocial hazards
  • critical incident mental health support procedures.

Reviewing control measures should be done regularly and is required when:

  • You see signs that your existing plan might not be having the desired effect (such as an increase in, or persistence of sickness absence trends, turnover rates, harmful behaviour complaints, inquiries to HR re: performance management issues)
  • Some changes in your workplace might give rise to different or new psychosocial risks (like a change of ownership, major personnel changes, or the start of a new major project)
  • Your workers or Health and Safety Representative ask for a review of the plan.

The person reviewing your control measures should have the authority and resources to conduct the review thoroughly and be empowered to recommend changes where necessary. Questions to consider may include:

  • Are workers adequately educated and trained about psychosocial hazards, how to report them and good approaches to managing them?
  • Have you genuinely considered what can be done to prevent exposure in the first place?
  • Have all psychosocial hazards been identified?
  • Have risks changed or are they different to what you previously assessed?
  • Are workers actively involved in the risk management process?

If the effectiveness of the control measures is in doubt, go back through the risk management steps, review your information and make further decisions about control measures.

Tools and tips:

Reports, complaints (including informal complaints) or grievances from workers may identify new psychosocial hazards or risks that are not adequately controlled. This should trigger a review of whether your existing control measures are effective, if your response procedures worked the way they were supposed to and whether new risks have been identified that also need to be managed.

The importance of consultation

Consultation is a key element of good psychosocial safety management. It is a requirement under the WHS Act 2012 (SA) to consult workers and health and safety representatives in issues that directly affect their health and performance.

Methods for consulting workers can vary according to the size of the workplace and the distribution of workers across sites and shifts.

Examples of good consultation practices include:

  • pre job start or toolbox discussions
  • focus groups
  • worker surveys
  • WHS committee meetings
  • team meetings
  • one-on-one discussions.