The PCBU has a duty to protect workers from the risk of harm from exposure to psychosocial hazards and risks.
Officers, such as company directors must exercise due diligence to ensure the PCBU complies with its duties under the WHS Act and WHS Regulations. Good governance of psychological health and safety means actively probing and seeking out information, as a positive duty, rather than being a passive recipient.
Psychosocial Safety climate (PSC) is a key factor that contributes to psychosocial risk in a workplace or broader organisation. PSC is a validated measure of an organisation’s commitment to prevent stress and prioritise worker psychological health. Organisations with good PSC have:
- A reduced prevalence of psychosocial hazards, sickness absence, and worker intention to leave.
- Reduced monetary costs that arise from workplace injury and illness.
In essence, it’s a cause of the causes of workplace stress.
To improve PSC, PCBUs can:
- Improve work conditions that increase the risk of poor worker health and safety, such as excessive demands and work pressure, and insufficient support and job control.
- Listen to your workers to monitor and understand aspects of their work that they find unreasonably stressful.
- Involve your workers in developing ways of working that reduce the likelihood of exposure to unreasonable levels of stress.
‘When I looked at workplaces and asked staff – 'Can you describe a workplace that was safe?' – they never said there was a good policy, ever. They never said the training was fabulous. They always said, 'I've got a one-up leader that I trust, that talks to me, and that I feel I can go to if there's a concern, and that sets the tone.' Kate Jenkins, former Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner |
For information on officers and their duties see the Safe Work Australia Interpretive Guideline: The health and safety duty of an officer under section 27.
Under the WHS Act, while at work, a worker must take reasonable care with respect to their own health and safety and the health and safety of others. For the worker this means:
- reporting psychosocial issues
- providing feedback on consultation
- supporting colleagues
- ensuring they understand their role and job description
- requesting training that may be required
- not taking part in potentially harmful workplace interactions; and
- complying, so far as you are reasonably able, with any reasonable policy, procedure or instruction that is given by the PCBU.