Psychosocial factors, psychosocial hazards, psychological health and safety – it’s all so complicated… or is it? It doesn’t have to be. We want to help clarify both the difference and the synergy between psychosocial factors and hazards and how both can be useful when addressing psychological health and safety.
What are psychosocial factors?
Psychosocial factors are elements of the work environment, workplace social interactions, management practices, employment conditions, or the organization of work that can have varying effects on employee psychological health and safety. These factors are within the influence and responsibility of employers. They can include employee interactions with co-workers, clients, or management. They don’t include factors outside the control of the employer like genetics or lifestyle choices.
When these factors are present in a positive way, they can have a protective effect on employee psychological health and safety. When the factors are present in a negative way or lacking altogether, they may have a neutral to harmful effect. This continuum of effect from protective to harmful is what sets psychosocial factors apart from psychosocial hazards.
An example of a psychosocial factor as protective or harmful
The goal is to eliminate any risk of harm from psychosocial factors to employees. Where this is not possible, the goal is to increase the protective nature of other factors.
One psychosocial factor is psychological protection. Ideally, this factor would mean employees are free from bullying, harassment, stigma, and discrimination. But in workplaces where employees interact with patients or clients, it may be impossible to guarantee interactions will always be ideal. To reduce risk to employee psychological health and safety, the employer may invest more time and resources into other psychosocial factors such as psychological and social support. They might create a process for staff to support each other when dealing with a difficult client or patient to reduce the potential negative impact.
What are psychosocial hazards?
Psychosocial hazards are social, behavioural, or psychological conditions within the work environment or the work we do that have the potential to negatively affect our psychological and physical health. These hazards may be neutral or harmful, but they are not defined as protective or positive for employee psychological health and safety.
Psychosocial hazards like excessive workload demands can exist in any workplace. Other hazards like isolation or exposure to traumatic incidents may be unique to certain job roles. In all cases, it is critical to create safety and systems that support employees to speak about potential risks to their psychological health and safety.
How psychosocial factors can help mitigate psychosocial hazards
Because psychosocial factors can have a positive or protective impact at work, an employer who can’t eliminate a psychosocial hazard can instead introduce a protective psychosocial factor to counteract the risk from the hazard.
For example, we’ll look at high work demands during peak season. The psychosocial hazard that comes from high demands is difficult to eliminate during peak season. However, the organization could lean on the psychosocial factor of involvement and influence to reduce risk. The more control and autonomy (part of involvement and influence) over how their work is done, the less likely the employee will suffer harm from the amount or pace of work required. This flexibility in terms of where and when the work gets done, or how to prioritize when there are conflicting demands, reduces the strain of uncertainty or pressure.
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