Title Page
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Site being assessed
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Conducted on
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Role being assessed
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Prepared by
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Step 1. Identify the Hazards - Introduction.
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To use this tool, read the questions below and tick ‘yes’ to any of the statements you agree with,
making any relevant comments that you feel are relevant to the assessment question and should be considered as part of the risk assessment process.
This risk assessment tool can be used as a stand-alone assessment or in conjunction with an
employee survey.
This tool forms part of the risk management process. Risk management is a four-step process for
controlling exposure to health and safety risks associated with hazards in the workplace, with
consultation with workers occurring at each step. As outlined in the Work Health and Safety Act 2012,
consultation is an essential part of the risk management process.
Workplace Data
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Are there any indications when looking at employee sick leave, with<br>or without certificates, which show relevant trends (e.g. headaches,<br>recurrent colds or flu and musculoskeletal disorders)?
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Are there any particular work groups, team or locations that are showing<br>higher levels of sick leave compared with others?
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Are there any cases of leave as a result of psychological risk factors or work-related stress (e.g. using<br>annual leave when sick leave is depleted or not using annual leave<br>due to work pressure)?
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Are there cases of workers’ compensation for psychological injuries<br>(e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and/or depression)?
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Are there any current or emerging trends or common themes in complaints or workplace<br>grievances?
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Are there trends in the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) usage and<br>types of issues managed?
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Are there any past or current industrial relations records or disputes that link to or include job<br>stress or dissatisfaction in the workplace as a factor?
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Are there any related and unresolved issues in minutes of meetings<br>(e.g. continual excessive workload or change in work roles that causes stress or confusion)?
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Are there work schedule records that reflect on work design, e.g., excessive overtime, excessive leave, unusual staff departure or other relevant information?
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Is there a lack of knowledge and compliance with the organisation’s<br>policies and procedures related to psychological health that is leading to increased reports (e.g. harassment, bullying or discrimination)?
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Additional comments?
Direct observation
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Are there any understaffed work areas that will cause overworking to try to keep up?
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Are there any people showing signs of stress (e.g. verbal abuse,<br>openly criticising others or the organisation, general frustration with<br>work environment, incivility)?
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Are there work areas where employees handle conflict destructively<br>(e.g. using blame language or personal criticism)?
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Do workers seem to be ‘on edge’ or hypervigilant when discussing<br>work or working through problems?
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Do workers attend work showing signs of illness (i.e. colds and flus)?
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Is their signs of good community spirit within the work groups? (when gathered as a group with a few minutes to wait, does the group show signs of healthy social interaction and banter or is there silence and awkwardness amongst the group).
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During breaks are there signs of healthy social interaction and social sharing?
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Additional comments?
Step 2. Assess and prioritise risk Psychosocial hazards and factors 1.
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Low job control:
This factor is related to control over and involvement
in decisions that could be reasonably expected in a
job or role. -
Work methods that are predetermined (e.g. how<br>the work is undertaken and the approach taken is<br>already decided for the worker)
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Limited control over priorities or workload
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Workers are not consulted about decisions<br>impacting them
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Inability to access necessary tools, resources or<br>information
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The pace of work is able to be managed by the worker
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Is shift work involved in the task
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Other (please specify)
Psychosocial hazards and factors 2.
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High or low job demands:
This factor relates to the various demands placed on
employees in their roles. -
Lack of variety in tasks
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Monotonous, under stimulating or meaningless<br>work
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High uncertainty
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Low social value of work
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Tasks that require emotions to be hidden
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the work regularly involves dealing with difficult people/<br>clients
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Work overload or underload (to much to do or not enough to do)
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Working under time pressure
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Continually subjected to unachievable deadlines
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Tasks that required extreme concentration
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Roles that continually require difficult environments (e.g.<br>loud noise, vibrations, poor lighting)
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Roles that require regular overtime
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Roles that are exposed to emotionally disturbing<br>events
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Other (please specify)
Psychosocial hazards and factors 3.
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Poor support
This factor relates to the practical assistance and
emotional support that team members or managers
provide. -
Inadequate or absent supervision
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Low levels of support for problem solving and<br>personal development
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Inconsiderate or unsupportive supervision
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Social or physical isolation
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Poor relationship with co-workers
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Poor relationships with supervisors/managers
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Interpersonal conflict
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Lack of social support
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Isolated or solitary work
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Other (please specify)
Psychosocial hazards and factors 4.
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Low role clarity
This factor relates to the degree of certainty with
regard to role requirements and responsibilities. -
Unclear work role
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Conflicting roles within the same job
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Lack of definition of or agreement on<br>organisational objectives and structure
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Other (please specify)
Psychosocial hazards and factors 5.
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Poor workplace relationships:
This factor relates to the quality of relationships and/
or degree of conflict among workers or teams. -
Social or physical isolation within the workgroup
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Poor relationships with co-workers
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Poor relationships with superiors
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Lack of social support within the task
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Bullying, harassment and violence happens within the workgroup
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Isolated or solitary work for long periods of time
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Lack of agreed procedures or knowledge of<br>procedure for dealing with workplace problems<br>or complaints
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Poor trust among employees and towards<br>management
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Other (please specify)
Psychosocial hazards and factors 6.
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Poor organisational change management:
This factor relates to how organisational change is
managed. -
Management of organisational change is not<br>done or not done well
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Lack of communication within the workplace
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Rigidity of work practices by ignoring ideas for improvment
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Job insecurity from little or no consultation
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Career uncertainty from no examples of role progression within the work group
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Stagnation of doing the same role every day without the opportunity to rotate task
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Other (please specify)
Psychosocial hazards and factors 7.
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Low rewards and recognition:
This factor relates to the acknowledgement provided
to workers. -
Absence of mechanisms for feedback and/or goal<br>setting
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Feedback or acknowledgement that is not<br>meaningful
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Inequitable reward and recognition practices
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Other (please specify)
Psychosocial hazards and factors 8.
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Poor organisational justice:
This factor relates to the perceptions of fairness at
work. -
Bias of work procedures
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Inconsistency of applied procedures
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Lack of respect given to employees during the<br>process
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Unclear or unfair processes for performance<br>appraisal and management
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Other (please specify)
Psychosocial hazards and factors 9.
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Remote and isolated work:
This factor relates to work that is isolated from the
assistance of others because of the location, time
or nature of the work being done. Assistance from
others includes rescue, medical assistance and
emergency services. -
Sleep during shifts (Fatigue Management)
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Long distance travel
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Field work alone
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Remote and isolated work roles should consider:
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Access to communication devices
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Frequency of contact with other Workers, Supervisors or Managers
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Length of time away from others
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Difficulty of immediate rescue or attendance of emergency services
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Whether high risk activities are involved
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Likelihood of animal attack (ie Snake bite/Farm animals)
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Likelihood of violence or aggression from other people
Psychosocial hazards and factors 10.
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Violent events:
This factor relates to workplace incidents that involve
exposure to abuse, the threat of, or actual harm that
causes fear and distress and can lead to stress and/
or physical injury. -
Potential exposure to Robbery
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Assault
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Being bitten, spat at, scratched or kicked by others
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Being threatened with a weapon
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Other (please specify)
Psychosocial hazards and factors 11.
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Traumatic events:
This factor refers to any workplace events that may
be perceived as traumatic or distressing. Examples
include: -
Exposure to a fatality or serious injury
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Exposure to a medical situation that is distressing
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Exposure to a violent incident
Sign off on completion
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Psychosocial risk assessment tool
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Step 4: Review effectiveness of controls
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Review of control implementation plan
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Are control measures in place?
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Are controls eliminating or minimising the risk to an acceptable residual risk level?
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(Attach copies of documentation to support this.)
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Are there any new or remaining risks which need further attention?
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Who was involved/consulted in the review?
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