I’ve been spending a lot of time lately talking to workers as part of the workforce consultation phase when conducting psychosocial risk assessments. This experience has reinforced two key points for me: workforce consultation really, really matters for managing psychosocial risks, and I love this work!

Why Workforce Consultation Matters

Employers are legally required to consult with their workers on health and safety matters, including psychosocial hazards and risks. WorkSafe Queensland has some excellent resources on this topic, including useful case studies. Whether the risks are physical (like slips, trips, and falls) or psychosocial (like excessive workload or bullying), consultation is a requirement.

However, when it comes to psychosocial risks, consultation is even more critical. Here’s why:

Psychosocial Risks are Complex

Psychosocial hazards often interact in ways that increase the risk of harm. For example, high workload might show up in a staff survey, which seems pretty straightforward. But it’s only through talking to people that you discover how it also interacts with poor role clarity or organisational justice. And how these combined hazards impact worker wellbeing.

Psychosocial hazards also interact with individual factors. Some workers might have good coping strategies or skills which means they are less impacted by aggressive customers. Others, such as new or younger employees, might be more vulnerable.

Additionally, workplace resources like a supportive boss or a positive work environment can mitigate these risks.

These complex interactions are not easily captured in surveys or organisational data, making direct consultation with workers essential for a thorough risk assessment.

Surveys Don’t Tell You the Whole Story

While employee surveys can identify psychosocial hazards, they don’t explain why these hazards exist. Understanding the root causes requires direct conversations with workers. Without this insight, interventions may miss the mark, wasting time and resources.

Take excessive workload, for example. It’s easy to assume it’s due to too much work and not enough staff. However, in one workplace where I undertook a psychosocial risk assessment I saw that, despite hiring more staff, workload issues persisted because new employees received inadequate training. The experienced staff ended up carrying the load, and new staff struggled, taking longer to complete tasks. 

It was only through conversations with workers that this was clearly identified, and allowed the employer to develop a more targeted action plan.

Workers Have Valuable Insights

Building on the previous point, workers often have great ideas for improving their work environment. They can pinpoint stress-causing aspects of work systems and suggest practical solutions, often involving job redesign.

In the hierarchy of controls for psychosocial hazards, designing work to eliminate these hazards is the most effective protection. This often means changing systems, processes, and ways of working, and who better to guide these changes than the workers themselves?

Why I Love This Work

So why do I love this work? Because it allows me to hear people’s stories and learn about diverse workplaces. Workforce consultation is not just part of a psychosocial risk assessment; it’s also an intervention. When employers genuinely seek to understand their workers’ perspectives, it makes workers feel valued and heard. And that means you are already reducing risks associated with low reward and recognition, low control, and poor change management.

For more information on workforce consultation, check out WorkSafe Queensland’s resources here.

Ready to enhance workplace mental health and wellbeing in your organisation? Contact us today to learn how our consultancy services can help you effectively manage psychosocial risks and create a healthier, more productive work environment.