Addressing psychosocial hazards prevents illness and improves workplace wellbeing
Information sheet: Managing workplace stress - Download and share
Workplace stress is a serious health and safety concern that affects both the mind and body. According to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, occupational disease is a health condition or disorder caused by the work environment or activities. This includes not only illnesses affecting the body like musculoskeletal disorders, but also stress-related conditions such as anxiety, depression, and stress disorders.
Among other sources, stress occurs when job demands exceed a worker’s ability to meet them, especially when they have little control over how their work is done. Contributing factors include workloads, lack of support, unclear job expectations, and poor work-life balance. Over time, chronic stress can lead to headaches, high blood pressure, fatigue, weakened immunity, and even heart disease. It can also increase the risk of incidents, errors, and burnout.
Working together toward effective psychological health and safety demonstrates how the Internal Responsibility System (IRS) – which includes everyone in the workplace – collaborates toward optimal health and wellbeing. To foster a psychologically healthy and safe workplace, everyone can take three key steps:
Step 1: Get informed about mental health
Recognizing that mental health is just as important as physical health is the first step. Every employee’s wellbeing fluctuates and can be influenced by workload, available support, and comfort in raising concerns. By staying informed, everyone can identify early signs of stress and create supportive work environments.
Step 2: Manage psychosocial hazards
Psychosocial hazards are aspects of the work environment that can harm employees’ mental wellbeing. Creating a psychologically healthy and safe workplace helps prevent these risks. Workplace parties can start by identifying and managing psychosocial hazards such as bullying, isolation, or unmanageable workloads using the RACE model:
- Recognize hazards in your workplace
- Assess their impact on workers
- Control the risks with appropriate measures
- Evaluate whether controls are effective
Keeping the conversation going by reporting recognized concerns is the first step toward addressing them. Ongoing use of the RACE model helps ensure continued psychological safety and wellbeing at work.
Step 3: Create an action plan
Developing a workplace mental health plan helps support continuous improvement. Set clear goals, engage all players in the IRS, and monitor progress regularly.
Workplace Safety North provides mental health training and resources to help workplaces address stress and support mental well-being.
For more information, contact your local WSN Health and Safety Specialist.
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