Psychosocial Hazards Part I: The Move to Occupational Safety & Health

Introduction to Psychosocial Hazards

I recently attended the annual safety conference of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) in Denver, CO. Often at conferences, I’ll attend a talk about or gain exposure to an emerging topic and come away energized and looking to dive deeper. This year I attended a panel discussion about psychosocial hazards (PSHs) within the Total Worker Health track of the conference that was a real eye opener and call to action I didn’t know I needed. Given the term “psychosocial” and my background as a formally trained clinical psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst, one would think that PSHs would have already landed squarely on my radar. But admittedly the term was new to me, even if the general concept wasn’t (more on that later). 

During the weeks since the conference I began digging deeper, and this blog is intended to provide a primer on the current state of affairs (as I see it) of PSHs for those who also may not be aware of the terminology or are curious where things are heading with PSHs (or for anyone interested in the topic). As a reality check, I also reached out to a colleague who is a safety manager to get a sense of whether it was just me who was out of the loop or if the loop was still emerging. She replied and suggested that that term “Total Worker Health” was also new to her and that worker well-being and related concepts seemed to be migrating into the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) domain. As I came to learn, my colleague’s observations couldn’t have been more on point.

Before I go further, I’ll briefly cover some terminology. Psychosocial factors simply refer to a “combination of psychological and social factors.”[i] The psychosocial work environment has been defined as “psychosocial factors at work which are aspects of work organization, design and management.”[ii] Psychosocial factors themselves are neither positive nor negative, they can be either. However, psychosocial hazards have been defined as “these aspects of work organisation, design and management that have the potential to cause harm to individual health and safety…as well as other adverse organisational outcomes such as sickness absence, reduced productivity or human error.”ⁱⁱ  Other language commonly tied to the topic of PSHs includes Total Worker Health[iii], worker mental health, and worker well-being, with the underlying message being that organizations are increasingly being asked to manage PSHs to minimize the negative impact on worker physical and mental health, organizational outcomes, and promote worker well-being

Psychosocial hazards tend to be grouped into three categories: 1) how the work is organized, 2) social factors at work, and 3) work environment, equipment and hazardous tasks.[iv] In Part II of this blog on PSHs, I’ll provide more detailed examples of PSHs, but to provide a flavor of what is meant by PSHs, I’ll provide a few examples here. Related to how the work is organized, examples of PSHs include unclear expectations about work tasks, competing demands and priorities, and little opportunity to have input into the work.[v] PSHs related to social factors range from lack of clear vision and objectives, poor communication, and lack of accountability to workplace bullying and violence. And related to the last category of work environment, equipment, and hazardous tasks, PSH examples include lack of required tools and other resources (e.g., staffing levels) and working in severe conditions (e.g., temperature extremes).ⁱⁱⁱ

A Convergence of Factors

While many countries have adopted legislation and practice guidelines for addressing PSHs in the workplace, the Unites States is behind the curve in including PSHs under the umbrella of the OSH as described in the 1970 OSH Act. One example of the U.S.’s lagging progress regarding PSHs is evident in its notable absence among developed countries in having any anti-bullying workplace legislation (all 50 states have anti-bullying laws applying to schools), given the prominence of bullying as a well-known and well-researched PSH in the workplace. In recent years, there has been a confluence of factors that have led to an increased awareness of the importance of PSHs, and the U.S. may be at (or very close to) a tipping point. 

As the global economy and workplace arrangements continue to evolve, PSHs in the workplace are increasing and may soon surpass physical hazards in the workplace. The pandemic further heightened awareness of PSHs and their potential for harm as people returned to work, encountered toxic work cultures, and consequently began the Great Resignation. In response, the international scientific and public health communities are calling for an expansion of the traditional scope of OSH to include PSHs to improve worker well-being. One step in the right direction within the U.S. is the development of the Total Worker Health Programⁱⁱⁱ by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the research arm of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The Total Worker Health approach refers to “policies, programs, and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with promotion of injury and illness-prevention efforts to advance worker well-being,”ⁱⁱⁱ  with PSHs included among the hazards targeted by this approach. The above influences combined with the fact that many countries and international organizations, such as the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization, have developed policies and practice guidelines for addressing PSHs in the workplace have resulted in mounting pressure and calls to action^vi for the U.S. to adopt a more assertive stance around PSHs in the workplace.

As mentioned above, the term psychosocial hazard was something I had not come across before the ASSP conference, but many of the hazards included under this heading have been very well known to me and my colleagues at ADI (and many of our clients) for some time. For example, working with clients to provide clear expectations, build relationships with their employees, provide more effective positive and constructive feedback, and delivering more positive reinforcement for desired behaviors is fundamental to the work we’ve done for over 45 years. The absence of these effective components of leadership would now constitute the presence of PSHs, and I think adopting (integrating?) the framework of PSHs and acknowledging the detrimental impact of PSHs on organizational and worker well-being add needed attention to the topic and advance the discussion. In Part II of this blog, I’ll provide more detailed examples of PSHs, touch on the cost of PSHs for organizations and individuals (and the cost of inaction), discuss the concept of psychological safety, and talk about what organizations and leaders can do now to continue to improve their approaches to identifying and mitigating the harm of uncontrolled PSHs.