PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDS

AND OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

Hendra
Psychosocial hazards
in the OHS context psychosocial hazards have come to refer only
to hazards created by work and the work environment.

Work-related psychosocial risks concern aspects of the design and

management of work and its social and organisational contexts
that have the potential for causing psychological or physical harm
(Leka, Giffiths & Cox as cited in Leka & Cox, 2008, p. 1)
three-stage model of the bodys
physiological response to stress
1. Alarm-where the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system is
activated and there is preparedness for action (fight or flight)
2. Resistance where there is an attempt to cope with a prolonged
stressor by maintenance of high levels of arousal
3. Exhaustion where the defence systems of the body become
exhausted and health effects occur (e.g. high blood pressure). In
this phase, responses to any additional stressors also become
exaggerated.
(Selye, 1956)
Arousal Level vs. Quality of Performance
Psychosocial hazards and organisational outcomes

Negative organisational outcomes

Absenteeism
Presenteeism or disengagement:
Presenteeism is defined as the decreased productivity and work quality below
normal that occurs due to health problems when employees are physically
present in their jobs (Koopman et al., 2002).
Other organisational outcomes:
Turnover/attrition, elevated workers compensation cost, negative customer
service impacts and relationships with stakeholders, and indirect costs (e.g.
management time spent dealing with conflict, team disharmony, training and
employee assistance program costs (Kahn & Byosiere, 1992).
Psychosocial risk factors/work stressors
illustrative framework
Psychosocial risk factors/work-related
stressors
1. Time pressure
- work very hard and/or very fast
- having inadequate time to complete work tasks and requirements
- unrealistic deadlines or inadequate resourcing

2. Cognitive demands
- high cognitive loads (sustained concentration, divided attention and high-level
decision making)
- low cognitive loads (monotonous tasks).

3. Emotional demands
- Jobs requiring workers to show false displays of emotion, such as happiness or
desire to please/serve, even in situations where the work has induced anger and
resentment
- Jobs where workers are exposed to emotionally distressing situations. For example,
police officers and fire fighters.
Psychosocial risk factors/work-related
stressors
4. Hours of work
- Exposure time hours of work may dictate how long workers are exposed to
psychosocial hazards in a given working week and therefore directly influence the
level of risk.
- Fatigue hours of work and shift designs can lead to fatigue, which is a significant
predictor of injuries and near-miss accidents at work, sickness and absenteeism, and
poor work-life balance

5. Work Roles
- Role conflict and ambiguity
- Unclear understanding of performance requirements and job responsibilities
- Frequent or sudden changes in roles,
- Problematic role overlap with others roles

6. Conflict
- Interpersonal conflict
- Workplace bullying and harassment
Psychosocial risk factors/work-related
stressors
7. Change
- Uncommunicate of organisational change

8. Violence and aggression

- Occupational violence and workplace aggression

9. Job Control
- How much say people have in the way they do their work;

10. Co-worker and Supervisor Support

- Instrumental support involves providing practical assistance to solve problems
or offering tangible help, such as advice or knowledge
- Emotional support involves listening empathetically or providing care
Psychosocial risk factors/work-related
stressors
11. Organisational justice
- Procedural justice the perceived fairness of procedures used in workplaces
- Distributive justice the perceived fairness of decision outcomes (e.g. rewards
are commensurate with effort, the candidate who best meets selection criteria
gets offered the position/promotion)
- Interactional justice the perceived fairness of interpersonal treatment (e.g.
dignity and respect)
- Informational justice the provision of information about the use of
procedures, timelines, progress in application of procedures/decisions, and
why outcomes were determined

12. Recognition and reward

- The Effort-Reward Imbalance model
Work-related stress
What is it and how it affects workers?
Work-related stress is the bodys response to
work demands that exceed a workers abilities
and/or resources (time, support or help) to do
the job.

Short-term effects include headaches, forgetfulness,

irritability, and diminished performance.

Longer-term effects may include psychological

disorders, and cardiovascular disease.
Warning signs of work-related stress
Falling productivity levels.
Increasing sickness absence.
High staff turnover.
Low morale.
Bad customer feedback.
Occupational Stress Model
Multi-faceted Look at Occupational Stress

Occupational Stress occurs in seven different

contexts:
1. Sociocultural
5. Psychological
2. Organizational
6. Biological
3. Work setting
7. Physical/
4. Interpersonal Environmental
Job Stressors
Money
Health and safety hazards
Work environment
Insufficient training
Job security
Family adjustments or partners career
Violence
Occupational Stressors

Workers feel stress at work because

of:
1. Lack of participation in decision-making process
2. Role problems
Role overload
Role insufficiency
Role ambiguity
Role conflict
3. Job dissatisfaction
Motivational factors affect job satisfaction
4. Work environment
What can be done to prevent stress?
Train supervisors in how to manage people.
Get extra staff for peak demand times.
Make sure everyone knows their job responsibilities.
Consult staff about changes.
Provide assistance/counselling.
Occupational Stress, Myth vs. Truth
Myth: Only weak people suffer from stress.
Truth: Work-related stress is caused by the
workplace. Unclear directions, inadequate
worker training, lack of resources to do the job,
can all cause a stress response in a normal
person.
Occupational Stress and Disease
Physiological effects
Elevated serum cholesterol
Elevated blood pressure
Increased left ventricular mass
Increased catecholamine
High plasma fibrinogen concentrations
Occupational Stress and Disease (cont.)
Disease states
Coronary artery disease
Obesity
Psychosomatic symptoms
Diabetes
Hypertension
Peptic ulcers
Lack of control over amount of work and work-
related processes appears to be a major factor
in whether stress will affect an employees
health
Control/Demands Interaction

Control
High Low

Hig High job Most

Psychologic h satisfaction pathogenic
al Demands
Least Second most
Low
pathogenic pathogenic
Occupational Stress and Disease (cont.)
Psychological effects
Low self-esteem
Increased job tension
Low job satisfaction
Thanks