This week Mel and Darren delve into the different factors that can impact on workers Mental Health:

Aspects of how work is organised:

Remote and isolated work

Working in locations that are far from home, family, friends and usual support networks
Working alone in non-remote locations without social/human interaction
Working in private homes

Workload and work pace

Work overload or underload
High levels of time pressure
Continually subject to deadlines
Machine pacing
High level of repetitive work

Working hours and schedule

Lack of variety of work
Shift work
Inflexible work schedules
Unpredictable hours
Long or unsociable hours
Fragmented work or work that is not meaningful
Continual requirements to complete work at short notice

Job security and precarious work

Uncertainty regarding work availability, including work without set hours
Possibility of redundancy or temporary loss of work with reduced pay
Low-paid or insecure employment, including non-standard employment
Working in situations that are not properly covered or protected by labour law or social protection

Social Factors at work:

Interpersonal relationships

Poor communication, including poor information sharing
Poor relationships between managers or others that workers interact with
Interpersonal conflict
Harassment, bullying, victimization
Lack of social support
Unequal power relationships between dominant and non-dominant groups of workers
Social or physical isolation

Leadership

Lack of clear vision and objectives
Management style unsuited to the nature of the work and its demand
Failing to listen or only casually listening to complaints and suggestions
Withholding information
Providing inadequate communication and support
Lack of accountability
Lack of fairness
Inconsistent and poor decision-making practices
Abuse or misuse of power

Organizational/workgroup culture

Poor communication
Low levels of support for problem-solving and personal development
Lack of definition of, or agreement on, organisational objectives
Inconsistent and untimely application of policies and procedures, unfair decision-making
Recognition and reward
Imbalance between workers’ effort and formal and informal recognition and reward
Lack of appropriate acknowledgement and appreciation of workers’ efforts in a fair and timely manner

Career development

Career stagnation and uncertainty, under-promotion or over-promotion, lack of opportunity for skill development

Support

Lack of support from supervisors and co-workers
Lack of access to support services
Lack of information/training to support work performance

Supervision

Lack of constructive performance feedback and evaluation processes
Lack of encouragement/acknowledgement
Lack of communication
Lack of shared organisational vision and clear objectives
Lack of support and/or resources to facilitate improvements in performance
Lack of fairness
Misuse of digital surveillance

Civility and respect

Lack of trust, honesty, respect, civility and fairness
Lack of respect and consideration in interactions among workers, as well as with customers, clients and the public

Work/life balance

Work tasks, roles, schedules or expectations that cause workers to continue working in their own time
Conflicting demands of work and home
Work that impacts the workers’ ability to recover

Violence at work

Incidents involving an explicit or implicit challenge to health, safety or well-being at work; violence can be internal, external or client initiated, e.g.:
Abuse
Threats
Assault (physical, verbal or sexual)
Gender-based violence

Harassment

Unwanted, offensive, intimidating behaviours (sexual or non-sexual in nature) which relate to one or more specific characteristic of the targeted individual, e.g.

Race
Gender identity
Religion or belief
Sexual orientation
Disability
Age

Bullying and victimization

Repeated (more than once) unreasonable behaviours which can present a risk to health, safety and well-being at work; behaviours can be overt or covert, e.g.

Social or physical isolation
Assigning meaningless or unfavourable tasks
Name-calling, insults and intimidation
Undermining behaviour
Undue public criticism
Withholding information or resources critical for one’s job
Malicious rumours or gossiping
Assigning impossible deadlines

Work environment, equipment and hazardous tasks

Work environment, equipment and hazardous tasks

Inadequate equipment availability, suitability, reliability, maintenance or repair
Poor workplace conditions such as lack of space, poor lighting and excessive noise
Lack of the necessary tools, equipment or other resources to complete work tasks
Working in extreme conditions or situations
Working in unstable environments such as conflict zones

How can we identify psychological hazards in our workplaces?

There are several ways that the organization can identify psychosocial hazards, this can include (but not limited to):

Through reviews of job descriptions
Analysing tasks, schedules and locations
Consulting with workers, clients and other interested parties
Analysing performance evaluations, standardized questionnaires, audits, etc.

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#83 What is ISO 45003? Part 2

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#83 What is ISO 45003? Part 2