Psychosocial Hazards Assessment Toolkit

1. Use the Psychosocial Hazards Assessment Template in the templates section to guide you throughout the process. This tool consists of two key components: Psychosocial Hazards Assessment and Action Plan
2. Complete the Psychosocial Hazards Assessment. This involves:
   • Consulting with employees to gather information on potential hazards (use anonymous surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one conversations)
   • Observing how work tasks are being performed to identify potential hazards. Be sure you are assessing how the work is actually done – not how it was planned or intended
   • Reviewing your organization’s data for trends. IDIR-restricted sources include:
     • Employee engagement surveys (WES, exit surveys, etc.)
     • Safety Incident Reporting Portal (SIRP)
     • WorkSafeBC claims
     • Long-term and short-term disability rates
     • Psychosocial factor performance
     • Turnover

Optional tools

• Use the Pulse Check survey for a quick snapshot of potential psychosocial hazard sources. Pulse Check in a Box
• Use Guarding Minds at Work survey for a quick scan or full assessment.

• Follow the Psychosocial Hazards assessment template to evaluate your hazards using the risk matrix assessment tab:
  • Probability: How often does the hazard occur? (Scale: Rare to Very Likely)
  • Impact: What is the potential impact if it occurs? (Scale: Minor to Major)
  • Risk: Combine frequency and impact to determine a risk level (Scale: Low to High)
• Rank your hazards based on their level of risk, assigning the highest priority to those with the highest combined probability and impact
• Prioritizing hazards helps to determine which to control first

Note: A hazard is something that has the potential to cause harm, while risk refers to the severity of that harm occurring.

• Use the Psychosocial Hazards Assessment Template Action Plan tab to guide the development of your action plan based on your list of prioritized hazards
• Apply the principles of the traditional physical hazard hierarchy of controls, with a few adaptations - starting with the most effective interventions (elimination, work re-design, policy) and progressing to less effective ones (training and self-care tools, employee assistance strategies):
  1. Elimination: completely remove the hazard
  2. Work re-design: change the work to reduce hazard exposure
  3. Policy: set expectations for how people/work interact
  4. Training and self-care tools: provide resources for self-care
  5. Employee assistance: facilitate early intervention support
• Focus on addressing the source of the hazard or the root cause when deciding on control measures, starting with the most effective interventions
• Use evidence-based practices when deciding on how to embed controls into existing systems, policies, and practices
• Recognize that education and promotion controls are ranked lower because they rely on human behavior which can be less reliable and effective in consistently managing risks
• Understand that not all hazards may be eliminated, so aim for a combination of actions to reduce risks wherever possible
• Some of the hazards may not create psychosocial risks on their own, but may do so if combined with other hazards, so consider them together
• Include employees in the process as they bring their knowledge, experience and practical understanding of the roles and tasks
• Before you finalize your plan, consult with relevant parties, such as leadership or your ministry or PSA Safety Specialists for alignment
• Share the findings and planned actions with employees to keep them informed about the steps taken to improve psychological health and safety in the workplace

• Identifying and managing hazards is an ongoing process, not a one-time task
• Assign responsibility for re-evaluating psychosocial hazards on a set schedule
• Evaluate your hazard controls to determine their effectiveness and identify areas for improvement
• Review your plan regularly, especially after major changes in the workplace (e.g. annually)
• Share the results of the review with employees