Psychosocial hazards covers many factors such as stress,
fatigue, and bullying. Life has become so a fast paced, that psychosocial
hazards can easily overwhelm a person effecting work, home life, and creating
health issues that may have long-lasting effects. The three terms used, stress,
fatigue, and bullying, are all classified differently, however, they are
connected and can be the catalyst in a chain of psychosocial hazards. Thus
turning into a long-term downward spiral which can have serious repercussions
to a person's health and mental well-being.
Bullying is when a person uses a superior force, such as
strength or intellect, to intimidate or belittle another. This can consist of
belittling remarks regarding a person's age, gender, race, lifestyle,
educational or economic background. IT can also include unwanted advances the
subject feels difficult to refuse. Forcing a person to perform menial,
pointless or impossible tasks designed to make the person feel servile or
impotent is also another form of bullying. Statistics vary for bullying in
schools and the workplace. Victims feel intimidated and believe the bullying
will continue or escalate if they report the incident and/or the guilty party.
A survey of schools in forty countries shows that Australia has a high amount
of bullying. With this in mind, bullying is evident to the person and/or the
colleges of the intended targeted and preventative measures can be taken to
limit and/or eliminate this negative behaviour.One of the more recent and
heavily contested forms of bullying, is the concept of cyber-bullying. The
internet has provided an anonymous platform that not only allows bullies to
extend their reach but it also allows people who would not normally bully to do
so and feel empowered. The largest problem with cyber-bullying is in attempting
to define what constitutes cyber-bullying. Social networking has become so
prevalent in everyday life a private joke which began in a face to face
situation may be continued online, however, a third party who is not aware of
the origins of the conversation may well see the online content in the wrong
context and believe it is bullying.
Hans Seyle (1936), first described stress as 'the
non-specific neuroendocrine response of the body.' More recently however,
stress has been redefined as an emotional state caused by demanding or adverse
factors. Stress can, in fact, can be healthy and positive depending of the
levels. It can promote the fight or flight response in a dangerous situation
and can be motivating to a person attempting to complete a task. However, large
amounts of stress, or being exposed to stressful situations for extended
periods of time can have negative effects on a person's health. Stress can be
caused by long work hours and/or an excessive workload, deadlines or a
restricted timetable. Stress can also be created through harassment and
bullying. Stress causes physiological and psychical changes in the human body.
Adrenaline is produced which increases heart rate, breathing and muscle
tension. These changes once served to preserve life in a threatening situation
however they do not aid in modern society where problems cannot be solved by the
fight or flight reaction. If not managed, these factors can contribute to a
myriad of health issues including increased blood pressure, heart-related
issues and lessened immune system function. If left untreated, stress can be a
contributing factor to a shortened lifespan.
The Safe Work Australia's 'Guide for managing the risk of
fatigue at work', (2013) defines fatigue as, 'a state of mental and/or physical
exhaustion which reduces a person's ability to perform work safely and
effectively.’ This can be a serious issue within the workplace where a lowered
state of awareness due to fatigue could have serious consequences. Over an
extended period of time, fatigue can lead to other health-related issues such
as high blood pressure, anxiety, and depression. Fatigue can be caused by
various factors such as long work hours or rotational shift work. Repetitive or
monotonous tasks or tasks which require a high degree of concentration for long
periods. Non-work related factors such as a person's lifestyle or other
commitments may also contribute to fatigue. Fatigue can have a much more
serious impact within fields of work such as driving or operating heavy
machinery, working with heights or other hazardous substances, in the medical
field. Fatigue can effect anyone at any time and like stress can be a serious
issue within the work place.
Dealing with
Psychosocial Hazards
Dealing with psychosocial hazards follows a similar model
used for any other hazards. First step is to identify the hazard followed by an
evaluation of the severity of the hazard. After identifying and evaluating the
hazard, safety control measures must be implemented to control/eliminate the
hazard. Once these controls are implemented, they must be reviewed and adjusted
on a regular basis. It is the duty of management to ensure the workplace is a
safe place for all workers and any employee/personal suffering from any of these
afflictions should seek help from a professional.
Measuring
Psychosocial Hazards
A 2001 report for the Health and Safety Executive classified
some of the measures used to identify psychosocial hazards. These measures fell
into the three following categories. Generic, Occupation-specific, and Hazard
specific. The most common ways to measure this type of hazard are
self-reporting or observational methods. Employers use the information gathered
through these methods to evaluate and control the situation.
Doing this has many benefits for the employers and
management. Some of these benefits in a decrease sick leave, improvements in
morale and the possibility of an increase of productivity.
Governments, including the Australian Government, are taking
a dim view of this negative behaviour and have had some perpetrators criminally
prosecuted. Although, inconsistencies in the reporting of such behaviour make
this a difficult process. Due to this alone, it is a difficult task to show an
exact statistical representation of psychosocial hazards. In say this however,
some studies have claimed that as many as 17% of people have claimed to be the
victims of bullying.
References
EUOSHA 2014, Managing stress and psychosocial risks at work:
healthy workplaces campaign 2014-2015, video,
7 April, viewed 15 June 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBy4WaR14Bo
Safe Work Australia 2013, Guide for managing the risk of
fatigue at work, viewed 15 June 2016,http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/Documents/825/Managing-the-risk-of-fatigue.pdf
Szabo S, Tache Y, et al., 2012, ‘The legacy of Hans Selye
and the origins of stress research: a retrospective 75 years after his landmark
brief “letter” to the editor of nature’, Stress, July, viewed 15 June 2016, http://www.selyeinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/The-legacy-of-Hans-Selye44.pdf
The Institute for Employment Studies 2001, A critical review
of psychosocial hazard measures, viewed 15 June 2016, http://www.hse.gov.uk/Research/crr_pdf/2001/crr01356.pdf
The Bullying Awareness Guidebook |
AccreditedSchoolsOnline.org 2017, viewed 22 February 2017, http://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/bullying-awareness-guidebook/
Cummins, J 2017, The Effect of Stress on Your Body -
Executive Medicine, in , Executive Medicine, viewed 22 February 2017, http://www.executivemedicine.com.au/the-effect-of-stress-on-your-body/
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