7 Key Aspects of Overcoming Psychological Hazards in a Workplace
Psychological hazards are the key aspects of a workplace, management processes, or organisational processes that endanger mental health and well-being. Common psychological hazards include exposure to sexual harassment, violence, or traumatic events.
Psychological hazards are the most serious health and occupational health problem. It has a profound impact on the lives of individuals, organisations, and the national economy.
Most workers around the world consider psychological hazards to be a common occurrence in their workplace and have an impact on almost half of all lost working days. Like many other mental health issues, mental health hazards are often misunderstood or discriminated against. However, organisations need to view this as an organisational health and safety problem rather than an individual error. It is manageable as any other occupational safety and health hazard.
Psychological hazard at work arises as a result of poor job design, organisation and management, and poor work environment, and may cause negative psychological, physical, and social consequences such as depression, anxiety, substance use problems, fatigue, or withdrawal.
Work conditions that may lead to psychological hazard at work
- Too much work
- Conflicting needs and lack of clarity of role
- Non-involvement in decision-making that affects the employee and non-interference in the performance of duties
- Uncontrolled organisational change, job insecurity
- Poor communication, lack of support from management or partners
- Psychological and sexual abuse, third-party violence
When considering job requirements, it is important to be mindful. In situations such as excessive, these workloads can be stimulating and challenging, if there is a supportive work environment where employees are well trained and motivated, they can work to their full potential. A good mental health environment promotes good performance and personal development, as well as the mental and physical well-being of employees.
Negative Outcomes. In an organisation, negative outcomes include overall business inefficiency, increased absenteeism, and increased accident and incident rates. Absence is often far greater than that arising from other causes and work-related psychological hazards that may contribute to high levels of premature retirement. In addition to this, human cost of psychological hazards will be physical health problems such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes or other.
Managing psychological hazards is not just a moral obligation and good investment for employers, it is a legal obligation to promote work-related psychological hazards and harassment and violence in the workplace.
Ways to overcome psychological hazards
Explain the Requirements. A factor that is known to cause job burnout is the vague requirements of employees. Employees need to know what is expected of them, or their job requirement. If it is not explained, or change without a little notice, employees can be overwhelmed.
Avoid Conflict. The conflict between people affects your physical and emotional health. Conflicts between colleagues can be difficult to avoid, so it is a good idea to avoid conflicts at work as much as possible.
Do not gossip, do not share many of your views on religion and politics, and avoid “colourful” office jokes.
If possible, try to avoid people who do not work well with others. If the conflict persists anyway, make sure you know how to handle it properly.
Stay organised. Even if you are a naturally disorganised person, planning to stay organised can greatly reduce your psychological hazards at work. Being organised will save you time in the morning to avoid arriving late and to get a little busy going out at the end of the day.
Keeping order can also mean avoiding the negative effects of clutter, and doing your job well.
Relax: One of the most surprising psychological dangers at work is physical discomfort, often related to where you do most of your daily activities (like your desk).
Avoid doing many things. Doing more has been advertised as a great way to prolong one’s life and to do more in the day. Eventually, though, people began to realise that when they made a phone call to their ear and did the math at the same time, their speed and accuracy (not to mention mentally) often suffered.
Go for lunch. Many people feel the effects of physical inactivity. You can combat the physical and psychological effects of mental stress at work by exercising during your lunch break.
Keep a View of Completion Test. You may not be able to do everything right, all the time — especially in a busy, fast-paced job. A good strategy is to avoid the trap of perfectionism always striving to do your best and taking the time to commend yourself for your efforts. You may find that your results are better and you will be less likely to suffer from psychological hazards at work.
Creating a healthy work environment has many benefits for employers and employees. A well-designed work environment should support individual mental health and lead to reduced absenteeism, increased employee engagement, and improved productivity.
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