Navigating Psychological Hazards: A Worker's Insight

In the realm of workplace realities, psychological hazards represent facets of the work environment and its organizational structure that link to mental disorders or physical injury and illness. When these psychosocial hazards are left unaddressed, they have the potential to cast a shadow on various organizational metrics, impacting productivity, absenteeism, and turnover.

Unpacking the Impact on Workers' Wellbeing

In the absence of effective management, psychosocial hazards wield the ability to influence not only the mental and physical health of workers but also their overall well-being. These hazards cast a broad shadow, affecting elements such as:

• Job satisfaction
• Organizational commitment
• Harmony in the worker's family life.

For contact centre professionals, tasked with delivering customer service through diverse channels, the work environment introduces a distinctive set of risks to psychological health. These include:

• Elevated emotional demands
• Expectations for consistently high levels of customer service
• Intensive work monitoring through systems and supervision
• Perceived deficiencies in organizational, supervisor, and peer support.

Psychosocial hazards have the potential to create a negative impact on the health and safety of workers. For an in-depth understanding of psychosocial hazards and related factors, explore further resources.

Crafting a Risk Assessment Approach

Identifying and assessing risks to the psychological health of contact centre workers involves employing various strategies, including:

• Conducting anonymous surveys (e.g., People at Work)
• Engaging in effective consultative practices
• Facilitating efficient communication processes
• Analyzing injury reports
• Reviewing absence data.

By actively participating in these processes, workers play a vital role in shaping a work environment that safeguards their psychological well-being and fosters a healthier, more sustainable workplace culture.