psychosocial risk: moving from risk to opportunity
DESCRIPTION
Organizations don't understand PSR and less what to do about it. But what if you could turn the problem and eliminate the risk by focusing on the opportunity. The flip side of PSR is Employee Engagement and performance.TRANSCRIPT
Removing
the
Barriers
to
Potential
PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKMoving from Risk to Opportunity
February 2014
2
Could it happen in your organisation?
2012
“Former Telecom CEO has been indicted by a court and bailed over
allegations that he led a corporate culture of bullying and harassment
that resulted in the suicide of at least 30 employees.”
3What is Psychosocial Risk (PSR)?
Risk = The probability /uncertainty of a negative effect on objectives (Leitch 2009)
Probability / Uncertainty appears in different forms:
Are Psychosocial Hazards present in my organisation?
Do Psychosocial Hazards create the Psychosocial Stress (mismatch in a role)?
If Psychosocial Hazards are present in my organisation will they have a negative effect on
its objectives?
What can be done to identify and eliminate Psychosocial Hazards?
Thus, Psychosocial Risk (PSR) is the uncertainty of the effects that Psychosocial Hazards
may have on the objectives of the organisation
Psychosocial Hazards are those aspects of the design and management of work, and its social
and organisational contexts that have the potential for causing psychological or physical harm (Cox
& Griffiths, 2005).
4
What is Psychosocial Stress at Work?
PSR goes hand-in-hand with work related stress
Work-related stress is the response people may have
when presented with work demands and pressures that
are not matched to their knowledge and abilities and
which challenge their ability to cope (WHO 2003)
Burnout is a result of continued exposure to work
related stress
Work-related stress, violence, harassment, bullying (or
mobbing) are now widely recognised major challenges to
occupational health and safety (EU-OSHA, 2007).
Psychosocial stress at work is the result of a mismatch
between the complexity of problems a person needs to deal at
work and the capability of the person to deal with the
challenges due to the negative impact of psychosocial hazards
5
The Cost of a poor Psychosocial Work Environment
Turnover
Excessive Sick Leave
Lost time Accidents
Premature Retirement
Grievance and Litigation
Damage to Consumer/Employer brand
Increased Operational Risk
Poor Performance/Productivity
And the list goes on …………
“Probably the highest cost of a poor
Psychosocial Work Environment is a
DISENGAGED Workforce causing
Organisations to dramatically
underperform”
6
Psychosocial HazardsPSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDS (WHO 2010)
Job Content Lack of variety or short work cycles, fragmented or meaningless work, under use of skills, high uncertainty,
continuous exposure to people through work
Workload & Pace Work overload or under load, machine pacing, high levels of time pressure, continually subject to deadlines
Work schedule Shift working, night shifts, inflexible work schedules, unpredictable hours, long or unsociable hours
Control Low participation in decision making, lack of control over workload, pacing, etc.
Environment & Equipment Inadequate equipment availability, suitability or maintenance; poor environmental conditions such as lack of
space, poor lighting, excessive noise
Organisational culture & function Poor communication, low levels of support for problem solving and personal development, lack of definition of,
or agreement on, organisational objectives
Interpersonal relationships Social or physical isolation, poor relationships with superiors, interpersonal conflict, lack of social support,
bullying, harassment
Role Role ambiguity, role conflict, and responsibility for people
Career Development Career stagnation and uncertainty, under promotion or over promotion, poor pay, job insecurity, low social value
to work
Home/work interface Conflicting demands of work and home, low support at home, dual career problems
7
Psychosocial Risks: Is Risk Management strategic enough in
Business and Policy Making*
Conceptualisation and perception of
risk
Current perception of PSR
Barriers to implementing PSR
management
Opportunities in managing PSR are
being recognised
* A 2012 University of Nottingham study
(Leka, Langenhan, Jain) explored
stakeholder perspectives, regarding the
extent to which PSRs are incorporated in
strategic risk management practices
8
Conceptualisation & Perception of Risk
Risk is perceived as the likelihood that there will be a known loss or the
hazard that there is a potential to cause harm
Priorities for risk management revolve around financial survival,
reputation, brand and compliance
Most employers are only motivated to manage health and safety risk
because of regulations
Only 11% of 1000 surveyed directors claim to have a complete
understanding of risks in their organisations
Evaluation of risk management practices is widely neglected
9
Perception of Psychosocial Risk
“If I was to mention Psychosocial Risk to
one of the companies I work with, they
would look at me very blank.”
PSR includes all factors that may negatively impact
upon the individual by simply undertaking their job
role
For most organisations, consideration of health and
safety issues is just a default tick in the box
Only “informed (larger) businesses consider the
potential negative implications of PSR
The business case for managing PSR is not really
being heard because it may take some time to show
benefits, and involves commitment for the long term
10
Barriers to implementing PSR Management
Resources – Time and Money
Low priority
Lack of understanding – what am I
supposed to do?
Lack of available expertise and
frameworks
Stigmatisation
Lack of inspection/enforcement
Reluctance to report problems
“it’s almost about branding I suppose, and the
way the term is branded. Health and Safety –
no, well now, people – yes, right at the top”
11
Opportunities in managing PSR are being recognised
“People need to have training and need to
communicate and maintain risk awareness even if
things are looking on the bright side”
“There has to be a culture change in terms of what
work is”
“HR absolutely needs to be looking at data and
building the business case for investment in people
management and training and development and
highlighting the potential risks of not investing in
people management”
12
Regulatory Landscape for PSR
“There probably isn’t any
stomach for additional Health
& Safety regulations at the
moment – at least in certain
countries”
The EU has set guidelines that have been
adopted by most members at some level
The main directive revolves around providing a
safe work environment and recognizing PSR as a
factor
Inspection and enforcement are complicated do
to lack of definition and indicators
If an organisation has suffered a PSR event and
does not have in place a PSR Management
strategy the consequences can be dramatic
13
The 5 top reasons why many PSR Initiatives are ineffective
Number 5: Frameworks exist but are too general and lack rigorous
implementation methodologies
Number 4: Lack of data points that allow for effective identification of risks and
benchmarking current and future states
Number 3: Focus on the prevention of negative consequences rather than
positive outcomes leading to loss of executive sponsorship and funding
Number 2: Lack of ownership. Risk Managers are focused on other risks and
HR departments run PSR initiatives as a sideline.
Number 1: PSR Management is not integrated into existing Management
Methods and therefore are mostly tactical rather than being strategic
14
Turning Risk into Opportunity
In the 21st century there is a convergence of new ideas with
traditional practices. Recent developments in Emotional Intelligence
and Positive Psychology are putting hard research behind what have
been until now “fuzzy” concepts to most
“One man’s
ceiling
is another
man’s floor”Paul Simon
15
Benefits from focusing on the Opportunity instead of the
Risk
Removing the stigma
Compelling Business Case
Clear actions to improve not only mitigate
Converting tactical, standalone initiatives to strategic Human
Capital Management
Integration with strategic HR processes
Improved Engagement
Improved Effectiveness and Performance
Dramatic Reduction of Risk
16
Psychosocial Risk: The Flow Model
Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person in an
activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full
involvement, and success in the process of the activity.
Dealing with complex decisions can test personal
boundaries and push even the most stoic into Burnout
(illustrated by my red lozenges).
Lack of challenge on the other hand leads to “Boreout”
(yellow lozenges). People’s abilities are different and their
willingness to push their own capabilities is variable. People
in a prolonged state of ‘Boreout’ turn into inventors: cottage
industries, hobby horse projects and sandboxes spring forth
with impressive enterprise.
Controlled Burnout can be productive, uncontrolled Burnout
is very destructive, any form of Boreout leads to the famed
Anti Pattern – ‘the devil makes work for idle hands.’
Proposed by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, the
Positive Psychology concept has been widely
referenced across a variety of fields
17
The Flow Model and Employee Engagement
In Positive Psychology Flow =
Engagement
The key to Engagement is correctly
matching Abilities to Challenges
Engagement is enhanced by:
Removing Psychosocial Hazards
Identifying and promoting Abilities
Developing the required Technical,
Management and Emotional
Intelligence skills
Martin Seligman the founder of Positive
Psychology believes that a key ingredient to Well-
being is Engagement
18
Linking the Flow Model to Management Science
The Total Management Method (TMM) adapts a variety of related
theories and concepts in regard to a match between challenges /
problems and abilities / capabilities to propose the method to identify
and quantify match / mismatch
The Total Management Method® by
TMS
19
Mapping Psychosocial Hazards to a Human Capital
Management ApproachPSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDS (WHO 2010) mapped to the Total Management Method (TMM)
Job Content
TMM addresses Psychosocial Risks by:
• Correctly matching the capability (Abilities) of an individual with the
complexity (Challenges) of the role
• Defining Managerial and Leadership accountabilities that promote the
appropriate values and correctly allocate resources
• Ensure that decisions are taken at the right level thus empowering
Individuals, fostering innovation and providing a sense of control
• Developing Competency models that include the required soft
(Emotional Intelligence) skills to drive cultures and values
• Aligning compensation with work complexity
• Improving processes to reduce overload and distribute the workload
• Establishing the proper boundaries for non-reporting (horizontal)
relationships
Workload & Pace
Work schedule
Control
Environment & Equipment
Organisational culture & function
Interpersonal relationships
Role
Career Development
Home/work interface
20
The PSR Management Framework
PSR Management Framework
includes a set of critical practices
that help to reduce Psychosocial
risk at work
The most critical practice as a
foundation of the framework is a
structure based on the levels of
work (problem complexity) with
optimal number of organisational
levels
An absence of one or several key
organisational practices described
or their low effectiveness increases
a probability of Psychosocial risk
21
Identifying PSR in an Organisation: The PSR Audit
Stage 1
• Select one department or section as a pilot and map all sources of psychosocial risk within it
Stage 2
• Identify the organisational model for the section with the optimal number of levels of work and problem complexity by conducting extant interviews
Stage 3
• Establish the inflow capability of the employees of the section using several types of the assessment for the inflow capability elements
Stage 4
• Match the level of work complexity of the section’s roles with the inflow capability of the role holders
Stage 5
• Map all psychosocial risks across the department or section
• Audit the organisational practices of Psychosocial Risk Management Framework
• Develop corrective actions
22
PSR Management reduces Operational Risk
Ineffective Workplace Psychosocial Risk
Management Practices
Lead to
PEOPLE with wrong knowledge
and skills, wrong capabilities,
wrong values and commitment and
wrong required behaviours
Lead
to
Lead to
Lea
d t
o
Ineffective decisions about
EXTERNAL FACTORS in an
area of accountability
Ineffective
decisions about
PROCESSES in an
area of
accountability
Ineffective
decisions about
SYSTEMS in an
area of
accountability
OPRISK OPRISK
OPRISK
An Employee with Psychosocial Stress
Lead to
23
Advantages of an integrated PSR Management Framework
Clear understanding of what psychosocial risk and its types are
Objective and quantitative tools to map all types of psychosocial risk across the
organisation
Allocation of potential monetary loss to the sources of psychosocial risk
Psychosocial Risk Management as a set of practices and values to ensure sustainable and
ongoing prevention and reduction of psychosocial risk
Training modules (Training Centre) to train employees accountable for psychosocial risk
TMS’s expertise to adapt and embed Psychosocial Risk Management Framework into
organisational practices and values
Psychosocial Analytics that includes a set of comprehensive indicators to monitor all
aspects psychosocial risk
Early Warning System mechanisms
24
For more
Informationgo to
www.totalmanagementsys.com
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