November 2024
The Australian Government has updated its workplace health and safety codes, introducing three emerging psychosocial hazards—fatigue, job insecurity, and intrusive surveillance—to protect and prioritise workers’ mental health. These additions in the Commonwealth Code of Practice, which aren’t covered in the state-based codes, signal a shift towards addressing the evolving psychological risks of modern work environments.
The new provisions follow extensive consultation with mental health experts and workplace safety advocates and highlight the need for organisations to consider psychological risks as rigorously as physical safety measures.
Here, we take a deeper look at these three new mental health hazards and how to manage them at work:
Fatigue: A safety and performance risk
Fatigue is now formally recognised as a critical workplace hazard. Whether stemming from long hours, high workloads, or insufficient rest, fatigue compromises concentration, decision-making, and overall performance. The updated code advises workplaces to manage fatigue through practical measures like revising shift schedules, ensuring adequate breaks, and monitoring workloads. Training managers to recognise the early signs of fatigue is also recommended to proactively manage risks to workers’ well-being.
Fatigue being recognised in this way aligns with broader cultural shifts, such as the recent right to disconnect, promoting work-life balance and reducing the expectation of overwork. While commitment to work is important and has often been celebrated in Australian work culture, working to the point of fatigue can have serious implications on workers’ mental health and well-being. The updated code, along with new laws such as the right to disconnect, should encourage workers to consult with their managers and ensure they have measures in place to appropriately manage their workload and working hours, prioritising their well-being as well as their performance.
Addressing Job Insecurity
Economic pressures and a casualised workforce have amplified concerns about job insecurity, which is at a crisis point in Australia. In 2021, 88% thought job security was a problem for Australia and around a quarter were concerned they might lose their job within the next 12 months [1]. Australians being forced to work multiple jobs has also hit an all-time high [2].
Job insecurity is damaging the physical and mental health of Australian workers, linked to heightened stress, anxiety, and diminished workplace trust. The revised code emphasises transparent communication and fair employment practices to mitigate these risks. Support during organisational changes, such as reskilling programs and counselling services, are also important to alleviate anxiety and foster stability.
Intrusive Surveillance in the Digital Age
Workplace monitoring technologies, like keystroke tracking and GPS systems, have sparked debates about privacy. Intrusive surveillance is another contemporary risk included in the code that reflects these growing concerns about employee privacy and helps to define what is reasonable and what is considered intrusive.
Monitoring systems that lack transparency or invade personal boundaries can harm morale, trust, and mental health. The updates call for clear policies that balance workplace safety with respect for individual privacy, including limiting surveillance to essential areas and involving employees in policy development. In increasingly digital workplaces, employees should know their rights and have input into monitoring policies to maintain trust and respect at work.
[1] The Australia Talks National Survey, 2021
[2] The Job Insecurity Report, Department of the Senate, 2022