Psychosocial hazard #5 – Poor organisational change management

The fifth psychosocial hazard that is listed in Safe Work Australia’s Model Code of Practice on Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work is “poor organisational change management”.

Why is poor organisational change management a psychosocial hazard?

This is organisational change which is poorly planned, communicated, supported or managed.

Some questions that you might ask to assess whether the way that organisational change is managed in your workplace is poor and constitutes a psychosocial hazard are:

• Are workers genuinely consulted about changes that affect them?
• Are workplace health and safety considerations assessed and addressed in the change management process?
• Are impacts on the performance of work in transition (eg when people are learning new skills or there is disruption due to building or commissioning new facilities or changes in systems and processes) or ongoing given due consideration and appropriate adjustments made?
• Are changes poorly planned with no clear objectives or roles or process or timelines?
• Are changes communicated to people in a timely and informative manner so as to prevent speculation and rumours?
• Is sufficient information on the reasons for and effects of changes provided so that people can understand and engage with them?
• Are people provided with appropriate and adequate training and time to learn new tasks or to use new systems or to apply new processes?

This list is not exhaustive and while we have based these posts on the model code produced by Safe Work Australia, there can be differences in the specific details for each State or Territory. So you need to check that in the jurisdiction in which your workplace lies.