New case study explores psychosocial hazards in retail
11 Sept 2024•BlueSafe Team•Source: Safe Work Australia
Safe Work Australia has released a retail-focused case study, the first in a series examining how psychosocial hazards can be managed across different industries.
The case study outlines key psychosocial hazards that retail workers may encounter and gives examples of ways to manage workplace health and safety risks.
These hazards can arise from difficult interactions with customers, pressure to achieve sales targets and long or irregular working hours.
The case study centres on Horizon Retailers, which employs 300 workers across multiple stores. Its staff are reporting stress, anxiety, fatigue and burnout, while staff retention has fallen and sick days have increased.
It explores how Horizon Retailers can address these WHS risks. Businesses must eliminate physical and psychosocial risks or, where elimination is not reasonably practicable, minimise them as much as possible.
The case study, Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards in retail, is available on Safe Work Australia’s website. Further information is available in the model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work.
How Blue Safe can help: Our free WHS self-check can help you review your business’s approach to workplace health and safety and identify areas for closer attention, including psychosocial hazards. Take the free WHS self-check