World Day 2026: Tackling Psychosocial Risks at Work

Tuesday 28 April 2026 marks World Day for Safety and Health at Work, a key date for employers, workers and WHS professionals to refocus on creating safer, healthier workplaces.

In 2026, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has set the World Day theme around building and maintaining a healthy psychosocial working environment for all. This reflects growing recognition that psychosocial hazards can damage both psychological and physical health and can significantly increase overall safety risks.

Psychosocial hazards arise from how work is designed and managed, the nature of the working environment, the use of workplace machinery or equipment, and the way people interact and behave at work. When these factors are poorly controlled, they can lead to stress, fatigue, bullying, harassment and other harms that affect workers’ wellbeing and safety performance.

Common psychosocial hazards include excessive workload and time pressure, low job control, role conflict or ambiguity, poor support from supervisors or colleagues, remote or isolated work, exposure to traumatic events, bullying and harassment, unreasonable job demands, lack of recognition, and poorly managed organisational change.

As with physical, chemical and biological hazards, psychosocial risks must be systematically identified, assessed and controlled as part of an effective WHS management system. This includes embedding clear policies, procedures and Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) that address psychosocial factors alongside more traditional safety risks. For guidance on implementing structured WHS management systems and documentation, businesses may find resources such as those available at Bluesafe WHS Management Systems helpful.

Safe Work Australia is encouraging all workplaces to actively promote World Day on 28 April 2026, using it as an opportunity to review WHS policies, consult with workers, and reinforce the importance of both physical and psychological health and safety at work.

The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy provides a national framework for improving WHS outcomes over the coming decade, with a clear focus on persistent and emerging issues such as psychosocial risk management. This strategy underlines the duty to provide a work environment that is safe and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable, including mental health.

Safe Work Australia’s guidance materials support PCBUs, managers, HSRs and workers to identify and control psychosocial hazards. These resources offer practical examples of hazards, advice on consultation and risk assessment, and tools to help implement controls and monitor their effectiveness. Integrating this guidance into your WHS management system, SWMS, and workplace policies will help ensure psychosocial risks are managed in a planned, consistent and legally compliant manner.