Work is a big part of many lives and psychological health at work is critical. Within Australia, the mental ill-health economic impacts on productivity have been estimated between AUD $12.2 and $39.1 billion. The shifting regulatory landscape for managing psychological health and safety places a positive duty on employers to adopt systemic approaches for preventing mental ill-health at work.

Workload is a universal challenge that is at the forefront for most employees and employers. Left unmanaged, workload can lead to both physical and psychological injuries, result in burnout and loss of talent. As a psychosocial hazard, workload is often one of the most complex to address. It has also been identified as compounding the risk posed by other psychosocial and safety hazards. Workforce shortages, the need to do more with less and increasing productivity and service demands (work intensification) following COVID-19 have further exacerbated the workload challenge and brought it to the forefront as a matter of public interest.

Organisations typically approach workload as a resourcing supply issue that needs to be addressed through increasing staffing levels. However, budgetary constraints and talent shortages can make this a difficult solution to apply in practice. Effective management of workload needs to consider the way in which work is undertaken and day-to-day management practices that can help balance the job demands placed on employees.

This interactive session will build on good practice in psychosocial risk management for future proofing against chronic workload. The session will enable participants to better understand workload by considering the factors contributing to work overload (which can be much more than just the amount of work). Drawing on the principles of work design and effective leadership practices, the session will engage participants in applying their learnings through a series of practical case studies. These case studies involve multilevel (organisational, team and individual) issues and interventions, and showcase how expertise from across the breadth of organisational psychology practice can be effectively leveraged in addressing a complex psychosocial risk such as workload. The facilitators will bring a mix of regulatory and internal practitioner lenses, sharing examples from practice on what works.

This workshop is timely, given the increasing demand for skills, knowledge and experience in psychosocial risk management. The ultimate aim is to equip organisational psychologists to step into the forefront of psychosocial risk management - identifying and facilitating risk controls that drive meaningful changes in systems, behaviours and organisational culture.

1. Understanding of workload management as a legislative requirement
2. Understanding of legislative changes for mental health of workers
3. Organisational psychology role in psychosocial risk management as a way of advocating for worker mental health welfare AND improved organisational functioning.