A5.1
Tracks
Stream A
| Friday, October 30, 2026 |
| 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM |
Overview
The Mindset and Mechanisms of Psychosocial Risk Decisions in Workplaces | 60 mins | Symposium
Presenter
Associate Professor Kirsten Way
The University Of Queensland
The Mindset and Mechanisms of Psychosocial Risk Decisions in Workplaces
1:45 PM - 2:45 PMAbstract
This session, chaired by Associate Professor Kïrsten Way, presents findings across three studies conducted by UQ’s Psychosocial Risk and Safety Management (PRISM) Lab. Together, they explore how leaders, managers, and professionals perceive, analyse and act on workplace psychosocial risk, exposing cognitive, attitudinal, organisational, and regulatory factors that shape workplace decision-making and governance.
Dual-Process Reasoning and Contextual Factors in Workplace Decisions in Psychosocial Risk Management: A Scoping Review
Firth,I.,Way,K.A.,Li,Y.,Jezzini,S.,Lincolne,K.,Hopgood,A.
Workplace decision-making about psychosocial risk remains challenging despite increasing regulatory and organisational attention. This scoping review synthesises evidence on how managers, HR/WHS professionals, and labour inspectorates make decisions about psychosocial risk. Drawing on dual-process theory, the review examines the roles of intuitive, analytical, and affective reasoning, and the phenomenological, organisational, and individual contexts shaping these decision-making processes. The findings indicate that psychosocial hazards are frequently construed as complex and difficult to substantiate, fostering heuristic reasoning, avoidance, and symbolic compliance. An integrated decision-making framework is proposed, with implications for improving decision quality and psychosocial risk governance.
Antecedents to Senior Executive Leader Due Diligence for Psychosocial Risk Management using a Theory of Planned Behaviour Approach
Lincolne,K.,Way,K.A.,Jimmieson,N.L.
Amid mounting legal pressures for Australian senior executive leaders (SELs) to prevent worker harm from exposure to psychosocial hazards, there remains a dearth of literature about specific antecedents (beliefs) that inform whether and how they enact due diligence specific to psychosocial risks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 SELs and HR/WHS managers to explore SEL due diligence behaviour. A deductive content analysis (Krippendorf, 2004) underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) showed a range of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control barriers to SEL due diligence behaviour.
“The Hierarchy of Controls doesn’t work for psychosocial hazards”: Perceptions and Utility of the Hierarchy of Controls in Psychosocial Risk Management Practice
Echberg,J.,Firth,I.,Way,K.A.,Li,Y.
Although WHS laws promote the Hierarchy of Controls (HoC) as a fundamental approach to help manage psychosocial risk, little is known about how WHS inspectors and professionals interpret and apply the framework in practice. This mixed-methods study with 20 Australian WHS inspectors and professionals examined how psychosocial risks are perceived, categorised, and controlled via the HoC. Findings show system-level interventions, such as work design changes, are prioritised over individual-focused strategies, yet controls are applied flexibly to meet “reasonably practicable” standards. The HoC functions as both a shared mental model and a communication tool, highlighting gaps in PSRM maturity and training needs.
Dual-Process Reasoning and Contextual Factors in Workplace Decisions in Psychosocial Risk Management: A Scoping Review
Firth,I.,Way,K.A.,Li,Y.,Jezzini,S.,Lincolne,K.,Hopgood,A.
Workplace decision-making about psychosocial risk remains challenging despite increasing regulatory and organisational attention. This scoping review synthesises evidence on how managers, HR/WHS professionals, and labour inspectorates make decisions about psychosocial risk. Drawing on dual-process theory, the review examines the roles of intuitive, analytical, and affective reasoning, and the phenomenological, organisational, and individual contexts shaping these decision-making processes. The findings indicate that psychosocial hazards are frequently construed as complex and difficult to substantiate, fostering heuristic reasoning, avoidance, and symbolic compliance. An integrated decision-making framework is proposed, with implications for improving decision quality and psychosocial risk governance.
Antecedents to Senior Executive Leader Due Diligence for Psychosocial Risk Management using a Theory of Planned Behaviour Approach
Lincolne,K.,Way,K.A.,Jimmieson,N.L.
Amid mounting legal pressures for Australian senior executive leaders (SELs) to prevent worker harm from exposure to psychosocial hazards, there remains a dearth of literature about specific antecedents (beliefs) that inform whether and how they enact due diligence specific to psychosocial risks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 SELs and HR/WHS managers to explore SEL due diligence behaviour. A deductive content analysis (Krippendorf, 2004) underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) showed a range of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control barriers to SEL due diligence behaviour.
“The Hierarchy of Controls doesn’t work for psychosocial hazards”: Perceptions and Utility of the Hierarchy of Controls in Psychosocial Risk Management Practice
Echberg,J.,Firth,I.,Way,K.A.,Li,Y.
Although WHS laws promote the Hierarchy of Controls (HoC) as a fundamental approach to help manage psychosocial risk, little is known about how WHS inspectors and professionals interpret and apply the framework in practice. This mixed-methods study with 20 Australian WHS inspectors and professionals examined how psychosocial risks are perceived, categorised, and controlled via the HoC. Findings show system-level interventions, such as work design changes, are prioritised over individual-focused strategies, yet controls are applied flexibly to meet “reasonably practicable” standards. The HoC functions as both a shared mental model and a communication tool, highlighting gaps in PSRM maturity and training needs.
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Dr Kïrsten Way is an Associate Professor and Program Director at the Centre for Business and Organisational Psychology at UQ, where she conducts research on safety regulation, work-related mental health, work design, human factors, and occupational health. She leads the PRISM (Psychosocial Risk and Safety Management) Lab Group, and her work focuses on psychosocial hazards both systemically and focally (investigating specific hazards such as conflict, bullying, fatigue, and sexual harassment). Dr Way is an Organisational Psychologist, Occupational Therapist and Certified Professional Ergonomist. She has significant industry expertise, having worked as the Director of a private consultancy specialising in WHS and organisational psychology, and having held senior positions with Australian and UK WHS regulatory authorities. She has provided expertise to the Australian and UK Governments and, for example, has assisted in the development of numerous WHS jurisdictions' Psychosocial Regulations and Managing the Risk of Psychosocial Hazards at Work Codes of Practice.
Mr Ian Firth
PhD Candidate
The University Of Queensland
The Mindset and Mechanisms of Psychosocial Risk Decisions in Workplaces
1:45 PM - 2:45 PM.....
Ian has a background in Clinical Psychology and Occupational Rehabilitation, and as the State Inspector for the Psychological Health and Safety Team at SafeWork NSW. He is a subject matter expert on the regulation of psychosocial hazards, providing advice to industry and the Inspectorate, and responding to complex matters and investigations. Ian is undertaking a PhD that involves workplace and regulator stakeholders’ risk perception and decision-making for managing psychosocial risk.
Ms Kym Lincolne
PhD Candidate
The University of Queensland
The Mindset and Mechanisms of Psychosocial Risk Decisions in Workplaces
1:45 PM - 2:45 PM.....
Kym Lincolne is a registered Organisational Psychologist and PhD candidate, researching executive leader behaviour in psychosocial risk due diligence. She has spent the last 17 years consulting in her own company called The Field Coaching and Development, where she has worked with thousands of leaders and teams within large organisations across all industries in the leadership and culture building space. In 2001, she helped build an international organisation called Sentis Pty Ltd, specialising in cognitive behavioural safety in the heavy industry. She is also an Associate Executive Coach at the Institute for Strategic Leadership and a psychosocial safety specialist at GYST Pty Ltd.
Ms Josephine Echberg
Program Manager
Department of Justice
The Mindset and Mechanisms of Psychosocial Risk Decisions in Workplaces
1:45 PM - 2:45 PM.....
Josephine Echberg is a registered psychologist and Master of Organisational Psychology graduate from the University of Queensland, specialising in psychosocial risk management, leadership, and organisational development. Josephine works within the Queensland Department of Justice, supporting a large volunteer program and conducting organisational development. Josephine's research with UQ's Psychosocial Risk and Safety Management (PRISM) Lab examines how the Hierarchy of Controls is perceived and applied in psychosocial risk management practice. Josephine has also published peer-reviewed research on leadership and identity in the British Journal of Social Psychology.
