{"id":70237,"date":"2025-10-02T14:00:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T04:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/development.uwu.org.au\/staging\/?p=70237"},"modified":"2025-10-03T13:30:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T03:30:18","slug":"does-your-job-make-you-feel-stressed-exhausted-or-unsafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/development.uwu.org.au\/staging\/blog\/does-your-job-make-you-feel-stressed-exhausted-or-unsafe\/","title":{"rendered":"Does your job make you feel stressed, exhausted or unsafe?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Does your job make you feel stressed, exhausted or unsafe? Do you feel like you're being watched all the time? You might be exposed to workplace psychosocial hazards.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Many workers tend to blame themselves when they\u2019re not coping at work or feel like it\u2019s just not the right job for them. What many don\u2019t know is that employers have a responsibility for your health and safety at work, and that includes your mental health.<\/strong><\/p>

You\u2019ve heard of physical hazards, but what about psychosocial hazards? Psychosocial hazards are workplace risks that harm your mental health. It\u2019s your employer\u2019s job to reduce these risks.<\/p>

Psychosocial hazards risk your mental health and ability to work<\/h4>

Recovering from a mental health issue can take a lot longer than a physical injury, risking your ability to work for long periods and, in many cases, causing a significant loss in income. Safe Work Australia reports that in 2024, one in five workers took a median of 37 weeks leave due to a mental health issue.<\/p>

UWU member Monique* works in the poultry industry. The work is fast-paced with a rigid timeframe because they work with livestock. Overtime has become part of the job due to understaffing.<\/p>

\u201cPeople are fatigued. Too much work, not enough staff.<\/p>

\u201cWorking with live animals means we have to work at a certain speed because we can\u2019t hold them, so overtime has become part of the job. Workers think they have to do regular overtime, or they\u2019ll lose their job.\u201d<\/p>

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At Monique\u2019s workplace, management aren\u2019t stepping up. She is the workplace Health & Safety Rep (HSR). HSRs are union members specially trained to deal with the health and safety of their co-workers and address safety issues with management. She says staff are either not aware of psychosocial hazards or scared to report they\u2019re struggling with their workload.<\/p>

\u201cEmployees are being told if you go to first aid you can\u2019t do overtime. So, they\u2019re now scared of going to first aid and reporting anything.\u201d<\/p>

Fatigue also means things go wrong with machinery which increases the risk of physical hazards and injuries.<\/p>

Managers have a responsibility to reduce psychosocial hazards<\/h4>

Safe Work Australia<\/a> lists common psychosocial hazards and further advises that these hazards are more likely to interact and combine to create higher risk. Some they list are:<\/p>