Organisational Psychosocial Assessment
A grounded, ethical way to understand psychological safety at work
Every workplace is required to manage physical risks — things like equipment safety, manual handling, or hazardous environments. Increasingly, organisations are also required to manage psychological risks: aspects of work design, leadership, and culture that can harm mental health if they are poorly managed or left unaddressed.
The Organisational Psychosocial Assessment questionnaire (OPA) is a calm, structured way to understand how psychologically safe your workplace actually is based on staff experience, not assumptions or intentions.
OPA supports organisations that want to move beyond statements about wellbeing and into thoughtful, defensible action.
What is an Organisational Psychosocial Assessment?
An Organisational Psychosocial Assessment is a systematic way of identifying and understanding psychosocial risks in the workplace.
OPA is designed to help organisations: – Identify both visible and less obvious psychosocial risks – Understand how work systems and leadership decisions are experienced day-to-day – See patterns and themes across the organisation, rather than individual complaints – Establish a clear baseline for learning and improvement over time
The assessment is evidence-informed and grounded in psychological theory, trauma-aware practice, and Australian Work Health and Safety (WHS) principles.
Note: The assessment includes an anonymous staff questionnaire (referred to internally as the OPA questionnaire).
What are psychosocial risks?
Psychosocial risks are aspects of work that can negatively affect mental health when they are poorly designed, unmanaged, or ignored.
These may include: – Excessive workload or unrealistic deadlines – Unclear roles or conflicting expectations – Limited support from leaders or colleagues – Bullying, incivility, or unresolved interpersonal conflict – Low autonomy or lack of control over work – Ongoing stress, emotional exhaustion, or burnout – Emotionally demanding work without adequate support
When these risks persist, organisations may see increased psychological injury, absenteeism, staff turnover, reduced performance, and loss of trust in leadership.
Why organisations are expected to address this
Under Australian work health and safety legislation, employers have a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent work-related psychological harm, just as they must prevent physical injury.
In practice, this means organisations are expected to: – Identify psychosocial risks – Assess how serious those risks are – Take steps to reduce or manage them – Review whether those steps are actually working
Good intentions, policies, or one-off initiatives are not enough on their own. Organisations are increasingly expected to demonstrate that wellbeing is being actively monitored and addressed in everyday practice.
The Organisational Psychosocial Assessment provides a credible and proportionate way to do this.
Where OPA fits
Many organisations genuinely value mental health, psychological safety, and people-centred leadership. Staff experience those values not through policies, but through everyday realities; workload, communication, decision-making, and how concerns are handled.
OPA helps bridge the gap between:
“We care about wellbeing.”
“We understand what is happening in our organisation, and we are responding to it.”
It creates a structured way to listen to staff safely and consistently, without relying on informal escalation or individual complaints.
What the Organisational Psychosocial Assessment looks at
OPA explores three interrelated areas:
Psychosocial hazards
Aspects of work design, leadership, and culture that may increase psychological risk.
Indicators of psychosocial safety
Signals that the workplace supports trust, learning, responsiveness, and sustainable performance.
Shared responsibility
The extent to which psychosocial safety is understood as a collective responsibility, rather than something delegated, minimised, or avoided.
What organisations receive
Organisations engaging with OPA receive: – An anonymous staff experience questionnaire – Aggregated, organisation-level insights – Clear visibility of strengths and areas of risk – Practical information to inform leadership decisions and next steps
Findings are reported systemically, not at an individual level. The focus is on work design and organisational conditions, not on diagnosing or assessing individual staff members.
What OPA is not
OPA is intentionally designed with clear boundaries. It is: – Not a diagnostic or clinical assessment – Not a staff engagement or satisfaction survey – Not a compliance audit or certification – Not a performance management or disciplinary tool
Its purpose is learning, prevention, and improvement; not blame.
Appropriate next steps
OPA is often used as a considered starting point for organisations that want to address psychosocial safety with integrity.
Depending on the findings, next steps may include leadership development, team-based work, systems review, or targeted consultation. There is no obligation to proceed beyond the assessment.
Decisions are made collaboratively and at a pace that is appropriate for the organisation.
Learn more
Both options are offered to support informed decision-making, without pressure or expectation.