Psychosocial Risk Management for Holistic Workplace Safety

Psychosocial risk refers to factors in the work environment that can negatively impact an employee’s psychological health and wellbeing (e.g. excessive demands, low job control, bullying, or lack of support). 
Managing psychosocial risks means identifying these hazards, assessing their potential harm, and taking steps to control them in line with your duty of care. ecoPortal’s module gives UK organisations a structured, evidence-based system to manage these risks.

Yes. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides extensive guidance through its Management Standards for work-related stress. These standards help employees assess key risk areas such as demands, control, support, relationships, role clarity, and organisational change. 
ecoPortal’s psychosocial risk module is designed to align with this framework, helping organisations capture, assess, and respond to these risks while demonstrating compliance with HSE expectations.

A psychosocial risk assessment typically follows five key steps: 

1. Identify the hazards: Understand what aspects of work could cause harm (e.g. excessive workload, poor support).
   
2. Assess the risks: Determine who might be harmed and how severe the impact could be.
3. Decide on controls: Implement actions to remove or reduce the risks.
4. Record your findings: Keep a clear record of what you’ve identified and how you plan to address it.
5. Review and monitor: Regularly check that controls are working and update the assessment as necessary.
   

Unmanaged psychosocial risks can lead to stress, anxiety, burnout, reduced performance, and long-term mental health conditions. They can also affect workplace culture, trust, and employee retention. 
With ecoPortal’s Psychosocial Risk module, your organisation can take early action through targeted surveys and workplace culture monitoring, ensuring these concerns are addressed before they escalate.

Yes! ecoPortal’s Psychosocial Risk module includes the anonymous reporting option, making it safer for employees to report sensitive concerns and respond to targeted surveys. 
These confidential entries are handled through secure workflows that ensure follow-up while protecting the respondent’s identity.

Psychosocial hazards can appear in any sector, but certain industries face elevated risk due to their work environments, organisational pressures, or exposure to trauma. These can include: education, retail, transport and logistics, construction and manufacturing.

Physical risk assessments focus on hazards that may cause physical injury or harm, such as slips, falls, or exposure to machinery. 
Psychosocial risk assessments, on the other hand, deal with non-physical factors that can affect mental and emotional wellbeing. 
While both types of assessments follow similar steps, psychosocial risks often require more nuanced, people-centred approaches. ecoPortal’s module allows you to manage both physical and psychosocial risks within a single system, with dedicated workflows designed specifically for sensitive, human-led issues.

Tracking cultural change requires ongoing feedback from employees and visibility into trends over time. Workplace culture isn’t static; it evolves as new initiatives are introduced and risks are addressed. 
ecoPortal supports this through the Workplace Culture & Climate Monitoring workflow. You can gather regular insights on leadership, recognition, team dynamics, and overall experience. Results are easy to interpret through visual dashboards, helping you understand where progress is happening and where more support may be needed.