Work Design –
What it is and
what a PCBU needs to know

One of the theories relating to the management of psychosocial risks in the workplace is the ‘Demands-Control model’¹.

Central to this model is the concept of ‘work design’ (or ‘job design’).

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¹An overview of this model is explained in https://www.navigatingworkplacewellness.com/year-1-prevention/psychosocial-series/work-design/what-it-is-and-what-a-pcbu-needs-to-know

What is ‘work design’?

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²At page 25

‘Work design’ is a term that describes how a worker is expected to carry out their work in relation to both the:

  • tasks they have to carry out in order to do their job (‘work content’), and

  • work environment in which they have to carry out these tasks (‘work context’).

The term ‘work design’ is not the same as a ‘work system’, which SafeWork NSW describes as being “the organisational rules, policies, procedures, and work practices used to organise, manage, support, and carry out work”².

However, a PCBU’s work systems are still important because, along with management commitment (and workplace culture), they drive behaviours (including safe behaviours) in the workplace.

Why is ‘work design’ important?

Work design is important because poor work design, such as excessive workloads, role ambiguity and unclear systems of work, is a psychosocial risk.

On the flip-side, good work design is regarded as being a key control measure for managing those psychosocial risks.

It is a key control measure because a PCBU can ‘design in’ positive features which can:

  • reduce:

    • stress, burnout, fatigue and work-related injuries, and

    • the number of errors made by a worker (which, in turn, will reduce a business’s costs), and

  • improve:

    • job satisfaction (and therefore a worker’s engagement and retention), and

    • the organisation’s resilience to adapt and respond to change.

So, what do I do?

A Work Audit

We would suggest that, as a starting point, the PCBU performs a work audit which looks at both work content and work context.

As you can see, work design is a feature of the workplace that runs throughout the entire risk management process – it can be the hazard as well as the control measure.

Work Content

Work content refers to the tasks that a worker needs to perform to do their job and includes an assessment of the worker’s skills and attributes, such as experience.

Given that workers tend not to work alone (although, if they do, this is another factor that needs to be taken into account), this audit should include the tasks of team members and how everyone in the team is required to interact with others in the workplace (such as suppliers and customers).

Work Context

Work context refers to other workplace features such as:

  • high or low work demands,

  • role conflict or clarity,

  • high or low job control,

  • the level of support and training made available to the workers, and

  • other features of the work environment, such as a noisy or dusty workplace and poor workplace behaviours.

Use the information obtained by the work audit

In terms of being a hazard, keep in mind that these workplace factors may interact and/or gradually increase over time, thus reducing a worker’s ability to cope with workplace stressors.

Remember that what a PCBU needs to be particularly aware of is the capacity of workplace stressors becoming prolonged, as this can increase the risk of injury.

Once a PCBU has turned its mind to the work content and work context in its workplace, it will be better equipped to identify, assess and implement those control measures that will help it better manage its psychosocial risks.

Up next in the Work Design series: 'Next Steps'.