HFESA Tasmania Conference Highlights: Measuring Psycho-Social Risk with the APHIRM TOOLKIT

I recently returned from another fabulous Human Factors and Ergonomics Conference in Tasmania, Australia (HFESA December 1-3, 2025). I’ve shared in the past how much I enjoy an international ergonomics perspective and endeavor to attend global ergo summits for the camaraderie, perspectives, and learnings these events offer. This one did not disappoint! I was fortunate to present my latest research on chairs as a system and the Chair Assessment System (CAS). 

What I found most interesting this year is the continued focus on psychosocial risk at work, a recognized global problem.  New methods are now available to measure the impact of psychosocial risk on our mental health and work.  In Australia, it is mandated to assess both physical and psychosocial risk, as both contribute to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. 

Prevalence of Mental Health Work Injuries:

Workplace Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common type of work-related injury in Australia, accounting for 55 percent of all serious workers' compensation claims. Mental health conditions are the second most common. They comprise 11 percent of serious claims, and their cost per claim is significantly higher than that of other claims. 

In the United States, similar prevalence is cited. An AI query notes mental health issues are a widespread workplace problem in the U.S., with recent data showing high prevalence, like 77% of workers experiencing work-related stress, and 84% reporting at least one mental health challenge due to work conditions, making it a leading cause of employee strain, burnout, and even job loss, significantly impacting productivity and well-being.

 Specific figures highlight high rates of stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression, with some sources even calling them the #1 workplace injury, affecting over half of employees, particularly in high-stress sectors like healthcare and first responders. 

The Gaps in Current Risk Management Practices:

• Current practices focus narrowly on physical hazards, neglecting psychosocial hazards that significantly contribute to MSD risk.
• Worker participation is often minimal, which is crucial for accurately assessing psychosocial risks.
• Many risk control strategies are ineffective because they do not address risks at their source, instead relying on training methods that have proven inadequate.

The Foundational Standard: ISO45003:2021

The ISO 45003:2021 guidelines were released in 2021 for managing psychosocial risk within an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system based on ISO 45001. It enables organizations to prevent work-related injury and ill health of their workers and other interested parties, and to promote well-being at work. 

The standard is specifically called “Occupational health and safety management — Psychological health and safety at work — Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks”. It addresses the hazards of a psychosocial nature, including aspects of work organization, social factors at work, work environment, equipment, and hazardous tasks. 

It applies to organizations of all sizes and in all sectors, for the development, implementation, maintenance, and continual improvement of healthy and safe workplaces.

It is not sufficient to just assess the physical work factors such as force, repetition, postural stress, contact stress, vibration, and environmental exposures. The current physical ergonomic assessment tools, such as RULA, REBA, and NIOSH, do not assess psychosocial risk.  They identify physical hazards but not necessarily the root cause, including mental health risks. 

Psychosocial Hazards Affecting Workers:

The psychosocial risk factors span the range of work-related concerns many workers routinely face. They include problems with:

• Workload, work pace, time pressures
• Long working hours, poor work-life balance
• Too little influence, variety… work not appreciated
• Lack of skill use, training, promotion… low satisfaction
• Unclear responsibilities, expectations, or procedures
• Things at workare not fair
• Poor communications, management, lack of trust, and supervisor support
• Emotionally demanding work
• Poor teamwork, arguments, and personal conflict
• Workplace aggression or violence
• Bullying and sexual harassment
• Physical work environment, health, and safety
• Equipment, IT software, workstations, or space

Introducing the APHIRM Toolkit:

The APHIRM Toolkit (APHIRM stands for A Participative Hazard Identification and Risk Management) ​ was created by Jodi Oakman and Wendy MacDonald at Latrobe University, Australia. The toolkit addresses risk from both physical and psychosocial hazards, so it targets both musculoskeletal and stress-related mental health problems. It includes free, cloud-based tools and resources to help you manage both risks. 

The APHIRM toolkit is designed to help address these problems and, to the extent feasible, work with employees to resolve them. 

The Goal of the Toolkit:

The goal of the APHIRM Toolkit is to test and evaluate a new hierarchy of risk controls and evaluate what is and isn’t effective when applied to psychosocial risk management. The APHIRM toolkit is freely available for use by Work Health & Safety Professionals, workplace managers, and supervisors.

Analyzing work-related musculoskeletal disorders for both physical and psychosocial risks yields better outcomes. Now we finally have a set of tools to help guide ergonomists and employers in redesigning work to focus on both physical and mental health.

Summary of APHIRM Toolkit's Impact on MSD Management

• The APHIRM toolkit aims to significantly reduce work-related MSDs by addressing both physical and psychosocial hazards.
• It promotes worker participation in risk assessment and control, integrating MSD risk management with general management systems.
• The toolkit's comprehensive approach facilitates ongoing evaluation and improvement in workplace safety practices.

To learn more about the APHIRM toolkit, visit Aphirm.org.au

To hear directly from Jodi Oakman and other experts on this topic, sign up for the WINetwork Membership Program. We have two upcoming Expert Hour Sessions in March and April focused on psychosocial risk assessment and management. 

References:

ISO 45003:2021 Occupational health and safety management — Psychological health and safety at work — Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks

https://www.aphirm.org.au/aphirmtoolkit 

Oakman and Macdonald BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, The APHIRM toolkit: an evidence-based system for workplace MSD risk management,  (2019) 20:504 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-019-2828-1

For further guidance, see - Mental health | Safe Work Australia