09/23/2026: Psychosocial Hazards at Work: What They Are, Why They Matter, and Risk Management

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

9 - 10 AM HST | 12 - 1 PM PT | 2 - 3 PM CT | 3 - 4 PM ET

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About the webinar:

Researchers have demonstrated substantial impacts of psychosocial hazards on workers’ health and safety. Recognising this, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) legislation in many countries, including Australia, has been updated to specify that risks from these hazards must be identified, assessed and controlled in accord with the workplace risk management requirements. This presentation will clarify the nature of ‘psychosocial hazards’ at work, and how workers’ exposures affect various health and safety risks – particularly musculoskeletal and stress related mental health risks, which are two of the most frequent and expensive OSH problems.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this activity, learners will be able to: 

  • Identify psychosocial hazards at work

  • Evaluate how these hazards affect workers' health and safety 
  • Understand the requirements to manage their risk effectively 
  • Reflect on the potential roles of legislation and OSH regulators (based on Australia's approach) 

Speaker: Wendy Macdonald, PhD

Wendy Macdonald, Ph.D, served as leader of La Trobe University’s Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors, and, in 2006, was invited to join the World Health Organisation (WHO) network of Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health, and held various roles within that network. Her research focus has been on workers’ risks of musculoskeletal disorders and mental health problems, particularly risks from psychosocial and task-specific biomechanical hazards. Since her official retirement in 2012, she has remained active in both road safety and occupational health research.

ACCREDITATION

The Center for Occupational and Environmental Health designates this activity for a maximum of 1.0 Contact Hour. Participants should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.

Certificates of Completion

Certificates of Completion will be available to webinar participants who are present for the complete, live webinar, and logged in with their registered email address. Call-in attendees are not eligible for certificates at this time - Please download the Zoom app to log in via email on your smartphone whenever possible.

In order to receive your Certificate of Completion, qualified learners must complete the post-webinar evaluation within 7 days of the webinar. A link to the evaluation will be emailed to qualified learners 24 hours after the webinar via no-reply@zoom.us. Qualified learners who submit their evaluation will receive a Certificate of Completion via email, and can also print/save the certificate from their browser after submitting their evaluation.

If you're not able to attend the live presentation, no problem! We record most presentations and will host them on our website provided we have permission to do so. Presentation recordings are not eligible for Certificates of Completion.

ACCESSIBILITY:

If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) to fully participate in this event, please contact Will Bellamy at (510) 642-8365 or wbellamy@berkeley.edu with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event.

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About the California Labor Lab

The California Labor Lab is a collaboration among investigators at UCSF, UC Berkeley, and the California Department of Public Health. The Lab is housed at the Philip R Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. Our mission is to extend the pursuit of health and safety for workers in traditional employment to those in a wide range of alternative arrangements in partnership with affected communities.