1. High Job Demands are a Psychosocial Hazard— What It Is, Why It Matters, and How Australian Businesses Manage It
- Rachel Mackay
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
What is high job demands as a psychosocial hazard in Australian workplaces?
High job demands is a recognised psychosocial hazard under the Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2024. It occurs when the volume, pace, complexity or emotional intensity of work regularly exceeds what a worker can reasonably manage. It is one of the most common psychosocial hazards in Australian workplaces and a leading cause of psychological injury, burnout and workers compensation claims. Under the WHS Act 2011, businesses must assess and control high job demands using the hierarchy of controls.
What Is High Job Demands?
High job demands occurs when work consistently exceeds what a worker can reasonably handle — in volume, pace, complexity or emotional intensity. It is not about an occasional busy period or a short-term project deadline. It is about sustained, structural overload that a worker cannot manage safely on an ongoing basis.
The key word is structural. High job demands is not a personality issue or a sign that a worker is not coping. It is a feature of how the work is designed — too many tasks, too little time, too few resources, or work that requires emotional engagement at a level that cannot be sustained without adequate support and recovery.
Under the Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2024, high job demands is one of 17 recognised psychosocial hazards that every Australian business must identify, assess and control.
What High Job Demands Looks Like
High job demands shows up differently across industries, but the pattern is the same: more work than can be done well, in the time and with the resources available.
Common forms include:
Volume overload — more tasks than can be completed in the available hours. A worker who finishes every day with a growing backlog, regardless of effort.
Pace demands — work that must be completed faster than is safe or sustainable. A production line set at a pace that requires workers to cut corners or skip steps.
Complexity demands — work that requires sustained cognitive effort without adequate support, training or thinking time. A case manager handling 60 active files when 30 is the industry standard.
Emotional demands — work that requires continuous emotional engagement with distress, trauma, grief, conflict or aggression. A crisis counsellor taking back-to-back calls with no debrief or recovery time.
Time pressure — deadlines that are consistently unachievable, creating chronic urgency and the psychological experience of always being behind.
Why High Job Demands Causes Harm
Sustained high job demands activates the body's stress response — raising cortisol, disrupting sleep, reducing cognitive function and impairing judgement. Over time, this causes:
Fatigue and physical exhaustion
Anxiety and depression
Burnout — a state of chronic exhaustion, detachment and reduced effectiveness
Increased error rates and accidents
Absenteeism and presenteeism (coming to work too unwell to function effectively)
Psychological injury requiring medical treatment and time off
The SafeWize Psychosocial Hazard Register rates high job demands at 4 — High inherent risk in most industries, with the potential to reach 5 — Severe in high-intensity sectors including healthcare, aged care, emergency services and hospitality. Safe Work Australia's psychosocial hazards guidance identifies high job demands as one of the most prevalent hazards in Australian workplaces, and Beyond Blue provides practical resources on the mental health impact of sustained workload pressure.
Three Workplaces Managing High Job Demands
Case Study 1 — A Suburban Butcher Shop
A family-owned butcher with four staff is approaching Christmas. Orders have tripled. The two most experienced butchers are handling production, service, custom orders and phone enquiries simultaneously. Neither has taken a break since 10am. Errors are increasing. One worker has called in sick three days in a row.
The hazard: Seasonal volume overload with no temporary staffing plan, no task prioritisation system, and a culture where raising workload concerns feels disloyal.
The control applied — Level 4 Engineering: The owner implements a pre-Christmas rostering plan six weeks out, capping daily production volumes and bringing in a casual worker for service. A whiteboard system is introduced to make workload visible and allow tasks to be redistributed during the shift. Workers no longer have to manage the overload invisibly.
Residual risk: Medium (3) — the seasonal demand still exists, but it is now managed structurally rather than absorbed individually.
Case Study 2 — A Busy Medical Centre
A GP clinic has six doctors but has been operating with four since two went on parental and sick leave. The remaining doctors are seeing 35 patients per day instead of 25, completing after-hours paperwork, and fielding urgent calls during lunch breaks. One doctor has not taken a full lunch break in three weeks. Another mentions they are having trouble sleeping.
The hazard: Chronic volume and complexity overload caused by staffing shortfall, with no temporary reduction in patient load and no formal check-in process for doctor wellbeing.
The control applied — Level 2 Substitution: The practice manager substitutes a portion of routine follow-up appointments with nurse practitioner or telehealth consultations, reducing the doctor load for straightforward cases. A locum is engaged for two days per week. Patient booking capacity is capped at 28 per day per doctor until full staffing returns.
Residual risk: Low (2) — the structural cause of overload is addressed, not managed around.
Case Study 3 — A Digital Marketing Agency
A small agency with eight staff wins three new clients in the same month. Account managers are managing seven to ten active accounts each. Evening messages from clients have become normal. A junior team member has told their manager they feel like they are drowning but does not want to say anything officially because they are still on probation.
The hazard: Volume and pace overload combined with poor change management around new client onboarding, a culture of always-on availability, and a junior worker too insecure to escalate concerns.
The control applied — Level 5 Administrative (SOP-02 Job Demands + SOP-09 Workload Management): The agency implements a workload review meeting every Monday morning where account loads are mapped and redistributed. A client communication policy is introduced — no responses to client messages after 6pm, and clients are informed at onboarding. A new client intake limit of one per month is agreed by the directors. The probationary worker is given a specific monthly check-in with a senior manager who is not their direct supervisor.
Residual risk: Medium (3) — administrative controls reduce exposure but the structural demand of rapid growth needs ongoing monitoring.
The Hierarchy of Controls Applied to High Job Demands
Under WHS Regulations rr.55B-55C, you must apply the hierarchy of controls to high job demands — working from most to least effective.
L1 — Eliminate: Remove the source of excessive demand. Permanently restructure roles to remove tasks that cannot be done safely in the available time. Reduce client or patient loads to sustainable levels. Discontinue services or products that require unsafe production rates.
L2 — Substitute: Replace the conditions creating the demand. Automate repetitive high-volume tasks. Substitute manual processes with technology. Replace always-on communication expectations with defined response windows.
L3 — Isolate: Temporarily remove a worker from overload conditions while the structural issue is resolved. Rotate high-demand duties across team members to distribute exposure.
L4 — Engineering: Design systems that prevent overload structurally. Implement rostering software with capacity limits. Build workload caps into project management tools. Create scheduling systems that make overload visible before it becomes critical.
L5 — Administrative: Implement SOPs, workload review meetings, escalation pathways and manager check-in procedures. Communicate clear expectations about hours, availability and task prioritisation. Train managers to recognise and respond to workload concerns.
L6 — Personal Support: Make EAP available and actively communicated. Provide wellbeing resources. Offer flexible work arrangements during high-demand periods.
Important: L5 and L6 controls are necessary but not sufficient on their own. A workload review meeting does not reduce the workload — it makes it visible. The actual reduction must come from higher-order controls.
What You Need to Document
For high job demands, your risk assessment documentation must include:
How the hazard presents in your specific workplace — the source and trigger
Your pre-control risk rating — likelihood and severity before controls
What controls are in place at each level of the hierarchy
Your post-control risk rating — the residual risk with controls applied
Who is responsible for monitoring and reviewing
The date of your last review and your next scheduled review
This documentation is your compliance evidence. A WHS inspector will ask to see it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is high job demands as a psychosocial hazard?
High job demands is a psychosocial hazard recognised under the Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2024. It occurs when the volume, pace, complexity or emotional intensity of work regularly exceeds what a worker can reasonably manage. It is one of the most common causes of psychological injury in Australian workplaces.
What are examples of high job demands in the workplace?
Examples include: a nurse seeing more patients per shift than is safely manageable; a retail worker covering two departments solo during a peak period; a marketing manager responsible for ten client accounts when the industry standard is five; a crisis worker taking back-to-back calls without debrief time. The common thread is sustained overload that cannot be resolved through individual effort alone.
How do you control high job demands in the workplace?
Controlling high job demands requires applying the hierarchy of controls — starting at elimination. Can the volume of work be permanently reduced? Can tasks be automated or redistributed? Can systems be designed to prevent overload from occurring? Administrative controls like workload review meetings and SOPs are necessary but should support higher-order structural changes, not replace them.
Is high workload a psychosocial hazard under WHS law?
Yes. High job demands — including excessive workload — is explicitly recognised as a psychosocial hazard under the Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2024 and must be assessed and controlled under the WHS Act 2011 and WHS Regulations rr.55A-55G.
Continue the series:
SafeWize provides practical psychosocial hazard compliance tools for Australian small and medium businesses. This guide is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Always confirm requirements with your applicable state or territory WHS regulator.
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