Psychosocial hazards: preventing human-caused disasters
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There is never a single contributor to what is described as a “human-caused” incident, emergency, or disaster, but rather a complex web of contributing factors. Factors generally considered causal to disasters—such as negligence, intentional actions, or societal, organizational, and systemic factors—can be be more psychosocial than physical. While focus tends to be on the physical harm caused by human actions, there is too little focus on the psychosocial risks contributing to incidents described in after-action and media reports. Human error may be identified as a contributing factor in a disaster, but the cause of human error is often unaddressed, unidentified psychosocial hazards.
Psychosocial hazards include factors (in the workplace) that are perceived or experienced as threatening to the extent that they cause the person exposed to alter their behavior. In 2021, the International Organization for Standardization released a psychological health and safety guidance standard. The standard (ISO 45003) identifies several psychosocial hazards, including “lack of information/training to support work performance” and “repeated (more than once) unreasonable behaviors which can present a risk to health, safety, and well-being at work.”
In the case of the San Pedro Pipeline incident, the lack of information and training to support pipeline controllers was undoubtedly a contributing factor to the severity of the leak. This lack of training delayed the shutdown and isolation of the pipeline, allowing crude oil to continue leaking into the ocean. Beta Offshore employees ignored multiple leak detection alarms that signaled a problem with the pipeline. Instead of halting operations at the first alarm, control room workers repeatedly opened and closed shipping pumps without shutting any pipeline valves, which worsened the rupture and increased environmental damage. Investigators also determined that better training could have helped controllers recognize abnormal operating conditions and respond more effectively to prevent the spill. At the very least, this lack of training—internationally recognized as a psychosocial hazard—allowed an otherwise routine incident to progress into an emergency and, ultimately, a disaster.
In the case of the Walmart incident, the attacker not only complained of bullying and harassment, but his coworkers observed behaviors that could and likely should have been identified as indicators of diminished mental health and potentially diagnosable mental illness, which does not appear to have been addressed. While there were likely other contributors, it is hard to argue that either of these incidents would have otherwise occurred or escalated into emergencies that threatened life or property without the presence of psychosocial factors.
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