The Harm vs Protective model
ReFresh analyses psychosocial risk as two sides of the same picture:
Harm factors: the conditions that create psychosocial risk. High scores here mean harm is concentrating and needs action.
Protective factors: the conditions that buffer your people against harm. Low scores here mean your defences are weak and need investment.
Reading both together gives you the full picture: where the pressure is coming from, and how well your organisation absorbs it.
The 12 Work Factors
ReFresh's dashboard analytics are organised around 12 Work Factors, each dual-scored Harm vs Protective, the model shown on the Psychosocial dashboard's Risk profile and in survey results. The 12 factors, as shown in the app, are:
Bullying
Harassment
Job Demands
Poor Support
Violence and Aggression
Fatigue
Lack of Role Clarity
Poor Change Management
Low Job Control
Inadequate Reward
Poor Organisational Justice
Traumatic Events
Work Factors vs the hazard taxonomy: These 12 Work Factors are the set scored on the Psychosocial dashboard. When you set up a risk, the Hazard Categories picker uses a broader taxonomy: 17 psychosocial categories plus 18 physical categories. The 12 Work Factors are a curated subset of the 17 psychosocial categories. The five psychosocial categories in the taxonomy that are not scored as Work Factors are Job Insecurity, Remote or Isolated Work, Intrusive Surveillance, Poor Physical Environment, and Conflict or Poor Relationships. Marketing's "17 categories" refers to this hazard taxonomy, not the dashboard.
These categories map to legislation: ReFresh's work factors align to the psychosocial hazards named in Australian WHS codes of practice and ISO 45003. Adopting a compliance framework maps the relevant factors to the scenarios and controls that framework expects, which is why your surveys, register, and frameworks all speak the same language.
Where you'll see the factors
Survey results: the Dashboard's Risk Profile ranks the harm factors by severity, and the Protective Factors panel ranks your buffers weakest to strongest. See Reading survey results.
The Psychosocial dashboard: an organisation-wide roll-up of the 12 Work Factors (under Risk profile), showing Harm and Protective scores side by side.
The scenario library: pre-built risk scenarios are categorised by the work factor they address, so you can adopt the right risks for the hazards you're seeing. See Adopting risks from the scenario library.
From category to action
A hazard category is a starting point, not an endpoint. When a factor scores badly:
Assess the underlying risk in your register; see Conducting a risk assessment.
Adopt the matching scenarios and their recommended controls; see Adopting risks from the scenario library.
Track the work through controls, tasks, and consultation, then re-survey to see whether the factor improves.