Introduction
What Prior Work measures, why psychosocial risk is worth managing, and the briefs to share with leadership and workers before you start.
Why Prior Work
Prior Work is a psychosocial risk analysis tool grounded in decades of occupational health research on work stress. It shows how workplace factors interact to drive engagement on one side and burnout on the other, so you can act where it matters - the kind of interaction-aware analysis the Codes of Practice ask for, presented in an interactive web format any HR or WHS practitioner can run.
The analysis doesn't just show frequencies or basic descriptive statistic 'hotspots' - see how psychosocial factors interact with each other to influence health and wellbeing outcomes with our interactive tools.
Specialist-grade analytics in a self-service format. Templates provided ready for adaption and immediate deployment.
Our pulse surveys inform progress without disrupting your entire workforce and tying up HR/Comms team resources. Prior Work shows you specific psychosocial factors to track and effective sampling strategies.
Bring your own Claude API key to generate a professional, action-oriented report from your data. No subscription; pay only for the API call (for roughly the cost of a cup of coffee).
Runs in your browser. No account or ongoing subscription, no data retention, no third-party processing. Survey files stay on your machine. You stay in control of your data at all times.
Legal and regulatory context
Every Australian state and territory now has its own Code of Practice for Managing Psychosocial Hazards, sitting under WHS or OHS legislation that requires employers to identify and control psychosocial risks with the same rigour as physical ones. Your organisation may also be aiming for compliance with the voluntary ISO 45003 standard; Prior Work maps cleanly to the hazard categories in either framework.
The risk management cycle Prior Work supports
The Model Code of Practice describes psychosocial risk management as a four-step cycle. Prior Work covers every step, plus we provide guidance to support your efforts with the consultation and communication requirements that wrap around them.
Our survey template captures the full psychosocial hazard set in a single pass. Save weeks building your own by downloading our template then import it into your preferred survey platform.
The model shows the nature, seriousness, and likelihood of harm for each hazard. Bring your own Claude API key to generate a professional recommendations report for about the cost of a cup of coffee.
The Interventions page shows you your biggest leverage points while prioritising the types of controls you're presented, to ensure resources go where they will actually prevent harm.
Short, targeted pulse surveys evaluate your controls without disrupting the workforce or tying up WHS/HR/Comms resources.
The cost of not acting
Psychological injury claims typically cost more and run longer than other claims. Safe Work Australia data shows about 4 times the compensation cost and nearly 5 times the time off work.
Source: Safe Work Australia, Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia (2023-24 data, published 2025). Direct costs only - excluding voluntary turnover, reduced team performance, and recruitment reputation.
The research base
Prior Work's measures come from decades of work-stress research - the Job Demand-Control model, Effort-Reward Imbalance, and the Job Demands-Resources framework - which converge on one simple picture. The conditions of work run along two routes: demands wear people down, and resources help them cope and grow. Personal and growth resources tilt the balance between the two.
Adapted from Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499-512. doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.499
The WHS Codes of Practice label every psychosocial factor a "hazard", which forces awkward double-negatives like "low levels of a lack of job control". Prior Work sticks to the plain-language framing managers and support teams have used for decades.
Want the full theory, built up from the ground? The Beginner and Advanced courses walk through it step by step.
Want to know more about each Prior Work construct? Visit the Glossary - definitions, why each construct matters, and the source of every item we use to measure it.
Get started today
Download what you need to brief leadership and workers, and move straight into the survey. Edit to suit your organisation.