In this article 6 sections
Two teams can have equally busy days and very different experiences. In one, priorities are clear and help is available. In the other, employees receive conflicting instructions and need permission for every small decision. Counting tasks alone will miss part of the picture.
PRisMA 2024’s LEO26 tool includes job control, work demand and job support. These concepts can help HR ask more precise questions about everyday work. The examples below explain the ideas; they do not reproduce the questionnaire or determine a formal risk rating.
Work demand: what does the job ask of people?
Consider an illustrative retail team during a promotional weekend. Staff are answering customers, processing online orders and resolving delivery problems, while a colleague is absent. The useful question is not simply whether people are “good at handling stress”. HR needs to understand what work is required, when it must be done and which resources are available.
Explore the pattern rather than a single busy afternoon. Which tasks collide? How often does the situation recur? What happens when the queue exceeds the available capacity? Ask staff to describe a recent shift in concrete terms, without turning the conversation into an assessment of their character.
Possible operational discussions include clearer priorities, realistic service commitments and appropriate staffing or coverage. A time-management talk may help with some skills, but it cannot by itself create an extra pair of hands at a busy counter.
Job control: what can employees decide?
Imagine a project coordinator who is accountable for deadlines but cannot adjust task order or resolve competing requests. Every small change needs several approvals. Even when the amount of work is manageable, the lack of a workable decision process may make the day harder.
Ask which decisions the employee can make, which must be escalated and how quickly someone with authority responds. There may be sensible reasons for particular controls, such as safety or quality requirements. The aim is to identify useful discretion within those boundaries.
For example, a team might agree which routine requests can be rescheduled without additional approval, and who resolves conflicts between managers. Job control does not mean removing every rule or leaving an employee to make difficult decisions without guidance.
Job support: is useful help actually available?
A new customer-service employee receives a difficult call. Their supervisor says, “My door is always open”, but is unavailable throughout the shift. Colleagues are also unsure who can authorise the next step. A supportive intention has not yet become usable support.
Practical questions include: Who can the employee contact? Is that person available during the relevant working hours? Do they have the knowledge and authority to help? Does the employee have the information, equipment and training needed for the task?
Possible improvements might involve a named escalation contact, clearer handovers, usable task guidance or scheduled check-ins. Support can be emotional and practical. Encouragement is valuable, but “you can do it” may not resolve a missing instruction or a blocked decision.
Look at the combination, not three isolated labels
Return to the retail example. High demand may become harder to manage when staff cannot change priorities and there is nobody available to assist. Equally, helpful colleagues do not make an unreasonable workload harmless. These examples suggest questions to investigate, not a formula for calculating risk.
Listen for how the conditions interact. A manager may think a problem is lack of training, while staff describe repeated last-minute changes. Both accounts deserve exploration. Avoid choosing an intervention before understanding the work itself.
WHO’s workplace mental health guidance supports addressing working conditions through organisational action. Individual support can be offered alongside that work; it should not become the only response to a problem in how the job is organised.
Turn a vague complaint into a specific work discussion
Instead of asking only “Are you stressed?”, try an open question such as “Which part of a recent working day was hardest to manage?” Follow with questions about tasks, decisions and available help. These are informal discussion prompts, not substitutes for the official assessment.
- Describe the situation: what happened, and when?
- Identify the work condition: what demand, decision barrier or support gap needs examination?
- Check context: does it affect a shift, role or wider work unit?
- Agree a next step: who will investigate or respond, and when will staff hear back?
Do not press someone to disclose a diagnosis to make their description of work credible. Keep sensitive information within appropriate arrangements, and follow established procedures if a serious safety concern or complaint arises.
Use formal assessment and follow-through appropriately
Everyday examples can improve understanding, but formal PRisMA administration and interpretation should follow the DOSH guidance with an appropriately trained lead. A brief conversation, a team anecdote or this article cannot establish a PRisMA score.
Once findings are available, read our guide to turning PRisMA findings into a workable action plan. For complementary employee support and manager education, explore MY Psychology’s EAP services. Further reading is available in the EAP Resource Library.
References and further reading
- DOSH: PRisMA 2024 guidelines, terminology and assessment framework.
- WHO: Mental health at work.
General workplace education. All scenarios and discussion prompts are illustrative, not official PRisMA items, scoring guidance or a substitute for professional assessment.
