Addressing Psychologically Unsafe Situations

Often, the arts and entertainment sector can require a person to be physically or socially distant from others such as family, friends or colleagues, which can leave workers feeling a sense of disconnect. Shifts Work periods can often occur during evenings and weekends, presenting some irregularities in schedule and making it more difficult for individuals to meet personal, caregiving or social responsibilities.

Potential steps to take:

• Offer opportunities for workers to connect with one another outside of the role itself.

• Communicate schedule plans and changes as early as possible and encourage workers to take breaks when scheduling permits. For longer shoot/project days, check in with your workers more often to see how they are doing.

Tensions can arise in any workplace for a variety of reasons and workers may experience aggressive verbal or physical interactions, whether that be with colleagues or with the public. Workers in front-of-house roles, those enforcing rules and those working late-night shifts are particularly vulnerable. Witnessing or experiencing violence or managing low-level aggression can contribute to cumulative stress and burnout.

Potential steps to take:

• Establish policies, procedures and behavioural expectations for the risk of workplace violence. This can include a code of conduct that is applicable to all crew members and those they may interact with (patrons, public, other crew members). Crew should be made aware of these policies and trained on appropriate response to the risk of workplace violence. Implement an incident reporting system. Create and circulate a simple and accessible process for reporting violence or threats. Workers should be made aware of this through onboarding and ongoing staff meetings.

• Prioritize support and recovery for affected workers, if workers report an injury report adverse symptoms related to a violent incident advise them to consult a physician. Offer immediate and ongoing support to any worker who experiences or witnesses’ violence. If applicable, connect workers with an EAP.

• Increase visibility and staff presence. Assign security or supervisory staff to areas where incidents are more likely to occur – such as near entrances, backstage corridors, bars and more complex sets.

• Designate staff only areas. These are physically separate from public and performance zones. Identify potential safety concerns ahead of time and act as needed

In order for management to provide sufficient support to workers, management should ensure that there are clear safety policies and/or procedures in place to guide and protect workers.  Consistent communication with respect to policies and procedures for reporting safety incidents are key in a short-term employment environments where high turnover and project based leadership can mean less time for workers to digest workplace norms and practices. Promoting respectful workplace behaviours and actively listening while always acting on incident reports and concerns can promote a safe and open work environment.

Potential steps to take:

• Offer appropriate support measures and arrange 1:1’s to invite conversation and discussion

• Conduct a review with staff after events or projects to gain feedback

• Provide workers with useful resources and information to encourage further education

• Offer support and arrange check-ins to ensure health and safety measures have been implemented successfully

• Create safe, confidential channels for reporting incidents or concerns without fear of reprisal

• Ensure that all required safety procedures and documentation is completed during the onboarding process and reviewed

In the arts and entertainment sector, the workforce and duties of workers are subject to change on a regular basis with the potential for each shift to look entirely different. The presence of day workers or short-term contract workers means that there is often additional organization required to ensure that all workers are certain of their duties and know who to contact for help. Multi-hatting is also common, this can be demonstrated by theatre staff doubling up their role and taking on front-of-house responsibilities, which can blur role boundaries and expectations. At festivals, concerts and other short-term events, casual hires may be unfamiliar with the chain of command. while in film production, frequent crew rotations can create uncertainty about where to raise concerns or seek guidance.

Potential steps to take:

• Provide orientation or quick onboarding for casual or short-term hires

• Clarify all policies and procedures

• For those with more delineated roles, regularly consult with them about any planned changes to their role and responsibilities

• Monitor workload distribution to ensure multi-hatting does not compromise safety, communication or clarity of responsibilities