Psychosocial risk assessment template (PDF and Excel) with checklist
Checklist with 28 checkpoints in the six design areas of the GDA guideline – from work content to working environment – plus an action plan with owners, deadlines and effectiveness review. As a PDF for the workshop and as an Excel file.
As of PDF and ExcelAMS Go editorial team
Free: sign up for the newsletter once and all templates are unlocked in this browser. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Mental workload must be covered by the risk assessment (Section 5 (3) No. 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, ArbSchG). What is assessed are working conditions – time pressure, interruptions, scope for action, cooperation – not the mental state of individual employees. The result, the measures and their review must be documented (Section 6 ArbSchG).
The template groups the checkpoints by the six areas of the guideline of the Joint German Occupational Safety and Health Strategy (GDA), which labour inspectorates and employers' liability insurance associations follow when advising and inspecting companies: work content, work organisation, working time, social relationships, work equipment and working environment. The checkpoints are not a standardised questionnaire but a guide for a workshop or observation interview – and lead straight into an action plan.
What the template contains
- PDF checklist with 28 checkpoints in six design areas, from work content to working environment
- Action plan with owners, deadlines and effectiveness review directly in the PDF
- Excel checklist that automatically flags a need for action for every “No”
- Excel action plan with drop-down lists and a date for the effectiveness review
How to use the template
- 1
Plan the approach
Define the areas or activities and choose the method: a workshop for small teams, observation interviews for activities that are easy to observe, an anonymous survey for larger areas. Involve the works council and employees from the start.
- 2
Identify and rate the strain
Go through the checkpoints together with employees. Every “No” shows a need for action – note observations and examples so that the measures become concrete.
- 3
Implement and review measures
Transfer every need for action to the action plan with an owner and a deadline. After a few months, check whether the measure works, for example with a short follow-up workshop.
Legal basis
- Section 5 (3) No. 6 ArbSchG: mental workload at work as a hazard
- Section 6 ArbSchG: documenting the result, measures and review
- Section 3 (1) of the Workplaces Ordinance (ArbStättV): physical and mental workloads in the risk assessment
- Section 87 (1) No. 7 of the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG): co-determination of the works council on health protection
- GDA guideline on advice and inspection regarding mental workload at the workplace (Leitlinie Beratung und Überwachung bei psychischer Belastung am Arbeitsplatz): inspection criteria
Frequently asked questions
Is a checklist enough for a psychosocial risk assessment?
As a guide, yes – filled in alone at a desk, no. What matters is that employees are involved: in a moderated workshop, through observation interviews or via an anonymous survey using a proven questionnaire. The checklist helps you not to forget anything and to turn results into measures.
Does the works council have to be involved?
Where there is a works council, it has a right of co-determination in how the risk assessment is designed (Section 87 (1) No. 7 BetrVG) – for example regarding the method, questionnaire and procedure. Involve it as early as the planning stage; that saves discussions later.
What should I do if a need for action is identified?
Define measures that address the work itself – change processes, clarify responsibilities, review staffing levels, protect breaks. Training for individuals complements this but does not replace it. Every measure gets an owner, a deadline and an effectiveness review whose result is documented (Section 6 ArbSchG).
You may use and adapt the template freely in your own company and for your own clients. It reflects the regulations named as they stand.
Never search a spreadsheet for a deadline again
In AMS Go, what this template covers lives in one system with reminders, history and records at the push of a button – mobile and with AI support.
Related guides
More templates
- Risk assessment
Office risk assessment template (PDF and Excel) – pre-filled
PDF + ExcelFree download - Risk assessment
Risk assessment template (PDF and Excel)
PDF + ExcelFree download - Occupational health
Occupational health check register template (PDF & Excel) under the German ArbMedVV
PDF + ExcelFree download - Risk assessment
Maternity protection risk assessment template (PDF and Excel)
PDF + ExcelFree download
