Menu

27/02/2015

Psychosocial risks in Europe: Prevalence and strategies for prevention

In Europe 25% of workers say they experience work-related stress for all or
most of their working time, and a similar proportion reports that work affects
their health negatively. Psychosocial risks contribute to these adverse effects
of work. Tehes facts are stressed in a joint report on psychosocial risks at
work from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) and the
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
(Eurofound).


The most common risks relate to the type of tasks workers perform - for
example, whether tasks are monotonous or complex - and to work intensity. High
work intensity is associated with negative health and well-being outcomes,
especially work-related stress.



Violence and harassment are less frequently reported, but have a strong
negative relationship with well-being. Other working conditions, such as a good
work-life balance and social support, have a positive influence.



In general, differences in working conditions between groups of workers are
sector-related. However, there are gender differences not necessarily related
to sector - for example, men working longer hours or women facing more
difficulties in their career development.



Examples in the report highlight policies to deal with psychosocial risk at
Member State level, either through legislation or inspection, by providing
practical tools, or through the involvement of social partners. However,
policies are not developed to the same extent in all European countries, which
can be explained by the different traditions of social dialogue and different
governmental approaches, often related to the importance countries give to
psychosocial risks.



A summary of the reprot is available in 25 languages.

More Info


AplusA-online.de - Source: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work