All Publication-Items on stress

All Publication-Items tagged with the subject stress

Occupational Safety and Health culture assessment - A review of main approaches and selected tools

Occupational safety and health culture, or more briefly 'OSH culture', can be seen as a concept for exploring how informal organisational aspects influence OSH in a positive or negative way. The aim is to convey up-to-date information on this complex topic in a straightforward, condensed way, trying to build a bridge between research and practice. The main approaches and methods that exist to assess the safety culture in an organisation are presented and discussed. This review gives an overview and selection of useful tools and techniques from the EU domain and abroad.

Mental health promotion in the workplace – A good practice report

Mental health promotion (MHP) includes all the actions that contribute to good mental health. Its primary aim is to focus on what maintains and improves our mental wellbeing. It is important to highlight that optimally effective MHP should include a combination of both risk management and health promotion. In this good practice report you can find information on how to integrate MHP into a comprehensive approach to enhancing and promoting the health, safety and wellbeing of employees at work. Several of the case studies are particularly interesting because of their innovative and creative approaches.

Emergency services: occupational safety and health risks

The report shows that emergency workers have a high risk of suffering fatal accidents, injuries and other occupational diseases. Past disasters demonstrate that both communities and companies are often not fully prepared for major accidents and catastrophes. Better protection for emergency workers against occupational hazards should be given high priority, as current environmental, economic, and political developments suggest an increase in the severity and frequency of future disasters.

Summary - New risks and trends in the safety and health of women at work

In 2009 and 2010, the Agency commissioned an update to its previous research on gender issues at work , which found that inequality both inside and outside the workplace can have an effect on the health and safety of women at work. This summary provides a policy perspective and is meant to contribute to the task outlined by the European strategy on health and safety at work for EU-OSHA’s European Risk Observatory, “examining the specific challenges in terms of health and safety posed by the more extensive integration of women in the labour market”. It provides a statistical overview of the trends in employment and working conditions, hazard exposure and work-related accidents and health problems for women at work. It explores selected issues (combined exposures, occupational cancer, access to rehabilitation, women and informal work, and “emerging” female professions such as home care and domestic work). The research highlights the type of work carried out by women, issues faced by younger and older women, the growth of the service sector, violence and harassment, and increasingly diversified working time patterns as major risk factors.

OSH in figures: Occupational safety and health in the transport sector — an overview

The transport sector is one of the growing sectors in the European economy and highly affected by change: a growing proportion of women, migrant and part-time workers, rapid ageing of the workforce and many technological innovations. Transport workers are exposed to multiple physical risks, suffer violence, and many have unusual working times and repetitive and monotonous work. The consequences are high accident rates, musculoskeletal disorders, stress and fatigue. This report reviews the OSH risks of a wide variety of transport occupations, by analysing statistics and studies, and through selected case examples of prevention. The report has a broad scope: it covers all transport subsectors (rail, water, air and road) and is intended for both those working in the sector and policymakers.

Workplace Violence and Harassment: a European Picture

The report presents the prevalence of violence and harassment at work based on international and national statistics, as well as the results of scientific studies on antecedents and consequences of work-related violence. A survey of the Agency's Focal Point network suggest that there is still an insufficient level of awareness and recognition of problems with third-party violence and harassment in many EU Member States, and there is a clear need to promote and disseminate good practice and prevention measures which are sensitive to the national context. Some measures proposed by EU, ILO, WHO and national experts are included in the report.

OSH in figures: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the EU - Facts and figures

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) remain the most common occupational disease in the European Union and workers in all sectors and occupations can be affected. Recent figures, for example from Austria, Germany or France, also demonstrate an increasing impact of musculoskeletal disorders on costs. This latest report, following on from the Agency’s previous research, aims to give an updated overview of the current European situation as regards musculoskeletal disorders, the trends over the years since the first campaign in 2000, and a detailed insight into the causes and circumstances behind MSDs. The report highlights the main issues and aims to provide a well-founded evidence base, helping policy makers, actors at enterprise and sector level, as well as researchers and those who record, prevent and compensate occupational diseases in the European Union to set the agenda for the next years.

E-fact 46: Mental health promotion in the health care sector

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO, 2005) psychosocial problems may result in illness, injury, stigmatization, isolation, and even death. They can also have a considerable impact on the employer – such as reduced productivity and lowered morale. Staff in the health care sector is particularly subjected to such mental health risks (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2004). Therefore, it is important and very useful to invest in mental health promotion in this sector.

Preventing harm to cleaning workers

This report considers the challenges to be overcome in improving the safety and health of cleaners, and examines actions taken to achieve this goal. By its nature, the report focuses on challenges associated with cleaning tasks, seeking solutions to these challenges that can reduce the risks to workers’ health and safety.

The occupational safety and health of cleaning workers

This report provides an overview of the most important issues related to occupational safety and health (OSH) for cleaning workers in terms of working conditions, risks and prevalence of exposures and health outcomes, and identifies information gaps and challenges. Cleaning includes a broad range of activities performed in different work environments across all sectors. The risks to which cleaners are exposed therefore depend on the tasks they perform and the premises they work in. As most of the cleaning work is performed as contract cleaning, employers sometimes face difficulties in controlling the OSH conditions in the "host companies" where their staff work. Accessing information on occupational accidents and diseases remains challenging as cleaning workers are spread over different sectors and it is therefore difficult to put monitoring systems in place. In addition, a significant part of the cleaning workforce is undeclared, especially in private households, which also complicates data collection. Studies on work-related diseases indicate that MSDs, respiratory diseases, including asthma, skin diseases and mental ill health are the most common work-related health effects found in cleaners, and suggest a higher prevalence of health problems in cleaning workers than in other sectors.

The human-machine interface as an emerging risk

Interaction with – and dependence on – technology is increasing in almost all fields of work. Given that a poor human-machine interface can have serious consequences in terms of occupational accidents and diseases, including stress, its proper inclusion in design equipment and workplace is of utmost importance. Based on a literature survey and a small expert survey, this report explores how the human-machine interface influences occupational risks, describing who is exposed, and giving some examples of what can be done to reduce the risk.

Preventing risks to young workers: policy, programmes and workplace practices

Young workers (15–24 years) are a very vulnerable group when it comes to occupational safety and health (OSH). However, the majority of OSH risks are preventable — whether they involve young or older workers — by applying the principles of risk assessment and putting in place the necessary preventive measures. To support information exchange on best practice, the agency has produced a report about how the occupational safety and health of young workers can be managed at policy and practice level. The report includes a variety of case studies and also identifies some success factors for prevention.

OSH in figures: stress at work — facts and figures

Stress at work is common throughout Europe. In surveys carried out every five years by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, respondents name it as the second most common threat posed by the working environment. Only musculoskeletal problems are seen as more likely to damage workers’ health. According to the fourth European Survey of Working Conditions, carried out in 2005 in all Member States, stress was experienced by an average 22% of working Europeans. In 2002, the annual economic cost of work-related stress in the EU15 was estimated at EUR 20,000 million.

E-fact 31 - Prevention of work-related stress in the education sector

Work-related stress is one of the most significant hazards of working in the education sector. The level of reported stress in teaching is well above the average for other industries, services and society in general. But it is not just teachers in the sector who suffer from stress, other workers such as cleaners and administrative staff are also affected. This E-Fact examines both the causes of work-related stress in education and ways to tackle the problem. It offers a step-by-step guide to risk assessment, a checklist designed for the education sector and action that can be taken to defeat stress.

E-fact 30 - Occupational safety and health in the textiles sector

The textiles industry employs more than 2 million people in Europe, the majority of whom are women. Significant hazards include manual handling, using machinery, being struck by an object, contact with chemical agents, noise and slips and trips. The resulting health problems include musculoskeletal disorders, hearing damage and occupational asthma and respiratory irritation. This E-fact outlines the hazards and risks and the general approach on managing occupational safety and health in the sector.

Factsheet 79 - Protecting workers in hotels, restaurants and catering

The growing hotel, restaurant and catering sector (HORECA) employs more than 7.8 million, mostly young and low skilled people in the European Union. Typically, employees work long, irregular hours doing physically demanding work. The risks to workers’ safety and health are many and varied, resulting from prolonged standing, carrying and lifting, exposure to high noise levels and working in too hot or cold environments. Workers also suffer cuts and burns, trips, slips and falls, and come into contact with dangerous substances. The work can be monotonous, stressful and draining. Nevertheless, employers and employees can work together to improve workplace safety and health. The prevention report on the HORECA sector highlights key risk prevention measures.

E-fact 25 - Managing psychosocial risks in HORECA

This E-Fact examines the psychosocial risk factors present in the hotel, restaurant and catering (HORECA) sector and offers methods to tackle them. Psychosocial risk factors are linked to the way work is organised and to the mental demands of that work. Conflicting demands, lack of control over work and lack of support from colleagues or supervisors are all significant risk factors. Long working hours, often at night and over the weekend, put strain on HORECA workers. Contact with difficult customers can lead to stress and even harassment or violence. Tackling psychosocial risks may involve risk assessment, training and changes to the way work is organised.

E-fact 22 - Safety and health risks in HORECA

This E-Fact offers an overview of the safety and health risks in the growing hotel, restaurant and catering sector (HORECA). Risk factors include the tough physical workload, hazardous substances, noise, and air temperature and quality. Young workers are most affected by injuries, while older workers suffer the highest number of fatalities. Common injuries include slips, trips and falls, injuries resulting from carrying or handling loads, cuts and burns. A couple of case studies illustrate the kind of accidents that can occur. Improving working conditions, especially in the sector’s huge number of small businesses, remains a big challenge.

Literature Study on Migrant Workers

Increasing mobility of workers is one of the growing demographic changes worldwide and it is likely that migration will increase in the next decade. The aim of the report is to provide an overview of the most important issues relating to the occupational safety and health (OSH) of migrant workers.

Report - Expert forecast on emerging psychosocial risks related to occupational safety and health (OSH)

Significant changes which are taking place in the world of work lead to emerging psychosocial risks. Such risks, which are linked to the way work is designed, organised and managed, as well as to the economic and social context of work, result in an increased level of stress and can lead to serious deterioration of mental and physical health. In 2005, more than 20% of workers from the EU believed that their health is at risk because of work-related stress. The report presents the results of the expert forecast on emerging psychosocial risks, supplemented by an analysis of the scientific research on key topics identified by the experts.