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Work-related stress is one of the biggest health and safety challenges that we face in Europe. Nearly one in four workers is affected by it, and studies suggest that between 50% and 60% of all lost working days are related to it. This represents a huge cost in terms of both human distress and impaired economic performance. |
Stress at work can affect anyone at any level. It can happen in any sector and in any size of organisation. Stress affects the health and safety of individuals, but also the health of organisations and national economies.
Stress is the second most reported work-related health problem, affecting 22% of workers from EU 27 (in 2005). And the number of people suffering from stress-related conditions caused or made worse by work is likely to increase. The changing world of work is making increased demands on workers, through downsizing and outsourcing, the greater need for flexibility in terms of function and skills, increasing use of temporary contracts, increased job insecurity and work intensification (with higher workload and more pressure), and poor work-life balance.
Stress can cause people ill and misery, both at work and at home. Stress may also compromise workplace safety, and contribute to other work-related health problems, such as musculoskeletal disorders. And stress significantly affects an organisation’s bottom line.
Reducing work-related stress and psychosocial risks is not only a moral, but also legal imperative. There’s a strong business case as well. In 2002, the annual economic cost of work-related stress in the EU-15 was estimated at 20 billion Euros.
The good news is that work-related stress can be dealt with in the same logical and systematic way as other health and safety issues. There is a wealth of practical examples of dealing with it across the EU. With the right approach, workers can be kept safe from stress.
How to tackle work-related stress
INT-OSHA initiative – working outdoors in hot weather ()The U.S. Department of Labour’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has kicked off a national outreach initiative about the hazards of working outdoors in hot weather. |
CAN-IRRST case studies on HR management and OSH ()Interaction between human resources management and OHS – Teaching of future managersIn an increasingly competitive economic context, companies have to control the costs of OHS management in terms of contributions paid to the CSST, investments in protective equipment and preventive measures, as well as the indirect costs related to prolonged absences and work disabilities. Companies are noting that the successful implementation of preventive OHS measures has mobilizing effects on the involvement of workers in production, in quality control, in improving the working climate, and in the social cohesion of teams. However, the implementation of such measures raises many challenges for managers. |
FR-SUMER - Trends and issues in working conditions 1994-2010 ()First results of the SUMER survey were just published, with an analysis of the trends between 1994 and 2010, covering three rounds of surveys. |
UK, IOSH, video clip of employers talking about OSH benefits ()On this video clip you hear business leaders at E.ON, Leeds Metropolitan University and British Gas explain how they save money by investing in health and safety. It features:
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SLIC campaign 2012 on psychosocial risks ()The Committee of Senior Labour Inspectors (SLIC) has launched its European Campaign 2012 on psychosocial risks. A SLIC working group, in which EU-OSHA took part, has developed an inspection toolkit available in 22 languages. The Campaign will address especially the health and social care, service, and transport sectors. The results and conclusions will be presented at the Final Conference in Sweden in March 2013. EU-OSHA will draw on the SLIC campaign’s experiences and lessons to prepare its own Healthy Workplaces campaign on psychosocial risks that will take place in 2014-2015. More information about the SLIC campaign is available from: http://www.av.se/SLIC2012/ Visit our section on stress: http://osha.europa.eu/en/topics/stress See also the ESENER survey results on psychosocial risks: http://esener.eu |
DE-Multitasking "don´t disturb" - guidance on how to avoid stress and overload (in German) ()The German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) has just published a brochure on how to tackle stress and overload linked to frequent interruptions and the demand for multitasking. The brochure is one of the outcomes of a project that attempted to identify good working practices to support an ageing working population. |
DK- The Danish national return-to-work (RTW) program ()The Danish national return-to-work (RTW) program aims to improve the management of municipal sickness benefit in Denmark. A study is currently ongoing to evaluate the RTW program. The program includes 21 municipalities with about 19 500 working-age adults on long-term sickness absence, regardless of reason for sickness absence or employment status. |
ILO 2012 “Stress Prevention at Work Checkpoints. Practical improvements for stress prevention in the workplace” available online. ()This manual includes easy-to-apply checkpoints for identifying stressors in working life and mitigating their harmful effects. It also provides guidance on linking workplace risk assessment with the process of stress prevention. |
CAN-Intervention study to reduce musculoskeletal disorders and psychological health problems in 911 emergency call centre ()A multidisciplinary study led to better identification of the aspects of the mental load related to MSDs and the mental health problems of 9-1-1 emergency call centre dispatchers, a profession that has not been extensively studied by researchers up to now. |
EU, ETUCE, Teachers’ work-related stress – survey results and brochure ()The European trade union committee for education - ETUCE - has made available a study report containing the full overview of the results of its stress survey as well as the ETUCE project brochure on Teachers' work-related stress: European-wide Survey - Assessment, Comparison and Evaluation of the Impact of Psychosocial Hazards on Teachers at their Workplace in the EU. |
Campaign on psychosocial risks at work in 2012 ()SLIC Campaign 2012 on psychosocial issues has been launched. Inspection toolkit available in 22 languages and other Campaign documents are available . |
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.
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EU-OSHA - New report: Occupational Safety and Health culture assessment ()A new report from EU-OSHA has just been published: Occupational Safety and Health culture assessment - A review of main approaches and selected tools |
CAN-Return to work- IRSST Research on Mental Health in the Workplace ()In response to a joint (employee/employer) request from a health and social services establishment, researchers funded by the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) have designed a program of practices for supporting a return to work after an absence due to a mental health problem. |
World Mental Health Day – 10 October ()10th October is World Mental Health Day. The time to remind ourselves and others that mental health is an important aspect of general health – a value that should not be underestimated. The workplace can be a particularly important setting to maintain good mental health through both prevention of psychosocial risks and promotion of mental health. For more information on mental health at the workplace and how to improve it, visit these EU-OSHA resources: Prevention of work-related stress Management of psychosocial risks in the ESENER enterprise survey |
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.
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DE - Presenteeism costs twice as much as costs due to sickness absence, says German study ()According to a study published by the German Felix Burda Foundation, presenteeism - circumstances in which employees come to work even though they are ill - costs twice as much as sickness related absence from work. |
EU - Conclusions and recommendations for action from the EU Conference on Mental Health at the Workplace ()Conclusions and recommendations for action from the EU Conference on Mental Health at the Workplace |
INT - ITF ‘No to transport violence’ film ()‘No to transport violence’ film launches |
EU-OSHA - Agency to campaign on psychosocial risks ()‘Practical solutions for psychosocial risks’ will be the theme for the 2014-2015 edition of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign |
- News
- INT-OSHA initiative – working outdoors in hot weather
- CAN-IRRST case studies on HR management and OSH
- FR-SUMER - Trends and issues in working conditions 1994-2010
- UK, IOSH, video clip of employers talking about OSH benefits
- DE-Multitasking "don´t disturb" - guidance on how to avoid stress and overload (in German)
- Events
- Work, Stress, and Health 2009, Global Concerns and Approaches
- Tackling work-related stress in the EU – Lessons learned from the European social partners' agreement
- EXPERIENCIAS EN INTERVENCIÓN PSICOSOCIAL Presentación del texto del INSHT
- Psychosocial epidemiology in the Workplace
- Bullying and Harassment at Work
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Read more
- 'Guidance on work-related stress. Spice of life or kiss of death?' Commission of the European Communities, Luxembourg, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2002.
- 'Framework agreement on work-related stress'
- 'Framework agreement on harassment and violence at work'
- Publications
- Management of occupational safety and health: Analysis of data from the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER)
- Occupational Safety and Health culture assessment - A review of main approaches and selected tools
- Mental health promotion in the workplace – A good practice report
- Emergency services: occupational safety and health risks
- Summary - New risks and trends in the safety and health of women at work
- News
- INT-OSHA initiative – working outdoors in hot weather 17.05.2012
- CAN-IRRST case studies on HR management and OSH 03.05.2012
- FR-SUMER - Trends and issues in working conditions 1994-2010 21.03.2012
- UK, IOSH, video clip of employers talking about OSH benefits 19.03.2012
- SLIC campaign 2012 on psychosocial risks 15.02.2012
- About Stress
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