Work-related stress and Risk Assessment

1. Work-related stress and Risk Assessment A European campaign on Risk Assessment

2. Work-related stress – a major issue • Stress is the second most reported work-related health problem • Stress affects nearly one in four EU workers • Studies suggest that between 50% and 60% of all lost working days are related to it • The economic cost of work-related stress (WRS) in the EU-15 was around EUR 20,000 million in 2002 • The number of people suffering from WRS is likely to increase. More information see:http://osha.europa.eu/topics/stress

3. Why is this such a big issue? More and more people are affected by WRS, because of: • Changes in work design, organisation and management • Precarious contracts • Job insecurity • Increases in workload and speed of work • High emotional demands being made of workers • Violence and psychological harassment • Poor work-life balance.

4. What is work-related stress? • People experience stress when they perceive an imbalance between: • The demands made of them and • The resources they have available to cope with those demands • Stress becomes a risk to safety and health when it is protracted  • Stress but can lead to mental and physical ill-health.

5. Who is affected? • Stress at work can affect: • Anyone at any level • In any sector • In any size of organisation.  • Stress affects: • The health and safety of individuals • The health of organisations • The health of national economies. • Stress can compromise workplace safety, and contribute to other work-related health problems, such as musculoskeletal disorders. • Stress significantly affects a company’s bottom line.

6. Symptoms of work-related stress (1) At the organisation level: •  Absenteeism •  High staff turnover • Disciplinary problems • Violence and psychological harassment • Reduced productivity • Mistakes and accidents • Increased costs from compensation or health care

7. Symptoms of work-related stress (2) At the individual level: • Emotional reactions (irritability, anxiety, sleep problems, depression, hypochondria, alienation, burnout, family relationship problems) • Cognitive reactions (difficulty in concentrating, remembering, learning new things, making decisions) • Behavioural reactions (abuse of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, destructive behaviour) • Physiological reactions (back problems, weakened immunity, peptic ulcers, heart problems, hypertension).

8. The Law – employers’ responsibilities • Legally, employers are obliged to manage WRS just like every other risk to health and safety in the workplace • WRS is preventable by taking appropriate action • The key to this is Risk Assessment (RA) • Employers are legally obliged to carry out regular RAs in the workplace.

9. What is Risk Assessment? • RA is the process of evaluating the risks to workers’ safety and health from workplace hazards. It is a systematic examination of all aspects of work that considers: • What could cause injury or harm • Whether hazards can be eliminated and, if not, • What preventive or protective measures need to be in place to control the risks. • RA is the basis for successful WRS management.

10. Risk Assessment for stress (1) • Whoever carries it out (the employer themselves, an employee designated by the employer or and external assessor), it is essential that employees are consulted and involved in the process. They: • Know their workplace • Are the ones who will have to implement any changes in working conditions/ practices • It is not possible to determine from the situation alone the amount of stress it may cause.

11. Risk Assessment for stress (2) • RA for stress involves the same basic principles and processes as for other occupational risks • Different methods are available. But for most businesses, a straightforward five-step approach works well: • Identify the hazards and those at risk • Evaluate and prioritise the risks • Decide on preventive action • Take action • Monitor and review

12. Step 1: Identify hazards and those at risk (1) Factors to look out for in relation to stress include: • Excessive workload or exposure to physical hazards • How much control workers have in the way they carry out their work • Whether workers understand their roles • Relationships, covering issues like harassment and violence • What support there is from colleagues and managers, and • What training workers need to perform their tasks.

13. Step 1: Identify hazards and those at risk (2) • We are all vulnerable, depending on the pressure we are under at any given time • The following factors may help to determine who or which groups of workers are most at risk: • Absenteeism, high staff turnover, aggressive communication, accidents, psychosocial problems, health problems and complaints from workers etc • Particular attention should be paid to groups of workers who may be at increased risk, e.g. workers with disabilities, migrant workers, young and older workers.

14. Step 2: Evaluate and prioritise risks • Evaluate the risks arising from the hazards identified by considering: • How likely it is that a hazard will cause harm • How serious that harm is likely to be • How often (and how many) workers are exposed to the risk • List the risks in order of importance • Use the list to draw up an action plan.

15. Step 3: Decide on preventive action (1) • Preventing the consequences of WRS is better than reacting to them once they have occurred. • The key to preventing WRS lies with the organisation and management of work. • Effective measures in preventing WRS include: • Allowing enough time for workers to perform their tasks • Providing clear job descriptions • Rewarding workers for good performance • Enabling workers to make complaints and have them taken seriously • Giving workers control over their work.

16. Step 3: Decide on preventive action (2) Effective measures in preventing WRS also include: • Minimising physical risks • Allowing workers to take part in decisions that affect them • Matching workloads to the capabilities and resources of each worker • Designing tasks to be stimulating • Defining work roles and responsibilities clearly • Providing opportunities for social interaction, and • Avoiding ambiguity in matters of job security and career development.

17. Step 4: Take action • Put in place preventive and protective measures. • Effective implementation involves the development of a plan specifying: • Who does what • When a task is to be completed • The means allocated to implement the measures.

18. Step 5: Monitor and review • The effectiveness of the measures taken to prevent or reduce WRS should be monitored • The assessment should be reviewed: • Whenever significant changes occur to work design, organisation and management • If the preventive measures in place are insufficient or no longer adequate • On a periodic basis to ensure that the findings of the RA are still relevant.

19. Record the Assessment • The Risk Assessment must be recorded • Such a record can be used to: • Pass information to the persons concerned (workers, safety representatives, managers etc) • Assess whether necessary measures have been introduced • Produce evidence for supervisory authorities • Revise measures if circumstances change.

20. Where to get help? • There is plenty of information and guidance available to help you on the Agency website: • A WRS Web section including publications and examples of good practice from across the EU: http://osha.europa.eu/topics/stress • An RA Web section including RA tools and checklists: http://osha.europa.eu/topics/riskassessment • Information on WRS specifically for SMEs: http://sme.osha.europa.eu/products/stress_at_work • Information about the RA campaign: http://hw.osha.europa.eu

21. http://hw.osha.europa.eu Good for you. Good for business. A European campaign on Risk Assessment