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on psychosocial risks prevention

and quality of life at work

sobre prevención de Riesgos Psicosociales y calidad de vida en el trabajo ario nua2014

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Studies and national and international experiences

Estudios y experiencias nacionales e internacionales

internationalinternacional

Con la Financiación de: DI-0007/2013

Participation of workersand psychosocial risks management

Participación de los trabajadoresy gestión de los Riesgos Psicosociales

Con la Financiación de: DI-0007/2013

2014yearbook

This document has been prepared by the University of Jaénfor the Secretary of Labour Health and Environment UGT-CEC

EdiTionSecretary of Labour Health and Environment UGT-CEC

dESiGnS and prinTSBlanca impresores, S.L.

Legal deposit: M-32734-2014

iSSn: 2173-0830

all rights reserved. neither the whole nor any part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted by one information retrieval system in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photochemical, or electro-magnetic, photocopying, scanning, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher

InternatIonal Yearbookon PSYCHoSoCIal rISkS PreVentIon

anD QUalItY oF lIFe at Work

2014UNIÓN GENERAL DE TRABAJADORES

COMISIÓN EJECUTIVA CONFEDERAL

Participation of workers and psychosocial risks managementStudies and national and international experiences.

Participation of workers and psychosocial risks management.Studies and national and international experiences.

Observatory of Psychosocial Risks. UGT 7

Marisa Rufino San José

Occupational Secretary of Labour Health and Environment UGT-CEC

Cristóbal Molina Navarrete

Academic Director Of The Observatory

of Psychosocial Risks

Emilio González Vicente

Coordinator of Secretary of

Labour Health and Environment UGT-CEC

Coordination

Authors

Translation team

Direction

InternatIonal Yearbook

on PSYCHoSoCIal rISkS PreVentIon anD QUalItY oF lIFe at Work

Álvaro de la Torre Vallecillo

María Rosa Vallecillo Gámez

BURROW, Sharan

GIMENO, Miguel Ángel

GOMES, Fernando

GONZÁLEZ COBALEDA, Estefanía

GONZÁLEZ VICENTE, Emilio

MOLINA NAVARRETE, Cristóbal

RUFINO SAN JOSÉ, Marisa

SALVIANO DA SILVA, Gilberto

TEIXEIRA DA COSTA, Laerte


editorial l ineEDITORIAL ..............................................................................................................................................................13IMPROVE THE POLICY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS MANAGEMENT: A CONTINUED UNION CHALLENGEMarisa Rufino San José

1. STUDIES AND EXPERIENCES OF PARTICIPATION IN PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS MANAGEMENT ...............17

1.1. INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ......................................................................................................................19

INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION THE AGREEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION WITH THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS MANAGEMENT: A CHALLENGE FOR THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE ..................................................................................................21Sharan Burrow

EUROPEAN AGREEMENT THYSSENKRUPP .......................................................................................................25

MUNDIAL MANAGING & ANTICIPATING CHANGE AT ARCELORMITTAL ( V10 ) .............................................37

1.2. EUROPEAN UNION .........................................................................................................................................47

GENERAL LEVELTHE ROLE OF WORKERS’ PARTICIPATION IN PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS MANAGEMENT: SURVEYS AND STUDIES FROM AN EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE .................................................................................................51Cristóbal Molina Navarrete, Estefanía González Cobaleda

SECTORAL LEVELEUROPEAN “INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS PRACTICES RELATED TO PSYCHOSOCIAL CONSTRAINTS AT WORK IN THE STEEL SECTOR”. DO WE FIND OURSELVES IN A GOOD WAY? ..........................................................75Summary and commentary by research team: observatory of psychosocial risks UGT-CEC

“GUIDE TO IDENTIFY AND PREVENT PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS AT WORK IN RAILWAY SECTOR”. JOINT RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL PARTNERS ......................................................................87Summary and commentary by research team: observatory of psychosocial risks UGT-CEC

on psychosocial risks preventionand quality of life at work

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1.3. AMERICA ........................................................................................................................................................101

CSATHE TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION OF WORKERS OF THE AMERICAS. THE TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION OF WORKERS OF THE AMERICAS. CSA – PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS ...............................103Laerte Teixeira da Costa

BRAZILPSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS IN BRAZIL. ACTION ASSOCIATION AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FROM THE CUT ........................................................................................................................................................................107Gilberto Salviano da Silva

1.4. NATIONAL EXPERIENCES ............................................................................................................................115

BELGIUM, FRANCE, HUNGARY, ITALY AND UNITED KINGDOMASTREES, “Psychosocial risks, services and social dialogue” .......................................................................117Summary and commentary by Estefanía González Cobaleda

SPAINGOOD PRACTICE INVOLVED AGREEMENT ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AND PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS IN TRAVEL AGENCIES SECTOR IN SPAIN ..............................................................................................................129Analysis by Marisa Rufino, Emilio González, Miguel Ángel Gimeno

FRANCEAGREEMENT OF MAY 27 OF 2010 CONCERNING THE OCCUPATIONALSTRESS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS ...............................................................................................................155

AGREEMENT OF MAY 26 OF 2011 CONCERNING THE OCCUPATIONALSTRESS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS ...............................................................................................................165

PORTUGALGENERAL CONFEDERATION OF THE PORTUGUESES WORKERS (CGTP-IN). APPROACH TO PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS .....................................................................................................................................................................177Fernando Gomes


2. EUROPEAN AND GLOBAL LABORATORY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS: REPORTS ..................................185

INTERNATIONAL LEVEL: ILO ..............................................................................................................................187

Summary and made comment in textPROTECTING WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH IN DIFFICULT ECONOMIC TIMES. THE EFFECT OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS AND ECONOMIC RECESSION ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ................189International Labor Office

Summary and commented report: TARGET INITIATIVE. DEPRESSION AT WORKPLACE WORK RELATED DEPRESSION IN EUROPE: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT POINT OF VIEW. “COGNITION IS THE IGNITION OF PRODUCTIVITY AND INNOVATION IN THE GLOBAL BRAIN-BASED ECONOMY. AND DEPRESSION ATTACKS VITAL ASSET.” .......................................................................................................................................................201Bill Wilkerson

EUROPEAN LEVEL: EU-OSHA ............................................................................................................................219

SUMMARY AND COMMENTS OF THE JOINT REPORT EU-OSHA 2014-EUROFOUND . PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS IN EUROPE: PREVALENCE AND STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTION .....................................................221

ENGLISH-SPEAKING LEVEL ...............................................................................................................................245

UNITED STATES.Summary and made comment in text: WORKPLACE STRESS IN THE UNITED STATES: ISSUES AND POLICIES ...............................................................................................................................................................247

UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND.DEVELOPING NEW VOLUNTARY RULES IN PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT. PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BRITISH STANDARDS PAS1010, PAS1011 Y PAS1012. ......................................253Estefanía González Cobaleda


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Editorial

IMPROVE THE POLICY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS MANAGEMENT:A CONTINUED UNION CHALLENGE

Marisa Rufino San José

Since 2004, the European trade unions are having evidence enough about the importance given in our speeches and, above all, in our practices, about those risks who, without any doubt, are today the most important occupational hazards with the ergonomic risks, due to its high social incidence, by the extreme pain that generate, often in silence, and by its large economic cost: psychosocial risks at work - stress, violence, harassment, systematic discrimination, insecurity… -. So that, when the European institutions and a lot of the national governments that are members of the European Union decided not to take on a more favorable, effective and coherent regulatory framework, to improve this risks prevention policies in companies, social partners, trade unions and business organizations, at European level, we began to generate a specific framework for action to promote a better management of that kind of risks in organizations, whether private or public. And so we continue to do in 2007 and in 2010, and in 2012… non-stop in our efforts and despite the opposite institutional context – The European economic governance only based on austerity and job insecurity- and also an opposite economic context – resilience crisis, with high rates of unemployment -.

As ILO express in its successive reports, we have always believed that social dialog had a decisive role in improving the effectiveness of the management of the health and safety at work and that through the promotion of the commitments between labor agents and the company management could achieve good results. Identification and promotion good practice related to this, could play a


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decisive role in order to demonstrate that it is possible to move forward on this path of social and economic progress, as the improvement in prevention of psychosocial risks on labor origin not only reduces a lot the suffering of labor citizenship, this people who work for a wage, even self-employed, but it improves productivity, therefore, it offers joint advantages. Unfortunately, it is not easy to make this out to employers at company level. But European authorities, the Commission, and specially, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), and even the Foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions (EUROFOUND), showed that a greater compromise between both parties - workers and businessmen-, greater preventive efficacy - ESENER Survey -.

Beyond Social Dialog, even to make it effective, real, daily in every company, the active participation of workers and their representatives in psychosocial risks management at work appear, then, because of scientific evidence and because of reality, as the greatest effectiveness condition on management. Even more: without such active participation, the management is not valid, because it is not reliable. Therefore, the workers participation is not something eligible for entrepreneurs, it is not just something we recommend, but that is a real condition of the validity of the management process itself. Therefore, in a global economy context, and also in a global citizenship, it is not only appropriate, but necessary to establish bridges and forums between trade unions throughout the world to share speeches, actions, struggles, models, experiences in this area.

Hence, following the path of the International Yearbook on psychosocial risks prevention 2011, we have chosen to dedicate this yearbook 2014 to review what has happened since then and as they have developed trade union initiatives, and also institutional, in this area. It is, therefore, an original and relevant contribution.

Original, because there is no publication, institutional nor private, that collects information of these features throughout the world. And it is relevant, because it collects qualitative and often unknown information on basic aspects of psychosocial risks management in different companies, focusing most of publications only in quantitative nature. In this regard, this initiative of the UGT-Spain, through its pioneering Observatory of psychosocial risks, provides an important contribution to dissemination ideas, models and experiences that, from a very specific trade union perspective, and joins recent documents and reports provided by other entities, public and private to demonstrate the centrality of psychosocial risks in the current policies, not only for health and safety at work - corporate restructuring, change management, active aging, youth employment -. In this care yearbook we will find, summarized and commented, all these most recent studies or reports, which gives an added value to it, adding


to the more specific for the identification, selection and analysis of the main international, European and national experiences, in general or multi-level and sectoral bargaining, in branch and/or business group or company, on the matter of participation of employees in the effective psychosocial risks management.


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1Studies and experiences of participation in psychosocialrisks management

International Community

Sharan Burrow. General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION

THE AGREEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION

CONFEDERATION WITH THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE

PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS MANAGEMENT:

A CHALLENGE FOR THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE


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Summary1. What is the Union role to advance the prevention of psychosocial risks?2. What solution we bring us as trade unions?3. The trade union action beyond the company: the struggle for effective preventive policies


1. What is the Union role to advance the prevention of psychosocial risks?Behind every case of work-related stress, violence, harassment or excess of work there is a worker who is looking for a solution. Many times you will see that it is a result of his responsibility: its mismanagement of the pressure, its negative attitude, the lack of commitment to the company, among many others, and that consequent the solution is in it. Or change or go. This management model -that we are confronting in both the private and public sector - is leading thousands of people to the moral and physical bankruptcy and irremediable losses for our society.

2. What solution we bring us as trade unions?First of all, we identified the problem as a collective, typical of the organization of work, and not to the individual. Be aware that psychosocial risks are not caused by an alleged weakness of the person, but a few managers that by incompetence, negligence, or sadism attack the weakest links in the chain of production or services, is the key in the reconstruction of a healthy relationship between the worker and his work.

To be able to carry out this work we need to respect the right of organization, it is clear, but also the generalization of the right of the representatives of prevention to receive relevant and complete information, that could explain the worker situation, to be able to go with without fear of reprisals from the management and to open a space for dialog where the union proposals are heard.

As trade unions we also suggest changes and bring ideas to improve the psychosocial conditions in the workplace beyond the individual cases. This is the prevention key. To advance in construction of healthier and safer workplaces we need to make use of the collective bargaining and create spaces for training and increasing awareness on the subject. As the psycho-social risks are brought about by the organization, our delegates have to be able to evaluate, control and propose changes.

3. The trade union action beyond the company: the struggle for effective preventive policiesBeing very important, the trade union action should not be confined to working in company. The socio-economic costs of failing to act and to leave this problem increasing are extremely high and, consequently, unaffordable socially and economically. The situation noticed in the psychosocial risks area is not very different from which repeated again and again in many other areas of the company policy. Employers don’t want to invest in the protection of workers, in their health, preferring transfer to the public system - and therefore the same workers in its role of taxpayers subject, which bear in addition most of the country taxation, because they cannot, such as business, shifting the tax burden

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to “havens” - the responsibility and the costs of dealing with the impacts of a broken working class, not only on the physical, but also psychologically. Press for the State to be involved, legislate and monitor the protection of workers psychological health in companies must be an important aim of our action.

The trade union movement must progressively going in delve into this topic, seeking greater social recognition of the importance of psychosocial risks and to advocate a determined and sustained public action. Only an appropriate legislation, gone with a strong compliance system may prevent these and many other occupational hazards. That is because the initiative carried out by the UGT of Spain, is just as relevant in this time. He looks for compiling in a Yearbook, with drafting bilingual - English and Spanish-, the main initiatives, as well as the studies, in order to encourage trade union action in the improvement of the preventive management of psychosocial risks. Only if we have the best, and in any case enough, information, with clear ideas, as well as, above all, successful practices in different countries in the world, we can build a trade union movement to the height of the challenges that lie ahead in a so globalize and competitive society, leading the social dimension to the globalization process.

From the International Trade Union Confederation - ITUC - we hope to build on this and other initiatives, a trade unionism that struggle for the working conditions of all workers are healthy and safe. For this reason, the trident of regulation, rights and compliance is basic. And only a very well informed trade union action may make this possible.

EUROPEAN

AGREEMENT THYSSENKRUPP


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ThyssenKrupp Elevator OU CENE & SEAME.

Implementation of an ldea management Health & Safety at ThyssenKrupp Elevator Operating Units Central Eastern Northern Europe and Southern Europe Africa Middle East.

1. Basic principies of the agreement.• People are the most important components for a successful ldea management Health & Safety.• The basis for a successful ldea management Health & Safety is established through the contribution

of every single employee.• Occupational safety and health protection are the responsibility of the employer.• This agreement confirms the key role played by the trade unions and employees in occupational

safety. lt promotes the cooperation between trade unions, employees and company management with the aim of improving collaboration and creating new occupational safety standards.

• The trade union representatives, the employees and the employer representatives advocate the ldea management Health &Safety for all employees.

• The trade union representatives, the employees and the employer representatives actively support the implementation of suggestions for occupational safety.

• This agreement is not a substitute for European or national legislation. The same applies for international, European, national, regional and local agreements or those made at company level, or legal regulations should these be more favourable.

• For legal or contractual obligations already in place, the local social partners are responsible for deciding whether and to what extent these obligations exceed this agreement, whether and to what extent they are supplemented and whether they need to be adapted.

• Already existing Health & Safety-committees or similar employee-representative institutions will be included in the implementation of this agreement.


2. Scope of the agreementThis agreement applies for all countries within the operating units Central Eastern Northern Europe and Southern Europe Africa Middle East which belong to the respective OU on July 1, 2011.This agreement shall apply to any additionally added countries after consultations between the social partners.

3. General aim and purpose of this agreementThe aim of the agreement is the development and implementation of a comprehensive and flexible ldea management Health & Safety for the further promotion and improvement of occupational safety and health protection for the employees of ThyssenKrupp Elevator OU CENE and SEAME.

The most important components of the ldea management Health & Safety are the ideas, experiences and improvement suggestions for occupational safety by the employees of ThyssenKrupp Elevator OU CENE and SEAME.

4. lmprovement objectivesSuggestions for improving occupational safety / Ideas Health & Safety (IHS) as defined by this agreement are suggestions which describe a currently disappointing, uncertain or dangerous situation and, if possible, provide a concrete solution towards its improvement.

Suggestions for the improvement of occupational safety contribute towards• lmproving working conditions• Recognising risks• Preventing accidents and thus reducing the resulting costs• Creating good working conditions over the long- and short-term• lncreasing motivation for occupational safety, health protection and accident prevention• Reducing the follow-up costs resulting from accidents• Creating a safer working environment and a better environment.


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The company must verify the suggestions and implement suitable solutions.Suggestions for the improvement of occupational safety (IHS) contain suitable solutions, in particular when they

• reduce health risks to health, as well as accidents• reduce employee workload• guarantee the quick provision of tools and working materials of appropriate quality• lead to an improvement in ergonomics• help to avoid stress and demotivation• reduce psychological pressures• support environmental conservation• increase the reliability of work and working conditions• promote the image of the company and the industry• promote the quality of the products and their distribution or• save raw and auxiliary materials, as well as energy or other resources

Make a contribution and serve to simplify and improve• elevator and production systems• production methods• processing steps• work processes• operations• equipment and fittings• tools• machinery or• maintenance and repair

Improve and contribute towards the organisation of• transportation• storage• training

In arder to further develop the culture of health and safety within the company.


5. Criteria for improvement suggestionsAn improvement suggestion is any idea which is submitted in written or electronic form and whose implementation improves or avoids a currently unsatisfactory, uncertain or dangerous situation.

This also includes improvement suggestions within the context of moderated and organised group processes (e.g. meetings, Kaizen, CIP, TQM, etc).

Suggestions can also come from a group representing several individuals.

The suggestion must be based on a personal initiative and may not be the result of a concrete task or work arder.

Suggestions in terms of strategic company decisions (e.g. company expansion, pricing policy, relocation of production facilities, inclusion of new products in the production area) are not suggestions for improvement as intended by this agreement and therefore will not be regarded as such.

Other suggestions excluded are those which have no relevance to occupational safety or health protection. They will be returned to the submitting person or group.

The transferability and practicality of the improvement suggestions in group companies is verified. Extensive implementation costs are no criteria for the denial of improvement suggestions.

6. Participants of ldea management Health & SafetyEmployees:

• The employees of ThyssenKrupp Elevator OU CENE and SEAME have the right and the opportunity to submit information regarding unsatisfactory, unsafe or dangerous situations and, if possible, to develop solutions for the improvement of health and safety.

• The submission of an improvement suggestion will have no negative personal consequences, reprisals or negative personal impact for the employee.

• The employees are entitled to an immediate and complete assessment of their improvement suggestions for occupational safety / IHS.


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The objective assessment of their improvement suggestions for occupational safety / IHS takes place soon after submission to the assessment committee.The employees have the right to appeal the decision made should an improvement suggestion for occupational safety / IHS be rejected or if it is considered to have been assessed unfairly or inappropriately.

Assessment Committees:Delegation to committees:Employee representatives are entitled to join assessment committees and are invited to put themselves forward.

The assessment committees are equally representative of employees and employer. The voting power of all bodies - who created this agreement and who work on the basis of it - are equal between employer and employee representatives. Employee representatives can be, for example, members of the works council, trade union representatives or members of the selected health and safety committees in accordance with the local, regional and national employee representation structures. The employee representatives are exempt from carrying out their duties while attending the assessment committee meetings, a stipulation which has no effect on their salary. There are local (branch or MC-level), central (RC-level) and international (OU-level) committees set up.

• Branches without their own employee representation are included in the representation of interests far the next largest subsidiary.

• Members of the local assessment committee:• Branch/Manufacturing Center (MC) managers (or their authorised representatives)• Employee representatives in accordance with local employee representation structures• H&S managers of branch/Manufacturing Center

Members of the central assessment committee:• CEO RC (or authorised representative)• Employee representatives in accordance with local employee representation structures • H&S managers RC.


Members of the OU Idea Management Steering Committee:• CEO OU (or authorised representative)• Employee representatives in accordance with local employee representation structures• H&S managers OU

The Idea Management Steering Committees of OU CENE and SEAME meet once a year during the EWC meeting within the presence of EMF.

Tasks of the H&S manager in the committees:

The H&S manager prepares and moderates the committee meetings. In terms of his involvement with the rewards, he plays an advisory role and has no voting power. He is responsible to keep the assessment committee informed regarding product changes and changes within the organisation.

He is also partially responsible to support the implementation of ideas and suggestions in cooperation with the concerned departments.

The primary tasks carried out by the committees are• the advice and discussion of suggestions• if necessary, consultation with appropriate experts• collaboration in deciding on rewards• supporting the implementation of suggestions

The central assessment committees are additionally responsible for dealing with second appeals, suggestions which go beyond the scope of the local sites and the resolution of disputes.

The ldea management Steering Committees guarantees, in particular, the exchange of information between the RCs of the OU, as well as the implementation of suggestions which go beyond the scope of an RC. Furthermore, they promote the continued development of the process.


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Reporting:In order to secure the idea management process and its further development, a reporting system for all levels will be implemented and converted. This reporting system also assists with the control of the level of implementation, the results of the suggestions and the relevant decisions. The reports also include the level of implementation of this agreement of each country ar branch/MC.

Aims:• Create transparency• Quantitative assessment of improvement suggestions• Qualitative assessment of improvement suggestions• Amount/Scope of rewards• Conversion rates• Overview of all activities

Regular reporting• Report every 3 months from local H&S manager to RC H&S manager (far large RCs)• Report every 3 months from RC/MC/country H&S manager to RC/MC/country CEO• Report every 4 months from RC/MC/country H&S manager to OU H&S manager• Report every 6 months from OU H&S manager to management of TK Elevator OU CENE and

SEAME• Report every 12 months from OU H&S manager to EBR TKE and EMF

Management:

• The managers responsible support and promote the improvement suggestions for occupational safety I 1 HS on behalf of the employees and are responsible for rewarding successful suggestions and putting them into practice.


7. Organisational diagram and responsibilities in ldea management Health & SafetySee also organisational chart / process flow diagram.

The organisation of the ldea management Health & Safety in OU CENE and SEAME countries is the responsibility of the RC H&S managers, led by the respective H&S manager of OU CENE and SEAME. Furthermore, the OU H&S managers are responsible for keeping EMF and EWC informed.

The H&S-Managers are also partially responsible to support the implementation of ideas and suggestions in cooperation with the concerned departments.

The CEO of the respective RC is responsible for the development of the ldea management Health & Safety in the RCs and the regions. He is supported by the respective H&S manager RC. The H&S manager RC is responsible for organising the practical implementation within the RC/MC/country and manages this implementation.

The processing of the suggestions up until their assessment takes approximately 3 months; 2 months are planned for this. Unaffected here is the faster implementation of any immediate measures for safeguarding occupational safety and health protection.

The employees work on/draw up the suggestion for occupational safety / IHS using a special form or using a computer-based system and send their suggestion to the H&S manager responsible for the local ldea management Health & Safety. This H&S manager confirms receipt of the suggestions and prepares them for further assessment.Subsequently, it is passed on to the local assessment committee for further assessment. When the assessment committee has made its decision, the suggest or (employee) is immediately informed of the result by the H&S manager responsible for the ldea management Health & Safety. The bonus awarded is paid out in accordance with the nationally agreed procedure.

lf the employee does not agree with the decision made, he can immediately lodge a written appeal with the H&S manager responsible for the ldea management Health & Safety together with his reasons for doing so. The improvement suggestion is immediately passed on to the local assessment committee for further discussion. The bonus determined remains unchanged.


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After further discussing the matter, the local assessment committee can improve the result or make no change to it.

Any difference between the old bonus and the new bonus is immediately paid out to the employee in accordance with the nationally agreed procedure.

lf the employee still does not agree with the new result, he can lodge another appeal with the H&S manager responsible for the ldea management Health & Safety.

The second appeal will be passed on to the central assessment committee. After discussing the matter, the central assessment committee can improve the result or make no change to it.

Any difference between the old bonus and the new bonus is immediately paid out to the employee in accordance with the nationally agreed procedure. The employee may not lodge any further appeals.

All decisions made by the assessment committee are taken by majority vote. The voting power of all bodies - who created this agreement and who work on the basis of it - are equal between employer and employee representatives. lf there is no majority after the third vote is taken, the decision is made by lot.

Suggestions which cannot be converted due to technical or organisational reasons remain valid without restriction for 3 years.

lf the suggestion (or part of the suggestion) is implemented by the company within 3 years, the suggestion must be assessed once again by the assessment committee.


8. RewardsTaken as a basis for the assessment of incalculable suggestions for occupational safety / IHS is the assessment route referred to in the Appendix.

The rewards paid out can be individual or collective rewards which take place within the scope of support projects or employee welfare-funds. Individual regulations far this are decided at country level. lf there is no alternative procedure decided at country level, the reward is paid out individually to the person who submitted the suggestion.

The assessment of calculable suggestions for occupational safety / IHS is carried out as follows:

The costs for its implementation are determined. The reward is calculated as 25% of the difference between the implementation costs and the savings in 1year (net savings).

9. Final ProvisionsThe English version of this agreement takes precedence in any disputes regarding interpretation.

The term of this agreement is 5 years after coming into force. Should there be no termination of this agreement 3 months before expiration of these five years, the term of the agreement is automatically extended by a further three years. The contractual parties must assemble as soon as possible after termination to recommence negotiations.

This agreement is verified by the contracting parties three years after coming into force.

The costs for an interpreter for further negotiations, as well as translations, are assumed by ThyssenKrupp Elevator.

The members of the various assessment committees are exempt from their specific duties when carrying out work for the committee which has no adverse affect on their salary payment.

Necessary qualification measures for committee members are enabled by ThyssenKrupp Elevator who continues to pay the remunerations as well as all relevant costs.

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The assessment of calculable suggestions for occupational safety I IHS is carried out as follows:The costs for its implementation are determined. The reward is calculated as 25% of the difference between the implementation costs and the savings in 1year (net savings).

Final provisionsThe English version of this agreement takes precedence in any disputes regarding interpretation.

The term of this agreement is 5 years aftet coming into force. Should there be no termination of this agreement 3 months befare expiration of these five years, the term of the agreement is automatically extended by a further three years. The contractual parties must assemble as soon as possible after termination to recommence negotiations.

This agreement is verified by the contracting parties three years after coming into force.

The costs for an interpreter for further negotiations, as well as translations, are assumed by ThyssenKrupp Elevator.

The members of the various assessment committees are exempt from their specific duties when carrying out work for the committee which has no adverse affect on their salary payment.

Necessary qualification measures for committee members are enabled by ThyssenKrupp Elevator who continues to pay the remunerations as well as all relevant costs.

MUNDIAL

MANAGING & ANTICIPATING CHANGE

AT ARCELORMITTAL ( V10 )


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GENERAL PRINCIPLESThis Agreement applies to all workers employed in ArcelorMittal group companies in the European countries listed in the appendix # 1 to this Agreement. Any change in this list will be subject to an amendment between the signatories of this Agreement.

The signatories commit to comply with its provisions within the whole involved perimeter.

It cannot replace any national and local legislation and/or local, national, regional or company level agreements if these are more favourable for the workers. Moreover, the signatory partners intend to comply with all existing legislation and collective agreements at national and company level and with social dialogue structures and traditions.

Aim of the Agreement:

In an ever-changing environment, anticipation of change is a critical factor of success in maintaining and increasing the sustainability of the company

The purpose of this agreement is to facilitate the management and the anticipation of change by promoting effective social dialogue with regards to changes within ArcelorMittal as well as accompanying tools to adapt, together with the development of appropriate training policies.

It aims to:• Safeguard and develop the competitiveness of the companies concerned and secure the

sustainable development of their production activities in Europe,• Preserve and develop the employability of the AM workers in Europe,• Develop the workers’ required competences and skills so as to enable them to adapt to the new

economic and strategic challenges.

The agreement lays down minimum principles, to which all companies included in the scope of this Agreement should refer, with a view to anticipating and managing change in a socially responsible manner, and which do not


prevent those companies from developing this further at local level or from continuing to do so where it already exists.

1. SAFEGUARDING EMPLOYMENT AND THE FUTURE OF ARCELORMITTAL

1.1. Maintaining Tools and plantsArcelorMittal intends to preserve all the tools and plants which are currently mothballed or temporary suspended in order to restart them providing that market recovery allows doing so.

ArcelorMittal will use this period of time to investigate the current technology on those tools and plants and define industrial plans for the future, including:

• The upgrade and renewal of machineries and tools,• The preservation of the critical skills,• The role of the key contractors.

1.2. Maintaining the workforceArcelorMittal recognises the significant human capital of its workforce and will use all possible means to maintain the workforce, by using all possible alternative solutions- including short time working (in French, “Chômage partiel”, in Germany, “Kurz Arbeit” in Spanish, “Regulation temporal de empleo“) - and providing training in periods of economic cutbacks.

The training provided should be available to all workers and aim at: maintaining the skills and knowledge of the workforce, providing possibilities for further career developments and individual life-long learning experiences, maintaining the sites’ tools and machinery, re-launching and the safety requirements linked to this.

ArcelorMittal intends not to resort to compulsory dismissals. If, once after all possible alternatives have been exhausted, dismissals are envisaged, ArcelorMittal and Trade Unions will commit to enter in a process aiming to reach negotiated solution, in good faith, in accordance with national legislations, traditions and cultures, with a view to create long term solutions for the future of the employment basins.


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Social dialogue and search for negotiated solutions form the basic concepts of this framework agreement.

1.3. Maintaining Purchasing powerArcelorMittal and trade unions will commit to enter in a process aiming to reach negotiated solution, in good faith, in accordance with national legislations, traditions and cultures:

• To maintain the workforce’s purchasing power, limiting the loss of salary in case of short-time working,

• To develop performance and incentive plans, this can be part of a negotiated solution.

The negotiation will respect the Collective Labour Agreements nationally and locally negotiated.

2. SUPPORT EMPLOYEES TO DEVELOP THEIR COMPETENCIES IN LINE WITH THE ANTICIPATED CHANGE WITH REGARDS TO JOBS AND SKILL REQUIREMENTSIt is understood that skill development and training are key elements to maintain competitiveness and to secure employment opportunities for workers.

In order to promote forward-looking management of jobs and competences, priority should be given to:• Providing information on the company strategy and forecasts on main areas of company

orientation and developments,• Promoting the identification and anticipation of competence and qualification requirements for each

field of activity and in all entities,• Developing an active training policy accessible to all professional categories.

Guidelines on Training policy• Promote individual professional development interview (interview to discuss possible career

orientation combined with individual training plans to make internal voluntary mobility possible),• Development of an annual collective training plan at local level in consultation with the trade unions• Ensuring access to training for each employee• Specific support for workers with low qualifications in order to guarantee their access to

training


• Promote and develop lifelong-learning• Validation of competencies and recognition of experience as a key element for guaranteeing

career development.• Develop tools to encourage workers to undertake training: career guidance and advice to workers

(training advisers, external experts ….)• Mobilisations of internal and external financial resources – also using the existing European, national

and local available systems - to promote, finance and stimulate training.• Create partnerships with existing training centres.

Existing structures and tools to inform on open position at corporate, national and local level will be extended to make this information available, taking into account the possibilities and instruments at the group’s disposal (e.g. newsletters, job info points, electronic systems…) and managing the constraints arising from the diversity of languages and organization structures in the company.

In order to manage the renewal of competencies in the most efficient way for both the company and the employees, the extension of local best practices and tools such as coaching, mentoring and apprenticeships will also be promoted.

This Chapter of the Agreement will be further developed and made more concrete before the end of 2010.

3. AN ACTIVE AND PERMANENT SOCIAL DIALOGUE AS A PRE-CONDITION FOR THE ANTICIPATORY MANAGEMENT OF CHANGEThe parties recognise the important role of social dialogue at European, national and local level. Maintaining a high level of social dialogue, especially in a period of ongoing cutbacks and temporary closures of tools and plants, should take precedence over all other matters.

The parties will promote social dialogue at European and local levels.

The social dialogue in ArcelorMittal aims to anticipate the future and preserve the sustainable development of the Group, through establishing a permanent and confident relationship between management and trade unions.


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The principles and guidelines laid down in this chapter are the minimum standards supporting the deployment of social dialogue in all ArcelorMittal companies included in the scope of this Agreement

The tools of social dialogue are information, consultation and negotiation. They are used in different ways according to national laws, conventions or traditions. The statutory bodies dealing with social dialogue may be different (trade unions, employee representatives’ bodies …), but in all the countries, social dialogue is based on the representativeness of the trade unions and on the respect of the EU social Directives and on national legislations.

Minimum standards for social dialogue will be jointly defined in companies where they do not exist and deployed in the other ones, structuring the frequency and content of meetings to be held with the social partners at all levels, and ensuring that proper information is shared at proper level in the organization.

Minimum standards will be implemented in the framework of national legislations and do not prevent from developing this further at local level or from continuing to do so where it already exists.

The deployment of minimum standards will be reviewed on a yearly basis by the follow up committees set up by this Agreement in its chapter 4.

Reinforcing the role of the European Work Council and the national employee representative bodies

To respect the different competencies of the employee representative bodies at European, national and local level, ArcelorMittal will seek to inform them simultaneously in accordance with their own and different prerogatives.

Information on company strategy (including industrial plans, innovation and R&D), on employment perspectives and on future company activities and consultation (when needed) will be conducted on a timely manner for ensuring the collective expression of ArcelorMittal workers and efficient running of the company.


Role of the European and national Trade Unions

In addition to the information and consultation of the European, national and local employee representative bodies, the existing Social Dialogue group within ArcelorMittal is redesigned and empowered.

This Social Dialogue group will be composed of 12 representatives of trade unions and 12 representatives of ArcelorMittal management (including the negotiating teams of this Agreement).

The missions given to the Social Dialogue group are:• Ensure an active and permanent exchange at high level on Group strategy,• Act as a social and industrial observatory,• Jointly explore the viability of all sites,• Monitor and follow up this Agreement according to its chapter 4, acting as the follow up committee

at corporate level.

Its mission shall also include the review of the following indicators:• The participation of the group in the European steel production,• The evolution and types of investments, including new technologies,• Analysis and types of critical competences,• Demographic and employment evolutions,• Analysis of the need for training,• Information on sub-contractors.


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4. FOLLOW UP COMMITTEESThe follow up committees support the social dialogue laid out in the chapter 3.

Their mission is to identify existing problems and to propose possible solutions. They shall be the sole and exclusive bodies to supervise the implementation and interpretation of the Agreement. They shall issue a summary report twice a year.

At national level:It is the main level of follow up. A national follow up committee is set up in each country included in the scope of this Agreement. It is composed, in equal number, of management representatives lead by the country HR coordinator, and of employee representatives (one representative by national trade union represented in ArcelorMittal group). This national follow up committee is responsible for monitoring the implementation of this Agreement in its country. It can at all time recourse to the European follow up committee to reinforce the follow up of this Agreement.

At European level:The Social Dialogue Group is acting as the follow up committee at European level. It aims to forestall any difficulty through following implementation and anticipating possible issues. It meets every quarter. It receives the reports from the national committees to feed its works and cascades its conclusion to the national follow up committees.

5. MISCELLANEOUSThis Agreement does not create any rights and obligations other than those stipulated herein.

No third party will be entitled to exercise any right grounded on this Agreement.

Confidentiality

All oral and written communications among and between the Parties and their members concerning the information received through the application of this Agreement shall remain confidential and will not be made available to third parties, unless there is a legal obligation of disclosure or the parties decides to release them.


Interpretation and dispute

A conciliation body with equal representation on both sides is established at the ArcelorMittal headquarters in order to conciliate in any potential disputes resulting from the interpretation or implementation of this agreement.

Only this conciliation body can settle such a dispute and its decision is final. It is made up of the negotiating teams of this Agreement.

Where a member leaves the conciliation body, he/she will be replaced by his side, with respect of the balance in the conciliation body.

Before submitting the dispute to the conciliation body, management and trade unions should first address it through national follow up committees, following national practices and traditions.

Amendment

In the event that any change occurs which would disrupt the balance of commitments prevailing between the signatory partners at the date of signature of this Agreement, either ArcelorMittal or the EMF could ask to modify it. The party who will take the initiative of the request will submit to the other party a draft of a modifying text.

Dissemination & Implementation

This agreement will be communicated to all workers of ArcelorMittal, following national practices and traditions


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Duration

This Agreement enters into force as from its signature for an indeterminate duration, except for chapter 1. Article 1.3. “Maintaining Purchasing Power”, which is valid for the duration of 1 year after signing the agreement, period which by mutual agreement can be extended.

Termination

This Agreement can, however, be terminated by either of the two parties with an advanced notice of 3 months during the first year and 6 months after, sent by registered mail with an acknowledgement of receipt addressed to the other party.

Authentic version

This Agreement will be translated into all languages of the countries included in the scope of this Agreement. In the event of divergence between the various language versions, the English version will be deemed to be authentic.

For and on behalf of ARCELORMITTAL SA

For and on behalf of EUROPEAN METALWORKERS FEDERATION

European Union

General Level

THE ROLE OF WORKERS’ PARTICIPATION IN PSYCHOSOCIAL

RISKS MANAGEMENT: SURVEYS AND STUDIES FROM

AN EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE

Cristóbal Molina Navarrete

Estefanía González Cobaleda

University of Jaén


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Summary1. Introduction: the improvement in the effectiveness of psychosocial risks management as a challenge to labor representation. 2. Different forms of worker involvement in health and safety at work: general approximation. 2.1. Diversity between countries and cultures: comparisons between countries, sectors and styles -models- of legislative regulation. 2.2. Comparative study between ESENER Survey and the European surveys on Working Conditions. 3. Main conclusions that relate psychosocial risks management and workers representation 4. Participation as a condition of the validity of psychosocial risk management system: a spanish experience5. Final thought: it is necessary to go beyond the quantitative studies.


1. Introduction: the improvement in the effectiveness of psychosocial risks management of as a challenge to labor representationConsidering that the solid evidence that there will be not, at least in the short and medium term, no Community regulation that progress in the improvement of the management of psychosocial risks at work, there are increasingly the studies, reports and surveys that turn their gaze to the analysis of the role that the representation of workers can play in this regard. Of course that the guarantee of an improvement in the effectiveness of psychosocial risks prevention is not mission exclusively, or even the primary, the representatives of the workers, but the whole of the institutions with competence in the field, both regulatory authorities and those in charge of monitoring compliance with the rules - inspections of work1. However, in the same way that trade unions, along with business organizations, the so-called partners or social subjects assumed in its day, within the Community Social Dialog, move forward in creating frameworks for action more effective in the prevention of psychosocial risks, through the signing of Framework Agreements (stress, harassment and domestic violence) Agreements and multi-sectoral (harassment and external violence) Europeans, it now becomes the eyes on his role in the management phase of the regulatory framework and practical action. On this point, they are increasingly the evidence surrounding the configuration of the role of the participatory rights of workers -representation and consultation - as both conditions (a) validity as (b) effectiveness of the entire process or global management of psychosocial risks at workspaces, including not only the evaluation of this type of risks but also psychosocial intervention2.

Of course, the sustained and sustainable assertion that the growing role has been to make the accounts with the difficulties that, are derived from the profound changes that, at the same time, are taking place in the labor organizations, because their continuous restructuring not only affect the multiplication of psychosocial risk factors but also to the traditional structures of representation called to collaborate in, but also check, its management. It cannot be established a fracture or gap between these two aspects of the restructuring and its impact on the management of the same psychosocial.

1 Vid. LIPPEL, K.- QUINLAN, M. (Editores). “Los riesgos psicosociales en el lugar de trabajo: retos para los reguladores, los Inspectores de Trabajo y representantes de los trabajadores” (Psychosocial hazards in the workplace: Challenges for regulators, Labour Inspectors and Worker representatives). En Safety Science Volume 49, Issue 4, Pages 543-606 (April 2011)2 Vid. WALTERS, D. “Representación de los trabajadores y de los riesgos psicosociales: ¿una relación problemática?� . En Safety Science. Volumen 49, Número 4 , abril de 2011, páginas 599-606


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In any case, it is important also to emphasize that there are no specific structures of labor representation, at least in general terms in the different European countries for the management of psychosocial risks, therefore, in this aspect there is to conclude that such risks must be treated as the other risks. For this reason, the greater or lesser success of workers’ participation in the management of this type of risks will depend on the greater or lesser success of this participation in the set of policies for the prevention of occupational hazards in general. Precisely, the available empirical evidence shows that the effectiveness of the participated management of psychosocial risk is greatest where there is a greater tradition of a participated management on health and safety in general. In effect, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has published a report entitled “representation and consultation of workers on the safety and health” that reflects that evidence.

The objective of this study was to perform a detailed analysis of the data provided by the European Survey of Enterprises in New and Emerging risks (ESENER) made in the year 2009. In this survey data have been obtained through interviews conducted with professionals in the field of health and safety and with delegates of prevention from 31 countries, including all member States of the EU-27 and, in addition, Croatia, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. It has been claimed to investigate the relationship between the effectiveness of the measures of health and safety management that has been introduced within enterprises and the participation of the workers representatives in these measures.

The report is characterized by having a simple structure, which greatly facilitates to understand a particularly complex content. In this sense, the main part of the document, which are reflected in the first seven paragraphs, offers a secondary analysis of data where examines the characteristics related to the participation of workers in the management of Health and Safety at Work, as well as the nature and scope of this participation generally, to then specify these same elements related to participation in the management of psychosocial health labor. In addition, it is very interesting the comparative analysis made in the following part of the document, between the data from the European Survey and the Survey of the United Kingdom, using similar questions to those raised in the survey ESENER to facilitate obtaining comparable results. This study presents the major findings of this secondary study, although it has been taken advantage of this analysis to provide to his time in the context of other academic studies in this regard, as well as, even, to some recent national experience, such as the Spanish, in the that its courts of justice have wagered in a clear way to strengthen the role of workers’ participation in psychosocial management, not only as a method more effective, but as demand for its validity, its reliability.


2. Different forms of worker involvement in health and safety at work: general approximation.The diversity of structures and practices of representative participation by workers in the companies, who knows models and different experiences in the member States of the European Union, requires clarifying what is meant in this context by participation of the workers, focusing primarily on practices of representation, this is, in the exercise of rights to information and consultation. The difficulties arise because terms such as “participation” and “consultation” cover a very wide range of practices, with different expectations, rules of favour or support and constraints that influence, as is natural, in their results. In the scientific doctrine has highlighted the special need for clarity in these aspects of psychosocial risks when it is due to the direct relationship between their organizational causes and recommended strategies to address them.

From this perspective, a first relevant distinction is the difference between the individual participation of the workers, a necessary condition for the validity and reliability of the assessment of these risks in accordance with EU and national regulation in this regard, and the collective participation, through representative bodies, both in the design of the management process as in its implementation or practical realization. A second distinction is that divides between representations of type more institutionalized or formalized, and the maintained in a high informality. Finally, we must differentiate between the participation “passive”, this is, as subjects receivers of information, or issuers, but without the ability to influence the final result in a significant way, and the participation “active”, in which the collective subjects, generally, they have a remarkable influence on the boost and control of the final process3.Initially, the approach of the interests of workers collective representation in health and safety in general, and psychosocial in particular, you must respond to the main feature of the same legal: is carried out by bodies and formal agreements. This institutional dimension and formalized it gives greater stability and that derives from the existence of a regulatory framework, especially national, without prejudice of the Community framework for the rights of information-consultation.

However, the secondary report done on the data of ESENER related to the participation of the workers’ representative puts emphasis on the distinction between “formal participation”, between entrepreneurs and collective subjects,

3 In general, the management strategies of psychosocial risks tend to be passive in their individual projection -is required of the workers in isolation considered little more than information on the problems of your environment, limiting himself to a evaluating cooperation, limited and passive-, and more active in their collective approach, by accurate answers as soon as collective and organizational, also generally. Vid. WALTERS, D. “Representación de los trabajadores y de los riesgos psicosociales �. Op. cit. . pags. 602.


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and the “informal participation”, between workers and employers. It is clear, however, that in the data published by the European Survey ESENER is reported on the “impact of the formal participation of workers in the management of health and safety risks at work”. In terms of formal participation, the findings published in the ESENER survey show that 41% of the sample of the EU-27 has representation of the workers. The representation was more common in the form of a works committee (35 %) and less frequent in the form of trade union representatives (19 %).

Also, the survey points out that, although in most countries the company committees and trade union representatives may coexist in the same places of work, in some countries, only one or another may be present. For example, in Austria, Germany and Luxembourg representation is only through the works councils, while that on the contrary, in Sweden, Malta and Cyprus the only means of trade union representatives is at the enterprise level. However, as a result general indicated that “on average, a vast majority of businesses in the area of the EU (75 %) has at least one of these forms of formal representation in the workplace”.

However, the report, and the Survey, makes it very clear the importance of factor related to the dimension of occupational organizations, since the workers representation is closely linked to the number of workers: is greater in the companies of more dimensions, and minor, or non-existent, in small businesses. For what it does to the sectors of activity are also called attention to the increased presence of representation of workers in the public sector. For example, those organizations with 500 or more workers were 15 times more likely to possess a form of representation of workers, as against those companies with fewer than 20 employees. In addition, in the workplaces where health and safety at work and the views of workers are seen as a priority, the level of participation and representation of workers is being increased. Consequently, these two data -size of the template and guarantee of a preventive culture prior to the organization-, reveal the serious obstacles that arise for a systematic management and widespread of the safety and health at work in general, and in particular psychosocial: companies with fewer than 20 workers are the vast majority of those that comprise the tissues productive of most of the European countries, while at the same time, in a context of economic crisis like current, more in certain countries - Italy, Ireland, Spain, Greece, Portugal… -, this tendency to the management of healthy environments will yield significantly, opening up some notable gaps between countries.

In effect, the report links the greater effectiveness of the health and safety at work management at level of commitment between the address and the representation in the field of safety and health at work, essential budget for systematic


procedures for management and comprehensive policies of health and safety at workplace. But, exactly, and by introducing a dynamic perspective in these studies, is this collaboration- commitment climate that is now revised, to purpose of the profound changes in the breast of the organizational structures of companies, both by the crisis as before and beyond. The ongoing processes of corporate restructuring, often managed to the margin, or with the strong opposition of the representation of workers, are contributing to damage good part of the fundamental aspects that constitute the environment of the representation of workers in safety and health, contributing to the increase of psychosocial risk factors, as will be seen, to its effective management.

In this way, if the survey -ESENER - and secondary Report that analyzes it in its projection with respect to the effectiveness of workers’ participation in occupational safety, offers significant data that demonstrate the importance of the trade union support to the representational function of workers in health and safety, not less overt is today the loss of influence of the trade unions within the organizations of work. This power is declining at a rapid pace with the changes in the “domestic markets” of work - the structure and organization of work- and external -labor market institutions-. Not only are reduced to a large extent the templates, but there is a transfer of workers from sectors with a strong union presence - the industry-, others with less presence of unions. In addition, the increasing decentralization of the industrial relations systems, in order to encourage the direct connections between employers and employees of a company or organization, it also weakens the role of trade unions, Therefore it has the capacity to make a major influence in the improvement and innovation of the health and safety in the so-called “new economy” -based more on the productivity function and flexibility of the management of the work that in the function of distribution and transaction between the various interests at stake-.The processes of corporate restructuring, and the entire labor market in each EU member state, are helping to undermine, or limit, the “pre-conditions” that determine or predisposes to the greater or lesser effectiveness of the participation of the representatives of the workers in the effective management of occupational risks in general and in particular the psychosocial4

4 The most significant of these changes include restructuring processes /reduction of templates on the part of the big companies of the public and private sector and its consequent effects on the intensity of the work through changes in staffing levels / workloads, multitasking, the increase in working hours / presentism management and unpaid overtime,etc. Vid. WALTERS, D. “Representación de los trabajadores y de los riesgos psicosociales �. Op. cit. . páginas 603-604.


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2.1. Diversity between countries and cultures: comparisons between countries, sectors and styles -models- of legislative regulation.The report determines that these measures of management of occupational health and safety are more effective companies exist where two factors combined

• A strong workers representation.• With a high management commitment with such representation

This conjunction will multiply by 10 the likelihood of an effective management in the topic. Therefore, the existence of a culture of covenant in the company, not unilateral, but management negotiated, facilitates the implementation of effective management systems of the health and safety at work.On the other hand, it also takes into account the factor related to economic sector. The analysis of this variable will shed light on the data already discussed above, according to which the “new economy” and its shipping weight of the economic and labor from the old industrial sector to the services sector, except in the public sphere, also reduces the rate of effectiveness of participation. The ESENER survey divide this sector in three categories:

• Industrial production, including construction• Private services: hotels and restaurants; transport, banks• Public services: public administration; education; Health

Well, combining both factors - management commitment and the different way of formal representation - and the economic sector, are obtained higher proportions in the public sector (34 %) and lowest in the private sector (23 %).


Chart. The levels of commitment to the direction of OSH

Source: Worker representation and consultation on health and safety. An analysis of the findings of the European Survey of

Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER).

However, the presence of the proportional representation of workers in combination with the commitment by country of senior management, as we see in the following graph, was higher in the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom and Ireland. It should be called the attention that these countries are usually characterized by a regulatory model of the industrial relations as a whole very flexible, where more emphasis is placed on the management standards more operational and pragmatic. However, the lowest one is in the countries of the south Europe, especially in the smaller ones, as Greece and Portugal. These results may be due to the possible differences between cultures through the custom or the habit of managing these risks and the development standards in the field of OSH management in the member States of the EU, and by the familiarity of these countries with the type of participatory management and oriented regulation to the autonomous processes on the OSH in comparison with European countries5.

5 Vid. GARCÍA JIMÉNEZ, M- DE LA CASA QUESADA, S. -MOLINA NAVARRETE, C. Regulación de los riesgos psicosociales en los ambientes de trabajo: panorama comparado de modelos y experiencias en Europa y América. Bomarzo. Albacete (España).2011.


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Chart. Proportion of the representation of workers and the commitment of the company’s address in OSH, by country

Source: Worker representation and consultation on health and safety. An analysis of the findings of the European Survey of

Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER).

We can consider that it would have been very useful that the survey itself ESENER will provide a thorough and careful study of the reasons for these differences between European countries. These data have been very relevant taking into account that all the EU countries are linked by a common regulatory framework through the development and implementation of the Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, the time that there are also other frameworks relating to information, consultation and participation of workers in companies.


Especially if one takes into account that there are numerous and reliable studies that highlight the influence of the regulatory framework in the conditions of effectiveness of participation. For a fact, a significant data that can be seen from the vast majority of participation studied cases in experiences such as the UK was that the preconditions for the effective representation of workers are not fully in practice. Otherwise, in most cases, representation and consultation is restricted, characterizing an as good part of these limitations are explained in terms of “model of regulation” which is the basis of systems of worker representation in health and safety in the UK, but also in most advanced economies. These studies, pre-secondary Report of ESENER, identifies a number of problems that have to do with the regulation ineffective, the weak trade union organization and the mismanagement of the corporate restructuring6.

2.2. Comparative study between ESENER Survey and the European surveys on Working Conditions.In this section, we attempt to summarize some of the findings that this report has been obtained from the different case studies that help to support the analysis of the ESENER survey, since there are few national surveys in which has been collected information on the representation and consultation in Health and Safety at Work. There are even a smaller number of surveys at the level of the European Union from the experience of occupational health and safety and working conditions in the workplace of the countries of the EU.

However, the survey closest to the aspects treated by ESENER is the European working conditions surwey, although the direct interest to address the issues relating to the nature of the representation of employees and the consultation on the health and safety at work is few. However, they asks to respondents about the conditions of European work if believe, on the one hand, that your health and safety are at risk because of their work and, on the other hand, if your work affects their own health.

The findings in the report published are very positive in terms of training. A large majority of the representatives of the workers indicated that they received, at least, some kind of training on the issues of safety and health at work, although the matter was more oriented to the traditional concerns of safety with respect to the emerging risks,

6 WALTERS, D.- NICHOLS, T. Worker Representation and Workplace Health and Safety. Palgrave Macmillan, London. 2007; WALTERS, D.- LOUNDON, R. Trade union strategies to support representation on health and safety in Australia and the UK: integration or isolation? En Walters, D. - Nichols, T. (Eds.), Workplace Health and Safety – International Perspectives on Worker Representation, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke (2009)


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such as psychosocial risks (harassment, discrimination), or even the ergonomics. In addition, this survey of working conditions identifies to the workers who are also well informed about the risks associated with their work, even if it is informal practice, that is, in organizations that entrepreneurs do not consult with workers in topics related to occupational health and safety. In this sense, workers who responded to the survey determined that they were well informed about their job associated risks, too, were less likely to perceive that the job has harmful effects on health.

A more detailed analysis reveals that the survey respondents in the United Kingdom and Ireland are less prone to relate their work and health and, therefore, are also less prone to detect the risks in their health and safety. On the other hand, the survey respondents of southern and eastern Europe are more prone to link their health status with their jobs, evidencing his conviction on the negative impact of these on that.

3. Main conclusions that relate psychosocial risks management and workers representationIn this context, as concludes this survey, the companies are different reasons to take over the management of psychosocial risks are different. Well, the main reason of compliance would be on the “legal compliance” in this area and it is 90% of the option chosen by the executives surveyed. Secondly, and at a certain distance from the first, is the “claim for part of the workers or their representatives”, according to the 38% of the respondents. So, one of the less studied aspects of the activities that develop health and safety representatives, refers to it’s to the prevention of psychosocial risks commitment.

However, the ESENER survey has provided important and valuable information on this topic. The document published in the survey contains information about both the operation of formal systems of representation and consultation on the psychosocial risks management, such as the direct participation of the workers on these issues. Well now and here is clearly illustrates one of the main contributions of the survey, the report underlines: most of the initiatives on the psychosocial risk management matter are informal in nature.

From this perspective, and while it is equally reflected that also the formal agreements have no place in this area, it can be concluded that there is a significant deficit in the practical implementation, at the foot of company, in the daily life of the organizations, the framework of social dialog agreed at Community level in this topic - work-related stress (2004) and harassment and violence (2007), despite the transpositions carried out in each of the


member States, through their agreements at the summit. Thus, while having a policy and institutional framework is a suitable opportunity to improve the level of implementation in business organizations of appropriate procedures for psychosocial risk management, it is not enough. This regulation is not a sufficient condition for this implementation, because if it is not conducted a process of specific guidance for the implementation of this legislation there is a high risk of ineffectiveness, hence the need for a more formal framework and participated in each company to implement both the normative forecasts - Directive, national laws, such as the community framework agreements.

About that, the report leaves evidence of how most of successful participation cases on worker representation in the management of psychosocial risks in the literature, describe a model of prevention in which delegates participate in the evaluation of psychosocial risks. Several authors have published best practices in this regard, providing a relevant practical material. Unions also have published studies of successful actions to address the psychosocial risk, since more than a decade ago. In 2002, a special issue of the Bulletin of the British union TUTB devoted to trade union action on the stress a wide attention, including quantitative and qualitative survey that identified the stressful work, the dissemination of information, advisory services, training activities and campaigns of the development of guides and training materials of psychosocial risks7. However, it was observed that the greater part of the trade union action focuses on certain risks, in particular workplace harassment, the workload on the psychosocial level, and few are those who adopt a global approach, holistic for effective management of stress. In 2009 a symposium on the importance of the participation of workers in the risk assessment organized by the ISE, presented several examples of initiatives on methods of evaluation of psychosocial risks promoted by trade unions - Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium and Germany . Sometimes involves an international transfer, such as the Danish case.

ESENER would confirm this partial participation approach and focused about all to the psychosocial risks evaluation query. And in regard to the participation promotion forms, direct and individually, it is noted measures aimed to encouraging workers to get actively involved in the implementation and evaluation of management measures of psychosocial risks.

7 Vid. KOUKOULAKI, T. “Stress Prevention in Europe: Review of Trade Union Activities – Obstacles and Future Strategies”. TUBT Newsletter, Stress at Work 19/20, 4–11 (Special Issue). 2002. En http://hesa.etui-rehs.org/uk/newsletter/files/Newsletter-20.pdf. Más actualmente OWEN, N. -FULTON, L. The contribution of British trade unions in the struggle against psychosocial risks in the workplace. En Anuario Internacional sobre Prevención de Riesgos Psicosociales y calidad de vida en el Trabajo.UGT-CEC.2011.In http://www.seguridadysalud.ibermutuamur.es/IMG/pdf/anuario_psicosociales_1.pdf

http://hesa.etui-rehs.org/uk/newsletter/files/Newsletter-20.pdf

http://www.seguridadysalud.ibermutuamur.es/IMG/pdf/anuario_psicosociales_1.pdf

http://www.seguridadysalud.ibermutuamur.es/IMG/pdf/anuario_psicosociales_1.pdf


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Chart. Summary of the main measures used on psychosocial management.Psychosocial risks management

Psychosocial risks managementTo have procedures to cope stress/intimidation/harassment /workplace violence

The use of methods and actions to deal with stress/intimidation/harassment/workplace violence

Psychosocial management process and results Effectiveness of the management of psychosocial risks

Management difficulties Lack of resources/lack of awareness

Source: self made by the report: Worker representation and consultation on health and safety. An analysis of the ESENER.

These empirical data reveal especially a quantitative monitoring: the tendency to the participate management of psychosocial risks is four times greater in centres where there are joint commitment with respect to those in which there is not. However, the report takes care of reviewing that it is of cross-sectional data that they would not let us identify causal relationships direct and immediate.

Table. Overview of the health and safety management of psychosocial riskAsociaction between

Psychosocial risk management: Workers representation (*):

Have procedures to deal with risks • Both forms: General and specialist in OSH, have greatest force• Strongers partnerships with señor management commitment on SST

Use actions and methods to COPE with

• Both forms: General and specialist in OSH, have greatest force.• Strongers partnerships with señor management commitment on SST.

(*)The forms of workers representation: General -committee of company and/or the representative of a union - and specialist in

OSH - health and safety committee and / or representative of health and safety

Source: Self made by the report Worker representation and consultation on health and safety. An analysis of the ESENER.


In short it seems clear the relationship between the existence of some form or track workers’ participation in psychosocial risk management, through (1) the collective consultation or through (2) the stimulus to the active participation but individually, or both, in organizations with high levels of commitment to the direction and the forms of representation formally constituted. But they also affect, as seen for participation in the management of occupational safety and health in general, other factors. Among them:

• Sector - more in public sector -• The medium age of staff - more so when they are young people -• The size of the companies also has an impact on the type of participation, because in the larger ones

would opt by both the query and the animation to participate individually in the survey-evaluation, while in smaller ones tends to prevail this form of individual participation

These associations suggest that there are a number of factors that promote or hinder the participation of workers in the management of psychosocial risks, which may vary with certain conditions of the workplace. This approach is already assumed by the ESENER in order to explain the differences between countries in order to implement or not, partial or systematic, psychosocial management in its safety and health policy at work. However, in order to explore more precisely the relationship between the management commitment, the representation of the workers and the participation of the workers, was created by the secondary study combined a variable. Well, if, in general, both forms of participation of the workers, that is to say, through collective consultation or promotion of the individual active participation are associated with a management “effective” of psychosocial risks, when the two participatory forms of jointly are associated with the conditions of management “efficient”. However, the association of the participatory forms with the type of representation of the workers was rather less clear or accurate, although not seems doubtful in any case, that the greater awareness with the management of psychosocial risks is given in those organizations with a strong representation of workers in them.

However, a deepening of these variables is crucial to a better understanding of the different questions about the effectiveness and sustainability of this form of participation, throwing more evidence on the “preconditions” to achieve this. These are the parameters, above the episodic or anecdotal cases, which will be used to determine the scope of the representation function of worker health and safety and its impact on the improvement of working environment. Only the analysis of the representation in its context will give meaning to this general approach of good practices.


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Table. Overview of the health and safety management of psychosocial risk.Asociación entre:

Workers participation • through any consultation and/or stimulus for active participation

Characteristics of the organization: • Multiple Site Companies smaller • public services • Less workers to older

Approximation to the OSH management: • The commitment of senior management in the field of OSH. • Identify on a priority basis risks

Representation of workers ( * ):

• General, specialist in OSH and both ways

Participation: • enquiry.

Characteristics of the organization: •

• Multiple Site Companies larger services *

Approximation to the OSH management:

• The commitment of senior management in the field of OSH.

• Identify risks only when concerned about, not before.Representation of workers ( * ): General and both ways

Participation: • individual stimulus

Characteristics of the organization: (Multiple site, SMES, services)Approximation to the OSH management: • The commitment of senior management in the field of OSH. • Identify risks only a posteriori, by concern.

Representation of workers ( * ): • Specialist in OSH and both ways

Participation: • individual enquiry and stimulus.

Characteristics of the organization: (Multiple Site, small business, services; more women and less than older workers).Approximation to the OSH management: • The commitment of senior management in the field of OSH. • Do not prior identification, only concern whenRepresentation of workers ( * ):

• General, specialist in OSH and both ways

(*)Forms of employee representation: general and specialized

Source: Worker representation and consultation on health and safety. An analysis of the ESENER.


4. Participation as a condition of the validity of psychosocial risk management system: a spanish experienceMost of the examples or experiences available provide a large and growing number of empirical materials to support the thesis of departure: that the representation of workers contributes significantly to improve the effectiveness of the prevention of psychosocial risks. But in addition to be treated, so common, in individual cases, often isolated, they do not have a more in-depth research to assess its adequacy to the legal requirements of the assessment, in order to assert another feature of the psychosocial management: not only is the condition of effectiveness, but also it is the condition of the validity of psychosocial management in companies, either of the assessment - risk factors - should be intervention -corrective to such risks-. Recently, he would have come to recognize a judicial decision in Spain, the Audiencia Nacional (National Court) sentence number 91/2014, May 14, according to which the participation of workers and their representations in all the phases of the process is a requirement of article 36 of the Law for the Prevention of Occupational Hazards (LPRL), in turn transposition of the article. 11 Of the Framework Directive 391/89.

This is a very important case because it affects a financial institution with great relevance -CAIXABANK-, that it is subjected to deep restructuring processes because of the financial crisis of these years. This ruling requires the assessment of psycho-social risks count with the participation of two mentioned areas, both the effective consultation to the specific representation of workers in the field of safety and health at work as soon as the active involvement of the entire template of the workers, without that you can be a very small sample of them to make the assessment. Therefore, without their active involvement, both of individual workers -sampling technique to make the assessment by jobs, not by work centres - how much of their formal representatives, is no longer possible to give validity to the assessment.

In relation to the validity or reliability of the assessment method, for the success of the trade union action in the Courts of Justice has been determining the existence of a specific “Guide to performances of the Inspection of Labour and Social Safety on psychosocial risks” in which, in relation to the structure of a sample of the evaluating staff, it says that

“The general rule is the direct participation of all the workers who wish to do so; only in exceptional cases may be appealed to sampling techniques… It is necessary at this point emphasize that the sampling technique is not


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admissible to extrapolate the assessment results from a work centre to other centres of the company because the organizational conditions and social environment gives each centre may not be the same”

Also, according to the indications of the psychosocial risks assessment method of the National Institute for Health and Safety at Work, maximum scientific-technical Spanish body in the area of prevention, which is called FPSICO 2.0 (now there is a 3.0, updated version), indicates that

“To correct conditions of use of FPSICO 2.0, it is expected that data collection is carried out in a group, not individual, and that the questionnaire will be answered in writing and nameless, which is not the CAIXABANK case”.

Determinant was, therefore, the technical report of the INSHT, which is assumed by the Spanish Court, leaving evidence of the serious shortcomings of the assessment method carried out by the company. His conclusion was that it is an unacceptable practice, followed by many companies, even of large dimensions, simply to make a shallow or superficial, “Identification or initial analysis of risks for the basic psychosocial assessment”, as he had done the financial entity LA CAIXA BANK. With this procedure, more simplified, rapid and shallow, the company had expected to replace its duty to make an assessment of psychosocial risks.

In what concerns the principle of effective participation of workers in the whole process of management of psychosocial risks, the Spanish Court did not accept that it would suffice to bring to the legal representatives of the workers with a presence in the Committee of Safety and Health at Work and explain what was going to be done. Health and Safety at Work Committee and explain what was going to be done. At these meetings, the legal representation of workers walked out of the Commission of work created for the “Identification and evaluation of psychosocial risks” to understand that it was not the correct methodology. Therefore, it was proven that such representatives do not actually participated in the definition of the methodology to be applied in the study of the psychosocial factor as well as in the timetable for action for the evaluation of psychosocial risks at workplace. Therefore, concludes:

“The assessment questionnaires developed unilaterally by the company, obviating to the Legal Workers Representation, are made at the workers in their workplaces and in front of technicians of the Joint Prevention Service in Group La Caixa, which violates confidentiality. It should therefore be fully estimate the demand to have been infringed upon by


the company the rights of participation, implementation and evaluation of plans and programs for psychosocial risks prevention that gives them the article 36 and 38 of the Law for the Prevention of Occupational Hazards (LPRL)”.Also, for make reliable that participation it must have all the useful or relevant information and in good time. The legal doctrine is clear. The Andalusia STSJ (Regional Court)/Malaga, n. 121/2009, January 29, ensures the effective exercise of the rights of information and consultation in the psychosocial risks assessment, this is: “… Workers representatives rights… to receive a formal communication of the results of the sampling and studies relating to the of psychosocial risks existence or not… found legal protection in the… art. 36 LPRL…, and therefore this right to information have to be met with the formal communication required and not with the simple verbal response…, without sufficient allege the existence of a protocol for action in the service of prevention to a psychosocial intervention…”

In short, it is confirmed that both the company and the formal workers representations must address the management of a more holistic manner or global. In this regard, thus joins the latest signals relating to a change in the focus of the trade union action in the matter, that since 2009 begin to address the risk of psychosocial nature of a more holistic manner8.

5. Final thought: it is necessary to go beyond the quantitative studies.Nobody can doubt the important contribution that ESENER provides about a better understanding of the role of participation in workers representation in psychosocial risks management. It provides empirical data, that is, quantitative evidence, on theoretical convictions that had already been put into circulation through various concrete experiences and significant scientific studies of nature. However, it is clear that there is still an extensive tour to do to learn in depth and in a sustainable manner and to be general, the ways in which could be the representation of workers to be more effective for the proper management of psychosocial risks.

8 In the United Kingdom, for example, some unions, such as Prospect, interest in developing guidelines for action on the impact of organizational change and psychosocial risks. In their documents there are numerous examples of how the representatives of the workers and their unions have attempted to address the problem (PROSPECT. Fair Change: Prospect Guide to Organisational Change, Prospect, London. 2009). In other European countries, the trade unions have also used this approach of the psychosocial risk in the successful negotiation of the changes in the templates of staff following a restructuring (Vid. GORDON et altri. Safety in Numbers: Nurse-to-Patient Ratios and the Future of Health Care. ILR Press, Ithaca, NY 2008)


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Indeed, it is shows its originality because there are few reports, surveys and studies that collect comparative information on the role of representation and consultation of workers in the field of psychosocial risks, except different follow-up reports on the level of implementation of the various European agreements relating to such risks and made by the partners themselves and by the Commission. Also, the survey ESENER gather a significant amount of data from a large sample of respondents, by which gives a considerable achievement. But at the same time, as happens with all the surveys of this type, it has limitations for its methodology for determining the representativeness of their true conclusions. Therefore, it is evidenced in the various studies in this regard the need to explore the comparisons with the national surveys on issues on which, as is recognized in the secondary Report, was impossible to obtain more detailed information.

The collection of information and data that has been presented in the survey ESENER, due to the total size of the sample as wide, as well as by the complexity of the collection of comparable data for countries and brings a fresh point of view and is essential for understanding what are the psychosocial risks, as we act on these and we can do to cope with. Hence we have the positive assessment issued by the report, according to which ESENER brings not only data but that promotes greater participation of the social dialog in the effective management of psychosocial risks through the provision of information to know what was the relationship between the effectiveness of the measures of health and safety management implanted within the companies and the participation of the representatives of the workers in these measures.

The graphics, tables, data, and the interpretations of these are very revealing and invite the reader, and the social partners, the reflection on the reality of their participation in the management of the risks from a more generic aspect to a character more specific as they are on the own psychosocial risks. In this regard, it is important to mention that the harmonization of the legal matter at a formal level, as has been through the EC Framework Directive 89/391/EC, does not ensure the same practical protection in all countries on the management of psychosocial risks of origin. However, in general terms, we have been able to analyze that better results are obtained in the field of occupational safety and health when the participation of workers through its various structures and forms of representation is part of the own management of the same. ESENER brings about substantial data about that for the most effective actions in the management of the SST is essential the representation of the workers and a high commitment to health and safety management by the own company address.


In addition, the management of the risks of both traditional and emerging, they are more likely in the workplaces in which the workers’ representatives have an important role, both active and recognized, still always provided adequate resources. For all of the above, we can say that we need to identify the representation of workers as an essential part of the effective management of occupational risks, as well as that these constitute an important factor in the relationship between the representation and management of the risks for the health and safety at work. At the same time, and with the reference to the case of Spanish experience mentioned above, it is equally clear that it is not with any involvement, but that it is necessary that it is adequate, effective, to give validity to the methodology followed by the employer and that involvement extends to all stages of the management system, which has a global dimension, integral or holistic. Nor can it be curtailed or cut the sample, limiting the participation of the workers in their individual consideration, or you can reduce the query representation for a mere meeting or communication.

In this regard, it is useful to recall that, as have highlighted various studies, especially for the experience of the United Kingdom, the processes of change and restructuring, not only of businesses but of national economies, toward a more deregulated model and flexible, informal in the final analysis, have widely affected to the methods of trade union representation in health and safety. These authors reveal the change toward a model that takes precedence of the technical “direct consultation” to the workers on the “collective consultation” to the formal representation9

This, as we have seen above, has a particular resonance in the case of the management of psychosocial risks, because most of the improvement actions involve the direct relations between employers and individual workers, eliminating or reducing the intervention by formal representative, as illustrates the ESENER. For this reason, the investigations that assess the incidence of lower trade union presence in the management of safety is not cinema to the United Kingdom, where it has a higher prevalence, but patterns that are similar in other market economies, especially in the wake of the implementation of the European economic governance. Therefore, a key to the future of research, and also for trade-union action, will be to find evidence on the effects that the organizational and institutional changes, of companies and policies, have in the representational function in labor safety and health management in the work in general and in particular of psychosocial risks.

9 This change is of particular concern because as Walters and Nichols (2009), have been observed in the context of the United Kingdom, the ‘consultation’ direct is a “catchall” that includes not only “consult directly with the labor”, but also from the mere “staff meetings” to newsletters, bulletin boards and email. The term “direct methods” therefore contains “the possibility that what is done cannot, in any meaningful sense, be subject to consultation in absolute, but only, at most, the provision of a track of management information to employees”. Also, for the sector of trade and industry, interest KERSLEY, et altri. Inside the Workplace: Findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. Dept of Trade and Industry, London (Additional Web Tables). 2006.

Sectoral Level

EUROPEAN

“INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS PRACTICES RELATED TO

PSYCHOSOCIAL CONSTRAINTS AT WORK IN THE STEEL SECTOR”.

DO WE FIND OURSELVES IN A GOOD WAY?

Summary and commentary by research team:

observatory of psychosocial risks UGT-CEC


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Summary Editorial

Executive summary1. Introduction2. Policy context3. Key findings4. Policy pointers OPINION´S NOTE


Editorial.The following information gives a literal a brief summary of the contents that make up the document entitled “labor relations practices related to the psychosocial constraints at work in the steel sector” carried out by the team of work that make up the Yearbook. However, for a better understanding of the information, you can view the complete document in English version in these International Yearbook.

Executive summary.

1. IntroductionThis report looks at industrial relations practices regarding health and safety strategies in the European steel sector. The findings are based on desk research and a comparative analysis of company practices in three company case studies: ArcelorMittal in France, Rautaruukki in Finland and Salzgitter AG in Germany. The report offers a transversal analysis, examining the main findings on the role of social dialogue and company practices regarding prevention while also highlighting some specific company and sectoral features triggering psychosocial risks and their prevention. Each of the three case studies presents the company’s strategies for assessing and preventing psychosocial issues at work and examines the involvement of the workers or workers’ representatives. Two of the three case studies concern company pilot sites involved in addressing psychosocial constraints at work.

2. Policy contextThe European legal framework on occupational risks provides common principles for the EU Member States regarding measures to be taken to ensure a healthy and safe working environment in steel companies. The EU Framework Directive on health and safety at work (89/391/EEC) stipulates the responsibility of employers to provide a healthy and safe working environment – including psychosocial aspects – and the need to organize information, participation and consultation of workers on these issues. Nevertheless, the transposition of these principles into the national structures remains varied. As there are various forms of industrial relations within Europe, this variety is also reflected in the existing models of legal representative bodies on occupational safety and health – health and safety representatives, health and safety committees or combinations of these. The organization of workers’ participation on occupational safety and health through representative bodies is influenced by the national context (for example,


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the legal framework, history, political climate) and the social dialogue culture (for instance, cooperation in Finland, co-administration in Germany, a more formal approach in France). Differences regarding the legal occupational safety and health representative bodies are prevalent in each of the three national contexts – in terms of the denomination, role and composition of the bodies, or the form of interaction between employers’ and workers’ representatives.

3. Key findingsWhile the three companies studied operate in different contexts (global, European, national, local), all are confronted with the issue of psychosocial constraints at work. While different terms may be used to refer to psychosocial issues at work (such as stress, mental health, well-being), they are commonly understood as being not only detrimental to the health of workers, but as also having an economic impact on employers and civil society. All three companies use specific (internal or external) tools for assessing and evaluating the multiplicity of psychosocial risks at work. In doing so, they all go beyond the legal requirements in their country. While the initiation of such a psychosocial risk assessment and the subsequent compilation of prevention measures takes place in a wide variety of contexts (for example, on the initiative of management, in the light of demographic change, following restructuring), tackling these aspects is part of the companies’ general policy and is supported by management. Hence, the negative impacts of psychosocial problems arising at the workplace are acknowledged on both levels: the level of economic performance (productivity) and human capital.

Each of the three companies has developed specific actions to deal with, reduce or prevent the incidence and negative impact of psychosocial constraints on both workers and the company. Real investments are being made to implement awareness-raising programmes, train managers and prevent detrimental outcomes. In doing so, the companies aim to involve all workers, especially management, in addressing this issue. Finding a coherent interaction between the three different levels of prevention (primary, secondary and tertiary) can influence the effectiveness of prevention strategies.


Rautaruukki (Finland). ArcelorMittal (France). Salzgitter AG (Germany).

Social dialogue culture

This acknowledged cooperation and ease of discussion with managers and the upper-management regarding problems seems to be a facilitating element.

The culture of co-administration provides the Works Council with a central role in assessing & evaluating the health & safety at work and working conditions, and implementing an action plan..

The social dialogue is more formal; institutionalised based upon the legal obligations of the employer (e.g. the single document on occupational risks) and the rights of workers’ representative bodies such as the information and consultation rights of the joint H&S.

Representative legal bodies.

There are approximately 10-12 Delegates at the Hämmenlinna site, one of whom holds the position full time, and four Delegates, none of whom work full time in the role. These employees are allocated hours to fulfil their duties.The H&S Safety Committee - composed of employer’s representatives, elected workers and safety delegates- focusses on the monitoring of indicators and the evaluation of actionsDepartment Work Safety Committee - includes the department manager and the elected employees. It reviews indicators and statistics, as well as a they are responsible to identify and determine the actions to implement

The Works Council is the main body of representation on H&S, Committee composed of representatives of the occupational medicine, safety officers, works councils and HR-officers Works Council members also take part in a cross-sector working group of the trade union IG Metall

The H&S Committee is the body of Ørepresentation on H&S. This joint H&S Committee is involved in the identification, assessment, prevention and monitoring of H&S and working conditions

A joint agreement on work-related stress Øhas been signed with the five trade unions represented in the company. This agreement pertains to all of the group’s companies in France for a validity period of three years. It states the mechanisms put in place to take action to prevent psychosocial risks at the group level.


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Other representative bodies and initiatives

Individual and group interviewsØSeveral committees to identify and Øimplement action plans:Committee of Safety Equipment o in Hämmenlinna single. This is a decision-making body that determines what actions should be taken, which includes all the company’s management team and the safety officers.Development teams: Work on o specific projects, including the well-being at work and the submission of proposals to the Commission on Safety Management Team for validation. They are all volunteers and the group is headed by a worker. Meeting on Monday (at the plant o level): a one-hour meeting held with the representatives of the staff and managers to review all of the indicators of the company’s performance during the last week.

Working groups, staffed Øwith representatives of the management, Works Council and further specialized persons are created on each analytical core field of the survey.

A priority list of the working Øgroup helps to analyse the most likely problematic workplaces (e.g. workplaces dealing with technical control issues and high mental demands) of the company and to evaluate the lower stressed workplaces afterwards

Steering Committee committees (for Øeach of the group’s industrial entities)

The results of these investigations by Øquestionnaire are presented to each of the committees

Moreover, encouraging people to talk about their problems at work, especially psychosocial problems, is a key element in tackling the issue within the entire organization. The research finds that achieving such a culture of free speech on psychosocial constraints is one of the main challenges for the sector. For the professionals involved in training and prevention programs, triggering a collective behavioral change and involving all stakeholders within the organization constitute ongoing challenges.

Despite the diversity of preventive measures developed within the companies, some common features can be highlighted. The first of these is the central place occupied by health in prevention policies. Another feature is


the fact that the preventive measures largely deal with remedial aspects and coping mechanisms. Nowadays, preventive measures – albeit to a lesser extent – also try to deal with the sources of psychosocial symptoms within the organization: for example, by integrating ergonomic principles in workplace design or by anticipating the impact of organizational modifications. The use of risk assessment tools such as questionnaires and interviews to identify and evaluate risk factors are also a shared practice, as are indicators such as the absenteeism rate and the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

Similarly, the companies have in common the aim of involving workers or workers’ representatives in the process and of utilizing the structures of formal social dialogue bodies. The composition of joint employer–employee bodies on health and safety and working conditions makes them the statutory meeting and discussion forum for all stakeholders involved in the prevention of psychosocial hazards at work. These bodies play a pivotal role in discussing and assessing situations, working out solutions and monitoring their implementation. Furthermore, dedicated groups – either permanent or specific to a project or time period – are also a useful vehicle for ensuring a consistent approach and monitoring of the actions. The existence of additional social dialogue structures, both formal and informal, such as working groups and steering committees, offers a place for increased exchange of views between workers and their employer. In pursuing these channels, the case study companies underline the positive effect of workers’ direct participation in managing health and safety, and in tackling psychosocial risks in particular.

4. Policy pointersIn endeavoring to enhance further social dialogue on the topic of psychosocial constraints at work in the European steel sector, the case studies put forward some elements that might facilitate this effort. The case studies demonstrate that, despite the various actions already put in place, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for preventing these issues arising.

Hence, key points of leverage include the search for the most optimal measures in accordance with the specificities of working conditions in the steel sector and the important role of sectoral social dialogue in addressing the issue in the long term. Fostering a shared understanding of psychosocial constraints at work – and the terminology involved – is a first step. The next step is to identify sector-specific causes – such as the heavy nature of steel production work, the characteristics of the workforce (male, older age profile), environmental concerns, the rise in technological innovations and the considerable restructuring of the European steel industry. Monitoring the impact of these factors


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on the work floor can improve the sectoral discussion and reflection on prevention practices. In this way, all the key prevention players at European, national or local levels – including company management, formal and informal occupational safety and health services and workers’ representatives – can help to prevent psychosocial constraints at work at all levels. Such efforts can bolster the ongoing improvements to the two fundamental work-related areas which constitute two sides of the same coin: health and performance.


OPINION’S NOTE

The commitment of the European steel sector with respect to psychosocial risks. Do we find ourselves in a good way?

As can be seen from the information presented in this document have been discussed and compared several good practices in the management of psychosocial risks related to European Steel Sector; addition to analyzing the evolution experienced in the last years of the European sector, as there have been significant changes, where companies have been marked by major restructuring and reorganization.

In view of these restructuring (reorganization, merger, relocation or outsourcing, etc.) often involve large and profound changes in the work environment; are large studies that highlight the need to anticipate the consequences that may result from such measures. In this sense, we can consider that the quality of social dialogue plays a key role in reducing the negative factors that are key when major changes take place in the organization, hence it should give greater importance and relief on the company management on these issues.

Similarly, specific heterogeneity and complexity that occurs in the iron and steel sector increase the difficulty of incorporating various issues to various European as sectoral levels, national and local. However, the influence of European legislation and initiatives of the European social partners in health and safety and labor conditions could promote joint, such as joint arrangements actions; where the challenge remains the full incorporation of approaches on psychosocial risks at work on health and safety considerations of a general company policy on prevention of occupational hazards.

Well, we can consider that this is the target set by the industry itself, as more participation in social dialogue through the exchange of good practice, considering it will be beneficial for all parties involved, such as employers and workers.


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But all this, it remains to establish itself as a theoretical framework as the agreement reached by the European Committee for Iron and Steel sector dialogue has been the willingness to undertake a study and facilitate the exchange of information between the actors involved in the sector, being informative and not binding texts on their implementation or monitoring, promote good practices in the field in matter1.

In other words, we can say that in addition to recognizing the need to tackle psychosocial risks affecting the iron and steel sector, which is the action that has been carried out by this project “Experiments in labor relations related psychosocial limitations work in the Steel Sector “and continues to be a study to promote a set of possible tools and actions for employers and workers, which are set by good practice in psychosocial matters; should ideally have been the creation of guidelines or recommendations binding its members to the sector being evaluated them long term in order to confirm its practical impact on the material and on the sector.

In this sense, we can refer to the framework that has been developed at the European Rail Industry, and has been treated in this Yearbook, where they have established a set of documents that have also been the result of social dialogue, but yes maintain a binding force in the sector through the guidelines made to identify and prevent psychosocial risks in the railway sector through joint recommendations of the European social partners.

However, we cannot discredit the agreement reached by the Iron and Steel Sector Dialogue Committee, and that the information provided by this document promotes as important, Community Social Dialogue and the importance of a participatory approach to labor representation in the sector.

Indeed, the importance of addressing the safety and health at work and working conditions, especially the psychosocial aspects of work through social dialogue, should not be underestimated. Given that the main aspects of success in the field of psychosocial risks are integrated into the company, about how the work is done and on labor relations, we can determine the need to show a greater interest on the participation of social partners on these issues as well as organizational factors and labor relations. Especially in a time where more and more are being put in place management systems which work intensity increases, and the growing job insafety, and different working conditions, thus constituting a model based on the current incremental approach of that prevalence of such risks.

1 Vid. HOLM-DETLEV KÖHLER y GONZÁLEZ BEGEGA, S.: “El diálogo social europeo. De la macro-concertación comunitaria a la negociación colectiva transnacional”, Revista del Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales, núm. 72, 2008, págs.251- 269.


Consequently, we think that for practical efficiency of presented document should proceed to advance the course of action which has been found in the European railway sector, because once you have obtained some information tools, it should collect some future intentions to promote the integration of the issue of psychosocial risks in the sector, in which some bases by the system of social dialogue an instrument to boost the promotion of entrepreneurial action, based on the commitment to develop settle through policy frameworks, guidelines or codes of conduct on psychosocial risks, and facilitate the participation of workers and their representatives for long term more favorable to both workers and employers in the sector results and for society in general.

“GUIDE TO IDENTIFY AND PREVENT PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS AT

WORK IN RAILWAY SECTOR”.

JOINT RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL

PARTNERS

Summary and commentary by research team:

Observatory of Psychosocial Risks UGT-CEC


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OPINION’S NOTE

European Union Social Dialog in safety and health at work and, specifically in psychosocial risks, has become a productive framework of Community Agreements as we can analyze along this Yearbook1.

Although this is not the place to do an in-depth analysis of the document funded by the European Commission, Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, whose title is “Guide to identify and prevent psychosocial risks at work in railway sector”, because it does not conform to the specific framework analyzed by this Yearbook since this is a code of conduct or framework for more technical action, this is not dealt with in detail what are the actions to be performed by the social partners in psychosocial risks field, but that is for the information of how to deal with the resolution of some frequently asked questions in this area. However, if it is desirable to bring out that this guide will serve as a management tool, trade unions and employers’ representatives in the rail sector, departments of Occupational Safety and Health and human resources as well as for representatives of the workers at all levels with the intention of increasing awareness and understanding of the work-related psychosocial risks as well draw your attention to the factors indicative of risk and make suggestions for the development of preventive policies.

On his behalf, the thread of the subject that is being studied in this Yearbook, a mention should be made about the importance of the joint recommendations signed by Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) which also occurred in the context of this project2

In this sense, the aim of the recommendations is to contribute to improving the working conditions in the rail sector, addressing the problem of psychosocial risks and the identification of sector specific measures that can help to eliminate or reduce the problem, for the implementation of the trade unions and companies, strategies and actions in order to prevent and manage psychosocial risks in the most appropriate manner

1 Vid. MOLINA NAVARRETE, C. El Acuerdo Marco Comunitario para la gestión de la violencia y el acoso en el trabajo, edit. Bomarzo, Albacete, 2008.2 We are now going to provide the literal translation of the document by the translation team of the Yearbook, whose title is “Identifying and preventing psychosocial risks in the railway sector. Joint Recommendations of the European social partners”.


As a result, the assessment of this document must be positive, although there is a weakness of his legal force -because it is not constituted as Framework Agreement-, however, represents a track of regulation in this area, which is why, in the absence of such guidelines would not any regulation on the community level, proposing ways of compliance and flexible development according to the realities for the management of the system of management of psychosocial risks, in which the social partners have an important position.

So, it has obtained a framework for action with guidelines and recommendations of value and application in the railway sector, becoming merely as a preventive tool, which enhances the approach based on social dialog and where the management of the prevention of psychosocial risks is from the basis of a content agreed upon between the social partners, therefore the recommendations repeatedly stresses the need to coordinate actions on the subject of all those involved, as it can be in the representation of both workers and employers, to increase awareness and understanding of psychosocial risks in sector.

Therefore, the member organizations will carry out a monitoring and evaluation to ensure its practical impact of these recommendations for the social dialog committee. So, we must wait to be able to monitor the degree to which these guidelines have helped or not to the achievement of Community objectives marked, after the balance sheet to develop three years after its signing, this is in the in the year 2017.


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ldentify and prevent psychosocial risks within the railway sectorJoint Recommendations of the European Socia l Partn ers

1. BACKGROUND OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND INTENTIONS OF THE SOCIAL PARTNERSThe European social partners in the raíl sector are of the opinion that psychosocial risks (PSR) affect the occup ational safety and health (OSH) of raíl employees. In their view, dealing with the issue of PSR will be beneficia! to both the railway companies and railway workers. From a company perspective, reducing PSR means reducing the hidden costs linked to psychosocial risks. For the workers reducing psychosocial risks means improving the quality of working life and helping to prevent serious health problems. In 2002, the European Commission estimated that work-related stress costs EUR 20 billion a year in Europe due to production losses, absenteeism, “presenteeism1

etc. Currently sorne 50% and 60% of lost working days in the EU are thought to be related to psychosocial risks.2

Social partner interest focuses on the preventive aspect with its potential to improve working conditions and consequently workers’ well-being at work. According to the EU-OSHA definition, “these risks are linked to the way work is designed, organised and managed, as well as to the economic and social context of work; they result in an increased level of stress and can lead to serious deterioration of mental and physical health”3. These troubles can, if not quickly tackled, get worse until they become pathological. Generally speaking, there. are three kinds of factors conducive to psychosocial risks: (1) work-related stress, (2) interna! violence (bullying, aggression, verbal or sexual harassment, conflicts, communication problems, etc.), and (3) externa! third-party violence (threats, insults, verbal or physical aggression).

1 Presenteeism means being physically at work, though without producing the productivity expected, following sickness or burnout. Presenteeism losses can sometimes be worse for companies than losses due to absenteeism.2 Dealing with psychosocial risks: success factors and obstacles. EU-OSHA press release 2012.https:// osha.europa.eu/en/ press/press-releases/dealing_psychosocial_risks_success_factors_obsta eles3 FACTS. Expert forecast on emerging psychosocial risks related to occupational safety and health (OSH). European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Belgium 2007.


2. O BJ ECT IV ES O F T H E J O INT R ECO MMEN DATI O NSA healthy work environment taking both physical and mental aspects into account is important for ensurir1g good quality of work and thus high-quality services. Well-being at work is similarly important for productivity and service quality.

The overall aim of the joint recommendations is to contribute to improving working conditions in the rail sec tor by tackling the problem of psychosocial risks and identifying sector-specific measures contributing to dimi nishing the problem. The specific objectives of the joint recommendations are to increase the awareness and understanding of employers, workers and their representatives to work-related psychosocial risks and to draw their attention to signs indicative of risk. The social partners would like to see strategies and action initiated in their affiliated unions and companies with an aim to preventing and managingwork-related psychosocial risks. The obligation to protect the health and safety of employees while at work lies clearly with employers under both EU and national legislation.4 The European social partners share the opinion, that tackling psychosocial risks should not only be part of the company health and safety policy but has to be addressed in all relevant fields of company policy and action. They are looking to a cooperative corporate culture in which measures are taken to prevent psychosocial risks and to deal with their consequences. Addressi ng psychosocial risks may be carried out within an overall process of risk assessment, through a separate psychosocial risk policy and/ or through specific measures targeting identified risk factors. The European social partners emphasise that a joint approach promises to be the most successful.

4 European Social Dialogue: Framework Agreement on Harassment and Violence at Work. 2007. P.1


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3 . FACTO R S A N O IN D ICAT O R S O F PSYC H O SO C IA L R IS K SIn the course of the “PSR-RAIL” project in 2013, the joint CER/ETF study identifted important factors (situations, conditions, etc.) liable to produce psychosocial risks in rail occupations.

3.1 Work demands

Technology• Challenges from new vs. old technologies, skill requirements associated with computerization,

insufficient information on new tools, performing work with faulty or obsolete equipment, restricted technical resources

Workload and time pressure• Time pressure due to traffic (e. g. work has to be finished befare the morning rush-hour starts),

deadline pressure from different sources hinderingthe execution of traffic or maintenance work, traffic disruptions or accidents causing overtime

• Track maintenance work during traffic

Structure and communication• An increasing number of people (from different companies) to deal with to ensure smooth traffic

management• Night and shift work subject to short-term changes, reduced transparency and predictability• Workload during rush-hours, the sheer amount of working hours• Pressure to achieve sales targets• Money handling (security)• Multitasking combined with frequent interruptions

Human resources• Shortfall of human resources• Problems arising related to an ageing workforce• lmpact of overtime and shift work on work·life balance• Teams growing in size: responsibility for an increasing number of team members


3.2. Emotional demands

External• Aggression and violence from passengers, fear of attacks• Exposure to suicides on tracks or serious accidents• Commercial “keep on smiling” requirement not conducive to showing emotions

lnternal• Wide range of responsibilities: safety and security decisions, crisis management, larger

geographical area, handling money, risk of penalties due to mistakes or incidents beyond one’s influence

• Twin pressure from superiors and subordinates• lmplementing staff cuts• Feeling of not delivering quality, uselessness of efforts

3.3. Autonomy / decision-makinatitude

Structure and Communication• lnterdependency due to work organised along a chain of responsibilities• Tensions due to disconnection between the deciding authority and the operational leve!• Lack of resources: information, training,equipment, staff• Process complexity and lack of clear organization• Limited view and resources to solve problems• Dependence on technologies and extemal information• Difficulties / quarrel with hierarchically enforced decisions• lncreasing number of processes, increasing process complexity, less interna! support• Activities controlled by monitoring devices• Lack of authority and means to take action

Social links, work relations


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External• Deteriorating public image of railway companies/ staff• lncreasing number of actors involved leads to communication problems

lnternal• Responsibility for security and rail protection• Solitary work situations on the train• Difficult situations with colleagues and supervisors• Managers not present in the field (remate support), difficult for a manager to meet team members

and foster management relations• Unstaffed stations, not sufficient support for on-board staff• Absenteeism (staying away from work)• Presenteeism (Going to work while being sick, staying at work longer than necessary by being

unproductive)

3.5. Conflicting values• Commercial vs. personal values• Service vs. revenue targets• Sanction culture vs. recognition of mistakes (lack of “no blame culture” in the railways)• Respect of safety and quality rules vs. productivity and commercial interests• lnfrastructure safety vs. number and punctuality of trains• Short-term problem solvingvs. long- term improvements• Availability vs. rest hours

3.6. Socio-economic insecurity

Structural• Uncertainty due to political decisions on regional, national or European level• Reorganisation and structural changes of rail companies• Fear of losing one’s job or being transferred to another company


• Understaffing, under investment• Disappearance of certain jobs• Workplace geographically far from home due to continuous organisational change and restructuring

(long commuting time or nights away from home)

Personal• Lack of understanding far processes, lack of infarmation• Fear of being medically unfit• Individual competition

Possible indicators of existing psychosocial risks are high absenteeism rates, staff turnover, frequent interpersonal conflicts, complaints by workers, etc.

4. MEASUR ES FO R IDENTIFYING, PREVENTING AND MANAGING PSYCHOSOCIA L RISKSThe purpose of a psychosocial risk prevention procedure is to prevent and/or reduce risks and their conse quences and to regulate them by finding and analyzing the causes and defining joint action. Specific tools are needed to objectify risk factors. The social partners recommend that the approach should take place in faur main phases:

• PSR identification and assessment• PSR prevention plan (including bringing the issue into the company policy)• PSR management (implementing actions designed to remove or reduce risks, active and careful

sustainable management of the process)• Evaluation (of actions, processes and intended effects)

4.1. ldentifying psychosocial risk factorsThe social partners have first to identify risk factors in the work organization and the employee categories most at risk. They need to put a specific facus on a defined work population, workplace or set of operations. A risk assessment to understand the nature of the problem and its underlying causes is essential far the prevention plan.


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4.2. Setting up an action planThe concrete implementation of preventive action in the company needs to be planned, with a guarantee of con sistency between management decisions or policies and the terms of their deployment. Company objectives on PSR and the role of individual workers need to be defined. Adequate management support for individuals and teams must be ensured. The action plan must aim to improve work organisation and processes, working conditions and the work environment. The action plan must contain concrete actions allowing company targets to be measurably achieved. The action plan can be built as follows

• Why: Explanatory statement, purpose, targets• What: What actions to implement• When: Timetable and, if applicable, frequency• Where: Which departments, sites or groups are affected• Who: Which individuals are responsible far each of the actions proposed• How: By what means, processes or mechanisms can the action be implemented

The action plan needs to prioritize actions and contain the terms for their monitoringand evaluation. The action plan must set forth the implementation monitoring mechanism, possibly resulting in adjustments or improve ments to the measures. Evaluation criteria must be defined for the various actions. Setting up the action plan shall involve those workers’ representatives that are responsible according to national practice and culture from the beginning. Workers shall not feel the action plan as something imposed to them from the company management: to make the plan successful workers’ representatives should be key actors in all phases.

4.3 . Designating a dedicated unitA dedicated unit needs to be identified within the company with the official task of analysing and implementing the agreed measures. This task could possibly be assigned to the health and safety department. The designa ted unit should cooperate closely with HR departments and the business unit(s) concerned. Within the scope of applicable law and available resources, incidents should be examined using appropriate means. This unit can also be the contact point in the case of incidents or questions. The option should be available to handle incidents confidentially.


4.4 Raising awarenessMeasures to identify, prevent and manage psychosocial risks can be of individual or collective nature. They can be introduced in the form of specific measures targeting identified risk factors or as part of an integrated risk policy implementing both preventive and responsive measures. Where the required expertise within the business unit is insufficient, competent external expertise should be called in, in accordance with European and national legislation, collective agreements and practices.

4.5. Communication and sensitisation measuresPSR ‘indicators need to be identified (high absenteeism rates, staff tumover, frequent interpersonal conflicts, complaints by workers, etc.). Both employer and employee representatives need a critica! understanding and the capability to identify at-risk situations. They shall suggest or develop possible actions for improving the situation in question and make sure they are operational. lnfarmation about the action plan to prevent PSR factors needs to be disseminated and discussed with employees. Employees and their representatives are to be included in the risk assessment process and in implementing preventive actions. Employees shall be infor med of the finalized actions.

4.6. TrainingTraining courses for managers and workers and their representatives are essential to raise awareness and understanding for psychosocial risks, their possible causes and consequences, how to deal with them, and/ or adapt to change. The training should take account of the company context and should address PSR factors befare actingon their implications. The training must be part of the comprehensive approach to PSR prevention and management.

4.7. AftercareAftercare needs to be provided to employees suffering from adverse psychosocial effects. Depending on the circumstances, this may involve medical, legal, practical,and/or financial support.


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4.8. Using best practicesBest practices regarding the identification, prevention and management of psychosocial risks already exist in railway companies. The measures foreseen need to take into account the size and type of company, and their application needs to be validated. Best practices described in the “Guide to identifying and preventing psy chosocial risks in the rail sector” can be used here.

4.9. Social dialogueThe social partners should aim for a joint approach to tackling the issue. Consultation with workers and their representatives in accordance with EU and national legislation, collective agreements and practices are impor tant for the successful implementation of actions. Employees should participate in developing approaches and reviewing the operability of the preventive actions. Concluding social partner agreements is deemed wor thwhile at different levels (company and / or sector leve!). Suggestions put forward by employees for improving weak points in PSR prevention should be examined, and, where feasible, taken up.

4.10 EvaluationPreventive measures should be regularly reviewed to assess their effectiveness, whether they are making best use of resources, and whether they are still appropriate or necessary. lt is recommended that the evaluation covers two primary aspects:

• Deployment compliance: Update on actions performed vs. actions announced (e.g.Was there any real com munication from management during the recent changes?)

• Effectiveness of the action: Direct and indirect effects of the action (e.g. positive employee feedback, redu ced absenteeism, etc.)

Those managing the actions must regular communicate the status of their deployment.

5 . IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW - UPThese joint recommendations commit CER and ETF affiliates to adopt the objectives and implement measures in accordance with the procedures and practices specific to management and labour in their countries. Member organisations will report on the implementation of the recommendations to the Social Dialogue Committee. The signatory parties shall evaluate the implementation of the recommendations any time after the three years following the date of signing, and review the recommendations if requested by one of them.


sign ed in Brussels on 11 March 2014

Community of European Railway and lnfrastructure Companies (CER)Dr. Libor Lochman Executive Director

European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) Sabine TrierDeputy General Secretary

Community of European Railway and lnfrastructureCompanies (CER) Jean-Paul Preumont Head of Social Affairs,Industrial Relations & Human Resources

European r sport Workers’ Federation (ETF)Guy Gre¡v,éHngPresiden.ro’ f ETF Railway Section

CERAvenue des Arts, 53 1000 Brussels BelgiumTel: +32 2 213 08 70Fax :+32 2 512 53 31e-mail :contact@cer. beweb :www.cer.be

ETFGalerie AgoraRue du Marché aux Herbes 105, Boí’te 111000 Brussels BelgiumTel: +32 2 285 46 60Fax: +32 2 280 08 17e-mail :etf@etf-europe. orgweb :www.etf-europe.org

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.cer.be/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.etf-europe.org/

America

Laerte Teixeira da Costa

Secretary of Social Policies, CSA.

CSA

THE TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION OF WORKERS OF THE

AMERICAS. CSA – PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS


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The Trade Union Confederation of Workers of the Americas - CSA, is the regional affiliate of the International Trade Union Confederation (CSI) and in the region represents 50 million workers and enrols 53 trade union organizations from 29 countries.

At its Second Congress the CSA claimed that “The occupational health is a component of the right to social safety. Healthy and safe workplaces are essential to progress in decent work with equity and justice, and are a cornerstone for sustainable development”.

In the region, is becoming more and more evident the decent work deficit in the informal economy and in outsourced or subcontracted work, often this work is characterized by small or undefined workplaces, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, low levels of productivity, low or irregular incomes, long working hours and lack of access to information technology and training. Even though they are exposed to greater risks and therefore are needier most of them do not receive social safety or social safety benefits or receives not much.

The new forms of work organization, changes in production patterns and the increasing development of labor technologies, have increased the incidence of certain health and safety risks at work. There are the psychosocial risks which are directly related to the labor organization, the content of the task, the rhythms and times of work, the degree of autonomy and owner control work which affect the physical, psychological and social workers health.

In this scene psychosocial risks at workplace are disaggregated, and they are a major challenge for the trade union organizations, given that the work priorities are focused on the work location in decent and decent conditions, so that is essential the trade union action in the management of psychosocial risks at work.

It is in this context the CSA, through the Trade Union Strategy on Occupational Health for the Americas, guides and defines the union action on this issue and one of the aspects to consider in the plan of action, considering the psychosocial illness and the muscle-skeletal alterations as common problems to a great majority of workers, as well as is the need to visualize the problem and to raise awareness among both the working population and the society about the gravity of psychosocial risks and about the importance of prevention policies.

BRAZIL.

PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS IN BRAZIL. ACTION ASSOCIATION AND

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FROM THE CUT

Gilberto Salviano da Silva

Asesor sindical – SST CUT NACIONAL


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Summary1. Introduction2. Statistical data on accidents at work in Brazil3. Legal aspects: work related mental disorders4. Aspects of ergonomics and psychosocial risks in labor laws5. Union experiences in negotiation and collective bargaining Bibliography


1. IntroductionBrazil has around 197 million residents, according to data from the PNAUD/IBGE 2012. Of this total, 95 million is the economically active population, being 39.3 % formal workers and 7% civil servants

The Single Central of Workers (CUT), founded in August 28 1983, is the largest trade union in Latin America and the 5th largest in the world, with 3,806 affiliated entities, 7,847,077 workers associated and 23,981,044 workers and workers at the base. It consolidates in all the states of the country and develops a organization policy with the following macro-sector: trade, services and logistics,industry, rural and public service.

Throughout its experience, the CUT struggle for a democratic system of working relationships based on the free trade union organization from the labor offices and the expansion of the guarantee of the rights for the entire working class. Between them the right to health conditions of decent work. In the last decades the advance of globalization and the neoliberaliberalism, deepened by the technological revolution on everything from the 80’s and 90’s, has causes profound changes, altering the processes and the relationships at work. The restructuring of the production and the expansion of outsourcing are facets that express these transformations and brought direct impacts on the trade union organization, on life and on health of the working class, in addition to the expansion of unemployment.

The stage of artisan production was replaced by the computerized production mode with a prevalence of increasingly sophisticated technologies, which modify the organization of production and intensifies mental burden -psychosocial risks - and repetitive movements - ergonomic risks-. This process of technical rationalization of production by job insafety and intimidation, have been primarily used by enterprises to increase productivity and gain, with disastrous consequences for the workers, expressed in the increase of Repetitive Strain Injury-LER, musculoskeletal diseases related to the Work/DORT and mental disorders, in Brazil and in the rest of the world.

2. Statistical data on accidents at work in Brazil.The statistical data of the National Institute of Social Safety (INSS), authority of the Ministry of Social Welfare of Brazil, shows a growth in the record of various work-related diseases, mainly those known as “diseases of modernity”: LER/DORT and mental disorders, which are among the health problems that most affect the workers in the world, reaching the majority of professional categories, including banking, trade, metallurgy, chemistry, the workers of data processing (commerce, telemarketing centers), civil servants, etc. In the rural area, in addition to the mechanisation


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of field, workers have been affected by the intensive use of agrotoxics, which on the one hand cause pollution and also have their effects in the mental health.

In Brazil the diseases and accidents at work are notified to the INSS, which, after the annual systematization, makes public the data to the society. In the years 2010, 2011 and 2102 there were approximately 2,135,342 million work-related accidents. Of these, more than 47,355 workers not returned to the production - declared permanent disability - and 8,422 were deaths - that is, more than 8 workers per day were killed in these three years-.

Since the establishment of a new model of communication to the INSS, known for technical link epidemiological Previdênciario (NETP), the records of casualties of the workers by mental disorders grew significantly. To get an idea of its importance it should be noted that the absences by the mental disorders has been the third time of sick cause of sickness in Brazil according to the data of the INSS. If between April 2006 and March of 2007, there were only 578 times of sick of workers for mental disorders, that number reached the 9,704 records between April 2007 and March 2008 (CID/F00-F99), that is, an increase of 1,578 %. In the same period there was an increase of around 415.95 % in the records of times of sick due to diseases of the nervous system (CID/G00-G99) and 517.82 % in the records of the diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Despite the increase, remains a matter of concern the high underreporting of diseases by mental disorders, so it is a challenge that has to be faced by the trade union movement, because it also has to be taken into account that are outside the official data workers in the informal economy, still high in Brazil.

3. Legal aspects: work related mental disordersIn the 80s, the trade union movement participated actively in the struggle for the democratization of the Brazil, and it had among its flags the defence of the health reform, which resulted in the creation of the Unified Health System (SUS), public and universal, and by a policy of workers health care. The Ministry of Public Health Ordinance 1339/1999, which establishes, with character of periodic review, by resolution of the National Health Council, the list of work-related diseases, used as a reference to the claims that might arise in the working processes against the National Health System. In the year 2001 the government published the law 10,216 that “provides for the protection of the rights of persons with mental disorders and revises the model of mental health care”. The article 3 says: “It is the responsibility of the State the development of the mental health policy”. Will Be in January 2011, when the Ministry of Health, through the publication of the Ordinance No. 104, becomes mandatory notification of the complaints of the related work mental disorders, in the entire state.


In Brazil, the Federal Constitution establishes rights for the workers health protection. The article 7 of the Federal Constitution (CF), clause XXII, said: “Are the rights of urban and rural workers the reduction of the inherent risks at work by the health regulation, hygiene and safety in addition to other that help in the improvement of social conditions”. In addition, it provides for guaranteed rights in social safety and attributed to the Ministries of Labor and Employment, Health and Social Welfare responsibilities for public policies for the protection of workers’ health.

Among the rights provided, the Art. 200 of the Federal Constitution guarantee a Single Health System-, which has in terms of the law: and in addition to other powers to carry out actions for sanitary and epidemiological surveillance, as well as the health staff of the worker; clause VIII - cooperate in the preservation of the environment, including the work.

4. Aspects of ergonomics and psychosocial risks in the labor laws.The ordinary law of the Ministry of Labor and Employment describes in more detail the standards for the protection of the worker’s health. They are known as regulatory standards - NRS and were established by the Ordinance 3214/1978. Hence, the existence of more than 37 years.

The ergonomic risks are described in the NR17 and sets parameters to allow the adaptation of working conditions for the psycho-physiological workers features. One of its main aspects relates to the work organization, and considers, among others with the purpose of protecting the public’s health: a) the rules of production; (b) the mode of operation; c) the time requirement; d) determine the content of time; (e) the pace of work; (f) the contents of the tasks. Other categories are linked to the physical risk factors, biological and chemical accidents.

Also on the ergonomic hazards, by union pressure and the result of the tripartite negotiations, the Ministry of Labor and Employment instituted in the NR17-ergonomic risks the annexes I and II which is concerned with the protection of the workers health and the work organization in telemarketing and in cash registers.

The annex I said: that the physical layout and the number of cash registers in activities(open) and operators must be compatible with: the flow of customers, in order to adjust the work pace in the psycho-physiological characteristics of each operator, through the adoption of at least one of the following articles whose choice is at the discretion of the company, such as: A) people to support or replace, when necessary; (b) rows only by groups of boxes; (c)


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special boxes (elderly, pregnant women, the disabled, the customers with small quantities of goods); d) breaks during the work day; (e) rotate among operators boxes with different characteristics. In regard to the psychosocial aspects, cited by time the first time in the legislation, the standard mentions the next: a) every worker in boxes must carry identification device visible, with name and/or last name, chosen by the worker’s own; It is forbidden to force the worker to use, permanent or temporary, clothing, advertisements or makeup that cause shame or harm to your personal dignity; other measures that help to maintain the proper movement of service without the overhead of the operators of boxes, and ensure that in the psychosocial aspects of the work will provide the training for employees.

In annex II, work in telemarketing /call center, the standard is more detailed, there are 143 articles negotiated and adopted in the tripartite agreement, only in the article by the work organization includes 43 standards. It is important to note that the rule forbids the use of methods that causes intimidation, fear or shame, for example:

a) promotion of the excessive competition between workers and work groups/ teams; (b) requirement that workers use permanently or temporary support, accessories, costumes and clothing for the purposes of punishment, the promotion and advertising; c) public exhibition of performance assessments of the operators.

5. Union experiences in negotiation and collective bargainingThe experiences on negotiations and trade union agreements are arranged in two different fields, because while in one of the tripartite negotiations (workers, employers and government) are discussed inclusions and alterations in the labor legislation (regulatory standards), in another, the trade unions pushing, negotiate and sign collective agreements and conventions. This has been one of the challenges of the labor movement: claim and negotiate clauses to protect the health of workers in order to ensure and expand rights.

A survey conducted by the Inter-union Department de statistics and socio-economic Studies (DIEESE), which aims to promote the trade union movement in the collective bargaining process of work, has recorded in the period 2009 to 2010 around 30 clauses in the collective agreements and conventions of various categories by mentioning the item about the intimidation. Different professional groups are affected, including trade, textile, metal, petrochemicals, plastics, graphics, electricians, water treatment and distribution, rural, post office, the journalists, data processing, health services and the banking sector.


Most of the agreements emphasized recommendations, educational campaigns and other mechanisms of the workers defence against the intimidation-violence, one of the psychosocial risks that most difficulties have caused in the work. Recently, a study on chemical risks - of Remigio Todeschini (2013/2014) - also includes statistical data about workers time off sick by mental and behavioural disorders associated with psychosocial factors and the management model at work.

Bank workers, a category represented by the National Confederation of Workers of the financial arm (CONTRAF) have an important historic struggle against intimidation-workplace violence, the unstable work and degrading conditions at work have affected thousands of workers by the mental and behavioural disorders. Different studies name that some of the risk factors in the category of the day to day and causes health problems are: bank work is highly detrimental to mental health and complaints of the trade unions show that supervisors pressure and customers; frequent overtime; Excessive hours of work; absence of pauses; repetitive tasks; the lack of promotion prospects; the lack of recognition at work, insufficient number of employees; intense pace of work, the fear of kidnapping and abusive goals.

According to reports in the CONTRAF presented at the negotiating table with the National Federation of Banks (FENABAN), 18,671 bank workers were out of work in 2013, a growth of 41% in relation to the past five years. Of that total benefits of work-related illness are registered by the INSS, 52.7 % had as major causes of mental disorders and nervous system. So, for the collective agreement 2014/2015, bank workers negotiate advances for the prevention of disease caused by the instability or job insafety resulting from outsourcing, productivity goals abusive and bullying-workplace violence.

In the fight against intimidation and the productive goals abusive, the professional group has made significant progress, among them: the ban on sending SMS to mobile phones to the workers to receive the goals set by the companies and a protocol called for the prevention of conflicts in the work place. That provides voluntary adherence of banks to enforce mechanisms to prevent and fight again bullying-violence in the work.

Finally, for the CUT, in addition to the studies and research on the psychosocial risks, there has been discussions on the organizational and technological change that have altered the nature of the work due to the neoliberal globalization, being aware that there is still much to move forward in negotiations and collective agreements in the topic.

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BibliographyCódigo de Leis do Trabalho CLT – Capitulo V – Portaria 3214/78 – NR17 anexo I e II - http://portal.mte.gov.br/portal-mte;

PORTARIA Nº 104, DE 25 DE JANEIRO DE 2011 – ANEXO III - Ministério da Saúde

LEI Federal No 10.216, DE 6 DE ABRIL DE 2001- Dispõe sobre a proteção e os direitos das pessoas portadoras de transtornos mentais e redireciona o modelo assistencial em saúde mental.

QUANDO O TRABALHO ADOECE: UMA ANÁLISE SOBRE O TELEATENDIMENTO - Selma Venco - http://www.revistas.sp.senac.br/index.php/ITF/article/viewFile/125/141;

AGUARDE UM MOMENTO NA LINHA, POR FAVOR. SUA LIGAÇÃO É MUITO IMPORTANTE PARA NÓS. RACIONALIZAÇÃO E EFICIÊNCIA. ESTUDO DE CASOS EM CALL CENTERS. – Selma Venco - http://www.pucsp.br/iniciacaocientifica/artigos-premiados-21ed/FABIELE-ALMEIDA-E-ISABELLA-MENDONCA.pdf

SAÚDE DOS BANCÁRIOS - Organização Laerte Idal Sznelwar – Editora Atitude

DE QUE ADOECEM OS TRABALHADORES QUÍMICOS – Remígio Todeschini - Editora LTr

Acordo Coletivo Bancários – 2013/2014 - http://www.contrafcut.org.br/download/convencao_acordo/13102120619.pdf;

ACT aditivo para prevenção de conflitos no ambiente de trabalho -;http://www.contrafcut.org.br/download/convencao_acordo/11127132255.pdf

http://portal.mte.gov.br/portal-mte

http://portal.mte.gov.br/portal-mte

http://www.revistas.sp.senac.br/index.php/ITF/article/viewFile/125/141

http://www.revistas.sp.senac.br/index.php/ITF/article/viewFile/125/141

http://www.pucsp.br/iniciacaocientifica/artigos-premiados-21ed/FABIELE-ALMEIDA-E-ISABELLA-MENDONCA.pdf

http://www.pucsp.br/iniciacaocientifica/artigos-premiados-21ed/FABIELE-ALMEIDA-E-ISABELLA-MENDONCA.pdf

http://www.contrafcut.org.br/download/convencao_acordo/13102120619.pdf




National experiences

BELGIUM, FRANCE, HUNGARY, ITALY

AND UNITED KINGDOM

ASTREES, “Psychosocial risks, services

and social dialogue”

Summary and commentary by

Estefanía González Cobaleda,

Labor Risks Prevention Expert. Hire Research.

University of Jaén.


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Summary1. Background and objectives. 2. Methodology. 3. Estructure of provide information. 4. Main experiences synthesis. Belgium. France Hungary. Italy. United Kingdom5. Main conclusions. 6. Final Reflection.


1. Background and objectives.The European Association of Employment, Labor and Society - ASTREES - has just published a document entitled “Psychosocial risks, services and social dialog”. In this document it is analyzed the frameworks that govern Social Dialog on psychosocial risks, both at the European level as the national, comparing the transposition of the legal framework in five States in the EU: Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy and United Kingdom. In addition, it analyzes the perception through the discussion of what is meant by psycho-social risks and what are the initiatives that have been developed by the social partners at national level for each service sector activity elected, from each of these five countries.

Although in recent years different studies have been published focused on the area of psychosocial risks, the report that follows is useful since it provides a comprehensive approach to the reality of such risks on the basis of the “European framework agreements on work-related Stress” concluded by the European social partners in 2004 and on “European framework agreement on Violence and Harassment” in 2007, which have been transposed in most European countries, for that will be the initiatives carried out by the European industry federations. It is therefore an interdisciplinary study of great practical utility to identify as social dialog can cope with these problems, carrying out actions on such risks in the field of the services sector and in specific occupations, as the project is centred in strategies of social dialog and not in sectoral comparisons. The report is defined by having a structure where it is easy to understand a complex content, in addition to be developed by specialists in the field, since it is coordinated by Christophe Teissier, ASTREES, with input from Frederic Naedenoen (Belgium); Csaba Mako - Miklos Illessy, Peter Csizmadia (Hungary); Daniele Di Nunzio, except Leonardi (Italy) and Leroy Henry (United Kingdom).

2. Methodology.The methodology used in the course of the project to develop evenly this document, is characterized by the primacy of the experimental approach. As well, each country has organized two national workshops to address in a qualitative manner, that is to say, through discussion, about how the social partners discussed psychosocial risks and how they deal with those risks, according to the different activities of the service sector in each country; and what are the new initiatives proposed for the social dialog at sectoral, corporate and local levels.

It must be borne in mind that psychosocial risks involve high costs for all the actors involved in labor relations, and for society in general. Therefore, is a major concern for both the European institutions as to the European


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social partners. These fact demands of studies or projects of the various legal frameworks-legal and political on the actions taken to eliminate or reduce this type of risk, as they were regarded as the second major problem in occupational health at European level.

3. Structure of the information provided.The structure of the document is summarized in two main parts, each consisting in different sections which are described below:

First major part is entitled “Synthesis of the transposition” where exposes, in general terms, that all European countries have transposed European legislation in the field of occupational health and safety through the Framework Directive 89/391 EEC, adopted in 1989, and that is a milestone for improvement in this area. In this sense, the work-related stress and psychosocial risks in general, are included in the scope of the obligations to act to eliminate or reduce them by the entrepreneurs.

However, the countries analyzed in this project represent different national industrial relations systems, and identify and address the impacts on the transposition of this regulatory framework, in addition, to analyze how it acts on the psychosocial risks in each country studied. There is also the importance of the social partners and the social dialog to deal with psychosocial risks.

In this last paragraph can be regarded as the central aspect of the topics covered in this great article, as it is already known in general terms, the European social partners have experienced difficulties in the implementation of their Framework Agreements to national and sectoral level. This is, in the countries studied, it is determined that the trade unions are experiencing problems in the participation in the social dialog with the entrepreneurs on the psychosocial risks, since it is difficult to reach agreement on the problems that must be addressed by the social partners. As well as, the manner in which focus on the solutions through social dialog, through a more collective approach in the change in the nature of the work, the organization of work and the working environment, or on the contrary, a more individual approach where you change the behaviour and practices of individual workers; and so are implemented in order to cope with such risks.


For this reason, the reader should continue to deepen our understanding of what are the actions carried out by each country, which is detailed in the second great “National Reports”, which is about the more detailed analysis at the national level of Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy and the United Kingdom, where the activities of the services sector chosen for this study were:

• Belgium: Call / Contact Centers.• France: detention centers (Prisons).• Hungary: Bank sector• Italy: Bank secto. • United Kingdom: Health Sector.

4. Main experiences synthesis.

BelgiumIn the event that Belgium, this study has allowed the presentation of the legal framework on psychosocial risks and more specifically in the Call/Contact Centres activity and social dialog in these work centres. In addition, the identification of the major psychosocial risk factors and to determine which initiatives has been implemented to manage those risks. The trade union initiatives to level up to now had been actions mainly directed at the improvement of the organization of work, such as changes in the working environment, organization of stress surveys, etc.

However, the study of Call/Contact Centres sector is not easy, for several reasons. First, considering that the companies operates in different branches of the economy, in addition to not being a traditional sector, which complicates any statistical study specific and doesn’t facilitate the implementation of a social dialog. However, the discussions were obtained a number of risk factors linked to the organization of work, the human resources management or exogenous factors.

In addition, it was recalled by the trade union representatives participating in this project that the first step that you attempted to implement was to enforce the respect of the legal framework of well-being at work. But at present, the controls are nonexistent and the arbitration mechanisms of social conflicts are inefficient.


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The project participants identified several measures to improve the situation about the social dialog. These measures are:

• At the local level, the first step consists in promoting the “SOBANE Strategy”, that many of the participants discovered during the second workshop of the project. Its objective is to help companies comply with the legal framework through the guidance of a process in 4 levels: identification, monitoring, analysis and evaluation. The strategy includes a guide to social dialog focused on the joint identification of risks. It has been adapted for many sectors of Belgium. The aim with this measure is to promote a wide dissemination of the collective bargaining agreements in the Call/Contact Centres as Belgian can be through the trade union representatives of the company.

• At the sectoral level, the solution of the social dialog would be the creation of a new framework for negotiation in Call/Contact Centres. This would be a first step toward a progressive expansion of negotiation of principal actors in this sector.

• At translational level, a solution would be to created a European social section to support the national and European legal frameworks a on this activity. This section could be validated by the trade unions, through good standards of conduct to be observed by employers and workers.

As a result of this study, currently, there is no collective bargaining agreement specifies on the psychosocial risks linked to work in the sector of Call/Contact Centres, however, most of the collective agreements are obtained at the local level, which has a range limited to companies that sign the agreement. So, these situations often lead to the implementation of the informal social dialog, based on the organization of “encounters” and “groups of quality”, whose objective is to discuss, among other things, the management of psychosocial risks. However, such discussions do not offer the same guarantees that can be found in the area of formal social dialog, because they do not always imply the formalization of agreements. In addition, these agreements are not binding on the participants of the negotiating table.


FranceRegarding to France, within the context of the project, it presents the framework in which establishes social dialog on psychosocial risks issues at Detention Centres (Prison Administration) in the activities of the public and private, sector using two independent union experiences about the negative factors in the workplace. It is important to bear in mind that, as it expresses the project itself, the framework established by France is characterized by promoting the creation of spaces for social dialog between the social partners to generate proposals, listen to the actors, etc. in addition to the tradition that they possess about the social dialog in front of psychosocial risks.

This is what we can observe in the seminars developed in this experience.

The first seminar, sought to recognize and identify the concerns and actions carried out by the workers and applied by the trade union organizations to begin to address the topic of “malaise” in the workplace. Also, there was a discussion about the processes followed in this matter by the trade union representatives, difficulties and obstacles to its implementation, in addition to achieving or not of the expected results. Finally, it is discussed the impact of these processes in the responsible for the organization and the staff, as well as the evolution of work situations.In the second seminar, were analyzed which the initiatives or the mechanisms of action are proposed to be run by the unions themselves on such risks. To such end:

Trade unions have to become aware of the specificity of its function and position to respond appropriately. Therefore, identifies three possible phases of intervention on the part of the trade union organizations:

• A first stage of alert. The idea is to transform a “complaint” by one or more workers, in a “problem”, so it is no longer seen as a personal problem, but as a problem in the workplace. It is the recognition that “something” is going on and what could be a “problem”, being appropriate to consider this. (This would have happened in relation to the famous case of the suicides in different French companies, especially in FRANCE TELECOM)

• A second phase of discussion and debate in the workplace. At this stage is not only a matter of being able to insert an actual knowledge of the world of work in social dialog, but also, and simultaneously, in the inside structures of the trade union organization in order to boost the staff representatives to act in the workplace and its content.


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• A final stage of negotiation. You can distinguish, in general lines, two possible approaches to negotiation, as is the formal and the informal about the discomfort in the workplace.

HungaryIn the framework of the project, in Hungary, two workshops were held in Budapest with 33 participants in total. The participants represented both the financial sector employer and employees.

The main results obtained taking into account the discussions held during the workshops are:• Determination the definition of stress and psychosocial hazards related to work, taking into account

the financial sector. Define the occupational stress as an emotion of the human body that can be caused by situations of one’s own work, for example, structural factors (stressors) of the place of work. In addition, there was consensus among participants that the stress in the workplace cannot be understood as a problem of the individual, for example, stress cannot be linked exclusively to the unique behaviour of workers

• Appreciation that psychosocial risks, falls outside the scope of the social dialog compared to other occupational hazards

• It establishes the need to analyze in the future: the tools that should or should not be used in the evaluation of psychosocial risks; the actions of the workers’ representatives in the workplace; in addition, the role of trade unions and employers’ organizations at the sectoral level and the role of the customer with respect to those risks

The report made by Hungary on the banking sector, record that the social dialog at the national level is more focused on issues such as wages, working time and working conditions in general, compared to the psychosocial risks. These generally fall outside the scope of the social dialog.

Therefore, as determined by the own report prepared by Hungary, the future research activities should focus on the barriers both institutional and cognitive for implementation of a participatory model. In this report it should be bet on interventions in favour of the system as a whole on the structural factors that mediate the psychological and ergonomic components of occupational diseases, such as would be the work-related stress.


ItalyDuring the last three decades there have been radical changes in the processes within the capitalist countries. In Italy, the corporate restructuring on a broad scale has increased labor flexibility and the increasing frequency intensity of psychosocial risks affecting workers in the banking sector. Psychosocial risks have, therefore, been under the close supervision of the companies and the trade unions.

Trade unions seek to obtain a better understanding of the complex nature of psychosocial risks and the risk factors. Therefore, these are opposed to an individualistic approach on psychosocial risks. With this aim to foster not only a preventive action in origin and collective, since it is now limited only or mainly to the provision of psychological support, when what is relevant is the development of action alert to the risk factors within the organization of work, but also the corrective intervention of such factors.

Equally, the social partners express certain consensus. As well, have determined that in spite of the fact that there is a diversity of competing interests between the approaches of employers and trade unions are known to exist in the sector a set of experiences and good practices in the field of psychosocial risk management have to be dealt.

In short, with the activities of the services sector chosen by Italy, we would like to underline that many financial companies have established centres for listening in an attempt to improve their places of work in the face of psychosocial risks that can affect workers. In this financial sector specific context, it expresses that part of the workers need to provide a strong social support and the opportunity to have a certain influence on the work processes, it mainly due to frequent restructuring processes introduced in this sector. From this perspective, both overall and sectoral, determines the need to develop a more participatory approach to cooperate and participate of all the stakeholders involved in this sector.

United KingdomAt the United Kingdom Health Sector has been analyzed. And just as it is remembered in the document, this professional sector has one of the highest rates of incidence of the damage caused by psychosocial risks on the workers health. Hence it has received a great deal of attention both political and media, giving rise to a many interventions by different Governments as well as by the entrepreneurs. In this context have been developed diverse workshops, comparing the actors experiences involved at the national level with this of the workers at workplace,


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therefore, have been also obtained information to local and regional level by providing a list in which have been the most important aspects that have emerged in different workshops. The most important positions discussed have been the following:

• There was consensus among participants that a collaborative approach with strong social participation and commitment of all is a prerequisite for success in the approach of management standards

• Concern on preventive measures to develop, where change is needed mainly on the nature of the work, the ways in which work is organized and the working environment, instead of changing the behaviour and practices of individual workers.

• Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has adopted a model of management standards supported by the social partners in accordance with the European Framework

• There has been a deep discussion of how the common law of the United Kingdom is an imperfect tool to address the psycho-social aspect due to the difficulties in the establishment of the causal link between its “failure and damage.

• In particular, the social partners have revealed that in the health sector there is a clear relationship between the stress at work and two main aspects such as the productivity of workers and the safety of the patient

• The higher link between the HSE and trade unions and business associations at national and local levels was seen as being of critical importance in the future. In general it was felt that the social partners require more resources, in particular at the local level, to collaborate with the reduction of stress

It has been discussed on purpose several examples not only in “good” but also in “bad practices” to clarify what are the prerequisites in order to achieve a successful activity on the social partners part.


5. Main conclusionsAs a result of the ASTREES study, we can realize the following general conclusions and that are especially related to the Social Dialog on psychosocial risks. In this sense, in the document it highlights the following six general conclusions that have been obtained from the study

• Difficulties in assessing practical impact of the “European framework agreements on work-related Stress”

• It is crucial the role of the actors to support the social partners and the processes of social dialog, as it can be by mechanisms not only legal but also by guidelines or tools for manage psychosocial risks

• It is necessary to increase the social partners resources in order to better address the psychosocial risks by social dialog

• Work-related stress and psychosocial risks clearly have an impact on the health and safety of the workers

• Prevention of psychosocial risks cannot be dealt with only in the short term, but actions must go beyond, by joint initiatives at the enterprise level to long-term

• To promote a deeper understanding on the violence impact from customers to service sector workers and that has an impact on the workers health and safety

6. Final ReflectionAs a final synthesis, we can say that this is a usefulness limited report to other States and industrial relations systems, even for other different sectors of activity from that specifically analyzed. The reason lies in the difficulties to extract general conclusions, in territorial and functional level. In this sense, while the project seeks to present different experiences to better understand the role of social dialog in the psychosocial risks current outlook, focusing on the strategies developed by the different countries on social dialog on specific cases, his excessive heterogeneity makes comparisons between sectors.

Hence the eminently discursive dimension and cognitive, since it focuses on stimulating discussions between players from the two-pronged approach indicated at the beginning of this document analysis, that it is said: as the social partners discussed psychosocial risks and how to confront it according to the different activities on services sector in each country. In any case, we can value the main objective marked by the document and which binds directly

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to the main theme of this monograph by the International Yearbook of psychosocial risks: to promote a greater participation of the social dialog in services sector on the effective management of psychosocial risks through the exchange of good practices, considering what would be beneficial for all parties involved, that is, for both employers and workers. So, there has been a willingness to undertake a study, in order to facilitate the exchange of information between the stakeholders involved in the services sector by the different countries that have participated

Data and interpretations contributed by authors invite the reader to think about the work-related stress reality as well as psychosocial risks in these activities on sector services, promoting concrete actions to change in different areas that have been discussed. However, it is important to determine that the studied sectors may be different from one European country to another, mainly due to the legal frameworks, to their own tradition and cultures of each country on psychosocial risks and of their social dialog, as we have been able to analyze in the case of Hungary, where these risks generally fall outside the scope of the social dialog and despite having a specific legislation that, what had seen, it is completely ignored.

GOOD PRACTICE

INVOLVED AGREEMENT ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AND

PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS IN TRAVEL AGENCIES SECTOR IN SPAIN

Analysis by

Marisa Rufino

Emilio González

Miguel Ángel Gimeno


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Summary1. Description of Practice 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Contextualization 1.3. Aims 2. Actions of the Practice • Action 1. Exploration of stress management and psychosocial risks in Travel Agencies • Action 2. Dissemination and awareness on stress and psychosocial risks in the Travel Agencies • Action 3. Agreement to act for the prevention of psychosocial risks and stress in the Travel Agencies3. Best contributions in Practice


1. Practice description1.1. IntroductionThe General Union of Workers (UGT), as a teamster’s union, spends years fighting for the improvement of health and safety workers conditions in Spain. Over the last decade, from the Observatory of Psychosocial Risks, has been developing different actions focused on prevention of psychosocial risks.

These actions have been materialized, mainly, in two lines of work:

The scientific research on psychosocial risk factors and the effectiveness of potential preventive solutions;

The dissemination - workers, employers and society in general - on specific situation of psychosocial risks, violence and stress in different labor sectors.

This good practice pretends carries a step beyond this activity. As well, the Agreement involved on the stress and psychosocial risks management in travel agency sector in Spain has progressed in traditional lines of research and dissemination; but, next to them, has been given an important step in its applied aspects.

In this regard, this good practice has meant the development of a program to make joint actions -trade union representatives and employers - for work-related stress and psychosocial risks management in the sector of the Travel Agencies, as a result from agreements and based on scientific assessments. As well, based on an assessment of the main psychosocial risk factors and the stress of the private sector, it has agreed to a practical guide for its prevention, which provides the framework for the establishment of the preventive measures against these risks in companies in the sector.

This is an example of good practice proactive, which shows that psychosocial risks can be managed in a systematic way, using a participatory methodology that integrates workers and entrepreneurs, and betting because both groups work together to prevent psychosocial risks and work-related stress.


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1.2. Set in a contextThe Travel Agencies conform to the macro tourism sector, a key sector in generation of employment in Spain. According to the current Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies (CEAV), the tourism situation in Spain, accounts for about 11% of the national GDP (April 2012).

The Annual Survey of Services of 2010 gives us an idea of the importance of the sector on which affects this Good Practice. The number of enterprises in the sector round the 11,000, the average number of workers in the sector is above the 54,000, and the number of local exceeds 15,000. Its volume of work exceeded over 17,000 thousand million euros.

In this sector is very important the establishment of measures for the stress and psychosocial risks management, due to the changes it has undergone in recent years.

Thus, the sector of the Travel Agencies was in a positive situation, before the commencement of the current socio-economic crisis. According to their Global Barometer of January of 2007, the overall results showed that this activity enjoyed strong growth, exceeding the rate of 4.1 % expected long-term. However, in recent years the growth in the number of premises has been virtually non-existent, and its turnover maintains a downward trend. This slump in the expansion that were taking the travel agencies “at the foot of the street or traditional”, has been due mainly to the consequences of the global crisis, and to which it is increasingly growing the business in this sector via the Internet.

This situation is demanding major challenges to the travel agencies and their employees. Among these should be highlighted

• Search for competitiveness through an increase in the concentration of the market in large groups of agencies.

• Reduction in the number of offices and increased competitive pressure.• Search for new products, channels and approaches• Intensification of direct marketing.• Intensification in the use of new technologies• Changes in customers profiles


• Need to plan and achieve a more specialized training and constant to avoid the high level of turnover and cover in a comprehensive manner the demand of customers.

• The demand in the tasks of the travel agent, expert advice and expertise for the implementation of trips to the extent of the customer.

The most current information on the accident rates (II, III, and IIIi) for the Travel Agencies, is published on the Order of January of 2013, which establishes the limit values of the indices of general claims and extreme claims, for the year 2012. The Order indicates respect to this sector (NACE 79), the following limits:

Indices of accident rate of the 2012 (CNAE 79) Ii IIi IIIi

Travel Agencies activities, tour operators, reservation services and tasks related. 6,43 0,58 0,36

The widespread dissemination of the sector in small offices, close to the deep restructuring to which it has had to cope with, as well as the lack of scientific research to evaluate the management of stress and psychosocial risks in the sector, required the implementation of a systemic and holistic program which would give coverage to the entire industry, underpinned by a rigorous and scientific work. The intention with this good practice has been to develop this action.

1.3. AimsIt is the aim of the UGT to work in the defence of workers rights, among others in the field of occupational health and safety. Related with psychosocial risks, it seeks to promote healthy work environments, through the steady improvement of organizational and preventive management.

Following with this main purpose, the central objective of the Inform Practice -Agreement - on stress management and psychosocial risks in the sector of the travel agencies in Spain is as follows:

MAIN OBJECTIVESet a roadmap based, systematic and owned (between workers’ and employers’ representatives) to improve the security and the psychosocial health of companies and workers in the sector of the Travel Agencies.


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This general objective is concreted in 3 specific aims. The first two aims correspond to the type of proceedings from the Observatory of psychosocial risks have been doing since its inception; while the third has a marked and applied nature of founding.

2. To put in practiceTo develop this practice a model of “action-research” has been applied and it that was concrete in the three actions that are listed below

The logic action departs from “theorizing”, continues with the “analysis of the concrete reality”, and ends with the “intervention”, which is be used for feedback “theorizing”.

Specific Objective 1:Analyze and explore the presence of psychosocial risk factors and indicators of stress in travel agency sectorDescribe the levels of workers health damage. And analyze the relationship between psychosocial risks factors and workers health damage

Specific Objective 2:Make aware both workers and sector entrepreneurs on work related stress and psychosocial risks, showing the way to achieve possitive effects for both to make a preventive and adequate preventive management.

Specific Objective 3:Establish a program of joint action -trade union representatives and employers - for active management on work-related stress and psychosocial risks in the sector of the Travel Agencies, emanated from agreements and based on scientific assessments


In this way, this practice depart from the review of the existing literature on the main psychosocial risks and stress that may occur in the Travel Agencies sector, and that allows us to establish a proposal of theoretical model. Then, it moves on to explore the specific situation of psychosocial risks existing in the industry. Finally, it comes to intervene, dissemination of the knowledge obtained, and promoting an agreement participated for the systematic preventive action on psychosocial risks and stress in the Travel Agencies.


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ACTION 1. EXPLORATION OF STRESS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS MANAGEMENT IN TRAVEL AGENCIESTaking into account the model of “action research” outlined above, the Action 1 of the practice corresponds to the “theorizing” and with “analysis of the concrete reality”.

The activities of this action can be grouped into two:• ACTIVITY 1. Literature review about the possible psychosocial risk factors and stress that may

occur in Travel Agencies. • ACTIVITY 2. Exploration the presence of psychosocial risk factors and stress indicators in sector,

and the level of existing damage on both the workers health and companies.These two activities are made I with the collaboration of professionals from the Universitat Jaume I University of Castellon.

ACTIVITY 1. REVIEW OF THE EXISTING THEORETICAL FRRAMEWORKListings of psychosocial risk factors, and the indicators for work-related stress, are broad and varied, although there is some consensus and systematisation. In this sense, the Community Framework Agreement on Work-related stress (2004) considers that attention should be given to different elements, among which: the labor organization and productive processes, working conditions and environments, the communication between all levels, and subjective factors.

It might consider the following factors related to the Travel Agencies sector,

Pauses and breaks; work schedule; functions and tasks; rhythm of work; Monotony; Autonomy; mental workload; performance of role; Communication in the workplace; interpersonal relations at work; and conditions of employment.

From the analysis of the literature is formula the theoretical model of research that appears in Figure 1.


Figure 1. Theoretical Model for investigation of stress management and psychosocial risks in the Travel Agencies


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ACTIVITY 2. TO EXPLORE THE PRESENCE OF PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS AND STRESS FACTORS, AND DAMAGES LEVEL ON WORKERS AND COMPANIES HEALTHThe exploration done in this activity has searched to detect the major psychosocial risk factors and stress indicators existing in the sector, and also to consider their role in the generation of workers and companies health.This research has been tour aims:

• OBJECTIVE 1: Describe the presence of psychosocial risk factors and indicators of stress in the travel agency sector

• OBJECTIVE 2: Describe the existing levels of damage to the health of the workers and companies• OBJECTIVE 3: To analyze the relationship between the psychosocial risk factors and the damage to

the health of workers and companies• OBJECTIVE 4: Provide guidance on the diagnosis and prevention of psychosocial risk factors, with

a view to improving the health of the workers and companies

Para lleva a cabo esta exploración se han combinado dos metodologías:• Análisis de grupo de discusión (metodología cualitativa)• Estudio de campo cuasi-experimental (metodología cuantitativa)

ANALYSIS OF DISCUSSION GROUPQualitative information obtained from workers allows us to relate the psychosocial factors and the causes which produce with real situations that these workers live.

From the analysis of the discussion group, where different prevention delegates participated (as a representative of the sector), was obtained an approximate image which as the psychosocial factors and stress are present in daily, and how this real situations affect workers.

The following are the main examples obtained (see Table 1), that help a reflection to develop preventive practices that are appropriate and scope to the largest possible number of workers in the sector (such as it expressed in the “Guide Prevention of psychosocial risks Stress in Travel Agencies”)


Table 1. Psychosocial risk factors and examples of situations in the sector

Factor What are we talking about

What they make Consecuencies Example in sector

Factores relacionados con el entorno del trabajo Factors related to the working environment

Environmental Conditions

Noise, lighting, temperature

The noise can isolate the workers, increase the number of failures and accidents, interfere with communication, masking other auditory cues of the environment and adversely affect the level of satisfaction and productivity. In addition.Inadequate lighting (reflexes, deficient or excessive lighting) can make the task more difficult.Excess heat can produce drowsiness, low temperatures decrease the manual dexterity of the workers

Interferes with the activity causing mental fatigue, irritability, difficulty in concentration and low tolerance to frustration.Under performance and frustration and, therefore, it will influence the health and psychological well-being.

Call-centers offices, wher you can concentrate both, high temperaturas such a too much noise,”P2 the noice, there is a lot of noise in call.center”

Job Design Physical conditions of the working environment that can be observed objectively.

Physical Characteristics of the immediate work areaThe immediate work area extends from the core that is the table or because of a person up to the complex physical or imaginary boundaries that surround your workspace

Proper location of the working tools not only prevents muscle skeletal disorders, but also stress and fatigue.


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Factor What are we talking about What they make

Consecuencies Example in sector

Factors related to the organization and management of work

Pauses and breaks Excessive working hours Physical fatigue (inability to maintain a physical effort) and mental fatigue (lack of attention, presence of associations or unpleasant memories that distract the individual, difficulty concentrating and, in general, lack of performance),

In call centers where it is not possible to have time, controlled calls.I have limit time for all, have to pick up the phone before the second call, I have to encode to know what type of cll is, answer e-mail, I have to have thetray clean always, I can’t have the inbox wich e-mails apart from the fact that I am still continually and I am good”

Working Hours Long working hours. Shift work.

Long hours of work resulting in fatigue and tension..

In offices of sale to the public..…”What happens is that, in many companies the timetables are always the same, but the schedules in this sector are highly variable i what i think is that the times of departure are very lax, what happens is that there is a tendency to stay after the day and clear, are not overtime because it does not get the company and forces you but clear when you’re in an office and you have two people because you are staying, clear, we are not really miss the closures and off you go…”

Functions and duties

Refer to the content and meaning that the work has for the worker who runs it. A job with content is one that is equipped with functions and tasks that are suitable, and that allows the worker feel that his work serves to something.




Pace of work

Tight deadlines, by the need for speed in the tasks, by the recovery of delays, by the speed of an automatic machine, by the competitiveness among colleagues, by the standards of production, by the amount of work to be performed, by the direct hierarchical control with time pressures, etc.

At both the office and call-centers where the pace is imposed by seasons.“…..There are high seasons in which you can not take vacation and then there is low seasons …..”

monotone Constant repetition of very short sequences, and very poor

The worker does not have any kind of initiative and decreases its freedom dissatisfaction labor and health problems,

autonomy Is the degree to which the worker can plan their work and to determine the procedures to develop it

The worker has to be the possibility of making decisions with respect to the tasks that they perform and have autonomy Both to be able to modify the order of the various operations and vary from task, such as to decide the time dedicated to each one of them, because that is a factor of satisfaction. A degree of autonomy and proper control over the task that the operator has had an impact on their degree of responsibility, satisfaction and motivation for the work, but it gives or is excessive becomes a stressor that must be provided to avoid the appearance of risks type: dissatisfaction, lack of involvement, problems their brains, passivity, overload

In offices and on-line where the work comes tax.

“….US monthly, as you monitor, you have a monthly meeting with the responsible to analyze at random, in theory, other times it is not so random, say to analyze, but I think that this situation be above in reality to the colleagues you stressed out over more because it is too much pressure for the worker…”


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Factor What are we talking about What they make Consecuencies Example in sector

Mental Workload

Is the set of requirements mental, cognitive, or intellectual to the that is subjected the worker over the course of your working day, is the level of mental activity or intellectual effort needed to develop the work

The quantitative overload many operations in a short timeThe qualitative overload refers to excessive demands intellectual or mental in relation with the knowledge and skills of the worker.The underload or undercharging results in quantitative is generated when the workload is far below those needed to maintain a minimum level of activation in the worker.The underload or undercharging results in qualitative occurs when the task does not imply any commitment for the resulting mental worker and insufficient UNPD rejection and discouragement

Mental fatigue It would be especially in workers who have to organize, groups, collectives. “….Workers and are multitude of different groups but in reality is a convention of a travel agent, not only binds to travel agents, all professions annexd, also regulate to all the tourist guides, all the administrative part, there are still even buttons, there are messengers, is very broad…”


Factor What are we talking about

What they make Consecuencies Example in sector

Role Perfomance Set of expectations and demands on the behaviours that are expected of the person who occupies a certain position

Role ambiguity: The worker role ambiguity with live in uncertainty, you don’t know what is expected of it, i.e. , it does not have configured with clarity what is their role in the companyRole Conflict: occurs when there are demands or requirements in the work, which are between if inconsistent or incompatible to do the job, by divergent expectations within the organization itself, by incompatibility temporary, due to conflicts with the own system of values and beliefs or conflict between the various individual roles

Have negative consequences for the worker as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and dissatisfaction and labor for the company and the reduction of the performance, absenteeism and excessive rotation of posts.

Communication in the workplace

In the working environment the communication covers from the orders given by the Board of Directors directly up to the casual expressions between classmates

Formal communication: is the one that serves to guide the behavior toward the principles, rules and goals of the informal organizationInformal Communication: is the one that favors the development of the professional activity through the contacts between colleagues, and serves as a support partner affective and exhaust valve to interpersonal complaints, conflicts and frustrations at work.

Occurs in all areas and types of collective. “ … ..the formal communication does not exist, if informal, mira HR XXXX does not report nothing and it is its policy because I have talked with them, and each worker has to talk to his boss and go above the head assumes that you are already transgressing the rules… ..”


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Interpersonal relationships at work

Interact socially, what is a source of motivation for the behavior. Therefore, the interpersonal relationships at work (with superiors, with subordinates, with peers and clients or users) and group (working teams, department, area, etc. ) are usually valued positively, but also can become a psychosocial risk.

High levels of tension between members of a team or organization

Conditions of employment

Promoting professional future The insecurity and uncertainty with regard to employment or future professional can cause anxiety to the worker.

Occurs in all areas and type of group, either sender or outgoing. “ … ..is very green, we have created a system that is based on personal promotion, in the professional career, in the training plan, good is introduced to the convention, but is still very green and is based on the worker’s own professionalism without that there is a vacancy…”

FIELD OF STUDYThe quantitative part of the exploration is focused in to make a survey with a significant number of workers. The field study was followed by a simple random process, in all the Spanish territory.

The study sample was composed of 972 workers in the sector of the Travel Agencies, in the Spanish territory. The universe of the employed population in the activity of Travel Agencies, tour operators, reservation services and activities related, in the second quarter of 2013, was 50,900 workers (Source: INE). The sampling error that represents the sample to be analyzed is of the 3.1 per cent in the conditions p = q, with a confidence level of 95 %, this being acceptable.


Data Sheet of the field study

UniverseWorkers engaged in activities of travel agencies, tour operators, reservation services and activities related to the same, of Spain, in 2013

Sample size972 Workers employed in travel agencies, the Spanish territory

Sampling Procedure Simple Random

Sampling error 3.1 % For a confidence level of 95 %, p=q=0.5

Method of Collection of information Combination of Survey staff face-to-face and online survey

Location of the sample Spain

Period of sample collection First three quarters of 2013

The information collection is carried out individually, through the administration of multivariable questionnaires. The questionnaire used was based on the theoretical model of research (see Figure 1) and the variables that they were conformed were those contained in the model.

The results indicated a significant presence of psychosocial risk factors and indicators of stress in Travel Agencies. And that these risk factors affecting the company and workers health (for more detailed information ask the “Guide Prevention of psychosocial risks Stress in Travel Agencies”)

• The physical damage is affected by: age, task factors, organizational control, control of the monitoring, reporting, decision-making power, weekly working hours, quality of relationships, recognition of the work performed, seniority, safety in working conditions, career development, preventive activity.

• In the event that the psychological damage, the risk factors, we consider: age, environmental factors, factors of task, organizational control, control of the monitoring, reporting, decision-making


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power, hours of work, hours of work each week, management of internal communication, quality of relationships, recognition of the work performed, seniority, safety in working conditions, career development

• The behavioural damage, on his behalf, were affected by: Age, environmental factors, factors of task, organizational control, control of the monitoring, reporting, decision-making power, hours of work, hours of work each week, management of internal communication, quality of relationships, recognition of the work performed, type of contract, seniority, safety in working conditions, career development, preventive activity

• In case of social damage, significant risk factors were: sex, environmental factors, factors of task, organizational control, control of the monitoring, reporting, decision-making power, hours of work, hours of work each week, management of internal communication, quality of relationships, recognition of the work performed, seniority, safety in working conditions, career development, preventive activity

• In case of time off sick, the factors that were significant were: Sex, age, environmental factors, organizational control, control of the monitoring, reporting, decision-making power, hours of work, management of internal communication, quality of relationships, recognition of the work performed, seniority, career development, preventive activity

• The Human Capital was affected by: sex, age, environmental factors, factors of task, organizational control, control of the monitoring, reporting, decision-making power, hours of work, hours of work each week, management of internal communication, quality of relationships, recognition of the work done, safety in working conditions, career development, preventive activity.

• On his behalf, the organizational conflict the significant risk factors were: sex, environmental factors, factors of task, organizational control, information, decision-making power, hours of work, hours of work each week, quality of relationships, recognition of the work performed, seniority, preventive activity

It appreciated the existence of a set of psychosocial risk factors quite well delimited, whose presence in the work environment of the travel agencies affected, no doubt, to the safety and health of both workers and companies.


The analysis of the reason for the allowed us to detect that workers who had had a time off sick by psychosocial reasons in last 12 months:

• Bad designed Played tasks• The organizational control was most deficient• The control of the superiors was more improper• They had fewer decision-making power (although the differences are not significant)• They worked more hours per week• The management of internal communication in your company was worse• The quality of their relationships was most deficient• The recognition that were to carry out their work was less• The insecurity in their working conditions was greater• Professional development opportunities were more limited• The type of contract was more precarious• And the preventive activity in your company was most deficient.

ACTION 2. DISSEMINATION AND AWARENESS ON STRESS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS UN TRAVEL AGENCIES SECTORFrom the study and of the in-depth qualitative and quantitative analysis carried out by the Professor Miguel Ángel Jimeno Universitat Jaume I of Castellón’s team with the collaboration of the Observatory of psychosocial risks of UGT-CEC, the start of the campaign for the dissemination of the results obtained.

To carry out this outreach campaign whose main objective was to help visualize the existence of stress and psychosocial risks in the sector, relying on the use of simple tools and guidelines and practices for managing the psychosocial risks and stress were resorted to a number of different activities, as the realization of a day which was attended by more than 100 trade union representatives and workers and workers in the sector of Travel Agencies, and in which participated next to the Secretary General of UGT and the Secretary General of the State Federation of Transport of UGT The President of the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies (CEAV) as well as other representatives of workers in the sector along with representatives of the largest companies in the same and the teachers responsible for the implementation of the study.


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The results of this day were transferred through the various trade union sections to various work offices generating a significant multiplier effect.

These results had effect on several specialized media as Aggentravel, hosteltur, which has aroused the interest of the State Secretariat of Tourism, that the Confederal Secretariat of Occupational Health of UGT along with representatives of (Sea Transport and Communications) TCM-UGT and of the APEC business association (Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies) explained the procedure to develop this work, which has been carried out on a field work have been accounted for nearly one thousand surveys to different professionals of the Travel Agencies sector.

The work carried out with the finance of the Foundation for the Prevention of Occupational Hazards, allowed us to edit 3000 guides that were distributed to workers of the sector, territorial and sectoral structure of UGT and various public and private agencies national and European working on prevention of occupational risks.

Complying with our main objective to achieve psychosocial risks and stress management would be included on sector priorities as an essential element to improve the benefit of the workers and companies health, make short work the “Agreement to act for prevention psychosocial risks and stress in Travel Agencies”

ACTION 3. ACTIONS PREVENTION AGREEMENT ON STRESS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS IN TRAVEL AGENCIESIn March 2014 in the signing of the so-called “COMMITMENT SOCIO-LABOR FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE WELL-BEING AT WORK IN TRAVEL AGENCIES SECTOR”, it express the reach between the UGT representation and the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies and that it is covered by the Agreement of action for prevention of psychosocial risks and stress in Travel Agencies. We make a brief summary (copy attached).

In this document it set up a brief exposure of the aspects that lead the signatories to a final compromise.

It is make a first reference to the interests of the signatories to develop actions to improve safety and health at work in travel agencies sector, for its benefits in both welfare of workers and their quality of life as in the productivity of the business organizations.


Afterwards it is recognized the utility of the tool to guide such actions, the diagnosis and the recommendations contents in Psychosocial risks Prevention Guide relating stress in travel agencies, developed by the Observatory of psychosocial risks of the UGT-CEC, with the funding of the Foundation for Prevention of Labor Risks.

Based on the former, the signatories undertake to:

To disseminate between its partners the named Guide and to program, jointly, informative actions, training or any other type it is considered for the mutual interest to facilitate its implementation, as far as possible into the management of the different companies within the sector, in order to improve the health of workers and the efficiency of companies.

3. Main contributions.The exploration of psychosocial risk factors and stress in Travel Agencies (Action 1) has allowed us to confirm some relevant aspects to improve the conditions of companies and workers safety and health.

On the one hand, has been confirmed that we are facing a complex labor problem, in there is variables that affect multiple levels: individual, interpersonal, group, organizational, and societal. In each of the damage we studied risk factors that belong to different levels. The psychosocial risks and stress preventive activity cannot be confined only to analyze the characteristics of the worker, of the tasks it performs and its work environment.

On the other hand, the proper path to prevent them is noted: working from a holistic, systemic and participatory perspective, out off the targeted, isolated and purely preventive interventions. It is evident the need to make a coordinated and multilevel approach.

The work done in Action 1 questions the traditional way to make the preventive activity, understood as something external to the daily work activities, and “ourtourcing”. And it increases the value of the contents in article. 1 RD 39/1997, January 17, approves the Regulation of the Prevention Services, about the need to integrate preventive activity.


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It should be pointed that, in this sense, the role of the organizational design and the “way of doing business”. Data tell us that, at those companies in which take seriously the role of ‘organize’ the health of workers and the company improves. However, for those companies that are directed and managed poorly the health damage significantly increase.

Another aspect is the belief of many workers, we are confronted by an occupational hazard “soft”; however, nothing could be further from the truth. The psycho-social nature sick off work, appears as the result of exposure to a wide range of risk factors, to which the worker is exposed. That it is affected in a slow and inexorable manner, and that van breaking its health to finish with it.

Hence the importance of the Action 2, to publicize the exploration carried out between workers and employers.

To cope with this progressive deterioration of workers psychological health and companies health, imposes a multilevel action, but not only preventive (in the reduced sense of the word). This involves working in the construction of healthy organizations (Gimeno, 2012; Hodson and Roscigno, 2004; kets de Vries, 2001; MacDermida et al. ,2008; MacIntosh et al. , 2007; Maslow, 1971), bwtween:

• A change in the “ways of doing business”, in the organization functions, planning and control on the behalf of the leadership, by changing the orientation of the scientific and bureaucratic work by one based on the development of learning organizations; organizational design with the lower degree of asymmetry of power possible

• The job design in which the worker can develop their abilities and exercise control over the own characteristics;

• The increase in the participation and decision-making capacity of the workers• Maintenance suitable environmental conditions• The promotion supervisor figure, not as controlling body but support and guide (mentor). The data

suggest that the extent of the damage to the health of workers increase when the monitoring to be performed is excessive. But that the extent of the damage to the health of the organization are doing when the monitoring is insufficient. The redesign of the role of the supervisor is sine qua non for the prevention of psychosocial risks


• A suitable information management and internal communication. In this sense, the data obtained suggest that we should avoid the ambiguity informative, it encourages the uncertainty and acts as a breeding ground for the essential conflict

• The construction of group interactions based on trust, that are open and leaving the functional conflict transparent and open

• The development of organizational processes seated in a work organization• Labor conditions that assure employment quality

Hence the sense of action 3, which seamlessly integrates owned to workers and employers as a way of improving the management of stress and psychosocial risks in Travel Agencies.

In this regard, it should be noted that the policy of community safety and health at work, set in the successive Community strategies, has been insisting that the “social dialog” is one of the best “avenues of progress” in the effective management of the new risks, which include psychosocial risks -stress, violence… -. The practice here is a direct expression of the social dialog and shows a serious commitment and firm of the employers’ organization and of the association to bring to the companies experience the main recommendations that have emerged in the wake of the study and the related guide.

As well, recent studies of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), for purpose of ESENER, show evidence of the importance of the participation of workers in the management of psychosocial risks for its effective improvement, emphasizing how this efficiency is much higher when such participation is showed in commitments agreed between the company and the workers representations. This report focuses on the involvement of workers in the health and safety management and highlights how participation changes in different Member States, making it clear that the efficiency in the management of psychosocial risks is higher where is concrete in firm commitments between employers and employees.

The sectoral social dialog agreement achieved for the implementation of Management of Psychosocial Risks In Travel Agencies Sector Guide, represents a track of progress in the effective management of psychosocial risks within the companies of this field established in Spain. On this regard, it should be borne in mind that such agreements do not generally occur in the Spanish practice of working relationships, make up the time a rare experience, hence


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the great importance of this initiative. Practice presented here is therefore a response to the priority given by the Community policy in this area to the frameworks for action and experimental consensual between employers and workers, through their representatives.

In this sense, the social dialog agreement reached in the Sector of the Travel Agencies constitutes a realization of the commitments established in the European regulatory framework agreements for this type of risk - the agreement on the stress (2004) and to the violence and harassment (2007) -, as well as the Sectoral Agreements - violence and harassment of third (2010). It also implements to Spain an only sectoral initiative, in line with the commitments made in the European Union in sectors such as railways or the metallurgical, With what have confirmed that the initiative in the sector of Spanish Travel Agencies are located in the good line of the exchange of good and best practices in order to make progress in the prevention of risks very relevant, such as the psychosocial, but that, until now, have had a small echo in the agreements and commitments between socio-economic agents.


COMMITMENT PARTNER-WORK FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE WELL-BEING AT WORK IN THE TRAVEL AGENCIES SECTOR

Madrid, March 18 2014JOINEDOn the one hand, the representation of UGT, Alfredo Herranz Escudero y Ängel Coracho DoradoOn the other hand, the representation of the business organization Confederación Española de Agencias de Viajes, Mercedes Tejero Alguacil

PresentFirst. The socio-occupational organizations signatories are interested in improvement actions of safety and health at work in Travel Agencies sector, for its benefits in both the welfare of workers and their quality of life as in the productivity of the business organizations that make up.

Second. They consider it a useful tool to guide these actions, the diagnosis and recommendations formulated on the Prevention Guide of Psychosocial Risks relating to stress in Travel Agencies, made by the Psychosocial Risks Observatory of the UGT-CEC, with funding of Prevention Risks at Work Foundation.

Third. That representatives of the signatory organizations, recognize enough legal capacity to subscribe on their behalf the present

CommitmentSpread between its partners the aforementioned guide and to program, jointly, how many informative actions, training actions or any other type that are considered in mutual interest to facilitate its implementation, to the extent possible, in management of different companies within the sector, in order to improve the health of workers and the efficiency of companies.

In proof of compliance with this commitment is signed by

AGREEMENT OF MAY 27 OF 2010 CONCERNING THE

OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS


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BO n°2010-35Text n°28

AgreementAgreement of May 27 of 2010 concerning the occupational stress and psychosocial risks

PrefaceBeyond the definition of stress in the work provided by the National Inter-professional Agreement of July 2 of 2008 and by the European Agreement of 8 October 2004, the signatory parties designed a general framework for its own reflection on the health at work and adopt the following consistency and logic of the provisions contained in articles L. 4121-1 and following of the Labor Code, Act of 31 December 1991.

These articles agree that the action of the company should not aspire to be a source of psychosocial problems in the field of collective labor relations and that can adopt specific provisions, where employees report particular situations.

It is expected to give proactive objectives linked to the health at work, without the company can, in any way, interfere in the sphere of the individual and the personal life of the worker.

Consequently, the present agreement tends to develop or illustrate about good practices in regard to the stress in your collective dimension or in their relationship with the labor organization.

It aims to increase awareness and understanding of work-related stress on the part of companies, workers and their representatives, in order to prevent, detect and solve the problems of work-related stress.The objective is to advocate modes of organization, personnel management and collective behaviours designed to eliminate and, in its default, reduce, the stress factors in addition to implementing procedures adapted to accompany individual critical situations or situations that would imply a malfunction in the hierarchical relationships or between peers.


Institutions of workers representation, when they exist, have been involved in the implementation of these measures.

Article 1The signatories of this document agree to adopt the description provided by the National Inter-professional Agreement:

“A stressful situation occurs when there is an imbalance between the person’s perception of the difficulties imposed by his environment and the perception of their own abilities to deal with it. The individual is able to manage the pressure in the short term but evidence great difficulties when it is exposed to intense pressure, prolonged or repeated.

On the other hand, different individuals may react differently to similar situations and one and the same individual may, at various times in their lives, react differently in identical situations. Stress is not a disease, but a prolonged exposure to it can reduce the efficiency in the work and can cause health problems.

The stress with origin in factors external to the work environment can result in changes of behaviour and a reduction in the effectiveness in the work. Any manifestation of stress at work should not be considered as work-related stress. Work-related stress can be caused by different factors such as the content and organization of the work, the work environment, poor communication, etc.”

Psychosocial risks, from internal or external source to the work environment, can manifest in numerous ways, sometimes together, as are among other discomfort, depression, sleep disorders, etc.

Article 2Stressors may be submitted in both the content and the context of work, they can even come from the outside.

By way of illustration and without an exhaustive character, in the areas listed below, the Commission finds the existence of some factors that can be understood as signs that may reveal a state of stress in individuals, for example:


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1. The organization and the processes of work: increase the hours of work for excessive and systematic manner, degree of autonomy, bad adapting work to capacity and the resources made available to the workers, actual workload manifestly excessive, excessive objectives or ill-defined, systematic exposure to pressure not being a management mode, the lack of recognition of the work done, belonging to a highly competitive sector which can have consequences in the frequency with which they occur reorganizations, etc

2. The working environment conditions: exposure to an aggressive environment, to abusive behaviour, to noise, a promiscuity which can impair the effectiveness, to heat, hazardous substances, have transport difficulties, difficulties of conciliation between the personal life and professional, etc

3. Communication: uncertainty about the attention paid to the worker in your environment, employment prospects, future changes, poor communication in relation to the orientations and objectives of the company, communication difficulties between the actors, situations of tension or aggressiveness, etc.

4. Subjective factors: emotional and social pressures, impression of being unable to cope with the situation, perceived lack of support, etc.

The existence of the factors listed above, may constitute significant signs of a problem of stress at work. As a result, companies are invited to analyze the possible presence of one or several of these factors in collaboration with the health and safety committees in the workplace or, failing that, with the union representatives.

At the time of somebody identifies a stress problem, the company must act to remove it or, in default thereof, reduce it.


Article 3Telecommunication Companies consent prevent, eliminate or reduce the problems of stress at work that might exist in respect to the principles of prevention defined by article L. 4121-2 of the Labor Code:

1° Avoid the risks2° Assess the risks that cannot be avoided3° Fight the risks from the source4° Adapt the work to the man, in particular as regards the conception of the jobs in addition to the

choice of work equipment and methods of work and production, above all with a view to limiting the monotonous work and repetitive work and reduce their impact on health.

5° Take into account the technology development6° Replace the hazardous elements by others who are less dangerous7° Planning prevention by integrating, in a consistent environment, the organization of the work,

working conditions, social relations and the influence of environmental factors, as well as the risks associated with bullying, as defined in article L. 1152-1 of the Labor Code

8° Take the collective protection measures and giving them priority over personal protective measures

9° Provide the workers the suitable instructions.

This includes the implementation of different individual and/or collective measures, depending on the factors that can be identified

For example, can also be implemented in companies in the field of application of this agreement:• Training or information actions to develop awareness and understanding of the stress, its causes

and its prevention Examples: training of the managers on the understanding and identification of the risks associated

with the stress, training on the management of the difficult situations or that have targeted at the employees working face to the public, training linked to the management of crisis situations

• Measures intended to encourage the internal communication within the company Examples: knowledge of the company’s expectations with regard to the post occupied, clarification

of the role and the worker’s job on the enterprise, establishment of spaces for discussion


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• Measures designed to promote the work-life balance of the workers Examples: specific policy aimed at parents with small children, carpooling, tele-work, concierge,

organization of the schedule of the meetings;• Accompanying measures related to the professional development Examples: visibility on the progress of the work, the balance of powers, accompaniment in the

construction of a personal project, accompaniment associated with a change of job, aid to the geographical mobility

• Measures relating to the organization and work processes Examples: respect times and agreements with the organization on the working times, reflections on

the adaptation of the workload for specific situations• Particular attention to sensitive groups Examples: maintaining contact with the people who have suffered a work-related injury or

occupational disease, therapeutic care for part-time workers, for workers with disability recognized and for persons with disabilities;

When the stress situation at work is stable and is demonstrated, the company must implement one or more measures of the identified or any other that it deems appropriate.

The shape and the way to carry out these actions, particularly in SMES, must be addressed by the objectives of elimination or prevention of occupational stress, and also by the history and the size of the companies.

The signatories to this document agree to entrust to the Commission to monitor the health at work and the Prevention of Occupational Risks, instituted at the sector level by the agreement of 14 November 2003, the realization of a pedagogic plan of communication aimed at the companies, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, on the good practices that are likely to be carried out.

Article 4The signatories agree that in order to reduce the risk of work-related stress, it is necessary, acting on the reduction of the risk factors in the work environment and not only in the management of their consequences.In this context, it seems essential to integrate this challenge to the extent possible.


In this way they want to, among other issues, raise awareness to the universities, trade schools and engineers schools to ensure the initial training of young people with a vocation to work in the companies of the sector and the need to invest even more in the human dimension of the management and not only in the processes and management tools.

They also agree to entrust the CPNE (Joint Commission National Employment) the development of a training module for managers closest to the subject matter, in actions of listening, dialog management and reporting work. Career plans that integrate this module, or a module that has the same object, shall be granted a priority funding within the framework of the training sessions funded by the OPCA (joint body of funding for training) of the sector.

Article 5 According with the regulation of articles L. 4121-1 to L. 4121-5 of the Labor Code “the employer takes the necessary measures to ensure the safety and protect the physical and mental health of workers. These measures include:

1° Actions for the prevention of occupational hazards2° Information and training activities3° The implementation of an organization and means adapted

The entrepreneur has to ensure the implementation of these measures, taking into account changes in circumstances designed to improve existing situations”

This responsibility also covers the problems of stress at work to the extent that these pose a risk to health and safety.

From the moment that a stress problem is identifies, it must be implemented measures to eliminate or, otherwise, reduce it, by the company.

The responsibility to determine the appropriate measures rests with the employer.

All employees have a general obligation to take prevention and protection measures to be determined by the management.


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The measures provided for in the companies and involving a development of this agreement, are set out under the responsibility of the employer, after providing the information, and once it has occurred the consultation with the union representatives.

Article 6 Prevention actors are multiple: employers, workers, occupational health services, occupational physicians, social workers, members of the councils of safety and health at work, etc. Health services at work are responsible for overseeing the safeguard of health in the work of employees in preventing distortions arising from their work, throughout his professional life.The occupational health service is a special space of welcome and listening to the workers. Each work doctor, saving professional secret, can put in place a monitoring to go with workers in problems. The doctor may seek an agreement with the company for the implementation of necessary measures.

The council of safety and health at work has as function contribute to the protection of the physical and mental health and safety of workers, through the provision of their work or through an external company, in addition to improving the working conditions. To this end, they have to analyze the occupational risks to which workers may be exposed.

The committee contributes to the promotion of the prevention of occupational risks in the work centre and raises any initiative as it may deem useful in this area. It can propose for this purpose, some prevention actions.

The health and safety committee is addressee of a single document for assessment of professional risks and its evolution. He has been informed and consulted on the prioritization of the actions of the annual program for the prevention, as in any other risk.

Article 7 The signatories of this document agree that the Commission to monitor the health at work and for the prevention of occupational risks in the telecommunications sector, will ensure the follow-up to this agreement, together with the Joint Commission National Employment responsible for training.


Article 8Companies cannot repeal the provisions of this agreement. This provision is not an obstacle to negotiated agreements within the company, entailing more favourable provisions than those provided in this agreement.

Article 9The social partners in the sector undertake to perform in 2010 a negotiation on harassment and violence at work on the follow-up to the national inter-professional agreement of 26 March 2010.

Article 10 The scope of this agreement is defined in the first title of the collective agreement of the communications sector and its agreement of 25 January 2002.

Is signed with indeterminate and takes effect from the date of its signature.

Will be subject to the deposit requirements and advertising provided for in article L. 2231-6 of the Labor Code.The parties agree to request an extension

Article 11 This agreement may be proclaimed by one of the signatory parties, employers or workers with a notice period of 3 months.

The conditions and the effects of the proclaim are those provided for in articles L. 2261-10 and following of the labor code.

In spite of the provisions of article L. 2242-1 of the Labor Code, each signer or subscriber can be ordered at any time, the revision of this agreement in accordance with the provisions of article L. 2261-7 of the Labor Code.

Any proposal made by one of the parties shall be notified to the other signatories through letter with acknowledgment of receipt and must be accompanied by a draft on the affected parts.

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The negotiations will begin as soon as possible, and as very late with a maximum delay of 2 months after the receipt of the proposal for a revision.

In the framework of the provisions of article L. 2261-8 of the Labor Code, the adopted amendments give rise to the replacement of full right from the provisions of this Agreement or that can be completed

AGREEMENT OF MAY 26 OF 2011 CONCERNING THE

OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS


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BO n°2011-32Text n°34

AgreementAgreement of May 26 of 2011 concerning the occupational stress and psychosocial risks

Preface In the framework of the European Framework Agreement on Harassment and Violence at Work, 26 April 2007 and its transposition into the National Inter-Professional Agreement of 26 March 2010 on Harassment and Violence at Work, that applies to companies in the sector, the signatories of this agreement argue that respect for the dignity of persons is a fundamental principle, consubstantial with the workplace. Also, strongly condemn the harassment and violence at work in all its forms, highlighting their serious consequences for people in addition to their social and economic costs.

This agreement aims to prevent, identify, manage and delete the harassment and violence at work that are two specific aspects of psychosocial risks. It has been negotiated in accordance with article 9 of the Agreement of 27 May 2010 on the Prevention Work-Related Stress and Psychosocial Risks in Telecommunications Sector.

This agreement is aimed at the improvement of understanding and awareness of the different actors in the company, in addition to the awareness to these two phenomena that are the harassment and violence at work, with the aim of preventing them, manage them and delete them, in the best possible way.

The signatories recognize that the harassment and violence can potentially affect all workers. The harassment and violence can also affect the entire work centres, irrespective of the size of the company, its field of activity or the shape of the contract or employment relationship.

Although some professional categories and some activities are more exposed than others, it is necessary to emphasize that workers that are in contact with public, are more exposed to external aggressions.


However, in practice, not the entire work centres and not all workers are affected.

The signatories of this document, recalling the individual dimension of the harassment and violence at work, agree that telecommunications companies must take collective measures for prevention facing to the improvement the labor health and safety of workers and to ensure the physical and psychological environment. Also is important to link the communication development to the fact of harassment and violence at work, as well as the promotion of prevention of these phenomena.

This agreement also has to propose tools to the sector enterprises. Equally, the Commission to monitor health and safety at work will be made a guide for workers, victims or witnesses, of harassment or violence at work.

If these cases are identified, it must be put in place procedures and provide for penalties to the authors, in addition to accompanying measures for workers who were victims.

Article 11.1. DescriptionThe signatories to this document agree to assume the description provided by the ANI in March 26 2010:

“Harassment and violence at work are expressed through unacceptable behaviour on one or several individuals; they may take different forms (physical, psychological and sexual), still a few more easily identifiable than others. The working environment can have an influence on people’s exposure to harassment and violence.

Harassment occurs when one or several workers are subjected to abuse, threats and/or repeated and deliberate humiliation in circumstances related to the job either in the workplace, either in situations related to the performance of the same.

Violence occurs when one or several workers are attacked in circumstances associated with the performance of the work. It goes hand and hand with the lack of respect, with the manifestation of a desire to hurt, destroy, and even suffer physical violence.


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Violence at workplace can take the form of verbal aggression, aggressive behaviour, particularly sexist, physical aggression…

The damage contributes to deteriorate working conditions, especially for workers who are in daily contact with public, and make life impossible. Companies which allow these behaviours minimize them and favour the emergence of more serious acts of violence and harassment.

Harassment and violence at work can be exercised by one or more workers or by third parties, with the object or effect of put on risk the dignity of a worker, affecting their health and safety and/or creating a hostile work environment.

The fact of stress when arising from factors of the own labor organization, from work environment or from poor communication in the company, can lead to situations of harassment and violence at work more difficult to identify”

1.2. IdentificationThe signatories of this agreement wants to emphasize the importance of making an inventory of the facts of harassment or violence at work, that are produced within the company, when they exist, in order to measure the amplitude, to identify the circumstances and to seek appropriate prevention measures.

In professional environment, we can identify some forms of harassment or violence such as those described by the ANI. These hostile behaviours or experienced by the workers can take many forms such as:

Derogatory behaviours: with purpose be derogatory or libellous, sarcasm, leave someone out…

Degrading affronts: insinuations tendentious or degrading, humiliating or ragging, obscene insults, behaviour with sexual connotations

Deny the recognition of the work. Unjustified or repeated criticisms, attributions of tasks without sense or unsuitable work for its competence, denigrate systematically the work…


In the absence of explicit complaint, the employer should monitor the presence of indicators, such as:• Personal and repeated conflicts• Frequent complaints by workers• Violent acts against oneself or against other• Significant decline in the quality of the work

1.3. Ranks of workers particularly exposedThe signatories of this agreement point out that the people who are potentially exposed to discrimination can be especially subject of violence or harassment (especially because of their origin, their gender, their sexual orientation, their difficulties and their political views, union, religious…)

On the other hand, workers that are usually in contact with public, at distance or in distribution points and in home-based care, are particularly exposed to external situations of violence in the workplace.

The signatories appeal to the legal provisions in terms in which the worker that is facing a serious and imminent risk to his life or health has the right to suspend its activity and, if necessary, leave the sites for their safety. The employer must be informed

On the other hand, companies must be particularly attentive in the care of workers in isolation situation.

1.4. Violence against womenDealing particularly with violence against women, the persistence of stereotypical attitudes and taboos as well as the lack of recognition of the cases of sexual harassment need a strong awareness at all levels of the hierarchy and the commissioning of a policy of prevention and accompaniment in the companies. It is basically a question of identifying and demystifies the stereotypes and rejects the misrepresentations of women in the workplace.

Such efforts fall especially in a proactive approach and operational to combat these actions that can be disclosed in the context of the work through harassment situations and workplace violence.


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In terms of sanctions, the signatories remind us that the article 35 of the Act of 9 July 2010 (1) provides that the facts of moral and sexual harassment in the workplace are punished with a fine amounting to €15,000.

These facts particularly deserve of a year’s imprisonment, and as a supplementary penalty, a punishment of advertising of the decision of the justice system.

Act No. 2010-769 of July 9 concerning violence specially to women, domestic violence and its impact on children

Article 2 2.1. Prevention of the actions of harassment and violence at work The employer, in collaboration with the staff representatives, if they exist, takes the necessary steps in the face of prevention of harassment situations and violence in the workplace. For illustrative purposes, may be initiated in the telecommunications companies the following measures contained in this agreement:

• letter of reference, as an annex to the rules of procedure, stating clearly that the harassment and violence are not supported in the company and specifying the procedures to be followed if a case is demonstrated

• Training actions or information to workers and managers, sensitizing them facing to possible cases of harassment and violence in the workplace, its causes, how to prevent them, as well as the legal and regulatory framework applicable (Training in conduct to the equipment, training on the management of difficult situations for workers in the centers, or training adapted to the workers that are in physical contact with the client in the distribution points or in the home care)

• Measures addressed to all the actors in the company about possibilities of exchanging views on their work (for example: spaces for discussion in the company)

2.2. Position of the actors of the preventionOccupational health services are the privileged actors in the field of prevention of harassment and violence at work (role of information and awareness of the workers and entrepreneurs who are confronted with these cases, participation in the development of appropriate training and a safety policy to a level suitable for company)On the other hand, in the framework of the powers of the institutions representing the staff, the committee of safety and health at work proposes, in conjunction with the works committee, the promotion for the prevention of


occupational risks at work. You can also propose actions to prevent harassment and violence at work. In case of rejection by the employer, this rejection is to be motivated.

2.3. Management of harassment and violence in the workplaceIn the case of failure of prevention measures put in place within the company, and that there is a case of harassment or violence directly related to the job, you must put in place a proper procedure by the employer, in collaboration with the institutions representing the staff, if they exist, in order to identify, understand and treat these cases

This procedure must comply with the following principles• Principle of discretion• Principle of anonymity in the communication• Principle of impartial listening and equal treatment for the different parties

A external assistance can be useful. You can rely above all, in occupational health services.

Treatment of the complaint:

The complaint must give rise to a survey, and be treated in the shortest term, without this may not exceed 2 months.

Worker who feel victim must be received by your line manager and/or its responsible for human resources. In case of difficulties alleged or proven, the worker can go to a superior officer or a responsible for human resources of your choice. This responsible must hear the factual elements that the worker put in supporting this complaint (actions, gestures, words, or attitudes that are able to highlight, in his opinion, the harassment or violence, of the victim that is in the performance of their work). The worker that feels victim may be accompanied, if he wants, by an union representative or a staff representative or the work center in companies with a complex structure.

In companies without representative, the worker who feel victim may be accompanied by a worker of your choice belonging to the company


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The occupational doctor can also be heard, always respecting the medical secrecy

In keeping with maintenance and conservative manners, the company takes, during the interview, the aptitude to stop the situation object of the meeting.

The purported author of the facts is also heard in a fair and equitable manner.

It corresponds, in the case that we are dealing with, to provide evidence that the facts analyzed did not constitute a crime.

The false accusations are not tolerated and their authors are exposed to disciplinary measures.

If harassment acts of violence are demonstrated, it is necessary to take steps against the author or authors

Also can be start-up a mediation procedure

In this case, the main principle of mediation as well as the choice of facilitator should be subject to an agreement between the parties

Once appointed, the mediator will be informed about the state of relations between the parties.

If the conciliation is chosen, the conciliator informs the parties of any sanctions that may be incurred and the procedural safeguards provided for in favor of the victim.


Article 3 3.1. Sanctions against the perpetrators of acts of harassment or violenceIn the case of a performance of harassment or violence within the business, the entrepreneur must adopt sanctions for the author or the authors, and it can reach dismissal.

The rules of procedure of the company establishes penalties applicable to the perpetrators of these acts

3.2. Accompanying Measures for the workers who were victims of harassment or violenceIf in spite of the measures taken by the company, the victim of proven cases of harassment or violence needs a medical and/or psychological support, it is necessary to take the appropriate measures.

En caso de agresión por parte de terceros en el lugar de trabajo, la empresa toma las medidas necesarias de acompañamiento, especialmente jurídico, del trabajador agredido. En este último caso, tiene en cuenta todo o parte de los gastos jurídicos en el marco de un proceso judicial y/o un acompañamiento psicológico al trabajador víctima.

In the event of aggression on the part of third parties in the workplace, the company takes the necessary steps of accompaniment worker assaulted, especially legal. In the latter case, takes into account all or part of the legal costs in the framework of a judicial process and/or psychological support to the worker victim.

You can also train some volunteer workers for the listener and the support to the victims of aggression.

3.3. Criminal sanctions and civil procedureHowever the disciplinary sanctions that may be taken by the employer, the parties to this agreement remind us that the situations of harassment and violence at work are subject to criminal or civil penalties


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Article 4 The signatories remind us that no employee can be punished, dismissed or be the subject of a discriminatory measure, whether direct or indirect, especially in terms of remuneration, training, reclassification, for allocation, qualification, classification, career advancement, in mutation or renewal of the contract by have suffered or have been denied suffer repeated episodes of bullying or for having expressed such situations or if any spot.

Article 5 The signatories to this document agree that the Commission monitoring health and the prevention of occupational risks in the telecommunications sector will ensure the follow-up to this agreement. A guide aimed at the workers who were victims or witnesses of harassment will be developed in the 12 months following the signing of this agreement, in collaboration with the CPNE or workplace violence.

Article 6 The companies of the sector cannot repeal the provisions of this agreement. This provision does not preclude the possibility that the agreements negotiated in the company or in the center behave more favorable provisions than those provided in this agreement

Article 7 The field of application of this agreement is defined in the first title of the collective agreement of the telecommunications and its agreement of January 25 200

It is signing for an indefinite period and takes effect from the date of its signature

Will be object to the formalities of tank and advertising provided for in article L. 2231-6 of the labor code.The parties agree to request the extension of it.

Article 8 This agreement may be denounced by one of the signatory, employers or workers with a notice period of 3 months.


The conditions and the effects of the complaint are those provided for in articles L. 2261-10 and following of the Labor Code.

In spite of the provisions of article L. 2242-1 of the Labor Code, each signatory or adherent may request, at any time, the revision of this agreement in accordance with the provisions of article L. 2261-7 of the Labor Code.

Any request for review by one of the signatories shall be notified to the other signatories through writing with acknowledgment of receipt, accompanied by a draft on the content of the related articles.

Negotiations will begin as quickly as possible as and no later than, with a maximum delay of 2 months from the date of receipt of the request for revision

In the framework of the provisions of article L. 2261-8 of the labor code, the adopted amendments give rise to annexes by replacing with full rights of the stipulations of the present agreement or supplementing them

PORTUGAL.

GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF THE PORTUGUESES WORKERS

(CGTP-IN). APPROACH TO PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS

Fernando Gomes

Executive Board and Secretariat. Health and Safety Department.


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Summary1. With the degradation of working conditions, there are new challenges for trade union action.2. CGTP-IN’s vision of Psychosocial Risks3. An integrated trade union action as key element of a strategy to fight psychosocial risks4. Preventive action is the most important of all Psychosocial diseases cause damages often becoming chronicle5. The inhumane vision of labour relations emerges when the government discourse prompts flexibility and precariousness as ways of solving unemployment6. Trade union education is one of the most important steps for establishing a coherent strategy to fight psychosocial risks7. As companies try to become more visible, they try to hide the degrading nature of labour relations, characterised by precariousness, fear and lack of rights8. Situations like indebtedness, unstructured families, economic need, etc., when crossed with degraded labour relations, deeply aggravate workers’ psychosocial state9. Trade union action on psychosocial risks is a struggle at different levels – collective, individual, socio-professional and political


1. With the degradation of working conditions, there are new challenges for trade union action.Trade union action in the field of psychosocial risks brings challenges that imply new forms of trade union intervention. The CGTP-IN has some examples of that intervention and of the importance given to them, for instance:

• Publishing of the Guide for Trade Union Action – Prevention of Impacts of the Organisation of Working Time in Health and Safety and reconciling of Professional with Family and Personal Life, Institute Bento de Jesus Caraça, CGTP-IN, 2010,in the scope of the project “Organising to reconcile and implement rights”, funded by the POPH;

• Study on Stress in the work places in retail trade and transport. CGTP-IN, 2007, co-funded by the ACT (Portuguese Labour Inspection);

• Handbook on Modular Training on “Stress in the work places” CGTP-IN, 2009, co-funded by the ACT;

• Handbook Psychosocial Risks. Institute Bento de Jesus Caraça, 2010, co-funded by the ACT;• Handbook on Psychosocial Risks. Fiequimetal, 2012, co-funded by the ACT.• Handbook on Moral Harassment and Violence in the work places. Fiequimetal, 2013. Co-funded by

the ACT;• Handbook on alcohol and drugs in the work places. Fectrans, 2010, co-funded by the ACT.

These are just a few examples of materials that the CGTP-IN and some of its affiliated structures (trade unions or training centres) have been developing and using in support of its trade union action in this field.

2. CGTP-IN’s vision of Psychosocial Risks.Although, in a general way, problems that cause psychosocial risks are, in a way, labour based problems, in other cases, psychosocial risks go beyond the traditional trade union sphere of action.

This necessity of a diverse way of addressing this issue makes trade unions having to develop a whole new set of capacities and skills.

This necessity has mostly been felt due to the increase of the labour relation intensity. Together with higher work paces, there is growing need for concentration, competence, multi skills and work mobility, more precarious contracts, but also the current economic and social crisis. All of these have concurred decisively to the proliferation of psychosocial health problems.


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The role of trade unions in this area becomes therefore increasingly important and relevant. The determination, conformity and stabilisation of this role are urgent and crucial. Accordingly, the CGTP-IN has concentrated energies in developing a trade union strategy which, in an integrated way, contributes to the elimination and curbing of labour related psychosocial risks.

3. An integrated trade union action as key element of a strategy to fight psychosocial risks.What specific role for trade unions in this issue?

Defining this role is not always easy. Psychosocial risks are not always easy to determine. A psychosocial health problem always has a multi factor nature, meaning that for its nature and origin always concur multiple factors, themselves with a very diverse nature.

This “originality”, in comparison with other more traditional problems, in the domain of health and safety, or in the social and labour area, implies the need for multiple trade union actions which, in an integrated way, may respond to the different factors causing psychosocial risks.

4. Preventive action is the most important of all. Psychosocial diseases cause damages often becoming chronicle.The trade union role in preventive action is for all reasons the one that serves better men and women workers’ interests.

A) Trade union action to address psychosocial risks emerging from changes in labour relations Changes in labour relations based on economicist logics, increasingly individualised, are one of the factors that by itself may cause the emergence of psychosocial risks.

As a result off that change – characterised by the degradation of labour relations – we observe increased precariousness in all different elements of labour relations. Insafety regarding the future and instability caused by constant changes in working conditions (contract terms, salary and function, working time …) require a more developed and more integrated type of trade union action. This means that the trade union fight against psychosocial risks cannot simply be centred on individualised, specific or disconnected aspects.


The inter connection of risk factors is such, that disconnected actions would be inconsequent. Psychosocial trade union action must cover the root of labour relations’ degradation – the economicist and inhumane vision that causes the appearance of labour relations that are not based on respect for the human condition of those who work.

This economicist vision is aggravated by the fact that the majority of enterprises do not have competent professionals to intervene in a serious and consequent manner in the prevention of psychosocial risks.

5. The inhumane vision of labour relations emerges when the government discourse prompts flexibility and precariousness as ways of solving unemployment.

Therefore, the role of trade unions must be directed at actions that promote more humane labour relations and the fight against work practices that damage workers’ health and safety. In this field, all work organisation practices that undermine the notion of health as “state of full physical, mental and social well being”, must be totally repudiated. In CGTP-IN’s case, here are some of the tools we mostly use in our integrated trade union action:

• Putting forward demands – promoting the implementation and abidance of respect for workers’ rights, namely those regarding job quality and safety;

• Collective bargaining – promoting labour rights and practices that protect workers’ interests, namely in view of practices that have an impact at a psychosocial level such as : working time; salaries; job description; Social environment; compensation mechanisms; Reconciliation of work with private life;

• Training and Information for trade union officials and OSH workers’ representatives – developing skills that promote better analysis capacity and intervention at work, when situations may cause psychosocial risks.


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6. Trade union education is one of the most important steps for establishing a coherent strategy to fight psychosocial risks.On the other hand, more specifically and besides the traditional approach, what is required today is that trade union representatives develop other forms of trade union tasks:

• Capacity to eliminate and analyse individual suffering resulting from exposure to psychosocial risks;

• Capacity to establish a trust relationship with the victim of psychosocial risk;• Capacity of establishing an individual and collective strategy to fight psychosocial risk factors.

In this last situation, it is important to understand that it is not always easy to contact and protect a victim of psychosocial risk. Training workers’ representatives is therefore crucial in this process Representatives must have the following competences:

• Establish a relationship of trust and maintain confidentiality of the process;• Know how to protect the victim and not expose the situation to third persons who may negatively

influence the process;• Know how to intervene with the employers, in situations in which the victim’s public exposure may

help degrade his/her psychosocial situation.

In short: This is an extremely complex process that requires from trade union reps a two-folded action: collectively, by fighting to implement working conditions that are less aggressive in psychosocial terms; individually, by aiding, orienting and protecting the victim of psychosocial risk.

In times of economic and social crisis, of great job insafety, of growing isolation of workers regarding work organisation, the development of adequate skills to intervene in psychosocial risks – risks emerging from the current forms of work organisation – is, above all, a strategic necessity.

B) Trade union action on psychosocial risks emerging from structural changes in contemporary economy The changes in the economy structural features that cause situations that may result in psychosocial risks, requires a different kind of trade union action, different from previous times.


Multinationals, now predominant in the economy, mean less personalised companies, less humane, with management increasingly distant from concrete labour relations. Therefore, decision making affecting workers’ lives is increasingly frequent and inconsequent.

As companies try to become more visible, they try to hide the degrading nature of labour relations, characterised by precariousness, fear and lack of rights.

On the other hand, as companies worry more and more with their external image, for the public, they care less and less for the quality of labour relations, because the public does not see them.

More and more companies are being certified in quality or environmental standards, but very few are certified in Human Resources management.

So trade union action must deal with this more “macro” level. And how?• Promoting actions of public exposure of these companies, criticising their attitude in terms of labour

relations;• Promoting political actions that favour companies and organisations that are more humane and

closer to concrete reality.

For example, it is acknowledged in Portugal that public companies have more humane labour relations, compared with private companies. Therefore, government policy regarding the companies’ economic structure and the employers must not leave trade unions indifferent. The project for the society we live in certainly concerns the trade unions.

C) Trade union action on psychosocial risks resulting from the structural change of contemporary society


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8. Situations like indebtedness, unstructured families, economic need, etc., when crossed with degraded labour relations, deeply aggravate workers’ psychosocial state.Finally, society has changed. In view of the current frantic way of life, there are many factors that influence psychosocial risks.

Lack of time for the family resulting from an increasingly competitive labour market, and more intensive labour relations, make workers with families having to cope with a much greater variety if situations.

So, trade union struggles for the respect of reconciliation and balance between work and private life, for the suppression of gender discrimination factors and for the establishment of mechanisms that ensure equal opportunities, are important factors to combat psychosocial risks.

In this sphere, the promotion of training, information and awareness - raising actions, combined with the publishing of different materials are some of the actions developed by the CGTP-IN.

9. Trade union action on psychosocial risks is a struggle at different levels – collective, individual, socio-professional and politic.In short, the current labour situation and the established relations require a broader and more integrated type of trade union action. But how can we do it in times of crisis and economic difficulties also felt by trade unions themselves?

The answer lies in strengthening grass root trade union structures – by electing more representatives – and in their consequent training, information and awareness – raising. We are certain that our grater capacity to respond will surely create better conditions to protect workers’ legitimate interests and rights. In a society increasingly marked by an ultra economicist vision, with the people put in a secondary position, trade union action has never been so pertinent.

2European and globallaboratory of psychosocialrisks: reports

International Level: ILO

ILO

PROTECTING WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH IN DIFFICULT

ECONOMIC TIMES. THE EFFECT OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS AND

ECONOMIC RECESSION ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

International Labour Office.

Document prepared by the Office, Geneva.

Summary and made comment in text


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Sumary Synthesis of the Report The recession and occupational safety and health: Challenges and changes.1. Psychosocial risk to health.2. Social partnership and strong occupational safety and health practice Recommendations.1. A continuing commitment to occupational safety and health.2. Occupational safety and health taken into account during restructuring3. Maintaining and improving proper occupational safety and health processes4. A focus on psychosocial health, both of workers dismissed and of those retained.5. Senior managers to take a lead6. Middle managers as key players7. A focus on contingent workers and subcontractors as particularly vulnerable8. Maintaining a focus on emerging risks9. Social partnership for improved safety and health conditions and productivity


Synthesis of the Report.The Project “Linking safety and health at work to sustainable economic development: From theory and platitudes to conviction and action” (2009–2012), funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), has prepared a document entitled “Protecting Workplace Safety and Health in Difficult Economic Times. The Effect of the Financial Crisis and Economic Recession on Occupational Safety and Health”. It is analyzed a cluster of instruments Include a training materials, practical tools and policy guidelines to reinforce national and local capacities in occupational safety and health at work. In addition a set of formulas are provided to help design and implement components of health and safety policies at work and programs.

As is well known, the global economic and financial crisis we are experiencing in recent years has been a considerable increase pressure on businesses worldwide. It has caused an increasing production loss, business closures, increasing seasonality of work, outsourcing, loss of working conditions, increased workloads for staff, etc.

Unquestionably, are substantial researches that highlight the impact of economic necessity and increases at a constant stress of workers fear losing their jobs during an economic downturn. In addition, new models of work organization are established, creating vulnerable groups in the labor force, which favors the incidence of psychosocial risks increase impacting on psychosocial health and well-being of workers. That is, the financial hardship and job stress increased the risk factors that can cause damage to both the workers concerned about their mental health and even diseases that involve the death of them.

The pan-European opinion on OSH conducted by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in the 27 EU Member States specified that 61% of respondents believed that “to some extent” their safety and health at work may deteriorate due to the economic crisis. The answer of some countries, including Sweden, Portugal, France and Italy, were significantly more pessimistic. In this regard, the ILO has drawn attention to the psychosocial risks. The publication in 2009 of the “Health and Safety at work: A basic human right” said that the evidence from past crises suggests that organizational change and restructuring of business organizations could lead to deterioration of the health and safety of workers and the increase in accidents, illnesses and deaths, and an increase in the health problems caused by unemployment.


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The current economic downturn creates a tough time for businesses, especially those who may be the legacy of strategies inadequate or poor management practices business. However, we cannot consider the recession as a reason for reducing mechanisms and measures for Safety and Health at Work or excuse and an acceptance of bad practices. But, high costs are not just economic but social challenges they have to face the national health systems, the worker and the business organization. So, as can be deduced from the information presented in this document, it is important to act on the consequences that have unsaturated by the economic and financial crisis, increasing insafety and fear among workers. Well, according to various studies and reports prepared by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work the major causes of workplace stress are derived from the continuous process of restructuring and reorganization of work, the long hours and high workloads and for uncertainty and insafety of the job. Therefore, the aim pursued with this report is the detailed analysis of which aspects of Health and Safety at Work that may be affected by this economic and financial crisis, in order to evaluate any potential impact, in addition to providing guidelines for assessing and promoting some preventive measures to mitigate this impact.

Then it is like a very interesting tool developed by the ILO to promote improved safety and health at work regarding the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health, 2006 (Nº 187) and Recommendation (Nº 197), with the objective of mobilization the national actors to implement a set of practical measures at well national and local and in the enterprise level with respect to the safety and health of workers in general, and psychosocial risks, in particular. However, although the question of the effects and consequences that have arisen from the financial and economic crisis on Safety and Health at Work in all areas, is not our intended to deepen the analysis of this general aspect, if not because the subject that it is studied in this International Yearbook we only focus referred to on psychosocial risks. Well, through this report we try to create a warning about the existence of the need to prevent and intervene in important costs and consequences of those risks, not only economically, but also by the mismatch situation involving the employees themselves.


Editorial.The following information gives a literal a brief summary of the contents that make up the document entitled “Protecting Workplace Safety and Health in Difficult Economic Times. The Effect of the Financial Crisis and Economic Recession on Occupational Safety and Health” carried out by the team of work that make up the Yearbook.

This document has been prepared by the International Labour Organisation, and more specifically by the Office of Geneva in 2013.

The recession and occupational safety and health: Challenges and changes.1. Psychosocial risk to health.Mention has already been made on a number of points in this chapter on the implications of the recession and company restructuring on the psychosocial health of workers. It is appropriate at this stage to consider this issue in a little more detail.

As the ILO itself has stated, “Both employers and workers have the responsibility to address psychosocial hazards at the workplace and find innovative ways to deal with the consequences of the risks associated with psychosocial factors such as stress, violence, abuse of alcohol and drug consumption at the workplace”. The ILO points out that stress at work has a high cost in terms of workers’ health, absenteeism, lower performance and productivity.

Over the previous 30 years, a considerable amount of research work has been dedicated to this issue. High work demands, low decision latitude, and low levels of social support at work have been identified as important constructs in relation to work-related psychological health and well-being. For example, a scientific literature review of psychosocial work factors covering research studies between 1998 and 2007 revealed that a combination of high job demands, low control and low social support (the combination often characterized as job strain) can increase the risk of damage to psychological well-being. A systematic review was also undertaken in 2006 to establish associations between psychosocial work factors and mental health. This showed that there was consistent evidence that combinations of high demands and low decision latitude and combinations of high efforts and low rewards were risk factors that predicted the onset of common mental disorders. High efforts in this context include high job demands, responsibilities and increasing time pressures. Rewards include change, job safety, work and promotion prospects, feelings of being treated fairly at work, adequate respect and support, and salary.


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The extent of downsizing which some companies have undertaken as a response to recent economic conditions has meant that workloads of staff retained may have been increased. As one person from a multinational enterprise participating in the ILO study stated, there are in their company now “less people doing more work hours over the week”. There are, therefore, real grounds for concern that the psychosocial risks to workers’ health and well-being may be increasing.

The fact that “lay-off survivors” are at risk from psychosocial factors has been mentioned above. These have been categorized by one writer as follows:

• Workload intensification: fewer workers available to deal with a workload.• Role stress (a combination of role ambiguity, role conflict and increasing workload). Role ambiguity

occurs when employees are unclear about role requirements, performance standards and responsibilities. Role conflict occurs when two or more requirements of an employee’s role are in conflict, perhaps from contradictory instructions from managers, from conflict with personal values, or from requirements to undertake tasks without the adequate resources being available.

• Distrust of management, lack of respect, and feelings of betrayal – perhaps associated with unpaid leave, bonus freezes, reduced working hours and outsourcing/contractual work.

• Uncertainty regarding future restructuring and job loss even in the absence of actual material change.

• Little reward for the effort put into work, associated with pay freezes or reducing pay.• Reduced job commitment and lower job involvement, perhaps associated with forced employee

redistribution to more productive facilities.

One disturbing statistic from the US may be attributed to an increase in work-related stress. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in its census of fatal occupational injuries, has reported that 2008 saw the highest number of workplace suicides recorded since 1992.


2. Social partnership and strong occupational safety and health practice.The Global Framework Agreement signed in May 2009 between the French multinational enterprise EDF and two global union federations, ICEM and PSI, provides a good example of the way that OSH issues can be integrated into top-level agreements between the social partners. The Global Framework Agreement covers seven countries and fourteen Group companies and accepts the need for in-depth social dialogue about many aspects of the Group’s operations, including OSH.

EDF introduced a new workplace health policy for 2009–2012, focused on a new system for supervising health in the workplace overseen by occupational health physicians. Collective agreements have been signed in a number of business units with the aim of improving the workplace environment and preventing psychosocial risks. EDF’s German subsidiary has also been considering some organizational changes such as teleworking, part-time scheduling and time off work for parents with young children.

Media attention was focused early in 2010 on a close cluster of cases of suicides in France Telecom. The French government responded by instructing 2,500 French companies with more than 1,000 employees to hold talks with unions on how to reduce workplace stress. France Telecom’s restructuring strategy was put on hold, and unions are now involved in negotiations of future internal job transfers. Managers are being provided with training on how to identify depression amongst employees.

At European level, the formalised social dialogue structure which brings together the European Trade Union Confederation, ETUC (representing workers’ organizations) and the Union of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations of Europe, UNICE, the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, UEAPME, and the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services, CEEP (representing employers) successfully enabled agreement to be made on a Framework Agreement on work-related stress. The Agreement remains very relevant in today’s different economic climate. Guidance on the Agreement has been produced by the ETUC.


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Editorial.The following information gives a literal a brief summary of the contents that make up the document entitled “Protecting Workplace Safety and Health in Difficult Economic Times. The Effect of the Financial Crisis and Economic Recession on Occupational Safety and Health” carried out by the team of work that make up the Yearbook.

This document has been prepared by the International Labour Organisation, and more specifically by the Office of Geneva in 2013.

Recommendations.

1. A continuing commitment to occupational safety and health.The current economic recession is a challenging time for companies, particularly those which may find themselves with the legacy of inadequate business strategies or poor management practices. However, the recession is not a reason for OSH to be deprioritized or an excuse for poor practices to be tolerated.

As the ILO has said, “It is in such situations of [economic] crisis that the voices calling for the right to safe and healthy workplaces should be loud and not muted”. In the longer term, as economies recover, companies will need healthy and safe workforces more than ever.

2. Occupational safety and health taken into account during restructuring.OSH issues and implications should be fully taken into account during restructuring and downsizing exercises and be the subject of social partnership consultation processes, so that workers’ representative organizations also participate in the shaping of appropriate policies and measures.

Monitoring and evaluation of the health effects of any restructuring should be carried out. It is important for companies to identify what impact there has been on OSH management systems during the recession, and to properly determine the OSH resources which are required for the future.


3. Maintaining and improving proper occupational safety and health processes.As the International Social Safety Association (ISSA) has indicated, “Successful outcomes need to be based on a proper regulatory OSH framework and risk management systems, especially during times of economic difficulty”.

The recession should not be seen as precluding a commitment by companies to the principle of continual improvement, and in particular of working to refine and develop their OSH procedures.

4. A focus on psychosocial health, both of workers dismissed and of those retained.Measures should be taken to maintain the psychosocial health of those workers who lose their employment during restructuring exercises, as well as those at risk of losing their jobs. This may involve partnerships between companies and external agencies.

The psychosocial health of those workers who remain in employment (the “lay-off survivors”) also needs to be protected. Companies need to be aware of the risk of increased work-related stress as the result of greater workloads and greater uncertainty.

5. Senior managers to take a lead.Business leaders should be aware of the strategic disadvantages of aggressive cost cutting plans. Alternative strategies to enable a company to ride out a recession and position itself for success in a subsequent recovery include improving the quality of management, products and services, improving the capacity to innovate, making efficient use of corporate assets, improving the quality of marketing and delivering on corporate social responsibilities.

Senior managers should publicly remind all staff of the importance of OSH.

6. Middle managers as key players.Middle managers have a key role to play in helping to guard against work-related stress and psychosocial ill health. They may be facing situations in relation to the staff they line-manage which they have not previously had to deal with. They need support and adequate training.


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Managers should be encouraged to adopt principles of fairness and relational justice in situations of restructuring.

7. A focus on contingent workers and subcontractors as particularly vulnerable.Contingent workers, including temporary workers, and those working in new ways (such as teleworking) are a vulnerable group in relation to OSH. They should be treated as of equal importance as those employees employed in more traditional ways. Special audits and procedures may need to be instituted. Where contractors are used, appropriate safety and health requirements should be a condition of the agreed contractual relationship.

Companies should strongly resist the temptation to outsource their OSH responsibilities through use of independent contractors.

8. Maintaining a focus on emerging risks.As technologies change and new products and services are developed, so new OSH risks emerge. It is necessary that companies continue to be alert for emerging OSH risks, even during a period of economic downturn.

9. Social partnership for improved safety and health conditions and productivity.There is strong scientific support for the benefits which come from worker participation within continual improvement processes for quality of work and productivity. Employers may have legal responsibilities to provide a safe and healthy working environment, but experience shows that such participation is crucial for businesses and organizations in their management of OSH.

And there is evidence of a particularly positive impact of trade union models of participation, usually through joint OSH committees at the workplace – and in tripartite national OSH committees. Worker involvement helps improve OSH conditions, but trade union representatives help more. A spin-off from this is that just as work-related injuries and ill health are clearly bad for productivity, so healthy working conditions actually make enterprises more productive.

10. Encouraging workers’ participation in their health and well-being.More fundamentally, companies and their OSH professional staff should be seeking a long-term shift in approach, complementing prevention with general promotion of health and well-being. The aim should be to change from treating individual workers as objects of expert actions towards one where they are empowered and encouraged


to participate in maintaining safe and healthy approaches to their work. This can be summarized as a move from an emphasis on illness and what is dangerous to health to one focused on a more holistic approach to health and well-being.

TARGET INITIATIVE. DEPRESSION AT WORKPLACE

WORK RELATED DEPRESSION IN EUROPE: BUSINESS

MANAGEMENT POINT OF VIEW

“Cognition is the ignition of productivity and innovation in the global brain-based economy.

And depression attacks vital asset.”

Bill Wilkerson, Chair, HR Leadership Forum to

Target Depression in the Workplace

Summary and commented report:


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Sumary1. Introduction: incorporation of point of view of corporate governance to the improvement of the mental health work l2. Depression in the workplace and its economic impact. 2.1. depression and work absenteeism. 3. The impact of mental health on the skills of a worker. 4. The benefits of cope with depression. 5. Actions on the depression in the workplace. 6. Study of chaste: Synthesis of the major experiences on the mental health of the workers. 7. Main Conclusions. 8. Final Reflection.


1. Introduction: incorporation of corporate governance point of view to the improvement of work mental health During a time health and safety issues at workplace are not only approached from a perspective purely social and ethical-regulatory, evidencing the duty to protect the life, physical integrity and health of the people in their time of productive nature -paid work - as a fundamental human right that is. It is now seeks to incorporate, increasingly, even of prevalent form, which gives rise to some weighty problems of preferences in the current society of worship of the market as global pattern of conduct or total, the economic point of view, in a way that also demonstrate the enormous costs that companies have to and, in general, for the economy of a society, not to include in their management system an effective prevention policy of all work-related risks to the people. The search for the greatest possible safety and health at work is not only a duty, therefore, legal, and ethical, but an efficient decision in the economic sphere. Therefore there is not only the need, but the desirability of integrating this perspective in the corporate governance system in a standardized way.

If this point of view renewed is projected for all the topics related to health and safety at work, with greater emphasis is with regard to the so-called mental health of the workers. And it is precisely in this new trend of the studies -theory-, and also, although to a lesser extent still, of the policies, practices, health in the workplace, has to be included the initiative of the so-called “Leadership Forum of Human Resources” that, together with some of the main European companies and with the competent international organizations in both health issues like employment and labor, have created “Target. Workplace Depression”1. Target is a new initiative to help the professionals of the “human resources” to address the harmful effects that the depression in the workplace has. For this reason, has drawn up guidelines, guidelines or recommendations on the best tools which, in a concrete and practical way, to enable the persons responsible for the management of the different companies identify best, and at an early stage as far as possible, situations of depression, supporting workers requiring intervention and by making it easier to stay healthy the working environment. They also promote the practical execution or implementation of policies and good experiences that not only ensure the absence of mental illness, but, rather, promote good mental health in the workplace by encouraging at the same time the labor productivity.

1 They have a great site WEBB: http://targetdepression.com/

http://targetdepression.com/


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Following their main motto, “it is time to act”, from the concern by analysing the economic dimension-productive that has an adequate “system of brain powers”, in their implementation within companies, the places of work, this Leadership Forum of Human Resources for Depression in the workplace has just published the report entitled “depression in the workplace in Europe. New points of view report of business leaders”2. It explores the costs of the global economic depression in the workplace, both for the workers themselves as by the entrepreneurs, the time it takes to perform an estimate of the cases of depression affecting European workers, as well as gives an account of the increase in both the “truancy” how much of the “presentism management labor”. All this from a clearly cultural approach, since there is an evident need for a change in the culture and management models, offering to the managers the confidence to support and advise people with mental health problems.

The report aims, in the broad sense, to build a working platform that is accessible to all employers in Europe, in addition to, of course, to the professionals of “Human Resources”, sharing a repertoire or inventory of successful experiences of companies in the area. This is a very important practical dimension of the report, because it assumes the approach of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work aimed at promoting “case studies”, with more emphasis on the best practices already experienced and in order to export them to others, because there are not only to build alternative models demonstrate that are useful, that work. The structure of the document is made concrete in five sections. For instance:

• The first chapter is about the impact and the cost of the depression at workplace.• The second section, about the reduction the ability of an individual with mental health problems to

do the job and we anticipate an increase in the labor for fear of losing the job.• Thirdly, it is evident that the benefits of dealing with the depression in the workplace, for both the

employee and the employer and for society in general.• The fourth chapter explains in a very general way some approaches to the management of depression

at workplace.• The fifth section provides a set of conclusions, to close the Report.

2 Vid. http://targetdepression.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/TARGET_Report_Final.pdf

http://targetdepression.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/TARGET_Report_Final.pdf


In the document that we present, prepared by the Research Team of the Yearbook, we intend to give an account of the most relevant aspects of this report, which we think is particularly suggestive in this moment, without prejudice to some criticism that also deserves both its methodology and its approaches, especially in the primacy that continues to give the individual point of view in addressing the problems of prevention and health promotion work in general, and psycho-social in particular. In any case, the report has the virtue to facilitate the understanding of a topic that, certainly, is characterized by its complexity through the provision of economic figures and percentages on situations that affect the mental health of the workers. This accessibility of the information, facilitating their processing in other companies, the concrete in the aforementioned contribution of business experiences of protection-promotion of the mental health of their templates. Specifically: Lundbeck, Unilever, Ogilvy, Deutsche Post DHL (DPDHL) and British Telecom (BT) Group PLC.

2. Depression at workplace and its economic impactAs stated, the first part of the report analyzes the incidence of depression in the hardworking people, for what, to a large extent, still some of the evidence or findings more widely used authentic or genuine common topics or locations already in this area, by international organizations. In this sense, it emphasizes the disproportionate impact that depression has on adults and working age, diminishing their ability to concentrate and work productively, in addition to affect in a very negative way to their health. The report reminds us that the World Health Organization (WHO), also the ILO, is years advising or alerting that mental health is already, and it will become even much more in the immediate future, the main cause of absenteeism in the workplace. The report reminds us that the World Health Organization (WHO), also the ILO, is years advising or alerting that mental health is already, and it will become even much more in the immediate future, the main cause of absenteeism in the workplace.

The report, as not, puts figures to the problem. In this sense, he points out that the depression was established as the leading cause of disability in the world, affecting 350 million people. So that, in Europe, in about 87% of the cases of depression occur in adults of working age, so that each year up to 10% of people experience a depressive episode. The work would be the main factor and prevalent depression for people according to the report, although it is clear, it is not the only one, so that other factors contribute to the provision of services aggravate problems deriving from other sources that are also harmful to the mental health.


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With regard to the costs of the depression, the report draws attention to the significant expense representing to the economy of a country, although these costs are not always translated into direct losses in the accounts of the concrete results of companies. As well, as an example the year 2010 for which it is estimated that depression cost him the European economy approximately 92 billion euros, of which approximately 60 per cent would be “indirect costs”, and between them are, as not, the resulting from the loss of productivity that are the days of low.

2.1. Depression and work absenteeism.Therefore, the report returns to draw attention, once again, in line with the various existing documents in this regard, some also made very recently, within the EU institutions - European Agency for Safety and Health at Work; EUROFOUND… -, on the loss of productivity due to absenteeism from work causes depression of a worker. Consequently, it is and it reveals how a particular concern for companies.

To examine the impact of the depression in the workplace and the personal and economic cost later, the report that we expose and we talked about, it calls for attention, in turn, on the study commissioned by the European Association of Depression (EDA), which has been called in to analyze the impact of the depression labor in Europe in 2012. A questionnaire survey, European-wide, surveyed, it is said, to 7,000 workers and managers. At the report is demonstrated:

• 1 Out of every 10 workers were absent from work due to the depression• With 36 working days lost by depressive episode• That amounts to a total of 21,000 days in this population• The necessary time off work for depression or anxiety or other common problems of mental health

is greater than for other health reasons.

In order to make it more factual or statistical consistency, the report of the Forum of leadership of Human Resources that we expose, da also into account the study published years before, back in 2007, the Office of National Statistics. It estimated that the average absenteeism of an employee on the grounds of health was 23 days, while for the people with depression and anxiety was 40 days. In this way, it seems clear that the data from a study and another analyzed in the report give similar results, with what would seem already evidence.


The figures of the problem, which serve to acknowledge that in a serious and rigorous, with the typical approach of the “scientific evidence”, would be complemented by those of another well-known Survey, the “Euro-barometer” in 2010. It found that those workers with serious mental health problems were more than twice as likely to be absent from work in the last four weeks for health reasons, in comparison with those workers who do not have mental health problems.

Figure 1. Absenteeism and labor presentism management mental disorder.

Source: Depression in the Workplace in Europe: A report featuring new insights from business leaders. HR Leadership Forum to

Target Depression at Workplace.

However, as with any correction says the report, the absenteeism from work or the reduction of worker productivity due to the depression does not affect in isolation, is not a problem merely individual. On the contrary, has a collective dimension, hence it pertains to the organization, because it was clear that, in general, the situation of misalignment can influence the rest of employees of the company generating stress, anxiety, a higher staff turnover, etc. This mismatch creates additional stress of the worker and the possibility of an increase in the number of incidents and accidents in the workplace. In addition, its negative impact on social relations, as well as the worker can be with your family, friends, and with the own colleagues.


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In this context, the report emphasizes as we are not faced with a requirement more than care for the well-being of workers as imperative legal-ethical, but that it would be really a “productive investment”: companies that invest in the welfare of its workers gain a reputation among their potential customers to the very top that is those that do not. On the other hand, companies that do not care about managing the so-called “psychosocial risks in the workplace” -stress, violence, burnout syndrome or burnout - not only increase the possibility of being required by legal action in health and safety, but also damage the image of the company compared to the workers - domestic market - and customers.

In sum, in accordance with the above evidence found both by WHO, as by the Community institutions, even now by the ILO, the report concludes that psychosocial risks, as can be work-related stress and tension in the work, which is the precursor to the labor depression -update serious damage - are already a problem very relevant not only for the occupational health but for public health in general.

3. The impact of mental health on the skills of a workerAccording to the report, the previous comments about depression, as have been about the presentism management and work absenteeism, you can also link with other characteristics that affect the workers, and although they are less well known, the impact is very significant on the quality of life and the ability to operate professionally and socially by the worker, as are through the alteration of the concentration, indecisiveness, and lack of memory of this; so the performance level of the worker is reduced up to 94% below the expected level during a depressive episode.

In the particular case of the United Kingdom, have been carried out a series of studies that have been obtained estimates which suggest that the time lost from work both by presentism management such as absenteeism, due to the conditions of mental health, is 1.5 times more work. Something similar happens with U.S., where it has been suggested that it may be four times more time lost.

All this seems to confirm what has been saying since the beginning of this report, where the costs associated with labor presentism management has to face the entrepreneurs, is substantially higher due to the consequences resulting from the workers depression. So, there is a reduction of their productivity in a prolonged period of time, still unknown by the employer causes of decline in worker productivity because workers do not disclose their situation for fear of discrimination. Many workers with mental health disorders never request sick leave because they are afraid of losing their jobs, occur more frequently among the best paid staff.


4. The benefits of face up to depressionHealth and safety, as well as workers well-being in an entrepreneurial organization, are aspects of fundamental importance, both for the workers themselves as to the entrepreneurs, where a healthy working environment it can lead to an increase in the productivity, competitiveness, improvement of the image itself and the company in dealing with clients, etc. Therefore, to create a healthy working environment an entrepreneur must take into account the way in which you can influence the mental health of the workers as well as the way in which you can act to implement mechanism or measures of performance for a job “healthy”.

In addition, the report determines that a healthy work environment is one where the worker does not feel the need to hide their feelings, where they cannot be damaged their career prospects by the circumstances that the worker can be living with the consequences of the depression and where they are supported those workers who show signs of the disease. In this workspace, it will be possible to start a treatment early so those affected workers in your mental health by facilitating the process of recovery, because the work is beneficial for both the physical and mental health of the worker. So, the treatment of depression is most successful when the condition is diagnosed and treated early.

A study of the London School of Economics and Political Science, determined that workers with depression are less likely to miss work if their managers offer help and support or a model of flexible working. Therefore, we can consider that by addressing the depression from the workplace will decrease the overall financial impact that a depressive episode is through the absence and presentism management labor. However, in order to understand better the economic impact that is referenced by the report studied on the consequences of poor mental health, we must make mention of the recent project funded by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), where it is determined that the cost for Europe of the depression related to the work is estimated at 617 billion euros per year3. Therefore, we can speak of the high economic cost of not the prevention of psychosocial risks, highlighting the great magnitude of the problem.

3 Vid. HASSARD, J.; TEOH, K; COX, T.; DEWE, P.; COSMAR, M.; GRÜNDLER, R.; FLEMMING,D.; COSEMANS, B.; Y VAN DEN BROEK, K.: “Calculating the costs of work-related stress and psychosocial risks. European Risk Observatory Literature Review”, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2013 en https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/literature_reviews/calculating-the-cost-of-work-related-stress-and-psychosocial-risks

https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/literature_reviews/calculating-the-cost-of-work-related-stress-and-psychosocial-risks



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In the final analysis, to establish a healthy work environment, the employer has to be aware of the need to implement a set of measures to promote the mental well being among the staff and support to those experiencing an episode of depression. Therefore, the mental health of the workers must have a sense and be included within the set of corporate governance. In this sense, it has been estimated that employers could save at least 30% of what they lose financially, as a consequence of the loss of productivity and the need to replace to the staff on their mental health conditions. In the United Kingdom, this loss would amount to 8 million pounds per year. So, the achievement of a healthy business organization is reflected through the adoption of simple measures to prevent and improve the early identification of mental health problems in the workplace.

5. Actions on workplace depression Most of the countries of Europe there are national laws and even local that requires employers ensure a minimum level of protection to workers on the mental health which can result in diseases, either as a separate law or built-in with your general health law. Awareness of the need to act with respect to mental health problems, have led to a number of members of the European Parliament recommending policies and laws that support better working conditions. They also suggest specifically imminent changes in the European Safety Strategy and Health at Work (2013-2020) where it must recognize the need to address the shortcomings in the policy for mental health and depression in the workplace.

In this context of concern, and although the depression is relatively common, we have been able to analyze using the report that there is still a surprising lack of knowledge of the same in the workplace, including many entrepreneurs admit that they do not know how to support the workers or even their policies which are working in the mental health.

In fact, the majority of the workplace - the 78% of the companies in the United Kingdom - does not have a policy of formal mental health, or a planning of how to face the depression. The OMS seeks to address this issue through a comprehensive action plan for mental health, where employers are encouraged to put a greater emphasis on the welfare of workers and in your mental health, using options such as promotion in the labor force participation of all workers and of the return-to-work programs for people affected by mental disorders and psychosocial.


6. Case Study: Synthesis of the main experiences on the workers mental health

Company: LundbeckLundbeck is a pharmaceutical company that employs approximately 6,000 workers in 57 countries, 2,000 of whom are based in Denmark

This organization has created a new program for its workers who suffer a mental illness, called “Mental Health in the Workplace”, with the aim of providing a set of guidelines, training and much more to promote a healthy work environment. It has also signed an agreement with a clinic of psychologists, where workers can contact us in order to be able to treat psychological problems related to the job, as well as other problems with consequences that are crucial to the job satisfaction of the worker and about the job performance.

The company’s outlook revolves around the following statement

A good working environment is important. Good working environment not only psychological influences on the well-being of workers, but also the efficiency of Lundbeck and his financial situation

Company: UnileverUnilever is one of the leading providers of the world of consumer goods, with 173,000 workers throughout the world.

In October 2013, at United Kingdom and Ireland it is been launched a campaign for mental well-being and to improvements for the reinstatement of the employee after suffering damage to mental health. With this campaign was promoted the improvement of the increase of the autonomy of the work teams and individuals throughout the organization. In addition, was formed to line managers by providing knowledge to direct and support a culture in the reinstatement of the employee to work and on the mental well-being. It was also formed to handle those characteristics that influence the ability of recovery, in the health and welfare in the workplace, among other things.


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In order to measure the success of this campaign, this will have as a goal for the year 2015, a reduction of 10% of the cases in mental illnesses related to the job and lost working days due to problems arising from inadequate mental health of the workers.

Unilever determines that “good mental health is vital to our well-being; lets us recover when bad things happen in our lives by preventing the anxiety, stress, or that the depression will prevail”.

Company: Ogilvy Ogilvy is an international agency of advertising, marketing and public relations working in 450 offices in 120 countries, with approximately 18,000 workers.

The company has created a working group to examine all forms of welfare, including communication, work-life balance in the leadership and the impact on the health of workers. In addition, Ogilvy gives workers the services of a clinical psychologist. So, the company has implemented a reference plan of occupational health to offer appropriate assistance to their workers for all types of diseases, including mental health.

The perspective of the Ogilvy Company revolves around the existence of two challenges when it comes to dealing with the depression and mental health of the workers. On one hand, there is an absence of a specific policy to manage mental health at workplace in some companies. And on the other hand, there is a lack of employers training, in this subject.

The company Ogilvy says that “the mental health and depression remain taboo subjects, unfortunately. The depression and mental health is an area that many, including those of human resources, do not feel qualified to address proper and effective way. An action plan, training, policy and a set of tools, in general, for those companies that are smaller, would be incredibly useful”.

Company: Deutsche Post DHL (DPDHL) For the Deutsche Post DHL (DPDHL) is vital safeguard the well-being and ability to work of its 480,000 workers throughout the world. This company aims to promote the health of workers through a proper working environment and the provision of all those health resources.


In this sense, DPDHL determines that next to heart disease and musculoskeletal disease, psychological illnesses represent 40% of the costs in the German health system. Therefore, the strategy of general health of DPDHL is guided by a main principle called “Respect and Results”. So that, in the following table we can analyze the management that DPDHL develops to establish and implement a healthy work environment.

Chart 1. Respect and Results

MENOS MÁS

Manage persons Guiding peopleBad behaviour as excusses. Respect and resultsTo give permission To say sorryTo point at To allow mistakesTo rely on someone To listenThink alone To think as company

Source: Depression in the Workplace in Europe: A report featuring new insights from business leaders. HR Leadership Forum to

Target Workplace Depression.

DPDHL promotes labor welfare in four levels, which are influenced by the health management. These are:• Promoting health in the design of the workplace: a place for proper job, working conditions, hours

of work and the work environment• Determination and development of decision-making power: to take responsibility and improve the

management of stress.• To promote Individual Health: Support for a healthy lifestyle• Culture of respect in the Company and social interaction: the open and transparent communication;

the culture of respectful feedback; the creation of social networks; etc.

Company: British Telecom (BT) Grupo PLC.BT is one of the leading private companies in the United Kingdom, which operates on a global level on the communications, serving customers in more than 170 countries and with nearly 90,000 employees worldwide.This business organization in the field of management of psychosocial risks launched in 2002 a three-level framework where we have a combination of prevention, intervention and rehabilitation. These resources are divided into three


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different levels: promotion of mental health; support when the mental health may be at risk; and the management of mental health problems.

Prevention: encourage all workers to take care of your mental health to prevent conditions such as depression, providing information on stress management and the adoption of a balance between work and healthy living.Intervention: to identify those at risk of depression through the search for the first signs of depression and of the individuals subjected to stress.

Rehabilitation: identification and support to the workers that are already experiencing a depression episode, to help to improve their capacity to work the quickest thing as it is possible.

In addition, BT has been implementing a set of programs for the improvement of the health and safety of their workers. In this sense, the results of the campaign, which BT carried out in 2006, called “positive mindset”, have shown a reduction in 30% of the rates of absenteeism due to illness due to mental health. Also, it was determined that 68% of workers learned something new about how to care for your mental health, 56% had been accepted to some of the recommendations and 51% had noticed improvements in their mental well-being.


Chart 2. Good job, good health

Prevention Intervention Rehabilitation

Education and training

General training to raise awareness to the workforce in the issues of mental health, healthy lifestyle and how to avoid the stigma.

Training of personnel managers to recognize the danger signs and indication of support services.

Guide for managers and workers on the effective return to work.

AssessmentRisk Assessment of work and the change to control the psychosocial risks.

Stress Audits to identify individuals and / or business units at risk of harm.

Access to the occupational health service for the evaluation of sick workers and advice in the management.

Practical support

Adoption of a model of flexible working to help you find the balance in work and social commitments.

Availability of a program of confidential assistance to the employee.

Provision of psychological support services to the staff with mental illness.

Source: Depression in the Workplace in Europe: A report featuring new insights from business leaders. HR Leadership Forum

to Target Workplace Depression. Produced by Health and Safety Working Group of the European Commission of Social Dialog

Telecommunications.

The perspective that the company has about the mental health revolves around that not only do we get benefits for the individual in terms of their well-being, but in addition, you get a positive impact on society in general.

7. Main ConclusionsAccording to the report we can see that disproportionately, depression is now the leading cause of disability in the world, which is also to be affected people of working age. So, mental ill health of the workers causes a significant reduction in productivity, which has important implications for costs. As we have been able to analyze in this document, the companies such as BT, DPDHL, Lundbeck, Ogilvy and Unilever are implementing a set of measures for the proper management of psychosocial risks, by mental health policies that are designed to address the challenges of the depression in the workplace. Examples shared in this report demonstrate how employers can encourage in the detection and management of the early depression, when have the policies and adequate resources.


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However, it also provides a look daunting and that therefore creates the need for action, for one third of the directors in Europe say they lack the resources and support needed to cope with depression in the workplace. The Leadership Forum of Human Resources for the Depression in the workplace, it tries to promote a global effort to deal with this problem and to combat the devastating effects of the depression. As we have been able to observe its objective, in general, is to provide practical recommendations and equip to human resources professionals across Europe to help them deal with the depression among its workers. For this reason, the advisory group has held two meetings to date: first, organized by the Royal Mail in London and the second by the International Labor Organization in Geneva. This group has embarked on the development of a “toolbox” that contains resources, now available for entrepreneurs, to diagnose their own needs and act on that information. Throughout the year 2014, the group also has plans to develop a tool for Human Resources, which will establish the ten key principles that companies must take to identify and support people with depression in the workplace.

8. Final reflectionAfter the analysis of the report made by the Leadership Forum of Human Resources for the Depression in the workplace, we can consider that it is a document of great utility for companies or organizations, even for other different sectors of activity to the expressly studied through the good practices that are referenced in the document itself. In addition, the figures and the data that you bring, they invite the reader to reflect on what is the true reality on depression in the workplace as well as the costs that do not involve the prevention and the ignorance of the employers themselves to cope with this.

It is important to enhance the value that is given in this report, the need to spread awareness about the prevention and reduction of all those aspects that can generate a damage to the mental health of the workers, as well as their welfare. In this sense, for the search of a healthy working environment you will be given a high priority to the preventive policy of the company, which has to be oriented toward effective integration of the prevention of psychosocial risks in the system of management of the company itself.

It has been found that such integration will be beneficial for both the worker and the company as well as for society in general. In the first place, for the worker since this is the first victim of directly suffer the damage that may result from occupational accidents and diseases themselves professionals. Secondly, companies, because they improve their profitability, competitiveness, productivity, quality and improvement of the image itself in front of customers,


employees and suppliers. Thirdly and finally, society and Administrations reduce the high social and economic cost that they occur in the accident and occupational disease.

We can say that one of the aspects that cause the health and safety at work is the improvement in the quality of life of workers, translating this into a higher performance of these as well as a higher quality in his work. Investing in prevention on aspects that can generate a situation of depression in the workplace promotes the potential of the workers, as well as the correct performance of their tasks. As a result, of this healthy environment, establishing a trust that favors the motivation and satisfaction of the workers, identifying these with the company itself and with its objectives, however, always and when there is a suitable environment.

One of the results is the most obvious benefit and improvement of the economic cost that this implies in its relations with suppliers, customers, and with the workers themselves, as it creates a conception of a culture of prevention in the company. So, all this is achieved not only in a purely formal manner and in accordance with the regulations for the prevention of risks at work, in general, it is necessary that voluntarily by the organizations that go beyond what is mandated by the same, as we have been able to analyze on the good experiences shown in the report.

European Level: EU-OSHA

EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR SAFETY ANDHEALTH AT WORK.

Summary and comments of

THE JOINT REPORT EU-OSHA 2014-EUROFOUND . PSYCHOSOCIAL

RISKS IN EUROPE: PREVALENCE AND STRATEGIES FOR

PREVENTION

Author: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) European Foundation

for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) 2014.

Comments: research team of the Observatory of psychosocial risks. UGT-CEC.

University of Jaén


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Summary Edition Note1. Introduction: pay attention to the job changes and their impact on the evolution of the risks to improve preventive policies. 2. Political Context: social dimension of economic governance and its impact on the improvement of the integral labour health levels3. Structure of the Report4. Main conclusions. 4.1. Working conditions and psychosocial risks in Europe. 4.2. Management of psychosocial risks in European companies. 4.3. Interventions and policy initiatives Austria. Changes in Law of Health and Safety. Denmark. Strategy on SST and work inpection control. Slovakia. Introduction in law the definition of psychosocial risks. Belgium. Changes in law after several assessments and quiries for all interested parties. France: emergency plan and agreements on the stress. United Kingdom. National agency leadership for Health and Safety at work. 5. Institutional intervention on psychosocial risks. 6. Conclusions. 7. Final reflection on the report.


Edition NoteThe following information intends to raise awareness, in Spanish, the most important contributions of the very recent “Joint Report” -2014- conducted by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and working conditions (EUROFOUND) and entitled Psychosocial risks in Europe: Prevalence and strategies for prevention. But this report is not limited to a summary presentation, according to the “executive summary” that accompanies this type of community documents and also to be available Spanish -and other 24 more languages - in a few dates. We are going beyond that. At the same time, we offer some reviews and ratings of the Report in the current context of community and national policies of psychosocial risks.

In this regard, we must call attention to the large number of documents and reports on the different aspects of this great occupational health problem that both entities scientific-technical, the EU-OSHA and EUROFOUND, have designed and is current this year, joining others in the same or similar type. Good part of them are being collected, annotated and commented on in this volume of the International Yearbook. There is no doubt that such a proliferation of studies and analyzes is linked to the “European campaign” on the “management of occupational stress”, 2014-2015, and gives continuity to that which took place in 2012 in the framework of the inspections of Labor and Social Safety (SLIC). In this way, you give valuable data patterns and are very relevant to policy makers, community and national, to guarantee institutions -inspection of work-, to companies - guarantors of the effectiveness of the protection against these risks, prevalent today in the labor organizations, more in the current context of crisis and restructuring of the companies continued and also in public administrations - and the social partners, in particular trade unions, to review their frameworks, regulators and, above all, practical action, in this matter, directing an improvement in the effective management in the daily life of the working world.

Well now, it is “suspicioust”, as it was also tell you in the final part of the conclusion of this or annotated presentation of the joint report by the two institutions, with reference to the more information and scientific evidence collected about the centrality of these risks in all countries, these are still, in general, little inclined to improve in a very real way the effectiveness of their policies for the sake of a prevention of psychosocial risks. In large part of the member States, as well as in the own community policy, the management of psychosocial risks remains more a desideratum, a matter of goodwill and future, than a reality. Hence, it remains as a “pending issue”. As well it is evidenced by the scant attention, quantitative and qualitative, that the agenda item devoted the current, poor and very provisional, Community Strategy on Health and Safety at Work.


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1. Introduction: pay attention to the job changes and their impact on the evolution of the risks to improve preventive policies. The starting point of the new report is exactly the same that, back in 2000, led to the European Commission to launch the challenge of the so-called “emerging risks” in general and in particular psychosocial risks: the nature increasingly changing and complex processes, the conditions and the models of work organization. These changes would have reached dimensions more radical after the crisis, as well as in the framework of new economic governance based on the primacy of the values of the productivity, at the expense of safety in the workplace and the conditions of employment. This exchange socially invested between productivity and devaluation of working conditions, based on that in this sharply, in addition to other factors of social innovation, organizational and economic, it would be a great breeding ground for the spread of the problem of psychosocial risks associated at work.

In this serious and growing context of concern, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) together with the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) have developed the aforementioned report entitled “Psychosocial risks in Europe: prevalence and prevention strategies” 1. Following a pattern methodological feature of both entities, premium of the practical or experimental approach, so that the premium is known as appear these risks with the preventive activity of companies relating to its management policy of the health and safety at work. Hence the comparative approach that we present. For this reason, perhaps the most important aspect of the report is the contribution it makes to the analysis of the extent to which business organizations try to implement measures to meet more than partial manner that consistent or comprehensive, psychosocial risks. To this end, not only describes the most important interventions that can be taken in companies, but that provides an overview of the policies implemented to such effects in six Member States, with cultures, models of regulation and very different experiences, sometimes even opposite, by the way, do not always adequately reflects, in our view, in the joint report, with what you can not provide a sufficiently accurate image of the meaning and scope.

The report is, in any case, original and insisted on putting in the centre of the political, social and economic debate, an instrument of a systematic and comparative analysis of the work conditions, where are included, with a special

1 Available at the moment only in English, in EU-OSHA:https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/psychosocial-risks-eu-prevalence-strategies-prevention/view

https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/psychosocial-risks-eu-prevalence-strategies-prevention/view


significance, psychosocial risks associated with the workplace. However, it is also necessary to put in a proper place this report, because there is completely original, but rather offers a joint analysis of several studies already known, as are the Survey ESENER of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the European Survey of Working Conditions.

In addition as the report highlights, their background already has more than two decades old. Actually, the embryo of the study on the characteristics of the workplace would have begun in 1991, when they were only 12 States, through the European Survey on Working Conditions. As is well known, its goal was to make this analysis in a way that could be compared between all the countries of Europe, by what the results could be used to provide the entry into the European policy. Another objective was to identify which situations at workplace were associated with the special difficulties were facing the workers themselves, and that groups of workers experience the majority of these difficulties, so that it could take steps to address these issues. At present, the European Survey on Working Conditions covers 34 countries where the topics discussed, among others, are mainly on physical and psychosocial risks, the leadership, and changes at workplace, balance between working life, flexibility and flexicurity2.

Interest and justice is reminder what the report makes, in this introductory part, and the innovative step forward that was given in the field with the involvement of the Social Dialog in the setting of a framework of practical action to increase the efficiency of the normative regulations, community and national, in the matter, until now, generally, very generic. In case of the European Framework Agreements in occupational stress of harassment and violence in the workplace (2004) and (20007),. Then would follow other (external violence, 2010; health sector, in the framework of a global vision of biological hazards, 2010 …). Thus, not only is put emphasis on the initiatives undertaken by companies and Governments, but also of the social partners. Ultimately, these also will be concerned by the guidelines and recommendations of the report, not only political, European and national responsible. The report underlines its commitment and proactive improvement: it wants to contribute to develop new - and better - initiatives both at member States level and European.

2 As it is known, current survey is the fifth European Survey on working conditions - 2010, being already about to close the VI Survey. You can read all the details in web site: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/surveys/ewcs/2010/index.htm

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/surveys/ewcs/2010/index.htm


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2. Political Context: social dimension of economic governance and its impact on the improvement of the integral labour health levels Today might have been forgotten, or relegated in excess, to the primacy that it has in the European policy, by demands of the so-called “new economic governance”, the values of the growth, productivity, competitiveness, even at the expense by devaluation or degradation working conditions. Today is the propitious that it is call “low-wage economy”, which promotes management models seated in the intervention to the low wages, even in the framework of collective bargaining3. It appears as well the issue of social dumping inherent to actions or strategies of “defensive” business competitiveness -to faced the growing global competition with reduction of wages, and lowering the cost of labor factor-, compared to the “offensive” (based on the investment and technological innovation, etc. ). But, as the joint report reminds us, the European Union provided, and must continue to do so, a considerable attention to work, being a fundamental objective for her improvements in working conditions.

This is not a past thing. In this sense, quite rightly, it brings to mind -also remembered for some of the recent judgments of Supreme Courts, as the Spanish, to contain the hurricane of labor market reform based on the devaluation of life and labour conditions-, article 151 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFUE). This sets or fixed that member States should cooperate for the promotion of employment and improvement of labor conditions “in order to make possible its equalization by the path of progress”. Precisely, this paradigm of equitable economic growth, it could be said “decent” in ILO language, is the one that is in the basis of the general framework that presides over and inspires the entire community policy in this area, and also national: the Framework Directive 89/391 / EEC on measures to improve the health and safety at work. In it, common framework for all member States, provides a set of parameters of improvements in occupational health and safety in all sectors of activity in the national legal systems that, from an evolutionary and global approach, in response to the evolving scientific and organizational, cannot leave out, quite the opposite, psychosocial risks.

So, we assume that good working conditions and the prevention of psychosocial risks contribute to a healthy workforce, which in turn will help to support the financial sustainability of the European social model, strengthening social cohesion.

3 Cfr. Eurofound: Changes to wage-setting mechanisms in the context of the crisis and the EU’s new economic governance regime, 2014. Available in http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/studies/tn1402049s/tn1402049s.htm

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/studies/tn1402049s/tn1402049s.htm


In answer to the previous, some Governments and social partners at European, national and sectoral level, have recently developed initiatives or agreements for the improvement of working conditions and the prevention of psychosocial risks to cope with the consequences of such risks. As a result, the European social partners have recognized the importance of psychosocial risks through the signing of the framework agreement on work-related stress (2004) and the harassment and violence at work (2007) and “sectoral agreements”, referring to the European Social Dialog through the signature of different instruments that imply agreement and commitment. For this reason, these agreements represent a commitment to the development and implementation of its content at the national level.

In this context, the European Commission works with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) and with the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) to disseminate information and provide guidance and to promote the healthy work environments.

3. Structure of the ReportThe report entitled “Psychosocial risks in Europe. Domain and strategies for prevention” is divided into five chapters, each of them composed of various sections which are described below.

First chapter is entitled “The working conditions and psychosocial risks in Europe” where information is presented based on the analysis of the European Survey on Working Conditions in Eurofound, on the persistence of working conditions that psychosocial risks posed by the workers of Europe through countries, sectors and occupations. In your case, this information is broken down by sex or age. In addition, it explores the relationship between the results of these working conditions, health and welfare of the worker. However, to complete and interpret the results of the European surveys of working conditions, have been included the findings of other investigations carried out by Eurofound, on the issues discussed, have been included, in your case, to supplement and interpret the results of the European surveys of working conditions.

In parallel, in the chapter two complements the analysis with the study of the procedures or systems of management of occupational risks, by placing the treatment of psychosocial risks at the same level as the rest of risks, using the data provided by the Survey ESENER of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. The survey obtained information through interviews with the managers of the companies, workers and public entities throughout Europe.


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The objective of this study is to describe how to manage health and safety at work in the question of general risks, and on the psychosocial, in particular. Will try to explain what has been the practice that has been carried out in European workplaces.

Chapter three, developed jointly by both agencies, introduces the context of the policies at the EU level and gives various examples of how psychosocial risks have been addressed by Governments, the Labor Inspectorates and the social partners. In particular, it is highlighted the role of the European Social Dialog. This chapter aims to give an overview of the policy initiatives that are intended to introduce, in place to provide an overview of the European situation.

On the other hand, in chapter four, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, presents the practical interventions that have been developed for the prevention of psychosocial risks. This chapter provides an overview of the different interventions and how it can be deployed in the different business organizations, since it aims to give you an idea of what you can really do at the enterprise level and briefly explain what types of measures and procedures have proven to be successful.

Finally, the report concludes with a succession of deductions made jointly by Eurofound and EU-OSHA, where is determined on a summary of the conclusions about the reality on the psychosocial risk exposure by workers and the way in which it is associated with specific health outcomes. It also includes information about the views of senior management about the risks in the workplace, the proportion of firms that implement actions to address these risks, and the drivers and barriers to do so, expressing the need to implement policies by governments about this matter and the actions developed by the social partners that should always be adapted to the characteristics of the company in order to prevent exposure to psychosocial risks.

4. Main conclusions4.1. Working conditions and psychosocial risks in EuropeAs confirms the report, workplace can be characterized as an important social context, providing to the people an aspiration, a few financial resources and a source of identity, as well as personal growth, social integration and the development of their career. So, the work can contribute to maintaining and improving workers health and welfare.Now then, the job can have both positive and negative consequences for people health and well-being. If working


conditions promote the quality of jobs, such as social support, meaningful work, the balance between working life and the ability to participate in organizing the work, we can realize that improves workers mental welfare. In any case, the pressure of time, the monotonous work, the absence of social support, control and autonomy of work, the lack fairness and high job demands and job insafety, can generate a “psychosocial work environment” negative. So, the nature of the work and the types of tasks that imply could represent a challenge to the workers or be the source of the stress at work if these workers cannot cope with the demands.In this regard, the importance of a psychosocial risk can be analyzed from the persistence of occupational risk point of view, for example, using the percentage of workers who are affected by exposure to specific risk, or well, considering its relationship with the health-related outcomes.In general, this exposure of workers to these psychosocial risk factors may vary from one worker to another. However, the majority of European workers determined that mainly have to cope with lack of variety of tasks in their work and to the complexity of the tasks because they lack the necessary skills.

Source: Psychosocial risks in Europe. Prevalence and prevention strategies

Also, another risk factor that many of the European workers are exposed to, is the high intensity of work that involves for example, high speed or tight deadlines.


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Thus, these two groups of risks are the most predominate among workers in Europe, followed by the aspects of the organization of working time, such as for example, the irregular working hours and the long hours of work.


To analyze the relationship between psychosocial risks and the size of the business organization, we have found that it is a relevant variable as larger companies differ from the smaller in terms of interventions implemented to cope with these risks. Also, there are some working conditions that can differ according to size of the company, which must be considered in the planning of policies and organizational interventions to implement.

However, in general, the report determines that the workers of SMES do not experience a psychosocial environment worse than those laid down in the large companies. Therefore, it is obvious that the workers of SMES are so much exposed as workers in large companies to psychosocial risks, although with some differences in certain factors, such as for example, in terms of job content and professional development in SMES. However, we must bear in mind that these small and medium-sized enterprises can reach to have fewer resources to cope with the


psychosocial risks that the large companies. Equally, this fact may also be influenced by the reduced awareness of the cost increases due to the not prevention of psychosocial risks and the lack of health and safety representatives of the workers in these smaller firms.

According to the report, which refers to the study of the European Survey on Working Conditions in Eurofound, a good balance between work and life of the workers seems to have a positive effect in the prevention of stress, sleep disorders and on the mental ill health, in general, where it reduces the chances of being affected by occupational safety and health problems.

However, psychosocial risks are linked not only to health outcomes, but also to all aspects of performance, such as absenteeism and job satisfaction. For this reason, one of the goals set by the EU policy is based on a greater involvement of workers in the labor market. To cope with these risks must be seen as a priority due to better psychosocial environment at work contributing to a better health of workers and a better economic performance, for both workers and companies and European countries, in general, because psychosocial risks are very sensitive to both the characteristics of the organization and their socio-economic circumstances.

A recent report created the initiative «Target. Depression in the workplace,» he points out that the depression was established as the leading cause of disability in the world, affecting 350 million people. Where up to 94% of the performance level of the worker is reduced below the expected level during a depressive episode4

Therefore, those European business organizations where their workers suffer from these problems, you should be aware of the negative effects due to the mismanagement of the psychosocial factors and possibly not only affect the health and safety of their workers, but also extend into the own performance of the company.

4 For a in depth study we can refer to this edition of the International Yearbook in his article “Depression at workplace in Europe. A report with new points of view of the business leaders”.


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4.2. Management of psychosocial risks in European companies

Concern and awareness of the problem of non-management of psychosocial risksESENER survey also shows differences in this field of study. So that almost 80% of European managers are concerned with stress problems in their workplaces, and about one in five of them also considers that the harassment and violence in the work to be of great concern. However, the management of psychosocial risks management is not the same for all the respondents, nor appears the same as for productive sectors.

But that psychosocial risks concern to European managers not to say that dealing with them. Less than 30% of European business organizations have established procedures to deal with psychosocial risks. Barely one-third of companies with fewer than 19 workers said they have a procedure to manage these risks. While between large companies (more than 250 employees) this percentage grows up to 40% -50 %.

Source: Psychosocial risks in Europe. Prevalence and strategies for prevention.

Now then, the most relevant data of this survey is the existence of a great diversity rates between different countries, so that while some lie well above the average, others do it well below. Higher frequencies are recorded in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium and Finland.



This may be due, mainly, because all the European countries have transposed European legislation in occupational health and safety through the Framework Directive 89/391 EEC; and has to take into account that the countries analyzed in this project represent different national industrial relations systems, where the transposition of this regulatory framework has been adapted in different ways, depending on their legal frameworks, in addition to the traditions and cultures of each country in this area, as well as the actions that have been developed by the social partners and the social dialog to deal with psychosocial risks.

The difficulty of managing Psychosocial RisksIn the survey ESENER it is show the perception that have executives to manage psychosocial risks, where the 42% of managers believe it is more difficult to cope with the psychosocial risks that other occupational safety and health issues. This view is more widespread among directors of large companies where more than 60% of managers have such consideration, while in those companies smaller consider him to be the 40% of managers. This may be due to the fact that probably the culture that have small businesses, is oriented to person or worker by which makes it easier to cope with these issues, or the management of psychosocial risks outside of their perception since there


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may be a lesser preventive culture. However, it could also suggest that the large companies have to deal with psychosocial risks with greater frequency than the smaller companies and, as a result of his experience, are more aware of the difficulties to do so.

Decisive factors for psychosocial risks managementCauses for which organizations decide to bring from “concern” about psychosocial risks to develop actions on them, we can consider that are numerous, and have as much to do with aspects related to compliance with the law, the lack of preventive culture, economic aspects on the costs resulting from its not prevention, etc.

Well, the ESENER Survey identifies a number of factors that can be crucial to carry out a management of such risks. Among them are two. On the one hand, the “legal compliance” being the main reason to adopt measures for that purpose with a 63% of companies surveyed. And on the other hand, the “claim by workers or their representatives”, are occupied the second place, where 38% of companies surveyed believe that they have acted for this reason. However, this second reason is with a distance more than significant regarding to that one.

Meanwhile, we can consider that limit the activities carried out mainly by the implementation of legislative requirements related to psychosocial risks, it is unlikely to be efficient in terms of psychosocial risks real management.

Workers Participation In terms of the participative dimension of workers, the ESENER Survey highlights how are managers themselves recognize that the involvement of workers is one of the most relevant factors for the success of policies, therefore not only influence the existence of the same but also in its degree of implementation, this is, in their “effectiveness”5. So, the involvement of workers is a main aspect is the management of psychosocial risks. In this regard, it is claimed that the combination of a high formal and informal participation is indicative of a good quality of work, and, therefore, of quality in the management of occupational safety and health in general, and psycho-social risks in particular.

5 For an in-depth study Vid. MOLINA NAVARRETE; C.: “La implantación de los sistemas de gestión de riesgos psicosociales en la Unión Europea: análisis institucional de la ENCUESTA ESENER” en AAVV. Revista de Prevención Riesgos Psicosociales y Bienestar en el trabajo. Nº 01/2010. Laboratorio-Observatorio de Riesgos Psicosociales de Andalucía; 2010.


This situation advantageous in terms of management of the psychosocial risk was reported in less than 30% of the European establishments in general. However, in some countries this figure is significantly higher as for example Sweden with more than 60% and around 55% in Denmark, or on the contrary more low as is the case in Greece and Portugal, with about 5%. In any case, we may consider establishing an enabling context in the Nordic and Scandinavian countries with a high level of participation in specialized health and safety at work, in order to promote the implementation of policies in relation to these risks.


However, we cannot fail to expose that the participation formalized level of workers that is directly proportional to the size of the company. So that, in these large enterprise organizations the existence of representative structures stable and collegial character facilitates the work of enterprise integration of activities for the prevention of occupational risks, such as the psychosocial, so that it is also a high degree of involvement of the bodies of specialized rendering6

6 For an in deph study Vid. “Encuesta europea de empresas sobre riesgos nuevos y emergentes”, Agencia Europea para la Seguridad y la Salud en el Trabajo (EU-OSHA) en https://osha.europa.eu/es/publications/reports/es_esener1-summary.pdf

https://osha.europa.eu/es/publications/reports/es_esener1-summary.pdf


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Source: “Encuesta europea de empresas sobre riesgos nuevos y emergentes”, Agencia Europea para la Seguridad y la Salud

en el Trabajo (EU-OSHA).

4.3. Interventions and policy initiativesAs we have been able to study in the previous paragraphs, the European survey on working conditions in Eurofound ESENER and the Survey of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, show that psychosocial risks affecting a significant proportion of workers in the countries of the EU. So that, in recent years, a number of activities have been developed at both European and national level to combat this situation, using modifications of some legislative aspects, the awareness on the subject, the proportion of tools and instruments and the agreements reached through social dialog, among other things.


This section presents the legal background and some of the initiatives that have been carried out by some European countries, where are displayed as psychosocial risks have been addressed by governments and social partners.In this context, we can examine how psychosocial risks at workplace have received increasing attention on the part of the social partners at EU level and in several European countries in recent years. However, the level of awareness is not the same for all countries, nor is it the importance that is given to this question in the collective agreements and in the development of strategies to reduce or prevent psychosocial risks in the workplace. However, within the European social model, the social partners and the social dialog, in general, have a key role in the improvement of working conditions. So, at European level this idea of the social dialog positively influences in these working conditions.

This aspect is reflected in the Framework Agreement between the EU 2004 on stress at work and in the Framework Agreement on violence and harassment at work of the year 2007, because they represent a key aspect in the promotion of initiatives by the social partners at national level and in the awareness of the actors responsible for the development of policies and actions of prevention, both to influence legislation and in the development of instruments for the implementation of procedures for prevention of psychosocial risks in the company. However, you have to bear in mind that the social partners’ capacity to effectively implement their content depends on the structures of social dialog and the process within the national context. In this sense, the flexible nature of the Framework Agreements allows the social partners at national level, to decide on actions to implement according to their priorities and specific needs. Therefore, the countries have used different tools to implement the agreements. Also, it should be borne in mind that in some cases, the lack of knowledge or information on the subject, as well as the lack of statistics and difficulties in data collection, has generated a challenge to be able to implement these agreements. In this sense, there is a need to actively address psychosocial risks at all levels: within Europe, in the Member States and in all enterprises and establishments.

As we previously mentioned, this chapter presents some examples from six countries such as: Austria, Denmark, Slovakia, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, where Governments and the social partners have contributed to cope with the psychosocial risks through legislation, the actions of Labor Inspection, agreements or specific initiatives. Therefore, there is a need to actively deal with psychosocial risks at all levels: within Europe, in the Member States and in all enterprises and establishments.


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Austria. Changes in Health and Safety LawThe Health and Safety Law in Austria came into force on 1 January 2013 with changes with regard to psychosocial risks in the work. The initiative was taken by the Government but they were including the social partners in the decision-making process. The change in the legislation highlights the importance of prevention of psychosocial risks, where explicitly includes psychosocial risks are potential causes of damage to the health of workers. It is clarifies, moreover, that health is intended to be understood as the physical and mental health. It also includes the requirement to assess and manage any risk that could damage the workers health and safety at work.

Changes in Law are taken by a guidance document for the labor inspectors on how to assess, i.e. if the assessments of risk and preventive actions implemented have been carried out correctly, providing data and a catalogue of criteria for the evaluation of such risks.

Denmark. The strategy in OSH and labor inpection controlIn Denmark, several policy initiatives have been created to improve and increase the awareness of the psychosocial risks in the workplace, as well as the knowledge of how to deal with these risks. In this sense, psychosocial risks have been included as one of the priority areas in the national strategy for SST for 2012-2020. The Strategy aims to reduce for the year 2020, 20% the number of workers who are psychologically overloaded. To do this, the parties have agreed to change the actions of the Labor Inspectorate. This means that the sectors that possess higher levels of safety and health problems, as well as certain companies that possess a high score on an index linked, shall be subject to more inspections.

In addition, these risk-based inspections will focus largely on the psychosocial work environment. Another initiative is a tripartite collaboration between the social partners, the Danish authority of work for the Environment (DWEA) and the National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NRCWE). Based on this, the DWEA development a methodology in collaboration with the social partners to help companies to identify and manage psychosocial risks, where special attention will be given in the organizational change, as well as the employment of people with mental illness and the support to the workers who are affected by a mental illness to stay on the job.


Slovakia. Introduction into law the psychococial risks definitionSlovakia has taken a much more comprehensive approach to legislate protection of workers against psychosocial risks in the workplace. In this sense, also the Labor Inspection has signed a cooperation agreement with public health authority. So, a part of this agreement relates to the coordination between the Labor Inspection and public health authorities. However, in line with this approach, the provisions can be found in several legal instruments, not just those that are directly related to the SST, but also those related to public health generally.

Belgium. changes in law after a lot of assessments and queries for all interested partiesThe Belgian policy on psychosocial risks at work is based on the laws and collective agreements Act of 1996. This Law is the basis of the regulation on the subject, being the starting point for future modifications or new specifications. Therefore, in the year 2010, the statutory provisions were reviewed again by the Federal Public Service Employment, Labor and Social Dialog and the Belgian Parliament. The recommendations of the Parliament led to further changes in the legislation. Finally, on 1 September 2014, a new Royal Decree replaced the Royal Decree of the year 2007, where it covered not only the stress at work, but also other psychosocial risks.

The new Royal Decree aims at the prevention of all the psychosocial origin risks that is in the workplace and beyond the violence and harassment. The decree defines the concept of psychosocial risks at work, trying to clarify the duty of employers, as well as the roles of all actors.

France: Emergency Plan and stress agreementsIn France, psychosocial risks have become an important issue in the public policy because of their high social and economic costs. For this reason, the social partners began to cope with the psychosocial risks through social dialog. Recently, it has been reached several sectoral agreements on psychosocial risks.

In 2013, the social partners have concluded an agreement on the quality of working life and, with the Government; they established a mechanism to help the companies and the social partners to fulfil its responsibilities in the field of working life quality. Although the agreement did not include the commitment to implement their action at the sector level, several sectors have signed agreements to prevent work-related stress. The examples are in the banking sector, electricity and gas, telecommunications, the social economy, the oil industry, the pharmaceutical industry and agricultural cooperatives. These agreements have as objective the study of health measures and prevention


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that can facilitate the identification of specific risk factors that must be evaluated in the respective sectors; the contribution of information and awareness of the development of tools and actions available for the communication between the establishments of the sectors and the provision of support and facilitation of the cooperation in the implementation of the funds for the training in prevention.

The United Kingdom. National Agency for Health and Safety at work Leadership. In the United Kingdom, the “Health and Safety Executive (HSE)” in consultation with social partners, has developed an approach to organization of psychosocial risks in the work that focuses on collective affairs related to the nature and design of the job, instead of on individual behaviour and practices of individual workers.

More recently, the work has focused on improving the skills of managing people to managers, designing a series of tools to allow administrators to assess whether currently have the behaviours identified as effective to prevent and reduce the stress at work. In addition, the HSE has been working to promote policies and practices at the national and enterprise levels, where they include both social partners as to the expert organizations. On the basis of this work, a new British standard has been developed: PAS 1010 (Guidelines on the management of psychosocial risks in the workplace) 7. Although it is not legally enforceable, British Standards provide a reference point for consensus led to a good practice.

5. Institutional intervention on psychosocial risks.The importance of the elimination or reduction of psychosocial risks and the creation of good preconditions are not isolated events, but rather a process with different stages that require changes in the work environment and sometimes also in individuals. In this sense, the report analyzes using this new paragraph the different types and levels of intervention that describes different phases of the process for prevention and management the factors of psychosocial work environment.

Related to psychosocial work environment risks prevention and management, the main questions are related to the way to implement an intervention project with success in an organization and the kinds of effective approaches in prevention and management of psychosocial occupational hazards.

7 For a in depth study we can refer to this edition of the International Yearbook in his article “Development of the new voluntary standards for psychosocial risk management. Progress in implementation of British standards PAS1010, PAS1011 and PAS1012 “.


So, it presents a variety of approaches and strategies used in the practice within business organizations to prevent and reduce psychosocial risks in the work and its negative health effects. A process of successful intervention includes several phases.

• First is the phase of preparation, in which, for example, the organization’s willingness to change is discussed and builds. The preparation phase also includes the planning of the project and the manner in which it is to be communicated to the organization.

• The second phase on risk assessment consists to identify hazards that have the possibility of damage to employee’s health or safety.

• The third phase is the development of an action plan. At this stage, we examine the results of the risk assessment; the identified risks are prioritized and develop a comprehensive plan of action to address the practical risks. The action plan must include measures that will be used, the plan for the implementation of the interventions, and the communication plans and evaluation. It is recommended a participatory approach.

• The fourth phase is the implementation of solutions and interventions in which planned interventions are carried out.

• In the phase of evaluation must be considered and evaluated the results, effectiveness, and the process of implementation of all the solutions. It is crucial to the success of the project and future approaches, allows organizations to use the results of the evaluation to organizational learning and continuous improvement of the psychosocial work environment.

6. ConclusionsPsychosocial risks are the more difficult to treat risk factors. In the context, the research shows the complexity of the relationship between health and work. Given this complexity, this report has been prepared by Eurofound and EU-OSHA, includes information on the points of view of employers on such risks in their companies, the proportion of firms that implement actions to address these risks, and the barriers that exist to do so. It also provides examples of policies adopted by the Governments of several European countries and the social partners through agreements tailored according to the characteristics of the company in order to avoid exposure to psychosocial risks.

This study shows that many companies still are not implementing measures for the prevention of psychosocial risks, or at least not implemented in a systematic manner. The interventions that go beyond the individual measures ad-


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hoc and applied in a collective manner, so that interventions have an impact on the psychosocial conditions of work and on the health and welfare of workers. Therefore, such interventions must be designed to follow a structured process.

Generally, social dialog between representatives and companies it has proven to be a key element for the implementation of improvements in working conditions. Both ways, formal and informal participation of the workers have an important role to play in the management of the SST and, in particular, of psychosocial risks. The workers participation is not only profitable and leads to the implementation of a broader set of measures, but also to its effectiveness. In addition, there is a strong positive correlation between the direct participation of employees and reported the effectiveness of procedures or measures.

However, at national level, laws, social partners and Labor Inspectorate, can significantly contribute to the implementation of psychosocial risks management processes and OSH, in addition to support workers in the work environment, as shown in paragraph 3 of this report with some national examples. Therefore, we can say that the design of the new policies and initiatives requires the consideration of the legislative and cultural context in which it will be to implement, in addition to the sectoral specificity, and the organizational features such as the size of the business organization and its legal status. Also, to provide a better support and guidance to businesses, you must consider the influence that the Inspectors can practice at work, as it is recognized in the SLIC campaign (Labor Inspection Committee) in 20128, in addition to the importance of labor inspectors are properly trained in the management practices of psychosocial risks. At the same time, through the study of these cases we can consider to have been developed during the last decade a new policy initiatives, promoted in some countries by the Framework Agreement between the EU 2004 on stress at work and the Framework Agreement on Violence and Harassment at work 2007.

Finally, we have been able to analyze as this report shows the current situation with regard to the persistence of psychosocial risks, its association with health outcomes related to the job, and the advantages of creating a good

8 For a study on European Campaign for inspection 2012 we can refer to “Anuario internacional sobre prevención de riesgos psicosociales y calidad de vida en el trabajo: Inspección de trabajo y evaluación de riesgos psicosociales. Avances y resistencias desde una perspectiva Europea�, del año 2012 in which is a comprehensive and comparative analysis of psychosocial risks control and prevention by work inspections in Europe.


atmosphere of psychosocial work, for workers, employers and society in general. So, the achievement of a good psychosocial environment means creating a greater awareness and demonstrates the widespread persistence of psychosocial risks to motivate businesses, the social partners and governments to take action.

7. Final reflection on the ReportOnce carried out the study of the report carried out by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) together with the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), we can consider that it is a document of great usefulness, not only for business organizations and workers, but even for the social partners and governments of the different European countries. It presents a descriptive study about the prevalence of the various psychosocial risks in the business organizations that can cause stress and problems with workers health and welfare.

Well, as it determines this Report, there are more expensive not prevent psychosocial risks to worker, company and also to society. In this sense, the main costs to the individuals are related to the health damage, the income reduction and the worse quality of life. On the other hand, business organizations are subjected to increases of absenteeism and labor of presentism management that lead to the reduction in productivity, raising also the rotation of staff. And, in addition, for society as a whole, because these situations resulting in high costs to national health systems and the impoverishment of economic balance, having a negative effect, ultimately to each national society9

It is important to enhance the value of this report, doesn’t seek only to improve the degree of knowledge and understanding of the preventive activity in the field of psychosocial risks, but it is also an instrument intended for direct mode to provide very useful information and interesting to make improvements in the policies of this type, both public and enterprise, but also trade unions.

As a result, data presented in this document show that, given the challenge presented to manage psychosocial risks at workplace, new measures are needed and initiatives to support companies in the implementation of effective prevention policies. To do this, the different actors have to work together on the basis of their common interests

9 For an in depth study we can refer to this same edition of the International Yearbook in the presentation also annotated and commented of the Report “ Depression at workplace in Europe. A report with new points of view of the business leaders”. Disponible en http://targetdepression.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/TARGET_Report_Final.pdf



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and a shared understanding of the challenges being beneficial for both. In this sense, we have found no evidence of the contribution and need of the social dialog at sectoral level and company for the improvement of working conditions.

Finally, we can make reference to the above on several chances by this report confirming that the workplace can be characterized as a social context that can contribute to maintaining and improving the health and welfare of workers, remain an important aspect for the generally society.

English-speaking Level

UNITED STATES

Summary and made comment in text:

WORKPLACE STRESS IN THE UNITED STATES:

ISSUES AND POLICIES


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Summary1. Introduction2. Labour market conditions and health3. Health effectcs and health production4. United States policy5. Final remarks


1. IntroductionThat Americans are both relatively wealthy and stressed with respect to work is somewhat at odds with recent evidence on the relationship between income and life-satisfaction. And yet, at a time of relative affluence if not relative to the recent past, then especially relative to the rest of the world – a sizable fraction of Americans are stressed, anxious, and depressed in regards to the workplace. Indeed, a survey by the American Institute for Stress reports that 35% of workers said their jobs are harming their physical or emotional health.

Within the United States, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) operates the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) with the goal to “provide national and world leadership to prevent workplace illnesses and injuries.” Furthermore, the report suggested that job stress is more strongly associated with health complaints than financial or family problems.

The American Psychological Association (American Psychological Association, 2011) directly asked participants of a US job strain survey the extent to which they were “satisfied with the amount of control and involvement” in their jobs. 62% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied. While 10% of respondents claimed that personal responsibilities interfered with job duties, 25% claimed the opposite – that the demands of their job interfered with their home/family responsibilities.

2. Labour market conditions and health.Health economists have devoted much effort to the causal relationship between macroeconomic conditions and health. A series of papers by Christopher Ruhm have investigated this relationship in the United States. Ruhm (2000) lists four mechanisms by which health and macroeconomic conditions may be correlated: 1) changes in opportunity cost of time; 2) health as an input into the production of goods and services; 3) risky activities as normal goods; and 4) in(out)migration due to good(bad) economic times may cause an observed selection effect. Ruhm (2000) shows a strong negative relationship between macroeconomic conditions and health. Using US data from the Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System, he finds that a one percentage point increase in the state unemployment rate is associated with 0.5% increase in total mortality. An additional possible mechanism for this finding is that job separation (or the potential for job separation) increases stress, which leads to cardiovascular disease and mortality.


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Letvak et al. (2012) study the mental health of 1 171 registered nurses (RN) in the United States. Relative to a national rate of depression of 9%, RNs in the sample of Letvak et al. (2012) were 100% more likely to exhibit signs of depression. Furthermore, depressed nurses were more likely to negatively influence the productivity of other nurses, and depression was correlated with higher BMI and worse job-satisfaction. Importantly, the authors find that depression was less likely to be reported and treated than physical ailments.

Furthermore, Virtanen et al. (2011) find that perceived job insafety may lead to adverse health effects, and Mattiasson et al. (1990) find that the threat of unemployment increases cholesterol levels.

Similarly, the perceptions and outlook of American workers may also be affected by job stress. A survey from the Attitudes in the American Workplace found that 73% of American workers would not want their boss’s job. Furthermore, Johnston & Lee (2013) study changes in workers’ perceptions of their jobs before and several years after a promotion. Interestingly, and conversely to the work of Karasek & Theorell (1990), they report both more control and decision-making freedom and yet also more stress and long hours. Years after a promotion, any positive effects of higher income are found to have been nullified and stress remains high. However, they find no long-term health effects of promotion with the exception of reduced mental health.

Labour economists have also studied a uniquely American form of job stress: job lock – a situation in which a worker stays in a job despite the desire to seek other employment – caused by employer-provided health insurance. Especially in cases in which a worker is poorly matched to a job or is unprepared for or unaware of the stress that comes with a job, job lock may imply chronic stress situations that lead to poor health outcomes.

3. Health effectcs and health productionFletcher et al. (2011) find that long-term exposure to physically and environmentally strenuous work conditions worsened self-reported health for US workers. Importantly, those authors find that the effects of job stress on self-reported health may vary by education, gender and ethnicity. For men, the negative effect of cumulative physical demands at work is driven largely by non-whites. Furthermore, much of the effect of cumulative environmental conditions is due to younger workers, whereas the negative effects of physical conditions are driven by older workers. In general, the magnitudes of the negative effects are larger for women, but female negative effects are driven by whites. The general finding that accumulated job stressors are correlated with worse self-reported health


is consistent with the medical notion that acute, temporary stress is not a medical problem, but chronic stress results in the production of cortisol hormones that imply health effects later in life.

Another important implication of growing workplace stress levels is the potential increase in mental health disability applications. Maestas et al. (2013) show that the extent to which

disability insurance negatively impacts work participation depends on the severity of the disability, and Kostol & Mogstad (2014) show that the disabled who receive disability insurance and do not work, but who have some capacity for work, may respond to financial work incentives designed to promote a return to work.

4. United States policyIn the United States, research on the psychological strain in the workplace – especially over time – has lagged behind Western European countries. With respect to policy, it is important to differentiate between policy at the organizational (employer) and individual (employee) level. The emphasis of US research has been on individual characteristics that lead to stress-related illness. This focus has implied a number of individual level worker safety policies.

From a policy perspective, the overarching Fair Labour Standards Act, enforced by the Department of Labour, establishes certain standards (e.g., minimum hourly wages, overtime compensation after 40 hours of work in one week, etc.), but the Act does not focus specifically on alleviating the strains of work.20 Indeed, after a minimum set of standards, the Act regulates certain employee benefits such as work breaks only if those benefits are offered in the first place. For example, no general laws on lunch breaks/coffee breaks/etc exist, but FLSA requires that if granted, these breaks count as working time. The Act does not place any restrictions on the following: vacation time; holiday, severance, or sick pay; rest periods; premium pay for weekend or holiday work; pay raises or fringe benefits; discharge notices; or providing pay stubs.21 Furthermore, the FLSA does not limit the number of hours in a day, or days in a week, an employee may be required or scheduled to work, including overtime hours, if the employee is at least 16 years old. Other policies (minimum wages, rest periods, etc.) vary across states.

While it is still too early to evaluate the Affordable Care Act, important work on Medicaid expansion in currently underway in Oregon. The Oregon Health Study Group (see Finkelstein et al. (2012) and Finkelstein et al. (2013)),

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randomly offered the opportunity to enrol in Medicaid – the US health insurance program for the poor – to a group of low-income adults. The sampled population is those individuals at or below the 100% poverty threshold (USD 11 720/year in 2012 for a single adult), and the authors are quick to point out that the Affordable Care Act will require all states to offer Medicaid eligibility to individuals at 133% of the poverty level. Those randomly selected for Medicaid showed higher health-care utilisation and lower out-of-pocket medical expenditures and debt. Two years after randomization, Finkelstein et al. (2013) find no effect of Medicaid expansion on blood pressure or cholesterol levels and a positive effect on the probability of a diabetes diagnosis. Importantly however, the researchers also find that Medicaid coverage – relative to being uninsured – is associated with 32% increase in self-reported overall happiness (Finkelstein et al., 2012) and a decrease in the probability of a positive depression screening of 9.15 percentage points (Finkelstein et al., 2013). Lower rates of depression are not surprising given that Finkelstein et al. (2013) also find that receipt of coverage “nearly eliminated catastrophic out-of-pocket medical expenditures”. Furthermore, in addition to potentially alleviating stress related to medical expenditures, the Affordable Care Act represents a large expansion in mental health services as all health plans on the private exchanges are required to cover mental health and substance use disorder care.24

5. Final remarksThe medical literature shows that chronic stress, broadly defined, causes poor health outcomes. Survey evidence from the United States suggests that the workplace is the number one cause of stress. In addition to poor health outcomes directly from stress and indirectly from coping mechanisms such as cigarette smoking, workplace stress may cause lower worker productivity and increased absenteeism. Therefore, job stress is a growing concern for policy makers. However, with policy as with empirical research, how stress is defined is of vital importance. Small changes in screening definitions may lead to large changes in disability enrolments just as small changes in self-reported questionnaires may lead to large changes in empirical results. Indeed, policies not directly aimed at workplace stress reduction such as the Affordable Care Act may be the most effective at reducing job stress in the United States.

UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND.

DEVELOPING NEW VOLUNTARY RULES IN PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK

MANAGEMENT. PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE

BRITISH STANDARDS PAS1010, PAS1011 Y PAS1012.

Estefanía González Cobaleda,

Labor Risks Prevention Expert. Hire Research.

University of Jaén.


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Summary1. Introduction. 2. Regulatory Models of psychosocial risks. Binding standards and voluntary standards. 3. Progress in the standardization in the management of psychosocial risks. The new British standards PAS1010, PAS 1011 y PAS 1012. 4. Conclusion. Bibliografy.


1. Introduction.Today is a real common place, both in the scientific analysis and in the official position of the competent international organizations in psychosocial risks manage, the notable increase on incidence and prevalence of psychosocial risks at workplace. The economic and social personal costs are very important. The Fourth European Survey on Working Conditions placed him as the second issue of occupational health, just below the ergonomic risks, with which is often related to closely, but without a doubt the crisis of the past five years have raised the incidence of psychosocial risks, by raising the importance of the problem. The increase in the time of psychosocial risks related to job safety and the intensity of the work appears, therefore, as great evidence. Growing insafety in the employment, and in different working conditions, it is a determining factor in the current increase in the prevalence of such risks. Also, in the recent project funded by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) carried out by Matrix (2013) 1, determines that the cost in Europe of depression related to the work is estimated at 617 billion euros per year. Therefore, we can speak of that the costs of not prevention of psychosocial risks, in particular, highlight the big magnitude of the problem.

However, neither the regulatory action nor the policy level, and even less the practical application of the existing framework, have gone hand in hand with the growing awareness of the magnitude and severity of psychosocial risk factors at work. In Europe, the Directive framework 89/391 sets the parameters for the incorporation of the psychosocial risk in national legal systems, through its generic inclusion in preventive policies of risks of companies. Only a few European countries have adopted specific rules to define the generic provisions of the directive - this is the case in Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Netherlands, Norway, Finland and Sweden; more recently Portugal and Bulgaria-.Rest, therefore the majority, are kept in the ambiguity of the generic frameworks. In any case, experience teaches that it is not enough with the inclusion of a generic reference to such risks in a standard of safety and health at work to promote a preventive action determined in the workplace with regard to psychosocial risks2. Also, it seems evident a trend toward a change in regulatory model, since the general option same of the European

1 Vid. HASSARD, J.; TEOH, K; COX, T.; DEWE, P.; COSMAR, M.; GRÜNDLER, R.; FLEMMING,D.; COSEMANS, B.; Y VAN DEN BROEK, K.: “Calculating the costs of work-related stress and psychosocial risks. European Risk Observatory Literature Review”, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2013 en https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/literature_reviews/calculating-the-cost-of-work-related-stress-and-psychosocial-risks2 Vid. LIPPEL, K; AND QUINLAN, M.: “Regulation of psychosocial risk factors at work: An international overview”. Safety Science 49 (2011) 543–546.




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Union, so that dominated the techniques of self-regulation at the expense of specific laws for the psychosocial risk, spreading the anglo-saxon model.

Well, it is intended to reduce the interventionism of the State based on rule of law to give effect to the products derivative from the collective autonomy. The psychosocial risks management collective dimension assumes a model of Cooperation State and society, in such a way that the social partners are actively involved in the government of social relations in general, and labor in particular. Therefore, the Community Social Dialog is reinforced as an instrument of the EU3 regulation, since both workers and employers prefer to seek commitment to improvement by themselves, without need of rigid rules default legally.

2. Regulatory Models of psychosocial risks. Binding standards and voluntary standardsIn social life areas which are dominated by organizational, technical and economic complexity, as safety and health at work, is often spread the need of intervention models that, based on the approach of management processes, complete, or sometimes replaced, the regulatory frameworks and regulatory binding, promoting the techniques of “self-regulation” and “softlaw” -right flexible, ductile or non-binding.

In general terms, the techniques of self-regulation, despite their great diversity, relate to the types of rules that take precedence the ability of a subject to be given its own rules, in order to take precedence on the autonomous management of their behaviours and his voluntary control. As something natural, in a framework so influenced by the public interest, like the management of psychosocial risks, the potential for progress in this type of “autonomous rules” depends on the legal frameworks, in addition to the traditions and cultures of each country in this area. To a large extent, the dissemination of this type of regulation rules-risk management, by what interests us, assumes a displacement of the prominence of the slavishness -action of the public authorities in favour of the autonomy, not only already collective, but social and civil, that is, a growing number of subject and private entities, either alone or, as is more usual, in collaboration with institutional entities.

3 Vid. GARCÍA JIMÉNEZ, J.; DE LA CASA QUESADA, S. Y MOLINA NAVARRETE, C.: �Regulación de los riesgos psicosociales en los ambientes de trabajo: panorama comparado de modelos y experiencias en Europa y América�. Bomarzo. Albacete. 2011, pág. 171.


This means that the heteronymous regulation, whether national or international, it tends to shed, total or partially, in its classical dress or suit coercive, “authoritarian”, to now take the form of rules for the promotion, encouragement and “guide” of the behaviour of the actors, renouncing a expresses and direct intervention in certain aspects, to give input on guiding techniques of self-regulation to the public purposes satisfaction. It is distinguished as well, an autonomous self-regulation, outside the external control of the public power, and a “self-adjustment regulated”, albeit weakly, which implies a certain participation and heteronymous forecast, of public power. This is, for example, codes of conduct or codes of good practices of institutional character, this is, initiated or promoted by the public authorities, such as is happening in Ireland and England. It is also the course of the “management rules” or standards of the United Kingdom, very influential on the work-related stress management way, which provides some tools to control six psychosocial risk factors related to the job. This typology of rules has been exported by a good number of countries with binding rules, because in the EU is encouraging greater participation of the European social partners within the framework of the European social dialog agreement creating “volunteers” framework.

In fact, today there is a clear trend toward the development of voluntary standards only, as it promotes the International Labor Organization ILO and the World Health Organization -WHO-, in relation to their codes of good practices on violence, harassment and the broader psychosocial risks and also of interest to the EU. Or, for example, the ISO standards for the mental burden, as well as the guide-Canadian standard management of psychosocial health in the workplace. In this sense, although they are not legally binding, these regulatory standards and volunteers provide guidance on a systematic approach to the prevention of psychosocial risks with origin in working environments. This is, clearly advocates for a planned approach and participatory, and cyclic control - the cycle of preventive control - for the identification, assessment, monitoring and review of the psychosocial risk factors, which reflects the evidence on the feasibility of a risk management perspective to the work-related stress.

Indeed, there is the connection of this trend with the approach to quality management and industrial environmental promoted by these institutions, in particular within the EU. A “normalization” is revealed, just, as a basic part of the European Employment Strategy -EEU-, which had as a more ambitious objective, rather as dream, to make the EU the economy “most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based” of the world, allowing us to undertake, through it, the improvement of the legislation and the elimination of trade barriers to international level. Although not plays an active role in their development, the European Commission is involved in the standardization present in a good number of European policies. The standards outlined by the Community for more than a quarter of a century, when


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it introduced the “new approach” to technical harmonisation and standardisation. There is named in addition that a resolution adopted on 12 June 2014, by the Executive Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) reiterates the need and the importance of representing the interests of workers in activities of European standardisation4

This “new approach” sees the rules as a guarantee of “quality management” with respect to the ‘essential requirements’ established by the European policies, hence that born in the field of industrial quality were soon to the “environmental quality” external to project itself increasingly in a similar worker’ health and safety to the that they preach the Directives in the area of health, safety and protection of the consumer and the environment. Ultimately, it should be remembered that the European Council reaffirms the voluntary nature of the standardisation, based on the consensus of the parties concerned, as well as the orientation toward “the market”, accommodating community policies to the needs, that yes, not only for quality and competitiveness, but health and safety, of the markets5.For EU “normalization” is a basic and effective instrument of Community policies, whose objectives are:

• To contribute to the policy aimed to legislate better, i.e. the policy aimed to simplify and reduce the quality of legislation, both to the enlargement and to updating and simplifying the Community acquit;

• To enhance the competitiveness of companies;• To make easier to removal barriers to international trade

Although the normalization arises mainly to improve in the industrial quality, therefore to advance the internal market for goods and services, has also been sought its usefulness as an instrument to support the needs of the society, namely

4 Vid. Resolución aprobada el 12 de junio de 2014, por el Comité Ejecutivo de la Confederación Europea de Sindicatos (CES) en http://www.etuc.org/sites/www.etuc.org/files/document/files/13-en-resolution_on_standardisation_0.pdf5 Vid. Conclusiones del Consejo, de 21 de 22 de diciembre 2004, sobre la Comunicación de la Comisión al Parlamento Europeo y al Consejo, de 18 de octubre de 2004, sobre el papel de la normalización europea en el marco de las políticas y la legislación europea [COM (2004) 674 final - no publicada en el Diario Oficial].

http://www.etuc.org/sites/www.etuc.org/files/document/files/13-en-resolution_on_standardisation_0.pdf




• The environment. The Commission has already taken a favourable position to the integration of environmental aspects in the standardization. i.e., supports sustainable development

• Accessibility for all. Standardization should be a factor of integration of the society and the economy.

• Safety policies - the fight against terrorism and crime prevention-, for which the normalization can be a natural support

• Consumer Protection

In spite of everything, the limitations of this process and the delays and deficiencies in its institutional framework are known.

3. Progress in the standardization in the management of psychosocial risks. The new British standards PAS1010, PAS 1011 y PAS 1012.In this context, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2004 in consultation with the social partners, began to develop a set of standards or rules of management through which they define the characteristics and main aspects of an organization, to reduce the psychosocial risks in the work through the management and control of the factors that can produce the stress at work, with the aim to encourage both employers and workers to work together to identify psychosocial risks and adopt solutions to minimize those risks.

Well, on this path of standards based on the approaches to risk management is having a special echo the known as “PAS1010” “PAS1011” and “PAS1012” - Publicly Available Specification - as public documents on the management of psychosocial risks in the work published by the British Standards Institution (BSI), which means that these specifications for public access -PAS 1010, PAS 1011 and PAS 1012- are incorporated along with standards already established and recognized, because the BSI has a portfolio of more than 32,000 recognized standards including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, among others. Hence, keep a close connection with the claim of these to harmonize methods and models of existing management integral in Europe.


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This development process has had as a reference the European project concerning the creation of a European framework for management of psychosocial risks, the project known as premium-EF, and that was funded by the VI Framework Program of UE Research6.

In relation to PREMIUM-EF, as is known, this was built on a theoretical analysis of the processes of management of occupational hazards of this nature, identifying the basic logic of its elements, the strategy and procedures, areas and types of measurement. In order to make a review of the psychosocial risk management main models in Europe. The approach taken in this analysis focused especially on identifying good practice experiences which relate the intervention in that risk with the full cycle or overall risk management: risk assessment for the design of interventions on risk and its continuous review to verify the effectiveness and coherence of the action in order to reduce or eliminate the risks, as well as for the promotion of mental health and welfare at workplace. Its objective was to accommodate all the approaches to the management of existing psychosocial risks in the EU and to be used as a framework for comprehensive and global harmonization of practices and methods in the field of management of psychosocial risks. Also is intended to be used as a tool for guiding the development of new methods, both in Europe and at the international level and provide a point of reference for the validation of existing methods and new.

However, as after the development of premium-EF, the harmonisation of the European approaches to the management in this regard are still without an official standard of good practice with regard to psychosocial risks, a representative group of the research consortium, along with very important entities -WHO, EU-OSHA, CES and the Employers’ Federation of Engineering-, worked together with BSI - British Standards Institution - in the development of these standards for standardization PAS1010, PAS1011 and PAS1012. This project puts particular emphasis on those groups that can be considered high-risk, since due to its characteristics, is more likely to be damaged by psychosocial risks, insisting on those workers and of the sectors that can be mainly affected. He also emphasized the importance of finding ways to implement the standards in different types of businesses such as small and medium-sized enterprises.

6 Vid. STAVROULA LEKAA Y ADITYA JAINA.: “Evaluación y gestión de los riesgos psicosociales en el trabajo: Experiencias del Reino Unido”, Anuario Internacional sobre Prevención de Riesgos Psicosociales y calidad de vida en el trabajo. Los desarrollos de la Evaluación de Riesgos Psicosociales en Europa: El estado de la investigación científica y experiencias Institucionales, Editada por Secretaría de Salud Laboral y Medio Ambiente UGT-CEC, 2013 páginas 123- 140.


Given that the PAS has its roots in the European framework that fosters PREMIUM-EF, as it embodies the principles and key elements of all the established approaches to the EU, as they recognize their main proponents and analysts, by what has been careful that the tools are compatible with other guidance and “Specifications” used by the various organizations to manage the Health and Safety at Work, while stops on the specific needs of the management of psychosocial risks.

PAS1010, on the other hand, provides guidance and recommendations for the effective management of psychosocial risks through a specific strategy that takes into account, in a precise manner, all the legal requirements and the available information about the psychosocial risks7. Has a vocation of general application, this is, to all type and size of organization, as well as methods for adjusting to various geographical, cultural and social conditions. The basic objective of the management standard PAS 1010 is, ultimately, support and promote good practices of psychosocial risk management

Therefore, the PAS 1011, is based on the standards and the management skills of psychosocial risks that favour the stress at work, so it provides a set of more specific guidelines for “managers of lines” and managers, to ensure that they have the basic knowledge to implement the policy of your organization and understand their responsibility related to the policy and the management of stress. Precisely, these are those who possess a fundamental role in the identification and management of stress within the organization, because they are designed to see the problems that cause first-hand the stress. In this regard, will be in the best position to notice changes in the behaviour of the staff that may indicate a problem related to stress and often be the first point of contact when a person feels stressed8

In relation to all of the above, the HSE in association with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Investors in People, they have also designed a series of tools that allow administrators to assess whether they possess the behaviours identified as effective to prevent and reduce the stress on the job; its goal is to help managers to reflect on their behaviour and management style. This is creates the PAS 1012, whose main objective

7 Vid. Stavroula Lekaa y Aditya Jaina, en el completo y sugerente estudio “Evaluación y gestión de los riesgos psicosociales en el trabajo: Experiencias del Reino Unido�, Anuario Internacional sobre prevención de riesgos psicosociales y calidad de vida en el Trabajo, 2013, páginas 123- 140.8 La Guía completa está disponible en: http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mcit.htm

http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mcit.htm


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revolves around the reinstatement of the employee after suffering damage to health by causes of psychosocial risks. Thus, the standard determines that the majority of people with mental health problems recover completely and with the capacity resume work with success, so for the organization, the reinstatement of the employee so provided for, will be more profitable than the early retirement, which is about the actions that develop more widespread by the organizations. So, has the objective of establishing a point of reference for the efficient planning, between the individual and the company with the help of the social partners, to maximize the chances of success of a return to work. Therefore, we can determine that this standard of management is divided into two parts. The first, offers step-by-step guidance in relation to the prevention or recovery capability in the workplace of the workers. While the second part, establishes clear procedures to ensure that employees receive actual re-entry into the work.

However, the rule of normalization of the standard management of psychosocial PAS has, therefore, as a policy guide the community directive-framework and its demand for a continuous assessment of the risks and its reduction. As a result, cannot fail to assume a “participatory approach” in the assessment and management of psychosocial risks, introducing this action as a “shared responsibility” between workers and employers. Therefore, the preventive psychosocial intervention and invested appears as a key aspect of a good management of the organizations in the proposal to make the standards PAS.

However, we must determine that although these management rules are not legally enforceable, British standards provide a reference point for consensus led to good practices, so organizations can show evidence of compliance with these standards by advertising through the name and the number of the rule or by show a certification mark as it is by the BSI.

We have to mention that these management rules place a strong emphasis on employers, workers and their representatives, since they have to create a participatory environment primarily to ensure a collaboration between them to develop solutions and effective practices, in addition to appropriate and relevant to a specific organization.On the other hand, in practice the trade unions use this system as a basis for negotiation between employers and employees; in addition to an access point for addressing other issues in the field of employment. In consequence, and due to the absence of specific legislation, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) recognizes that standards or rules of stress management in the field of labor, are the most effective way to deal with the psychosocial risk. However, insist on the importance of involving the trade unions at all stages in order to obtain a successful outcome, since


they have a vital role to play, as a driver of ongoing communication, facilitating a two-way exchange of information and opinions, thus ensuring the participation of those hard to reach groups in the process.

4. Conclusion.In effect, we can consider that implement the standards of management can help companies ensure they are working with the same standards, of other successful practices in organizations in your industry, because they are codes of good practices that enhance both safety, such as the efficiency about the stress and that can improve their systems and processes in order to achieve excellence. These three standards of normalization -PAS1010, PAS1011 and PAS1012- reinforce the actions taken by the organizations to ensure that they are doing everything possible to cope with the stress in the workplace.

However, we believe that we should not hold even extreme expectations on these, because they are uncertain standards and, in spite of the promotion of the public authorities, national and international and an ever growing range of practices and operational recommendations to this end, the achievements are scarce, and in any case, the information available today is ambiguous on the effectiveness of all these programs for the prevention of psychosocial risks. This is derived, in part as a reflection of the difficulty of carrying out the intervention research in the working environment of the real life, having a smaller number of studies on organizational interventions in comparison with the intervention studies aimed at each worker -individual approach-. The results are available on the success factors and barriers, show that without active involvement, not only with the written undertaking or formalized the business address; it is difficult to make progress in this area of workers’ health.

Hence, the social partners have a key role in the management of this type of risks to display the collective commitment, involvement and credibility of workers and the corporate governance through consultation and participation of these. This is because, in the first place, that the control of psychosocial risk requires not only a support for the management and organization, but also for the management and organizational change. This implies that the establishment of a high level of integration and commitment of senior management that remains, more in a time of crisis such as this, an elusive goal. Secondly, nor is it easy the matter concerning the participation of workers so that there are major challenges, because psychosocial risks are not yet seen often as an integral aspect of the health and safety at work. In this sense, a stress prevention program in participatory can include only the direct involvement of workers, which has been shown in large research be less effective than the representative participation, getting some results less durable.


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This direct intervention practice is not, ultimately, but the reflection of a oriented approach to the identification of psychosocial risks, which focuses its attention on the behaviour, characteristics and attitudes of the worker as the causes of and solutions for work-related stress. But the best management practices for these risks require combining the individual approach with the organizational, so as not to dilute the problem in simple management of interpersonal conflict. Also, it is believed to be more easy to speak about the individual you on the organization or the organizational aspects, but it should be remembered that, from the preventive point of view, the actions should be geared to eliminate or reduce risks in their origin, so they must be designed for the improvement and restructuring of the working conditions are not healthy, rather than in favour of the resistance and adaptation of people to adverse situations.

Relative to psychosocial risks, the trend is obvious and a copious literature on the intervention of stress focuses on the individual, so that the attention to the behaviour of workers appears as a necessary and sufficient explanation to understand the bad health at work and as the target for more effective interventions to improve the health of the workers, leaving in the background the need to act on their environment, and rewarding only the action in its behaviour. Under this scenario, the response strategy focuses on the procedures for support to workers exposed to risk, and moves away from the fundamental problem, the risk in origin, that requires primary prevention measures, which are those that are at the heart of any effective management of the psychosocial risk, as for any other risk.In the final analysis, it is the most advanced research today on the subject, highlight, through a review of health and safety standards relating to the management of psychosocial risks, that these only set the minimum level of protection for workers, but without other complementary instruments standard management is difficult to make progress in its effective implementation. That is why they are increasingly the experiences of voluntary standards oriented to allow additional organizations, not already go beyond their legal obligations in relation to the management of psychosocial risks, but to put them into practice. The PAS1010 standards, PAS1011 and PAS1012 are based on this approach, and are looking for, in addition, giving clarity to the terms of “stress” and “psychosocial risk”, offering specific guidance in the management process of psycho-social risks to allow organizations to manage the psychosocial risks with success. We should also mention that this safety and health management system specializing in psycho-social risks is the result of a process of consultation with key stakeholders in this management area, since every two years each of the PAS has been revised with the aim to establish it or not formally as a British standard of management. So, these rules are expected to promote improvements in the management practices of psychosocial risks in the national experiences in which already exist, as well as the beginning of this type of preventive activity


in the countries in which there is no application of systematic character, or even significant due to the lack of knowledge and experience.

In any case, future research on the collection, use and results of PAS1010, PAS1011 and PAS1012 will be essential to determine if these objectives are achieved. For this reason we have considered a very interesting initiative in an area of vital importance for the promotion of health and well-being, despite having already with a good number of initiatives, more to European and international level, that national, presents a clear need for a framework of official reference in this field of management of occupational hazards, without a doubt to day of today of the most complex and conflicted, for what they are a challenge to the social dialog the efficient management of psychosocial risks, as well as for the implementation of effective way to the recent voluntary standards for the management of psychosocial risks due to the differences in the perception of such risks, in regard to the perspectives, priorities and interests of each of the social actors, in particular, between employers’ organizations and trade unions.

Bibliografy.BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTION (BSI) 2011. PAS1010: Guidance on the management of psychosocial risks in the workplace. London: BSI

GARCÍA JIMÉNEZ, J.; DE LA CASA QUESADA, S. Y MOLINA NAVARRETE, C.: “Regulación de los riesgos psicosociales en los ambientes de trabajo: panorama comparado de modelos y experiencias en Europa y América”. Bomarzo. Albacete. 2011.

HASSARD, J.; TEOH, K; COX, T.; DEWE, P.; COSMAR, M.; GRÜNDLER, R.; FLEMMING, D.; COSEMANS, B.; Y VAN DEN BROEK, K.: “Calculating the costs of work-related stress and psychosocial risks. European Risk Observatory Literature Review”, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2013

LIPPEL, K; AND QUINLAN, M.: “Regulation of psychosocial risk factors at work: An international overview”. Safety Science 49 (2011) 543–546.


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STAVROULA LEKAA Y ADITYA JAINA.: “Evaluación y gestión de los riesgos psicosociales en el trabajo: Experiencias del Reino Unido”, Anuario Internacional sobre Prevención de Riesgos Psicosociales y calidad de vida en el trabajo. Los desarrollos de la Evaluación de Riesgos Psicosociales en Europa: El estado de la investigación científica y experiencias Institucionales, Editada por Secretaría de Salud Laboral y Medio Ambiente UGT-CEC, 2013.

STAVROULA LEKAA, ADITYA JAINA, MARIA WIDERSZAL-BAZYLB, DOROTAŻOŁNIERCZYK-ZREDAB U GERARD ZWETSLOOTC, “Developing a standard for psychosocial risk management: PAS 1010” Volume 49, Issue 7, August 2011.

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