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Safety and health at work is everyone’s concern. It’s good for you. It’s good for business. European Survey on New & Emerging Risks (ESENER) - Overview and main results 2009
Safety and health at work is everyone’s concern. It’s good for you. It’s good for business.
European Survey on New & Emerging Risks (ESENER) - Overview and main results 2009
2www.esener.eu
Computer-assisted telephone interviews (“CATI”)Native language interviewers based in each country
Two questionnairesMost senior manager in charge of OSH (~25 min)Employee representative dealing with OSH (~15 min)
31 countries: 36,000 interviewsEU-27 + Croatia, Turkey, Norway and Switzerland
41 national versions of each questionnaireAdapted for language and national OSH terminology
Focused on establishments (workplace level) covering both public and private sectors
How was ESENER carried out?
3www.esener.eu
Total employment in EU27 (223.4 million)
16%
23%61%
Self-employedEmployed in establishments <10Employed in establishments 10+
ESENER covers all establishments with 10+ workersAcross all sectors, including public, except agriculture and fishing
Establishments with 10 or more employees
3 million enterprises136 million employees
Which workplaces were surveyed?
4www.esener.eu
1. Health and safety management
2. Management of ‘new’ psychosocial risks
3. Key drivers and barriers
4. Workers’ participation
What topics did the survey cover?
5www.esener.eu
Measures takenRisk assessment: In-house or outsourced? On what occasions? What is checked? How is it followed up? Reasons for no checks?
Management commitmentIs there a documented policy? Does it have an impact? Reasons for no policy; Involvement of high-level and line managers
Sources of expertise, advice or informationUse of general OSH consultancy, Occupational health, or specialist (safety expert, ergonomist or psychologist); sources of information
Main concerns about workplace risksAccidents, MSDs, stress, dangerous substances, noise and vibration, violence and bullying or harassment
Topic 1: health and safety management
6www.esener.eu
Measures taken
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
IT UK ES SK HU PT CZ IE PL BG RO HR DK SI EL MT AT CY LV
EU 2
7
Tota
l 31
SE NO BE EE FI NL LT DE TR CH FR LU
Workplaces regularly checkedChecks conducted in-house
% establishments and % establishments where checks are carried out
Workplaces checked as part of a risk assessment and whether checks are conducted in-house rather than contracted out
7www.esener.eu
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
% establishmentsNote: establishments where risk assessment or similar measures are carried out
Measures taken
Proportion of risk assessments that are normally contracted to external service providers
8www.esener.eu
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
10 to 19 20 to 49 50 to 249 250 to 499 500 +
Own staff External providers Both
Measures taken
Risk assessments conducted in-house or contracted to external service providers by establishment size
% establishments, EU27Note: establishments where risk assessment or similar measures are carried out
9www.esener.eu
Risk assessment conducted only by own staff
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
10 to 19 20 to 49 50 to 249 250+
Denmark United Kingdom EU-27 Spain Slovenia
% establishments, EU27Note: establishments where risk assessment or similar measures are carried out
Measures taken
Risk assessments conducted in-house by establishment size in selected countries
10www.esener.eu
% establishments
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
85% of managers state that the policy has an impact
Management commitment
Prevalence of a documented policy, established management system or action plan on health and safety
11www.esener.eu
% establishments
0
20
40
60
80
100
Management commitment
Health and safety issues raised regularly in high level management meetings
12www.esener.eu
% establishments, EU27
Main concerns about workplace risks
Level of concern about various health and safety issues
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Accid
ents
MSDs
WR
Stre
ss
Dang
erou
ssu
bsta
nces
Noise
and
vibr
atio
n
Viol
ence
or
thre
at o
fvi
olen
ce
Bully
ing
orha
rass
men
t
Major concern Some concern No concern DK/ NA
13www.esener.eu
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Contracted OSH experts
Labour inspectorate
Official OSH institute
In-house OSH services
Insurace providers
Employers' organisations
Trade unionsEE SE
EL IE
DK IE
EE RO
AT DE
EL LT
EE ES
% establishments, EU27, lowest, average and highest
21%
29%
40%
55%
56%
58%
65%
Sources of expertise, advice or information
Use of OSH information from different bodies
14www.esener.eu
Main concerns and causesLevel of concern about stress, violence and bullying or harassment? What are the principal risk factors (e.g. time pressure, poor communication, job insecurity, etc.)?
Measures takenAd-hoc or ‘reactive’ measures (e.g. training, change to work organisation, work area redesign, confidential support, changes to working time, conflict resolution)
Procedures in placeMore formal or system-based than ‘measures’, e.g. procedures to deal with stress, with violence or with bullying or harassment
Topic 2: Management of ‘new’ psychosocial risks (stress, violence and harassment)
15www.esener.eu
% establishments
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Major concern Some concern No concern DK/ NA
Main concerns and causes Concern regarding work-related stress
16www.esener.eu
% establishments
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Major concern Some concern No concern DK/ NA
Main concerns and causes Concern regarding violence or threat of violence
17www.esener.eu
% establishments
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Major concern Some concern No concern DK/ NA
Main concerns and causes Concern regarding bullying or harassment
18www.esener.eu
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Time pressure Having to dealw ith diff iculcustomers,
patients, pupils,etc
Poorcommunication
betw eenmanagement
and employees
Job insecurity Poor co-operationamongst
colleagues
Long orirregular
w orking hours
Problems insupervisor -
employeerelationships
Lack ofemployeecontrol in
organising theirw ork
An unclearhuman
resourcespolicy
Discimination -for example dueto gender, age
or ethnicity
% establishments, EU27
Main concerns and causes Concern about various psychosocial risk factors
19www.esener.eu
% establishments
Main concerns and procedures in place
Concern regarding work-related stress and existence of procedures to deal with it
20www.esener.eu
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Health and social work
Education
Financial intermediation
Hotels and restaurants
Other community, social and personalservice activities
Real estate, renting and business activities
Public administration and defence;compulsory social security
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motorvehicles, motorcycles and personal and
household goods
Transport, storage and communication
Mining and quarrying and Electricity, gasand water supply
Construction
Manufacturing
Bullying or harassment Work-related violence Work-related stress
% establishments, EU27
Procedures in place
Prevalence of procedures to deal with work-related stress, bullying or harassment, or work-related violence
21www.esener.eu
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100% establishments
Measures taken
Employees informed about whom to address in case of work-related psychosocial problems
22www.esener.eu
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
The way work is organised
Supervisor-employeerelationships
Irregular or long workinghours
Equipment and workingenvironment
EE
CY
FI
IE
RO
DK
LT
EE
97%
45%
60%
76%
% establishments, EU27, lowest, highest and averageNote: only establishments where risk assessment or similar measures are carried out
Measures taken
Areas that are routinely checked as part of a risk assessment
23www.esener.eu
Main reasons for addressing health and safety and for addressing psychosocial risksLegal obligations, employee requests, client requirements, staff retention, absenteeism, labour inspectorate pressure, or productivity or performance reasons
Main difficulties in dealing with health and safety and with psychosocial risksLack of resources, lack of awareness, insufficient expertise, culture, sensitivity of the issue, or lack of technical support or guidanceDifficulty in tackling psychosocial risks compared with other health and safety issues
Topic 3: Drivers and barriers (managers’ motivation to take action and main obstacles)
24www.esener.eu
% establishments, EU-27
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
10-19 employees 20-49 employees 50-249 employees 250+ employees
Fulfillment of legal obligationRequests from employees or their representativesRequirements from clients or concern about the organisation’s reputationStaff retention and absence managementPressure from the labour inspectorateEconomic or performance-related reasons
Drivers Major reasons for addressing health and safety
25www.esener.eu
% establishments, EU27Note: establishments where risk assessment or similar measures are NOT carried out
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
10 to 19 20 to 49 50 to 249 250 to 499 500 +
Lacking necessary expertise RA too time consuming/ expensiveToo complex legal obligations on RA Not necessary, no major problems
Barriers Reasons for not carrying out risk assessments regularly
26www.esener.eu
% establishments, EU-27
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Lack ofresources suchas time, staff or
money
Lack ofawareness
Lack ofexpertise
Culture w ithinthe
establishment
Sensitivity of theissue
Lack of technicalsupport orguidance
Health and safety Psychosocial risks
BarriersMain difficulties in dealing with health and safety and with psychosocial risks
27www.esener.eu
Formal representationParticipation through works council, trades union, health and safety committee or health and safety representativeRequests to deal with stress, violence and bullying or harassment
Direct participationProvision of information to employeesEncouragement of workers to participate in implementation and evaluation of measuresConsultation on measures to deal with psychosocial risks
Impact of worker participationEffect of formal and direct participation on management of health and safety and of psychosocial risks
ResourcesTime, information, training, access to workers
Topic 4: Worker participation (what arrangements are in place and what effect does it have?)
28www.esener.eu
% establishments, EU27
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Carrying out a risk assessment
Existence of an OSH policy, management system or actionplan
High involvement of line managers in OSH
Regular monitoring of employees' health
Support measures for employees returning from longsickness absence
Regularly analysing causes of sickness absences
OSH issues regularly raised in high level managementmeetings
Establishments with general employee representation
Establishments without general employee representation
Formal participation
Health and safety management measures, by existence of a formal employee representation
29www.esener.eu
% establishments, EU27
75
80
85
90
95
100
10 to 19 20 to 49 50 to 249 250 to 499 500 + EU-27Average
Total Establishments with H&S representative
Formal participation
Workplaces regularly checked for safety and health as part of a risk assessment: total and with employee representation
30www.esener.eu
% establishments, EU27Note: establishments that report having procedures and measures to deal with psychosocial risks
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
10 to 19 20 to 49 50 to 249 250 to 499 500 + EU27Average
Formal participation
Consultation of employees regarding measures to deal with psychosocial risks
31www.esener.eu
Most establishments carry out workplace checks as part of a risk assessment or similar measureBut prevalence varies according to size of enterprise and country
Preventative health and safety cultureInvolvement of top management and existence of documented policy, action plan or management system is very variable
In-house vs. outsourced risk assessmentVery different practices across Member StatesEven the smallest firms can assess risks without contracting experts
Concerns about the level of awareness of risksIf no risk is perceived, no preventive action is taken; particularly among the smaller enterprises
Worker participation has a positive effectEspecially in SMEs and if there is ‘formal’ representation
Key findings from ESENER
32www.esener.eu
www.esener.eu
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establishment size and sector
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