How to Tackle Psychosocial Issues and Reduce Work-related Stress


Book Description

Work-related stress is the second most common occupational health problem after back pain, affecting 28 per cent of workers in the EU. Given that this is often indicative of problems with the psychosocial work environment, the promotion of a preventive culture against psychosocial hazards needs to be given a high priority. This report presents 15 case studies of programmes, practices and experiences on tackling work-related stress, produced by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in order to raise awareness of these topics in EU member states.




Managing the Causes of Work-related Stress


Book Description

Based on the Management Standards, this new guide will help you, your employees and their representatives manage the issue sensibly and minimise the impact of work-related stress on your business. It might also help you improve how your organisation performs.




Improving Organizational Interventions For Stress and Well-Being


Book Description

This book brings together a number of experts in the field of organizational interventions for stress and well-being, and discusses the importance of process and context issues to the success or failure of such interventions. The book explores how context and process can be incorporated into program evaluation, providing examples of how this can be done, and offers insights that aim to improve working life. Although there is a substantial body of research supporting a causal relationship between working conditions and employee stress and well-being, information on how to develop effective strategies to reduce or eliminate psychosocial risks in the workplace is much more scarce, ambiguous and inconclusive. Indeed, researchers in this field have so far attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of organizational interventions to improve workers’ health and well-being, but little attention has been paid to the strategies and processes likely to enhance or undermine interventions. The focus of this volume will help to overcome this qualitative-quantitative divide. This book discusses conceptual developments, practical applications, and methodological issues in the field. As such it is suitable for students, practitioners and researchers in the fields of organizational psychology and clinical psychology, as well as human resources management, health & safety, medicine, occupational health, risk management and public health.




Research on Work-related Stress


Book Description

Stress at work is a priority issue of the European Agency of Safety and Health at Work. The report addresses the following issues and questions: the nature of stress at work; stress management strategies; does work stress affect health and well-being and, if so, how?; the implications of existing research for the management of work-related stress. This report examines the difficulties involved in placing work stress in the context of other life stress factors. It is stated that work stress is a current and future health and safety issue, and, as such, should be dealt with in the same logical and systematic way as other health and safety issues.




Psychosocial Safety Climate


Book Description

This book is a valuable, comprehensive and unique reference text on Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC), a new work stress theory. It proposes a new PSC theory concerning the corporate climate for workers’ psychological health, its origins and implications for work stress, and provides a critique of current research and theories. It provides a comprehensive review of all PSC studies to date. The chapters discuss state-of-the-art empirical evidence testing PSC theory in relation to management roles, organisational resilience, corruption, organisational status, cultural perspectives, illegitimate tasks, high PSC work groups, PSC variability in work groups, etc. They investigate outcomes such as psychological distress, emotional exhaustion, depression, worry, engagement, health, cognitive decline, personal initiative, boredom, cynicism, sickness absence, and productivity loss, in various workplace settings across many countries. This unique book allows practitioners to rapidly update practical measures, benchmarks and processes, and provides students and trainees with an introduction to PSC and important concepts and methods, quantitative and qualitative, in occupational health with leads to further sources. Students as well as experts on occupational health and safety, human resource management, occupational health psychology, organisational psychology and practitioners, unions and policy makers will find this book highly informative. It covers relevant materials for undergraduate and postgraduate education, drawing upon the concepts, topics and methods (diary, multilevel, longitudinal, qualitative, data linkage) within the multidisciplinary occupational health area.




Occupational Health Psychology


Book Description

This ground-breaking textbook is the first to cover the new and rapidly developing field of occupational health psychology. Provides a thorough introduction to occupational health psychology and an accessible overview of the key themes in research and practice Each chapter relates to an aspect of the core education curriculum delineated by the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology Written by internationally recognized experts in the field Examines a host of contemporary workplace health issues, including work-related stress; the psychosocial work environment; positive psychology and employee well-being; psychosocial risk management; workspace design; organizational research methods; and corporate culture and health




Managing Psychosocial Hazards and Work-Related Stress in Today’s Work Environment


Book Description

Today’s evolving world of work makes it imperative for employers to manage psychosocial hazards (PSH) and risks leading to work-related stress. This book contains essential, general, and country-specific information and templates for the successful management of hazards to prevent psychological harm in the workplace. Acknowledged as global issues affecting all workers and industries, PSH are work factors that have the potential to lead to physical or psychological injury and stress, relating to how work is designed, organized, and managed, and to work relationships and interactions. This book advances the idea that management of PSH, and psychological health and safety, is part of the duty of care of today’s responsible and ethical employers to employees, and that U.S. employers should recognize this responsibility. Clear and easy to follow, this guide presents comprehensive information on addressing PSH, discussing measures taken internationally (laws, guidance, and resources from Europe, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Japan), and a new global standard on psychological health and safety at work. (Note: At times within this book, and Part II in particular, punctuation may be added to quoted provisions for ease of reading and for consistency.) Practitioners and students in the fields of management, occupational health and safety, human resource management, ethics and compliance, occupational health psychology, and organizational psychology will come away with a deeper understanding of the importance of PSH and their management.




Managing the Risk of Workplace Stress


Book Description

Working in a stressful environment not only increases the risk of physical illness or distress, but also increases the likelihood of workplace accidents. While legislation provides some guidelines for risk assessment of physical hazards, there remains limited guidance on the risks of psychosocial hazards, such as occupational stress. This book takes the risk management approach to stress evaluation in the workplace, offering practical guidelines for the audit, assessment and mitigation of workplace stressors. Based on research and case studies, this book provides a comprehensive source of theoretical and practical information for students and practitioners alike. It includes chapters on: * environmental stress factors * psychological stress factors * work-related accidents * job stress evaluation methods With its up-to-date approach to a fascinating area of study, this is key reading for all students of organizational psychology and those responsible for workplace safety.




Musculoskeletal Disorders and the Workplace


Book Description

Every year workers' low-back, hand, and arm problems lead to time away from jobs and reduce the nation's economic productivity. The connection of these problems to workplace activities-from carrying boxes to lifting patients to pounding computer keyboards-is the subject of major disagreements among workers, employers, advocacy groups, and researchers. Musculoskeletal Disorders and the Workplace examines the scientific basis for connecting musculoskeletal disorders with the workplace, considering people, job tasks, and work environments. A multidisciplinary panel draws conclusions about the likelihood of causal links and the effectiveness of various intervention strategies. The panel also offers recommendations for what actions can be considered on the basis of current information and for closing information gaps. This book presents the latest information on the prevalence, incidence, and costs of musculoskeletal disorders and identifies factors that influence injury reporting. It reviews the broad scope of evidence: epidemiological studies of physical and psychosocial variables, basic biology, biomechanics, and physical and behavioral responses to stress. Given the magnitude of the problem-approximately 1 million people miss some work each year-and the current trends in workplace practices, this volume will be a must for advocates for workplace health, policy makers, employers, employees, medical professionals, engineers, lawyers, and labor officials.




Psychosocial Risks in Labour and Social Security Law


Book Description

This book studies a range of legal systems and compares them on their ability to deal with psychosocial risks at work. The book looks at prevention of psychosocial risks from a labor law perspective and at compensation and reparation from a social security law perspective. It pays special attention to the topic of bullying in the work place, which is currently the subject of most legal summons. This book presents the views on the subject from leading national and international experts and provides an in-depth coverage of legal systems used in Southern and Northern European countries, as well as Canada and Japan to deal with this topic. The topic of psychosocial risks at work has received much attention recently, both from the general public, the press, and those working in the legal arena. It is difficult for lawyers to deal with the issue of psychosocial risks at work due to the multifactorial and subjective features involved.