Occupational hazard to one's psychological well-being
A
psychosocial hazard
or
work stressor
is any
occupational hazard
related to the way work is designed, organized and managed, as well as the economic and social contexts of work. Unlike the other three categories of occupational hazard (
chemical
,
biological
, and
physical
), they do not arise from a physical substance, object, or
hazardous energy
.
[1]
Psychosocial
hazards affect the
psychological
and physical well-being of workers, including their ability to participate in a work environment among other people. They cause not only
psychiatric
and psychological outcomes such as
occupational burnout
,
anxiety disorders
, and
depression
, but they can also cause physical injury or illness such as
cardiovascular disease
or
musculoskeletal injury
. Psychosocial risks are linked to the organization of work as well as
workplace violence
and are recognized internationally as major challenges to
occupational safety and health
as well as productivity.
[1]
Types of hazard
[
edit
]
In general, workplace stress can be defined as an imbalance between the demands of a job, and the physical and mental resources available to cope with them.
[2]
Several models of workplace stress have been proposed, including imbalances between work demands and employee control, between effort and reward, and general focuses on wellness.
[3]
Psychosocial hazards may be divided into those that arise from the content or the context of work. Work content includes the amount and pace of work, including both too much and too little to do; the extent, flexibility, and predictability of work hours; and the extent of employee control and participation in decision-making. Work context includes impacts on career development and wages,
organizational culture
, interpersonal relationships, and
work?life balance
.
[3]
According to a survey by the
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
, the most important psychosocial hazards?work stressors?are:
[1]
Other psychosocial hazards are:
In addition, levels of noise or air quality that are considered acceptable from a physical or chemical hazard standpoint may still provide psychosocial hazards from being annoying, irritating, or causing fear of other health impacts from the environment.
[3]
Assessment
[
edit
]
Psychosocial hazards are usually identified or assessed through inspecting how workers carry out work and interact with each other, having conversations with workers individually or in
focus groups
, using surveys, and reviewing records such as
incident reports
,
workers' compensation
claims, and worker
absenteeism
and
turnover
data. A more formal
occupational risk assessment
may be warranted if there is uncertainty about the hazards' potential severity, interactions, or the effectiveness of controls.
[4]
There are several risk assessment survey tools for psychosocial hazards.
[4]
These include the NIOSH Worker Well-Being Questionnaire (WellBQ) from the U.S.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
's
Total Worker Health
program,
[5]
the People at Work survey from
Queensland Workplace Health and Safety
,
[6]
the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire from the Danish
National Research Centre for the Working Environment
[
da
]
,
[7]
and the Management Standards Indicator Tool from the UK
Health and Safety Executive
.
[8]
Control
[
edit
]
According to the
hierarchy of hazard controls
, the most effective controls are
eliminating hazards
, or if that is impractical,
minimizing them
, through good
work design
practices. These include measures to reduce
overwork
; providing workers with support, personal control, and clearly defined roles; and providing effective
change management
.
[4]
In the context of psychosocial hazards,
engineering controls
are physical changes to the workplace that mitigate hazards or isolate workers from them. Engineering controls for psychosocial hazards include workplace design to affect the amount, type, and level of personal control of work, as well as access controls and alarms. The risk of
workplace violence
can be reduced through physical design of the workplace or by cameras.
[3]
Proper
manual handling
equipment, measures to reduce
noise exposure
, and appropriate lighting levels have a positive effect on psychosocial hazards, in addition to their effects to control
physical hazard
.
[4]
Administrative controls
include
job rotation
to reduce exposure time, clear policies on
workplace bullying
and
sexual harassment
, and proper consultation and training of employees.
Personal protective equipment
includes
personal distress
alarms, as well as equipment typically used for other types of hazards such as eye and face protection and
hearing protection
.
[4]
Health promotion
activities can improve workers' general and mental health, but should not be used as an alternative or substitute for directly managing risk from psychosocial hazards.
[4]
A recent
Cochrane review
? using moderate quality evidence ? related that the addition of work-directed interventions for depressed workers receiving clinical interventions reduces the number of lost work days as compared to clinical interventions alone.
[9]
This review also demonstrated that the addition of
cognitive behavioral therapy
to primary or occupational care and the addition of a "structured telephone outreach and care management program" to usual care are both effective at reducing sick leave days.
[9]
International Standards to manage psychosocial risk at work
[
edit
]
ISO 45003:2021 is an international standard developed by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
allowing organizations to manage psychosocial risk at work, in particular, to be considered within occupational health and safety (OH&S) management systems based on ISO 45001 on Occupational Health and Safety Management System Standards.
[10]
Impact
[
edit
]
Exposure to psychosocial hazards in the workplace not only has the potential to produce psychological and physiological harm to individual employees, but can also produce further repercussions within society?reducing productivity in local/state economies, corroding familial/interpersonal relationships, and producing negative behavioral outcomes.
[11]
[12]
Occupational burnout
is a consequence of psychosocial hazards.
Psychological and behavioral
[
edit
]
Occupational stress, anxiety, and depression can be directly correlated to psychosocial hazards in the workplace.
[13]
Exposure to workplace psychosocial hazards has been strongly correlated with a wide spectrum of unhealthy behaviors such as physical inactivity, excessive alcohol and drug consumption, nutritional imbalance and
sleep disturbances
.
[14]
In 2003, a cross-sectional survey of 12,110 employees from 26 different workplace environments was established to examine the relationship between subjective workplace stress and healthy activity. The survey quantified the measurement of stress mainly through evaluation of an individual's perceived
locus of control
in the workplace (although other variables were also examined). The results concluded that self-reported high levels of stress were associated with, across both sexes: diets with a higher concentration of fat, less exercise, cigarette smoking (and increasing use), and less self-efficacy to control smoking habits.
[15]
Physiological
[
edit
]
Supported by strong evidence from a plethora of meticulous cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, a link has been indicated between the psychosocial work environment and consequences on employees' physical health. Increasing evidence indicates that four main physiological systems are effected: hypertension and heart disease, wound-healing, musculoskeletal disorders, gastro-intestinal disorders, and impaired immuno-competence.
[16]
Additional disorders generally recognized as stress-induced include:
bronchitis
,
coronary heart disease
,
mental illness
,
thyroid disorders
,
skin diseases
, certain types of
rheumatoid arthritis
,
obesity
,
tuberculosis
,
headaches
and
migraine
,
peptic ulcers
and
ulcerative colitis
, and
diabetes
.
[17]
Economic
[
edit
]
Across the European Union, work-related stress alone affects over 40 million individuals, costing an estimated €20 billion a year in lost productivity.
[18]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Brun, Emmanuelle; Milczarek, Malgorzata (2007).
"Expert forecast on emerging psychosocial risks related to occupational safety and health"
. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.
Archived
from the original on December 23, 2018
. Retrieved
September 3,
2015
.
- ^
"E-guide to managing stress and psychosocial risks"
.
EU-OSHA
. p. 10.
Archived
from the original on 2021-11-12
. Retrieved
2021-11-11
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Best practices for the assessment and control of psychological hazards"
.
Work Safe Alberta
. 2011. pp. 21?.
Archived
from the original on 2019-08-19
. Retrieved
2019-08-19
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Work-related psychological health and safety: A systematic approach to meeting your duties"
.
Safe Work Australia
. 2019. pp. 15?21, 24.
Archived
from the original on 2021-11-12
. Retrieved
2021-11-11
.
- ^
"Worker Well-Being Questionnaire (WellBQ)"
.
U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
. 2021-07-04.
Archived
from the original on 2021-11-12
. Retrieved
2021-11-11
.
- ^
"People at Work"
.
Queensland Workplace Health and Safety
. 2018-12-06.
Archived
from the original on 2021-11-12
. Retrieved
2021-11-11
.
- ^
"Licence, Guidelines & Questionnaire"
.
COPSOQ International Network
. 2020-06-29.
Archived
from the original on 2021-11-12
. Retrieved
2021-11-11
.
- ^
"Work related stress - Tools and templates"
.
UK Health and Safety Executive
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-11-12
. Retrieved
2021-11-11
.
- ^
a
b
Nieuwenhuijsen, Karen; Verbeek, Jos H.; Neumeyer-Gromen, Angela; Verhoeven, Arco C.; Bultmann, Ute; Faber, Babs (October 2020).
"Interventions to Improve Return to Work in Depressed People"
.
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
. Article no. CD006237 (10).
doi
:
10.1002/14651858.CD006237.pub4
.
PMC
8094165
.
PMID
33052607
.
- ^
"ISO guidelines for managing psychosocial risks - ISO 45003:2021"
. 2021-06-08.
- ^
Schaufeli, W.B., & Greenglass, E.R. (2001). Introduction to special issue on burnout and health. Psychology and Health, 16, 501-510.
- ^
EU-OSHA (2007). Expert forecast on emerging psychosocial risks related to
occupational safety and health
. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
- ^
Middeldorp, C.M., Cath, D.C., & Boomsma, D.I. (2006). A twin-family study of the association between employment, burnout and anxious depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 90, 163- 169.
- ^
Cox, T., Griffiths, A., & Rial-Gonzalez, E. (2000). Research on work related stress. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
- ^
Ng, D.M., & Jeffery, R.W. (2003). Relationships between perceived stress and health behaviors in a sample of working adults. Health Psychology, 22(6), 638-642.
- ^
Tom Cox; Amanda Griffiths; Eusebio Rial-Gonzalez (2000).
Research on Work-related Stress
. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publication of The European Communities. p. 167.
ISBN
92-828-9255-7
.
Archived
from the original on 14 November 2016
. Retrieved
5 September
2015
.
- ^
Marmot, M., Bosma, H., Hemingway, H., Brunner, E., & Stansfeld, S. (1997). Contribution of job control and other risk factors to social variations in coronary heart disease incidence. The Lancet, 350, 235-239.
- ^
EU-OSHA (2002). How to tackle psychosocial issues and reduce work-related stress. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
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