At the international, European and national levels work related stress is considered a problem by both employees and employers.
Stress can impact, potentially, at any work place and any worker, whatever the size of the company, the field of activity, the type of contract or employment.
Dealing with the problem of stress at work can deliver a distinct improvement on health and safety at work conditions and greater efficiency, with consequent economic and social benefits to workers, business and society in general.
In the sphere of risk assessment, the user company is also obliged to assess particular risks including those connected with work related risk (Article 28 commas 1 and 1b of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008) as required by the European Agreement of 8 October 2004, actuated in Italy with the Inter-Confederate Agreement of 9 June 2008. The assessment of work related stress must be effected in compliance with the indications elaborated by the Permanent Consultative Commission on Health & Safety at Work (Article 6, comma 8, letter m-4, of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008).
What is work related stress?
Stress is not, of itself, an illness, however prolonged and intense exposure to this condition may reduce efficiency at work and may determine a poor state of health.
Work related stress is defined in the 2004 European Agreement as “a state which is accompanied by physical, psychological or social complaints or dysfunction and which results from individuals feeling unable to bridge a gap with the requirements or expectations placed on them”.
There are many factors which may determine work related stress and these may emerge relative to diverse situations which may refer to the content of work, to eventual inadequacy in work organisation and work environment management, poor communications, etc.
Not all manifestations of stress at work are however determined by work related stress.
The conditions to be analysed to identify potential causes of stress are:
- temporal aspects of the working day and of the work activity;
- content of the work activity;
- inter-personal relations in the work group;
- inter-personal relations with superiors;
- characteristics of the organisation;
- too much or too little to do;
- extreme rigidity and/or ambiguity of duties;
- absence or exasperation of role conflicts;
- lack of or excessive responsibilities, especially to/for third parties;
- repetitiveness and monotony of activities;
- need for elevated degree of vigilance;
- elevated psycho-physiological burden (shifts, noise, physical effort, danger, ...).
The presence of one or more of these situations should considered as the manifestation of a risk condition.
Stress Syndrome:
It is a complex of symptoms which causes/includes:
- emotional reactions tension, anxiety, annoyance, irritability, reaction/apathy, impatience, attention disturbances, hypersomnia/insomnia, asthenia;
- physiological reactions: hyper/hypotension, tachycardia, cephalea, muscular contractions, dermatological reactions, gastrointestinal disturbances, sexual disturbances;
- behavioural reactions anorexia/bulimia, smoking, drinking, dependence on psycho-active agents, isolation.
These emotional, physiological and behavioural reactions are transitory in nature. The intensity and duration of the stress-generating stimulate may however lead to the structuring of syndromes such as phobia, obsessions, panic disturbances, hypertension and heart disease.
Who must assess the risk?
Assessment of work related stress is an integral part of risk assessment and is effected by the employer through the Protection and Prevention Service Manager (RSPP) with the involvement of the competent doctor where foresees and upon consultation of the Workers’ Health & Safety Representative (RLS/RLST).
Assessment Phases
The assessment does not consider individuals but rather homogeneous groups of works, for example by duties of organisational partitions, who are exposed to risks of the same type, for example, shift workers or those performing repetitive tasks, etc. Assessment of work related stress is articulated in two phases:
Preliminary Phase – A necessary phase consisting of the identification of objective, verifiable indicators referring to the following factors:
1. Sentinel events, for example: accident indices; absences due to illness; turnover; proceedings and sanctions; indications from the competent doctor; specific, frequent complaints from the workers;
2. Factors of work content, such as: the working environment and equipment; workloads and rhythms; working hours and shifts; correspondence between worker skills and the professional requisites required;
3. Factors of work context, such as: role in the organisation; decisional autonomy and control; inter-personal conflicts at work; career evolution and development; communications (e.g. uncertainty about the performance required).
It is necessary to consult the workers and/or the RLS/RLST on items 2 and 3.
If at this phase no elements of work related stress emerge, the employer is only required to so note in the Risk Assessment Document (DVR) and to establish a monitoring plan.
Eventual Second Phase – This phase is activated is the preliminary phase identified elements of work related stress and the steps taken by the employer after the assessments performed are inefficacious. In the latter case, a further thorough assessment is activated which evaluates the subjective perception of the works of the indicators in the three groups identified at the preliminary phase.This assessment may be effected using questionnaires, focus groups, interviews and eventually other instruments.
Effective date of obligatory risk assessment
For purposes of assessment of work related risk, with effect from 31 December 2010 all employers must commence assessment activities as per the indications provided by the Permanent Consultative Commission of Health & Safety at Work.
Those employers who, at the date of approval of the aforementioned indications by the Consultative Commission (17 November 2010) had already undertaken an assessment of work related stress as required by the 2004 European Agreement, actuated with the 2008 Inter-Confederate Agreement, are only required to update the assessments performed in the light of the indications from the Consultative Commission.