Addressing psychosocial risks in the workplace: Here's how to do it
What are psychosocial risks?
Psychosocial risks in the workplace refer to factors in the work environment that can negatively affect the mental and social health of employees. These risks often arise from a combination of organizational, social, and personal factors.
The 5 A's of work wellbeing
The 5 A's model form a useful framework for identifying risks and taking action:
Work content
This refers to the nature of the work itself. Factors like work pressure, complexity, task variety, and autonomy fall under this category. A poor match between the employee and their tasks can lead to stress and discomfort.
Working conditions
This includes the physical and environmental factors of the workplace, such as noise, lighting, temperature, safety, and ergonomics. Unsafe or unpleasant working conditions can negatively impact mental health.
Employment conditions
This involves contractual and financial aspects, such as salary, working hours, job security, and leave arrangements. Unfair or unclear employment conditions can cause stress and dissatisfaction.
Work relationships
This refers to social interactions at work, such as relationships with colleagues, managers, and clients. A poor atmosphere, conflicts, or lack of support can increase psychosocial risks.
Work organization
This involves the structure, procedures, and organization of work. Factors such as unclear roles, poor communication, or inefficient processes can lead to stress and frustration.
How can a company prevent psychosocial risks?
There are many ways to build prevention around psychosocial risks. Working on a positive work culture through leadership training, clear role distribution, flexible working hours (where possible), the right to disconnect, wellbeing programs, etc., are all concrete examples. Employee Assistance Programs have also clearly proven their added value in this area.
It is important to note that every company is legally required to develop a prevention policy for psychosocial risks. This should be a major focus within your organization, especially if it is not already.
"Conducting a psychosocial risk assessment in your organization every 5 years is legally required."
To shape your prevention policy regarding psychosocial risks, it is crucial to assess the needs of your employees. For example, through a risk analysis. It is legally required to carry out a psychosocial risk assessment in your organization every 5 years.
The employee survey from Waldon – also called My WellRi (short for “My Wellbeing Risks”) – not only meets this legal obligation but also considers other psychosocial factors. Based on this, you, as an employer, receive tons of valuable data about job satisfaction, turnover intention, engagement with the organization, motivation, and more... The findings of this survey give you the necessary foundation to shape your prevention policy based on evidence. This way, you eliminate guesswork in the comparison and detect early-stage risk cases and/or bottlenecks. All that valuable information can, of course, also be used as part of your general HR policy.
Want to learn more about employee surveys?
Perception of the wellbeing climate has a major influence on psychological wellbeing
Another reason to focus on actions that reduce psychosocial risks is as follows: it has been scientifically proven whitepaper that employees who perceive their organization as dedicated to their health and wellbeing generally score better in terms of psychological wellbeing.
The feeling that the organization is actively involved in supporting their health and wellbeing, providing resources and opportunities to maintain it, and that management takes problems seriously and solves them plays an important role in this. Additionally, when employees perceive this commitment, they are more motivated and feel more confident in participating in wellbeing initiatives. Now that’s a positive impact!
"It has been scientifically proven that employees who perceive their organization as dedicated to their health and wellbeing generally experience higher psychological wellbeing."
Conclusion?
By proactively working on a healthy work culture and targeted prevention measures, your company can not only reduce psychosocial risks but also increase employee engagement and productivity. A great win-win!