Psychosocial may be defined as psychological and social factors including mental health and stress. The following are extracts from EEF's response.
Work in context
Work should not be seen in isolation. The very nature of psychosocial risks means not only those arising from activities affecting individuals, they are also influenced by the individual's experience of the wider social environment.
It has become more widely accepted, and supported by research, that ‘work is good for you’.
What do we mean by stress?
We need to have a clearer definition and understanding of what constitutes stress. There are many mental health problems which are common and widespread amongst working people. Some 15 – 25% of the general population have a common mental health problem at any one time. The prevalence of mental ill health in the population has to be taken into account when considering the nature of psychosocial risks.
The workplace is one where individual development and achievement can be encouraged and pressure (and therefore ‘stress’) effectively managed.
And what of wellbeing?
Many factors relating to personal wellbeing are in the control of the individual, such as diet, exercise, smoking and drinking and other lifestyle factors. In the response, EEF asks whether there been substantive research on the affects on stress of increasing sedentary lifestyles, or of caffeine intake, for example.
Individual lifestyle and experience is also affected by societal expectations. The fragmentation of support from within local communities and related social networks also has an influence on how individuals respond to pressure and manage stress.
Work-life balance
It is not all one way: problems at home can spill over into a person’s work life. Good management can help to resolve where there may be flexibility issues. A more accurate description would be work-home balance. This would offer greater opportunity to recognise the benefits work may bring to life, work as an integral part of life.
EEF Initiatives
EEF’s Chief Medical Adviser (Prof. Sayeed Khan) developed EEF’s Work Organisation Assessment Questionnaire in 2004 in partnership with the Institute of Work, Health and Organisations at the University of Nottingham. The questionnaire helps to identify positive as well as negative aspects of work. It assists with risk assessment, provides feedback on the assessment results and suggests appropriate workplace interventions. The questionnaire is freely available.
There is a guide which explains the background of the tool and how it can be used, as well as a scientific paper.
Conclusion
EEF has suggested areas for research, (see the above comments on sedentary lifestyles, caffeine intake and stress), and identified that EEF’s Work Organisation Assessment Questionnaire offers concrete ways of tackling psychosocial risks.
EEF recommends that the Agency could assist by promoting positive messages about good working practices and good work organisation and their contribution to wellbeing and improved workplace performance, rather than implying there are only negatives.