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Psychosocial risks

Psychosocial risks are aspects of the design and management of work, and its social and organisational contexts, that have the potential for causing psychological or physical harm. Work-related stress is one of the health risks most frequently identified by workers in Europe. The factors that can cause stress for workers and influence their health and well-being can be related to the following: job content; work intensity and job autonomy; working time arrangements and work–life balance; social environment, including interpersonal relationships at work and social support; job insecurity and career development. 

Topic

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From January to June 2024, Eurofound supports the work of Belgium's presidency of the Council of the EU, providing valuable research results on specific topics linked with the presidency priorities.

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From July to December 2023, Eurofound supported the work of Spain's presidency of the Council of the EU, providing valuable research results on specific topics linked with the presidency priorities.

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Definitions

European Industrial Relations Dictionary 

Eurofound expert(s)

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Sara Riso

Sara Riso is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. She is involved in research projects in the areas of employment change and restructuring. She joined...

Research manager,
Working life research unit
Oscar Vargas Llave

Oscar Vargas Llave

Oscar Vargas Llave is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound and manages projects on changes in the world of work and the impact on working conditions and related...

Research manager,
Working life research unit
Publications results (22)

Психосоциални рискове за благосъстоянието на работещите — поуки от пандемията от COVID-19

Using data from the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey 2021 and building on a theoretical model that differentiates between job stressors and job resources, this report examines key psychosocial risks in the workplace and their impact on health.

23 November 2023
Publication
Research report
Psychosocial risks
Условия на труд и устойчива работа
Health and well-being at work
Работа от разстояние
COVID-19
Работно време
Discrimination at work
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Живот, работа и COVID-19 в Европейския съюз и 10 съседни на ЕС държави

Проучването „Живот, работа и COVID-19“, което Eurofound стартира за първи път в началото на 2020 г., има за цел да проследи широкообхватното въздействие на пандемията върху работата и живота на гражданите на ЕС. Петият кръг на проучването на Eurofound, проведено през пролетта на 2022 г., също хвърля

07 December 2022
Publication
Research report
Living and working in Europe
Skills and training
Social policies
Social inclusion
Psychosocial risks
Младеж
Working conditions
Работа от разстояние
Subjective well-being
Постигане на равновесие между професионалния и личния живот
COVID-19
Условия и качество на живот
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Пети кръг на електронното проучване „Живот, работа и COVID-19“: Живот в нова ера на несигурност

Петият кръг на електронното проучване на Eurofound, проведено от 25 март до 2 май 2022 г., дава информация за социалното и икономическото положение на хората в цяла Европа две години след откриването на COVID-19 за първи път на европейския континент. В него се разглежда и реалността на живота в нова

07 July 2022
Publication
Research report
Stand with Ukraine
Psychosocial risks
Младеж
Работа от разстояние
Subjective well-being
Trust
Постигане на равновесие между професионалния и личния живот
Unemployment
Health and well-being at work
COVID-19
Living conditions
Условия и качество на живот
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People with disabilities and the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey

A new European Disability Strategy was launched in 2021 with the aim of intensifying progress on ensuring the full participation of people with disabilities in society. The increase of EU policy focus on people with disabilities is timely: the COVID-19 pandemic magnified the challenges they faced in

21 March 2022
Publication
Policy brief
Public services
Psychosocial risks
Subjective well-being
Trust
Health and well-being at work
COVID-19
Disability and chronic disease
Living conditions and quality of life
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Въздействие на COVID-19 върху младежите в ЕС

След дългото възстановяване от икономическата криза (2007—2013 г.) младежите в ЕС се оказаха по-уязвими към последиците от въведените ограничения с цел забавяне на разпространението на пандемията от COVID-19. Младите хора по-често са изправени пред загуба на работни места, финансова несигурност и

09 November 2021
Publication
Research report
Social inclusion
Quality of society
Psychosocial risks
Младеж
Subjective well-being
Trust
Млади хора, които се намират извън системите на заетост, образование или обучение (NEET)
European Pillar of Social Rights
COVID-19
Условия и качество на живот
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Живот, работа и COVID-19 (актуализация от април 2021 г.): Влошаване на психичното здраве и спад на доверието навсякъде в ЕС през втората година от пандемията

Третият кръг на електронното проучване на Eurofound, проведен през февруари и март 2021 г., хвърля светлина върху социалното и икономическото положение на хората в Европа след почти една пълна година на живот в условията на ограничения поради пандемията от COVID-19. В настоящия доклад са анализирани

10 May 2021
Publication
Research report
Living and working in Europe
Psychosocial risks
Младеж
Работа от разстояние
Trust
Постигане на равновесие между професионалния и личния живот
Health and well-being at work
COVID-19
Living conditions
Inequality
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Условия на труд и устойчивост на работните места: Анализ чрез използване на рамката за качеството на работните места

В настоящия водещ доклад се прави обобщение на основните констатации от изследванията относно условията на труд, проведени от Eurofound през програмния период 2017—2020 г. В него се очертава напредъкът, постигнат от 2000 г. насам за подобряване на условията на труд и се изследва дали всички

26 February 2021
Publication
Flagship report
Psychosocial risks
Работно време
Условия на труд и устойчива работа
Working conditions
Sustainable work
Undeclared work
Постигане на равновесие между професионалния и личния живот
Work organisation
Employment relationship
Health and well-being at work
Равенство между половете
COVID-19
Качество на работните места
Застаряване на работната сила
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живот, работа и COVID-19

This report presents the findings of the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey, carried out by Eurofound to capture the far-reaching implications of the pandemic for the way people live and work across Europe. The survey was fielded online, among respondents who were reached via Eurofound’s

28 September 2020
Publication
Research report
Заплащане и доходи
Psychosocial risks
Младеж
Работно време
Условия на труд и устойчива работа
Working conditions
Работа от разстояние
Subjective well-being
Trust
Постигане на равновесие между професионалния и личния живот
Unemployment
COVID-19
Living conditions
Условия и качество на живот
Качество на работните места

Живот, работа и COVID-19: първи констатации — април 2020 г.

Само в рамките на няколко седмици пандемията от COVID-19, причинена от новия коронавирус, коренно промени живота на хората по света. Освен унищожителните последици за здравето на хората, пряко засегнати от вируса, пандемията от COVID-19 има сериозни последици за начина, по който хората живеят и

06 May 2020
Publication
Research report
COVID-19
Trust
Условия и качество на живот
Заплащане и доходи
Psychosocial risks
Работно време
Subjective well-being
Unemployment
Working conditions
Постигане на равновесие между професионалния и личния живот
Living conditions
Работа от разстояние
Условия на труд и устойчива работа

Burnout in the workplace: A review of data and policy responses in the EU

This report looks at the extent of burnout experienced by workers in the EU, based on national research. As a starting point, the report sets out to consider whether burnout is viewed as a medical or occupational disease. It then examines the work determinants associated with burnout and looks at

10 September 2018
Publication
Research report
Disability and chronic disease
Health and well-being at work
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working time
Online resources results (233)

New website helps workers to avoid IT-related stress

We use information technology (IT) tools more than ever. Information technology has changed the way we work, making us more independent and flexible, and improving our ability to make decisions fast.

23 July 2012
Article
Psychosocial risks

High-quality working conditions can prevent burnout

A collaborative Finnish–Dutch study by Jari Hakanen and Markku Jokisaari from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH [1]) and Arnold B. Bakker from Erasmus University Rotterdam [2], examined the impact of events during life on job burnout (Hakanen et al, 2011). The researchers combined

16 July 2012
Article
Psychosocial risks

Working environment in elderly care

A new book, Elderly care in transition: Management, meaning and identity at work. A Scandinavian perspective, published by Copenhagen Business School Press, discusses how care of the elderly in Scandinavia has been transformed by the modernisation of the public sector. This reflects the reduction in

27 March 2012
Article
Health and well-being at work
Psychosocial risks
Job quality

Prevalence of burnout among workers

The study, Recherche sur le burnout au sein de la population active belge [1], aimed to estimate as objectively as possible the prevalence of burnout among Belgian workers through the identification of cases by general practitioners (GPs) and occupational health physicians (OPs). The study was

26 February 2012
Article
Psychosocial risks
Health and well-being at work

Effects of physically demanding work on older workers

The Health and Career (SIP) survey 2007 [1] was jointly developed by Dares, the Ministry of Employment’s Office for Research and Statistics, DRESS [2], the Directorate of research, studies, evaluation and statistics, and the Centre of Employment Studies (CEE [3]) and carried out by the French

9 February 2012
Article
Ageing workforce
Health and well-being at work
Job quality
Psychosocial risks

Key factors motivating social workers professionally

In 2009, researchers from the Mykolas Romeris University (MRU [1]) in Vilnius carried out a survey (in Lithuanian) [2] which sought to identify the key factors motivating social workers in their professional activities in different types of institutions delivering social services in Lithuania. The

29 January 2012
Article
Psychosocial risks

Could a virtual forest help prevent stress at work?

We already know that green environments have a positive effect on recovery from stress, but it is only recently that scientists have explored the possibility of achieving the same result on a virtual basis. In a recent collaborative study between the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences (SLU

10 November 2011
Article
Psychosocial risks

Employees favour security and stability in current crisis

A questionnaire-based survey carried out by Adecco Greece [1] in March–May 2011 investigated the outlook and expectations of Greek employees amid the economic crisis. [1] http://www.adecco.gr/

6 October 2011
Article
Psychosocial risks
Job quality

Situation of social workers

Two recent reports from the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA [1]) examine the situation of social workers in Poland based on extensive qualitative and quantitative research. Since the fall of communism in 1989, social assistance has been distinguished from the Polish health care system and

1 September 2011
Article
Skills and training
Psychosocial risks

Impact assessment of mental health on employment

The study, Impact assessment of mental health on employment for policy development [1] (IAMHE), was partly funded by the European Social Fund [2] to obtain a better understanding of the main obstacles that affect the access, integration, retention and progression at work of those with mental health

23 August 2011
Article
Psychosocial risks
Blogs results (5)
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No one left behind? Gender segregation in the workplace sees women losing out

'Women belong in all the places where decisions are made', to borrow from the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. These decisions are made everywhere and at every level: in the home and at the workplace; in the boardroom and on the shop floor. Which is why it is of such serious concern to see the ongoing deep

8 March 2023
Mary McCaughey
Blog
Psychosocial risks
Health and well-being at work
Gender equality
Employment and labour markets
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Violence in the workplace: Women and frontline workers face higher risks

Women and frontline workers are most exposed to the risks of adverse social behaviour at work, such as burnout, exhaustion, anxiety and depression. This is according to the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey 2021 (EWCTS). In this data story, we dive into EWCTS data (EU27) to examine the

27 February 2023
Viginta Ivaškaitė-Tamošiūnė
Blog
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
Subjective well-being
Health and well-being at work
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Job quality is pivotal in addressing today’s workplace and societal challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live and work. With the lifting of restrictions across the globe, we are now able to examine the many repercussions on the world of work. In particular, the unique demands of the last few years have shone a harsh spotlight on the pressures brought to bear

17 January 2023
Barbara Gerstenberger
Blog
Pay and income
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
Subjective well-being
Health and well-being at work
Job quality
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High risk of depression persists following COVID-19 pandemic: Data behind the mental health crisis

Lower levels of health, increasing financial pressure and a significant degree of unmet healthcare: these are the findings of the fifth round of the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey: Living in a new era of uncertainty – a report that presents an overview of responses from over 200,000 people

6 October 2022
Eurofound
Blog
Living and working in Europe
Psychosocial risks
Health and well-being at work
COVID-19
Living conditions and quality of life
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COVID-19 fallout takes a higher toll on women, economically and domestically

​​​​​​​While women appear to be more resilient than men to COVID-19 in terms of health outcomes, that is not the case when it comes to the economic and social fallout. Measures taken by governments to control the spread of the virus are exacerbating gender divides in unemployment, domestic labour

3 June 2020
Massimiliano Mascherini
Blog
COVID-19
Psychosocial risks
Living conditions and quality of life
Unemployment
Work-life balance
Gender equality
Teleworking
Upcoming publications results (1)

ICT-based asocial behaviours at work: a review of research findings, policies and legislation

Over the last decade, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have changed the way employees work and communicate with each other. Despite the many benefits of digitalisation of work, the widespread access to digital devices in working life provides an alternative medium for new forms of a

September 2024
Forthcoming
Publication
Research report
Digitalisation
Health and well-being at work
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions and sustainable work

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