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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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Belgian presidency 2024: Eurofound's contribution

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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Spanish presidency 2023: Eurofound's contribution

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)

Rischi psicosociali per il benessere dei lavoratori: insegnamenti della pandemia di 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
Condizioni di lavoro e lavoro sostenibile
Health and well-being at work
Telelavoro
COVID-19
Orario di lavoro
Discrimination at work
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Vita, lavoro e COVID-19 nell’Unione europea e in 10 paesi vicini

L’indagine Vita, lavoro e COVID-19, inaugurata da Eurofound all’inizio del 2020, mira a rilevare l’impatto della pandemia sul lavoro e sulla vita dei cittadini dell’UE in tutte le sue dimensioni. La quinta tornata dell’indagine di Eurofound, realizzata nella primavera del 2022, fa luce anche su una

07 December 2022
Publication
Research report
Living and working in Europe
Skills and training
Social policies
Social inclusion
Psychosocial risks
Gioventù
Working conditions
Telelavoro
Subjective well-being
Equilibrio tra vita professionale e vita privata
COVID-19
Condizioni e qualità della vita
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Quinto ciclo dell’indagine online «Vita, lavoro e COVID-19: vivere in una nuova epoca di incertezza».

La quinta tornata dell’indagine elettronica di Eurofound, condotta dal 25 marzo al 2 maggio 2022, fa luce sulla situazione sociale ed economica dei cittadini europei a due anni dalla prima rilevazione della COVID-19 nel continente europeo. Analizza inoltre la realtà della vita in una nuova era di

07 July 2022
Publication
Research report
Stand with Ukraine
Psychosocial risks
Gioventù
Telelavoro
Subjective well-being
Trust
Equilibrio tra vita professionale e vita privata
Unemployment
Health and well-being at work
COVID-19
Living conditions
Condizioni e qualità della vita
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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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Impatto della COVID-19 sui giovani nell’UE

Dopo una lunga ripresa dalla crisi economica (2007-2013), i giovani dell’UE si sono dimostrati più vulnerabili agli effetti delle restrizioni messe in atto per rallentare la diffusione della pandemia di COVID-19. Rispetto a fasce di popolazione più anziana, i giovani hanno avuto maggiore probabilità

09 November 2021
Publication
Research report
Social inclusion
Quality of society
Psychosocial risks
Gioventù
Subjective well-being
Trust
NEET
European Pillar of Social Rights
COVID-19
Condizioni e qualità della vita
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Vita, lavoro e COVID-19 (aggiornamento aprile 2021): peggiorano la salute mentale e la fiducia in tutta l’UE con l’inizio di un altro anno di pandemia

La terza edizione dell’indagine elettronica di Eurofound, condotta nei mesi di febbraio e marzo 2021, mette in luce la situazione sociale ed economica delle persone in tutta Europa dopo quasi un anno intero di convivenza con le restrizioni legate alla COVID-19. La presente relazione analizza i

10 May 2021
Publication
Research report
Living and working in Europe
Psychosocial risks
Gioventù
Telelavoro
Trust
Equilibrio tra vita professionale e vita privata
Health and well-being at work
COVID-19
Living conditions
Inequality
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Condizioni di lavoro e lavoro sostenibile: un’analisi sulla base del quadro della qualità del lavoro

La presente relazione faro presenta una sintesi dei risultati principali della ricerca di Eurofound sulle condizioni di lavoro condotta nel periodo di programmazione 2017-2020. Delinea i progressi compiuti dal 2000 nel miglioramento delle condizioni di lavoro e valuta se tutti i lavoratori hanno

26 February 2021
Publication
Flagship report
Psychosocial risks
Orario di lavoro
Condizioni di lavoro e lavoro sostenibile
Working conditions
Sustainable work
Undeclared work
Equilibrio tra vita professionale e vita privata
Work organisation
Employment relationship
Health and well-being at work
Parità di genere
COVID-19
Qualità del lavoro
Invecchiamento della forza lavoro
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Vita, lavoro e 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
Retribuzione e reddito
Psychosocial risks
Gioventù
Orario di lavoro
Condizioni di lavoro e lavoro sostenibile
Working conditions
Telelavoro
Subjective well-being
Trust
Equilibrio tra vita professionale e vita privata
Unemployment
COVID-19
Living conditions
Condizioni e qualità della vita
Qualità del lavoro

La vita, il lavoro e la Covid-19: primi risultati - aprile 2020

Nell’arco di poche settimane, la pandemia di Covid-19 causata dal nuovo coronavirus ha trasformato radicalmente la vita delle persone in tutto il mondo. Oltre alle devastanti conseguenze per la salute delle persone direttamente colpite dal virus, la pandemia di Covid-19 ha avuto importanti

06 May 2020
Publication
Research report
COVID-19
Trust
Condizioni e qualità della vita
Retribuzione e reddito
Psychosocial risks
Orario di lavoro
Subjective well-being
Unemployment
Working conditions
Equilibrio tra vita professionale e vita privata
Living conditions
Telelavoro
Condizioni di lavoro e lavoro sostenibile

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 Luglio 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 Luglio 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 Marzo 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 Febbraio 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 Febbraio 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 Gennaio 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 Novembre 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 Ottobre 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 Settembre 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 Agosto 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 Marzo 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 Febbraio 2023
Viginta Ivaškaitė-Tamošiūnė
Blog
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
Subjective well-being
Health and well-being at work
A worker sitting on the floor

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 Gennaio 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 Ottobre 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 Giugno 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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