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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. 

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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 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 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)

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

De enquête “Leven, werken en COVID-19”, die begin 2020 door Eurofound werd gelanceerd, is bedoeld om de brede impact van de pandemie op het werk en het leven van EU-burgers in kaart te brengen. De vijfde editie van de Eurofound-enquête, die in het voorjaar van 2022 werd gehouden, werpt ook licht op

07 December 2022

De vijfde editie van de e-enquête van Eurofound, die werd gehouden van 25 maart tot en met 2 mei 2022, gaat over de sociale en economische situatie van mensen in heel Europa twee jaar nadat COVID-19 voor het eerst op het Europese continent werd aangetroffen. Ook wordt ingegaan op het leven in een

07 July 2022

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

Na een lang herstel van de economische crisis (2007-2013) bleken jongeren in de EU kwetsbaarder voor de gevolgen van de beperkingen die zijn ingesteld om de verspreiding van de COVID-19-pandemie te vertragen. Jongeren liepen meer kans dan oudere leeftijdsgroepen op verlies van hun baan, financiële

09 November 2021

In februari en maart 2021 heeft Eurofound de derde ronde gehouden van de e-enquête, die licht doet schijnen op de maatschappelijke en economische situatie van Europeanen na bijna een volledig jaar van COVID-19-beperkingen. Het verslag bevat een analyse van de belangrijkste bevindingen en gaat in op

10 May 2021

In dit vlaggenschiprapport worden beknopt de belangrijkste bevindingen weergegeven van het onderzoek van Eurofound naar de arbeidsomstandigheden dat is uitgevoerd in de programmeringsperiode 2017-2020. In het rapport wordt de vooruitgang geïnventariseerd die sinds 2000 is geboekt bij het verbeteren

26 February 2021

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

In slechts enkele weken tijd heeft de COVID-19-pandemie, veroorzaakt door het nieuwe coronavirus, het leven van mensen over de hele wereld radicaal veranderd. Afgezien van de verwoestende gevolgen voor de gezondheid van personen die rechtstreeks door het virus worden getroffen, heeft de COVID-19

06 May 2020

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

Online resources results (233)

Sick leave caused by work overload

White-collar staff in Sweden are increasingly taking time off through stress and because they are overloaded with work according to a new study (in Swedish, 563KB PDF) [1]. The research was conducted by Annelie Carlberg and Björle Sjöholm in 2012 on behalf of white-collar union Unionen [2]. The

Psychosocial factors and work sustainability

Around 15,000 members of the Confederation of White-Collar Workers and Crown Servants (FTF [1]) responded to a questionnaire on psychosocial working conditions, a response rate of 65%. FTF members are mainly employed in the public and private sectors, and include police officers, care providers and

Impact of health problems on the labour market

The Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE [1]) published a report (in Spanish, 104 KB PDF) [2] in June 2012 on health problems. The report was based on data from a special module of the Economically Active Population Survey (EAPS, in Spanish [3]) for the year 2011, with particular reference

Restructuring and its impact on workers’ health

The Spanish National Institute of Safety and Hygiene at Work (INSHT [1]) published a report, A study on the effects of restructuring on the health of workers (in Spanish) [2], in April 2012. The report was based on a literature review and qualitative research. [1] http://www.insht.es/portal/site

Increase in stress and physical demands in the health sector

Pensions specialist Keva [1] has published Municipal Workers’ Well-being 2011 (in Finnish, 405Kb PDF) [2], the most recent in a series of similar surveys conducted annually since 2008. Keva handles pension applications, pension decisions, rehabilitation, customer service and the payment of pensions

Employee awareness of workplace risk factors

New research questions how good Latvian workers are at assessing their own health. A report, Comparison of Heart and Blood-Vessel Risk Factors for Managers and Ordinary Employees (in Latvian, 867Kb PDF) [1], presents the findings of a survey carried out to assess how the corporate environment

Pressure at work increases the risk of depression

The relationship between work-related pressure and depression has been extensively studied recently in both national and international studies. However, there are differences in both the results and quality of the studies. A comprehensive Swedish overview of 42 studies attempts to find a uniform

Job satisfaction low among doctors

International online information network Healthgrouper [1] has published a report (in Bulgarian, 1.5Mb PDF) [2] on job satisfaction among doctors in Bulgaria. The survey, intended to identify factors that determined doctors’ job satisfaction, was conducted in March 2012. [1] http://healthgrouper.com

Highest paid report greatest satisfaction at work

In January 2013, the Polish Public Opinion Research Centre (CBOS [1]) carried out a survey, Satisfaction With Work and its Evaluation’. The survey was based on a representative random sample of 1,227 adult Polish workers, and aimed to examine their views about how happy they were with their work. [1

Study highlights the dangers of work-related stress

A study, The psychological stress of work and its consequences (in German, 2Mb PDF) [1], was carried out in 2011 by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO [2]). It was based on complex empirical analysis, and shows a clear link between psychosocial job strains and health outcomes. In


Blogs results (5)
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'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 maart 2023
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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

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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 januari 2023
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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 oktober 2022
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​​​​​​​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

Upcoming publications results (1)

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

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