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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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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 (23)

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

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on health and well-being in the EU from Q2 2014 to Q1 2015 – primarily in terms of improving the psychosocial work environment. In terms of psychosocial risks, some European countries have made progress towards a culture of

28 April 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on health and well-being in workplaces in the EU during the first quarter of 2014. Physical and psychosocial risk factors, work-related health and well-being outcomes, violence and harassment at work and occupational health and

18 February 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on aspects of health and well-being during the third quarter of 2014. Mental health of employees, psychosocial problems caused by working conditions and legislation to help reduce stress in the workplace are the main focus of

18 February 2015

Acknowledging the complexity of the relationship between health and work, the report presents comparative information on the prevalence of psychosocial risks among workers and examines the associations between these risks and health and well-being. It also looks at the extent to which establishments

17 October 2014

Violence at work can manifest itself in many ways. The variety of negative behaviour covered under the general umbrella term of workplace violence is so large and diverse that it makes it difficult to adopt a unified and integrated approach dealing with all the forms of workplace violence

08 April 2014

This report looks at industrial relations practices regarding health and safety strategies in the European steel sector. The findings are based on desk research and a comparative analysis of company practices in three company case studies: ArcelorMittal in France, Rautaruukki in Finland and

08 April 2014

The health and well-being of individuals are two dimensions around which researchers and policymakers are re-arranging the debate on how to foster the progress of societies. Health and well-being have an intrinsic value, which should be part of the very definition of progress, and also a societal

15 May 2013

Data presented in this report support and complement previous analyses on quality of working life in Slovenia, which indicated increasing work intensity in Slovenian companies over the last decade. The report is based both on analysis of the standard European Working Conditions Survey questionnaire

24 September 2012

This issue of Foundation Focus looks at the relationship between work and health, using first findings from Eurofound’s fifth European Working Conditions Survey which was launched on 16 and 17 November 2010 under the Belgian EU presidency. With the additional support of the European Commission, the

29 March 2011

Online resources results (233)

Stress at work on the increase

A recent report from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI [1]), entitled Changing job quality in Great Britain: 1998–2004 (592Kb PDF) [2], revealed some evidence of improvements in job quality between 1998 and 2004, compared with the general deterioration in job quality in the 1990s. Key areas

Industrial workers most exposed to job strain

In 2002 and 2003, the SUMER (/Surveillance Médicale des Risques/ [Medical monitoring of risks]) survey was conducted among 1,792 company doctors. The latter survey provides an inventory of employee exposure to the main occupational risks in France. The doctors surveyed completed a questionnaire for

Increase in levels of stress at work

In recent times, stress has had priority status on the public agenda. Stress is increasingly being considered relevant as news material by the media; hence, it has been the subject of extensive public debate in an array of newspaper articles, opinion polls and social partner initiatives (DK0612019I

Satisfaction levels high despite stress at work

The annual Living in Luxembourg socioeconomic panel (/Panel Socio-Économique Liewen zu Lëtzebuerg/, PSELL-3) survey examines the well-being of workers in Luxembourg (see below for further details about the study). In 2004, when asked how satisfied they were at work, 39% of employees stated that they

More work and less control over pace of work

The Work Environment Survey 2003 (in Swedish, 1Mb PDF) [1] highlighted some improvements in the psychosocial work environment in Sweden. However, the results from the latest Work Environment Survey 2005 (in Swedish, 905Kb PDF) [2], published by the Work Environment Authority (Arbetsmiljöverket, AV

Impact of job control and demands on temporary and permanent workers

The recent increase in temporary employment has provided an opportunity to re-evaluate well-established stress models. Models that proved to be predictive among permanent workers are being retested among temporary workers, that is, employees who hold dependent jobs of limited duration, as in the

Work and employment in the creative industries

The study carried out by Joanneum Research [1] and FORBA [2] investigated areas such as working conditions, career paths and strategies for coping with work pressure. [1] http://www.joanneum.at [2] http://www.forba.at

Unfair treatment and discrimination at work

In June 2006, the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI [1]) published an analysis of Britain’s first large-scale official survey of unfair treatment, perceived discrimination [2], bullying and sexual harassment in the workplace. The report, Fair treatment at work survey 2005: Executive summary

A new approach to bullying in the workplace

Belgian research into the topic of bullying at work started relatively recently in light of growing policy interest in the matter. A new law was introduced in 2002 and revised in 2006 (BE0312304F [1]; BE0205301N [2]). Since the introduction of the law, new research has been developed within a

Growth in feeling of job insecurity among workers

Each year, the research institute Arbeitsförderungsinstitut – Istituto per la Promozione dei Lavoratori (AFI-IPL [1]), supported by the trade unions, carries out a quality of work survey in the province of Bolzano/Bozen, a bilingual Italian and German province with a special regional status. This


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

A worker sitting on the floor

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
Data results (20)

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