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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)

Survey highlights rise in psychosocial demands at work - Denmark

The National Research Centre for the Working Environment, formerly the National Institute of Occupational Health, has conducted the fourth Danish Work Environment Cohort Study (DWECS) covering the five-year period 2000–2005. The 2005 results indicate no clear trend of overall better or worse

18 April 2007
Publication
Research report
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Working Conditions of the Self-Employed in the European Union. (Summary)

This summary is based on an analysis of findings of the second European survey on working conditions conducted in 1996. The survey findings show that stress and musculo-skeletal disorders are the main health risks at work and highlights the need for a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to the

16 March 1998
Publication
Report summary
Health and well-being at work
Non-standard employment
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions
Werkgelegenheid en arbeidsmarkten
Arbeidsomstandigheden en duurzaam werk
Online resources results (233)

Belgium: Snapshot of research findings on psychosocial risks at work

Psychosocial risks for workers have become a major issue in Belgium. A high priority for public authorities last year was to develop and improve policies to tackle work-related stress and particularly worker burnout. Many studies into such problems have also been conducted. This article gives an

18 januari 2016
Article
Psychosocial risks
Job quality
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Czech Republic: Workplace mobbing increases for women

A recent survey on mobbing in the workplace shows that mobbing affects nearly a quarter of Czech employees and is higher among women than men.

17 december 2015
Article
Health and well-being at work
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Czech Republic: New study investigates causes of stress among Czech workers

Results of a study on 'Stress, depression and life style in the Czech Republic' show that symptoms of depression, burnout and stress are relatively widespread among the Czech working population. One third of workers suffered, according to their subjective feeling, from burnout symptoms and the same

11 augustus 2015
Article
Psychosocial risks
Living conditions and quality of life
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

France: First step to recognising burnout as an occupational illness

4 augustus 2015
Article
Health and well-being at work
Psychosocial risks
Living conditions and quality of life
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Portugal: Social partners aim to tackle sexual harassment at work

29 juli 2015
Article
Health and well-being at work
Industrial relations
Psychosocial risks
Living conditions and quality of life
Social partners
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

UK: One in three employees subject to interpersonal conflict at work

28 juli 2015
Article
Job quality
Psychosocial risks
Living conditions and quality of life
Work organisation
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

France: Work pressure intensifies in public and private sectors

Employees in France are facing increasing pressure at work from several sources, according to a government survey. The greatest stress comes from having to work quickly, or having to keep up with a production line. The report also says more workers are having their pace of work monitored by a

10 juli 2015
Article
Health and well-being at work
Psychosocial risks
Working time
Work organisation
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Denmark: Focus on working environment in new health sector collective agreement

The biggest collective agreement in the Danish health sector, signed on April 1, takes the unusual step of focusing on health and safety.

25 juni 2015
Article
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Hungary: Unions ask government to bring in retirement provisions for workers with hazardous jobs

Unions are demanding special retirement provisions for workers employed in jobs associated with high physical demands or psychological stress.

25 juni 2015
Article
Health and well-being at work
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions and sustainable work

Latvia: Stress from accumulated emails causes 'that Monday morning' feeling

Research into 'that Monday morning feeling' in Estonia has sparked a debate in Latvia about how the changing nature of work has increased stress.

10 juni 2015
Article
Psychosocial risks
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work
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 maart 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 februari 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 januari 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 oktober 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 juni 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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