Exposure to work-related psychosocial risks leads to avoidable health inequalities that are costly to workers, their families, employers, and society at large.
A panel of experts discussed work-related psychosocial risks (PSR) at the ETUI-ETUC ‘Blueprint for Equality’ conference, concluding that many of the risks are avoidable, and more effort should be put into their prevention. There are human costs to these risks, such as long-term illness and family members having to provide informal care, as well as economic costs.
While PSR are an established risk category, the changes in the work environment give rise to new forms of social inequalities related to precarious work, new forms of employment like in the gig economy, and multiple job holding. Some groups of workers, such as low-paid and educated women and workers in precarious employment, are more frequently exposed to PSR and suffer immediate or cumulative health consequences. Eastern European countries record a higher occurrence of illnesses and costs due to the risks than Western, and young workers are in particular in need of occupational safety and health (OSH) services, but often lack the necessary access.
In this context, the panel highlighted that the situation requires action at different levels: at the macro-level, there should be a shift from prioritisation of economic growth and GDP towards an emphasis on the impacts on health and wellbeing as a key outcome of economic policies. At the workplace level, the responsibility for the prevention of the risks should not be imposed on individual workers, but collective prevention measures that address the work environment should be developed further. The role of trade unions in ensuring the development of adequate protection measures was identified as crucial at both levels.
In this context, the panel highlighted that the situation requires action at different levels: at the macro-level, there should be a shift from prioritisation of economic growth and GDP towards an emphasis on the impacts on health and wellbeing as a key outcome of economic policies. At the workplace level, the responsibility for the prevention of the risks should not be imposed on individual workers, but collective prevention measures that address the work environment should be developed further. The role of trade unions in ensuring the development of adequate protection measures was identified as crucial at both levels.