How an employee feels in the workplace not only affects their performance, but also their health. lf working conditions, such as psychological pressure and interactions with others, are not good, work stress can arise. This is also known as psychosocial workload (PSW).
Factors causing PSW
Factors that can cause PSW and possibly also work stress include:
PSW can lead to health problems and absenteeism and ultimately to long-term sick leave and possibly even incapacity for work. Employees who experience PSW become demotivated. lf they take sick leave, the step back to work is even more difficult. This is a very unpleasant situation for the employee. And it costs you, the employer, a lot of money.
What can you do against psychosocial workload (PSW)?
As an employer, you must establish a policy to combat PSW. This is required under the Working Conditions Act. lf you fail to do so, the Netherlands Labour Authority may take measures. Ultimately, you could even face heavy fines.
You develop policies against PSW on the basis of the Risk lnventory & Evaluation, in which you describe the situations in which your employees may experience PSW. You then identify the causes and take appropriate measures based on an action plan, evaluating whether these have the desired effect.
Examples of measures against PSW:
- appointing a confidential advisor
- informing your employees about PSW
- conducting in-depth studies into work pressure
- drawing up a code of conduct and a complaints procedure
- preventing work pressure from becoming too high
Question and answer regarding confidential advisor
More information
Read more about career as a werk-stress-free journey.
Self-inspection: work pressure and undesirable behaviour
Are you doing enough to combat work stress and psychosocial workload? Use the Work pressure and undesirable behaviour self-inspection tool. Go to self-inspection: work pressure and undesirable behaviour (Dutch).