IP/11/223
Brussels, 24 February 2011
Health and safety at work: workers' and employers' agreement is helping to deal with stress at work
Over
the last ten years, work-related stress has increased in nine Member
States and has only fallen in Sweden. Studies suggest that between 50%
and 60% of all lost working days are related to stress. In France for
example, the cost of stress has been reported to reach at least €2 to €3
billion each year. In the UK it's estimated that 10 million working
days are lost due to anxiety, stress and depression linked to work. The
direct costs related to stress at work are now estimated to be as high
as 4% of EU GDP. In response to these developments, European workers'
and employers' representatives reached an agreement in 2004 to ensure a
minimum level of protection against stress at work. The European
Commission has published an evaluation of this agreement, concluding
that it has had positive effects where implemented. In particular,
employers' and workers' efforts have led to policy developments in 12
Member States where little had been done before. Although the agreement
has not been implemented evenly in all countries, 19 Member States now
have legislation or binding collective agreements that address stress or
other psychological risks at work.
Presenting the new report, László Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said: “Here
we see how a European agreement followed up by employers and workers at
national level can concretely improve working conditions in Europe. He added: "We
know that stress can be a structural problem related to work
organisation rather than to individuals, which is why the social
partners are often best placed to take action in this area. I call on
employers and workers to continue their positive work and address
shortcomings, particularly in those countries where joint action has
been limited so far.”
The 2004
social partner agreement – concluded by all cross-industry European
social partners (Business Europe, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC) – aims to raise
awareness of work-related stress and provide a framework for action.
The role of employers is to identify risk factors for stress and to try
to match responsibility better with skills; consult workers on
restructuring and new technologies; and to provide support to
individuals and teams.
The Commission's
evaluation of the agreement concludes that the 2004 agreement has
successfully triggered social dialogue and policy developments in the
field of occupational stress in most Member States. The rules on
work-related stress have been enshrined in different ways through
collective or general social partner agreements, guidelines or
legislation. In many countries, the social partners complemented action
with effective awareness-raising campaigns and practical instruments,
such as stress assessment tools and training.
At
the same time, the agreement has not been implemented evenly throughout
Europe. Social partners in Malta, Cyprus, Poland and Slovenia have not
reported on the follow-up to their commitments and results in Bulgaria,
the Czech Republic, Germany and Estonia have fallen short of
expectations. The report emphasises how improvements must be made across
the board.
According to social
partners, while individuals are ‘well adapted to cope with short-term
exposure to pressure’, prolonged exposure to stressful situations can do
significant damage. The most important stress factors are work demands,
room for manoeuvre, social relations, emotional demands, value and
ethical conflicts and employment insecurity. Over time, these factors
have increased. For instance, the share of workers reporting that they
work to tight deadlines or at high working speed at least a quarter of
their time rose from 50% in 1991 to over 60% in 2005 and has remained
stable since then.
Background
In
2002, during a social partner consultation, the Commission highlighted
the need for a minimum level of protection of workers against
work-related stress building on the general provisions of the EU Health
and Safety Framework Directive (Directive 89/391/EEC). The European
social partners chose to deal with this through a European autonomous
framework agreement, as provided for by Article 155 of the Lisbon
Treaty. These agreements can be implemented either through EU
legislation or via the action of national affiliates of EU social
partners, in line with traditions and practices specific to each Member
State.
At EU level, there are four
agreements implemented by workers' and employers' representatives
covering telework, stress at work, violence and harassment and inclusive
labour markets. The agreement on stress at work is the second agreement
of this kind..
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