Interventions as the centrepiece of psychosocial risk assessment – why so difficult?

Arbeitsgestaltung bei hoher Arbeitsintensität und Zeit- und Leistungsdruck

Zusammenfassung. Eine hohe Arbeitsintensität (AI) wird von Beschäftigten als Zeit- und Leistungsdruck (ZLD) erlebt. Sie gilt als Schlüsselfaktor psychischer Belastung, dem geeignete Arbeitsschutzmaßnahmen entgegengesetzt werden müssen. In mehreren Projekten erforscht die Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin (BAuA) die betriebliche Umsetzung dieser Arbeitsschutz- und Gestaltungsaufgabe, um zu beantworten, 1) warum es nicht gelingt, hohe AI/ZLD in der betrieblichen Praxis ausreichend zu vermeiden (Barrieren) und 2) welche Gestaltungsansätze in der Praxis dennoch entwickelt werden. Inhaltsanalytisch thematische Auswertungen von 79 leitfadengestützen Interviews aus zwei Studien (Studie 1: Akteursperspektive, Studie 2: Beschäftigtenperspektive) zeigen, dass zwei Faktoren die Entwicklung von Schutzmaßnahmen durch betriebliche Akteur_innen beeinträchtigen: die Komplexität der Entstehungsbedingungen und als gering wahrgenommene Gestaltungsspielräume. Beide Faktoren werden mit Bezug zu hoher AI/ZLD weiter ausdifferenziert. Weiterhin werden in der Zusammenschau der Perspektiven vielfältige Ansätze herausgearbeitet und diskutiert, mit denen hoher AI/ZLD auf den verschiedenen Ebenen des Unternehmens begegnet wird.

Exploring the Barriers to the Implementation of Psychosocial Risk Assessment in Micro- and Small-Sized Firms

Abstract. According to the legal requirements in many countries, companies should conduct psychosocial risk assessments (PRA). However, recent studies have demonstrated deficiencies in PRA implementation. Especially micro- and small-sized enterprises (MSE) are in arrears. We conducted two explorative studies to shed light on this topic: We recruited MSE and examined their reasons for participation ( N = 7) and nonparticipation ( N = 21) in a nonresponder survey. Further, we analyzed longitudinal data capturing the PRA process over 18 months in 15 MSE within a case study. The attitude that stress is an important issue was a major reason for participation. The reasons given for nonparticipation were lack of interest in PRA and lack of stress. High time commitment and support were needed for complete PRA implementation. The reasons given for termination included low resources and prioritization of PRA. The results indicate that interest and awareness of the relevance of psychosocial stress need to increase, and that approaches requiring fewer resources are needed.

Assessment of psychosocial work hazards and workplace deviant behaviours of teachers in rural community-based schools

This is a cross-sectional study that assessed the psychosocial work hazards and workplace deviant behaviours of teachers in rural community-based schools. A total of 254 primary school teachers participated in the study. Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) and Work Deviance Behaviour Scale were employed to elicit the teachers' responses. The descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage), and Pearson's correlation (r) statistical analysis were used to analyse the data. The results showed that the primary school teachers experience elements of psychosocial work hazards. It was also indicated that primary school teachers rarely exhibit work deviant behaviours. There is a significant positive relationship between psychosocial work hazards and workplace deviant behaviours of primary school teachers in Enugu State. In conclusion, it was suggested that teachers experience psychosocial work hazards and exhibit workplace deviant behaviours in primary schools in Enugu State Nigeria. Therefore, professionals in workplaces including schools should design practicable interventions that would help to reduce workplace deviance among employees in different works of life. With this, these should be reflected in decision-making and policies implementations to rural communities and beyond.

Bringing risk back in: managers' prioritization of the work environment during the pandemic

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to investigate managers' experiences of managing work environment and risks during the Covid-19 pandemic and to explore how managers might use these experiences to develop future risk management.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 18 Swedish managers at different hierarchical levels working in 11 different organizations. A directed content analysis was carried out, informed by theory on risk management.

Findings

The results point to the pandemic as a societal crisis which workplaces needed to manage through large means of improvisation. Regular work environment routines were put to the test, and several deficiencies in the work environment and risk management were identified. Organizations that handle occupational safety and risks on a daily basis through established routines were less affected and could easier adjust work environment and risk management, compared to organizations prioritizing the social and organizational work environment, which had to re-prioritize and start paying more attention to the physical work environment and to bring risk management into their daily routines.

Originality/value

The study offers an account of how managers in different labor market sectors in Sweden have acted in the midst of the pandemic by handling real-time crises, how these experiences can be used for engaging in retrospective learning and how this may imply changes to their prospective risk management.

Interaction training – an enabler for improvement measures within the psychosocial risk assessment process

Purpose

The study objectives were to (1) identify if providing solution-focused interaction training enables managers and employees to develop and implement actions to improve their psychosocial work environment and (2) test a recontextualization of the psychosocial work environment as social structures affecting members of the workplace and verify if social interactions effectively change the local psychosocial work environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The intervention involved training managers, supervisors and employees in solution-focused interaction. This study used a controlled interrupted time-series design, with an intervention and control group (CG) and pre- and post-measurements.

Findings

The psychosocial work environment improved, indicating that the training led to better social interactions, contributing to changes in the social structures within the intervention group (IG). Collective reflection between participants in the take action phase was the key to success. The recontextualization uncovered these mechanisms.

Research limitations/implications

The present study supports a recontextualization of the psychosocial work environment as primarily decided by social structures that emerge in recurrent interactions within work teams. The same social structures also seem to be important for other features of the production system, like job performance.

Practical implications

Training designed to enable high-quality social interactions, like dialogue and collective reflection, has proven to be effective in changing social structures. Moreover, managers may need training in facilitating the collective reflection between participants. Increased focus on social interactions within work teams is suggested for future study of organizational change processes, psychosocial work environment and practical psychosocial work environment management.

Originality/value

The intervention was delivered in the preparation phase to enable an effective take action phase. Both phases are less studied in psychosocial risk assessments research. The recontextualization has never been fully used in psychosocial research.

Using Total Worker Health® Implementation Guidelines to Design an Organizational Intervention for Low-Wage Food Service Workers: The Workplace Organizational Health Study

Total Worker Health® (TWH) interventions that utilize integrated approaches to advance worker safety, health, and well-being can be challenging to design and implement in practice. This may be especially true for the food service industry, characterized by high levels of injury and turnover. This paper illustrates how we used TWH Implementation Guidelines to develop and implement an organizational intervention to improve pain, injury, and well-being among low-wage food service workers. We used the Guidelines to develop the intervention in two main ways: first, we used the six key characteristics of an integrated approach (leadership commitment; participation; positive working conditions; collaborative strategies; adherence; data-driven change) to create the foundation of the intervention; second, we used the four stages to guide integrated intervention planning. For each stage (engaging collaborators; planning; implementing; evaluating for improvement), the Guidelines provided a flexible and iterative process to plan the intervention to improve safety and ergonomics, work intensity, and job enrichment. This paper provides a real-world example of how the Guidelines can be used to develop a complex TWH intervention for food service workers that is responsive to organizational context and addresses targeted working conditions. Application of the Guidelines is likely transferable to other industries.

Proposal of a temporality perspective for a successful organizational change project

Purpose

Improvements to health and safety at work constantly involve organizational changes (OCs). However, the OC initiatives often fail at achieving their intended goals despite efforts to draw knowledge from various disciplines, such as sociology, psychology and information sciences, to guide the change implementation. This paper proposes a temporality approach to manage the resistance during an OC project based on the capitalization of the actors' behaviors (i.e. alignment/resistance) for successful OC implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

Employees in an industrial company (N = 186) undergoing an OC answered a questionnaire survey. The statistical analysis approach was used to measure the influence of the constructs of the proposed temporality capitalization approach on the OC conduct.

Findings

Results indicate that the considered constructs have positive and significant correlations with OC development. It has also been found that the employees' alignment is highly correlated with the opportunities they might gain from the OC.

Practical implications

The proposed temporality capitalization approach shows that providing the employees with clear objectives is not sufficient to support the change, and it is suggested that the change management has to move a step further and seek to target the perspectives of the employees to energize them around the OC and maximize their alignment.

Originality/value

In this paper, change management is approached through the temporality capitalization that confirms the importance of monitoring the change development through the alignment. In other terms, the curve of the adaptation of the change receivers matters and should attract more attention rather than the change implementation speed.

Barriers and drivers of psychosocial risk assessments in German micro and small-sized enterprises: a qualitative study with owners and managers

BACKGROUND

The negative effect of unfavorable working conditions and long-term work stress on health has been demonstrated in previous research. To address these challenges, systematic approaches such as psychosocial risk assessments (PRA) have been developed in many countries worldwide. Despite legal obligations, psychosocial risk assessments are rarely carried out in micro and small-sized enterprises (MSE). Even though those enterprises constitute a large proportion of the general workforce, this area remains largely untouched by research. In order to enable starting points for a greater dissemination in organizational practice, the present study explores barriers and drivers of psychosocial risk assessments in micro and small-sized enterprises.

METHODS

A total of 18 owners and managers from 15 micro and small-sized enterprises in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany, were interviewed. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. A qualitative approach was applied: Content analysis was used to analyze the data, using deductive as well as inductive coding techniques.

RESULTS

The following barriers emerged from the interviews: Negative PRA image, stigmatization of mental health, lacking acceptance of employees, fear of excessive authority interference, ignorance of PRA, not understanding the necessity, inappropriate approach, and limited resources. The identified drivers were: Easy access to PRA material, external support from experts, renaming the term "workplace risk assessment", understanding content and benefit of PRA, simplify and revise PRA process, and noticeable consequences of PRA execution and non-execution. The results are comparable with those in larger companies. They emphasize the importance of mental health education, improving the process of psychosocial risk assessments, and the ongoing support in overcoming limited financial as well as human resources.

CONCLUSIONS

To improve implementation of PRA in organizational practice, a simplification of the process is proposed, accompanied by information campaigns and an improvement in the health literacy of owners and managers of MSE. In view of the results, the full revision of the PRA approach should also be considered.

Implementing New Working Practices Through a Structured Support Model for Systematic Work Environment Management: A Qualitative Study From Swedish Municipalities

OBJECTIVE

To describe factors that facilitate and hinder implementation of a structured support model focusing on psychosocial work environment in Swedish municipalities.

METHODS

This qualitative study was conducted in six Swedish municipalities. In total, 63 semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with key stakeholders in the municipalities during a 2-year period. The consolidated framework for implementation research (CFIR) was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Findings suggest that the support model needs to have an easy enough structure to understand and use, and it must be immediately applicable for work groups and employees. An important factor for facilitating implementation was the support from first-line managers and upper management.

CONCLUSIONS

Upper management need to be committed to the model and communicate clearly to lower levels of the implementing organization on the purpose and objectives of the model.

H-WORK Project: Multilevel Interventions to Promote Mental Health in SMEs and Public Workplaces

The paper describes the study design, research questions and methods of a large, international intervention project aimed at improving employee mental health and well-being in SMEs and public organisations. The study is innovative in multiple ways. First, it goes beyond the current debate on whether individual- or organisational-level interventions are most effective in improving employee health and well-being and tests the cumulative effects of multilevel interventions, that is, interventions addressing individual, group, leader and organisational levels. Second, it tailors its interventions to address the aftermaths of the Covid-19 pandemic and develop suitable multilevel interventions for dealing with new ways of working. Third, it uses realist evaluation to explore and identify the working ingredients of and the conditions required for each level of intervention, and their outcomes. Finally, an economic evaluation will assess both the cost-effectiveness analysis and the affordability of the interventions from the employer perspective. The study integrates the training transfer and the organisational process evaluation literature to develop toolkits helping end-users to promote mental health and well-being in the workplace.

Learning motivational interviewing: prospects to preserve practitioners' well-being

Purpose

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a collaborative communication style designed to help clients achieve desired behavior changes. MI includes communication methods along with a mindset that avoids attempting to impose behavior change. Relying on the conservation of resources theory, this research report argues that learning MI helps practitioners communicate more effectively and preserve their own psychological health resources.

Design/methodology/approach

We tested whether MI training resulted in beneficial effects on practitioners' resilience and burnout (i.e. exhaustion and disengagement), surveying participants (N = 42) from various disciplines who learned MI at a training institute. Subjects received a questionnaire before and one month after MI training. The post-training questionnaire also assessed whether participants applied the training content in practice.

Findings

The results revealed that the training reduced participants' disengagement. Practical application was a predictor for this decrease as well as an increase in resilience.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the small sample size and self-reported data, this paper should be considered an experimental study that could inspire future research in this area, using more elaborate research designs.

Practical implications

Learning MI not only helps in facilitating behavior change in clients but also in bolstering practitioners' own resources. MI novices should aim to apply their newly acquired skills.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to explicitly hint at the possibility that learning MI helps practitioners preserve their psychological resources.