PAS 1010:2011

Guidance on the management of

psychosocial risks in the workplace

European Agency
for Safety and Health
at Work
PAS 1010:2011

Publishing and copyright information

The BSI copyright notice displayed in this document indicates when the document
was last issued.
© BSI 2011
ISBN 978 0 580 69839 2
ICS 03.100.01, 13.100

No copying without BSI permission except as permitted by copyright law.

This Publicly Available Specification comes into effect on 1st February 2011

Amendments issued since publication

Date Text affected

© BSI February 2011

 PAS 1010:2011

Contents
Foreword ....................................................................................................... ii
Introduction .................................................................................................. iii

1 Scope .......................................................................................................... 1
2 Terms and definitions ................................................................................ 1
3 Psychosocial risk management: overview, policy and key principles .... 3
4 Setting up the psychosocial risk management process .......................... 6
5 The psychosocial risk management process ............................................ 9
6 Monitoring performance . ......................................................................... 19
7 Management review ................................................................................. 20

Annexes ......................................................................................................... 21
Annex A (informative) Statutory requirements and guidelines ................ 21
Annex B (informative) Work-related stress ................................................. 22
Annex C (informative) Workplace harassment and third party
violence . ........................................................................................................ 27
Annex D (informative) Developing a policy for the management of
psychosocial risks and the prevention of work-related stress .................... 31
Annex E (informative) Developing a policy for the prevention and
management of workplace harassment ...................................................... 32
Annex F (informative) Examples of psychosocial risk assessment and
management tools ........................................................................................ 34

List of figures
Figure 1 – Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) approach.......................................... iv
Figure 2 – Overview of the psychosocial risk management process .......... v
Figure 3 – Main steps in the psychosocial risk management process ........ 3

List of tables
Table 1 – Key principles of psychological risk management ...................... 5
Table 2 – Psychosocial hazards ..................................................................... 11
Table 3 – Key principles of risk assessment . ................................................ 13
Table 4 – Psychosocial risk management interventions .............................. 15
Table 5 – Key issues for success in psychosocial risk management
interventions ................................................................................................. 16
Table B.1 – Well-designed work ................................................................... 24
Table C.1 – Examples of interventions for the prevention and
management of harassment at work .......................................................... 29

Bibliography .................................................................................................. 36

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PAS 1010:2011

Foreword
This Publicly Available Specification (PAS 1010) was sponsored by the University
of Nottingham, Institute of Work Health and Organizations (I-WHO) and its
development was facilitated by the British Standards Institution (BSI).
Acknowledgement is given to the following It has been assumed in the preparation of this
organizations that were involved in the development Publicly Available Specification that the execution
of this Publicly Available Specification: of its provisions will be entrusted to appropriately
• CIOP-PIB (Central Institute for Labour Protection – qualified and experienced people, for whose use
National Research Institute); it has been produced.
• EEF (The Manufacturers’ Organisation);
• ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation); Presentational conventions
• EU-OSHA (European Agency for Safety and Health
The provisions in this PAS are presented in roman
at Work);
(i.e. upright) type. Its recommendations are expressed
• FIOH (Finnish Institute of Occupational Health); in sentences in which the principal auxiliary verb
• HSE (Health and Safety Executive); is “should”.
• iMS Risk Solutions Ltd;
Commentary, explanation and general informative
• INAIL (Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority);
material is presented in smaller italic type and does
• TNO – Work and Employment; not constitute a normative element.
• WHO (World Health Organization).
The word “may” is used in the text to express
Acknowledgement is also given to Stavroula Leka permissibility, e.g. as an alternative to the primary
and Aditya Jain as the technical authors for this recommendation of the clause. The word “can” is
Publicly Available Specification. used to express possibility, e.g. a consequence of
an action or an event.
Wider comments from other interested parties
were invited by BSI. BSI Technical Committee HS/1,
Occupational Health and Safety Management, and Contractual and legal considerations
CEN SABE on OHS (CEN Advisory Body Occupational
Health and Safety) were consulted. The expert This publication does not purport to include all the
contributions made by the organizations and necessary provisions of a contract. Users are responsible
individuals consulted in the development of this for its correct application.
Publicly Available Specification are gratefully
acknowledged. Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer
immunity from legal obligations.

In addition to the recommendations of this Publicly

Use of this document
Available Specification, users’ attention is drawn to
As a guide, this Publicly Available Specification the statutory requirements and guidelines given in
takes the form of guidance and recommendations. Annex A.
It should not be quoted as if it were a specification
and particular care should be taken to ensure that
claims of compliance are not misleading.

Any user claiming compliance with this Publicly

Available Specification is expected to be able to
justify any course of action that deviates from
its recommendations.

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 PAS 1010:2011

Introduction
0.1 Background
Psychosocial risks, work-related stress, violence and and Health at Work (EU-OSHA [1] see Annex A) it is
harassment (psychological harassment, bullying or reported that in France stress-related illnesses cost
mobbing) are now widely recognized major challenges society between €830 and €1,656 million, while in the
to occupational health and safety. Nearly one in three Netherlands the estimated total cost of poor working
of Europe’s workers, and more than 40 million people, conditions was up to €6,000 million, equivalent to
report that they are affected by stress at work. 2.96% of the gross national product (GNP).
Psychosocial risks can have a negative impact in
terms of human, social and financial costs. Negative The European Survey of Enterprises on New and
outcomes on the individual level include poor health Emerging Risks (ESENER) by EU-OSHA3) [1] covered
and well-being, and problems with interpersonal over 28,000 enterprises in 31 countries (27 EU Member
relationships, both at the workplace and in private life. States, Norway, Switzerland, Croatia and Turkey)
and found that even though work-related stress was
reported among the key occupational safety and health
concerns for European enterprises, only about half of
the establishments surveyed reported that they inform
their employees about psychosocial risks and their
effects on health and safety; less than a third have
procedures in place to deal with work-related stress.

Work-related stress: key facts

• 22% of all European workers are
experiencing work-related stress
• The yearly cost of work related
stress was estimated at €20,000
In the wider perspective, psychosocial risks are a major
occupational health concern and are associated with million for 15 Member States of
serious economic implications for society and all types the pre-2004 EU
of enterprises, irrespective of size and sector. According
to the Fourth European Working Conditions Survey1), • In 2008/9 stress related illnesses
stress was experienced on average by 22% of workers
from all 27 EU Member States. In the 15 Member were responsible for the loss of
States of the pre-2004 EU, the European Commission an estimated 11.4 million lost
estimated the yearly cost of work-related stress at
working days in Britain
€20,000 million. At the national level, the British 2008/9
Labour Force Survey2) estimated that stress-related • Less than a third of European
illnesses are responsible for the loss of an estimated
11.4 million lost working days in Britain, an increase enterprises have procedures in place
from the 10 million lost working days in 2005/6, which to deal with work-related stress
had then cost the economy in excess of £530 million.
In a recent report by the European Agency for Safety

1)
www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/surveys/ewcs2005/index.htm 3)
www.esener.eu
2)
www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/lfs/lfs0809.pdf

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PAS 1010:2011

0.2 Purpose
This Publicly Available Specification (PAS) provides PDCA can be briefly described as:
guidance for organizations on how to manage the • Plan: establish the objectives and processes
health of employees with respect to psychosocial risk. necessary to deliver results in accordance with
It recognizes that this area of risk is but one area that the organization’s OH&S policy;
organizations can manage proactively with respect
• Do: implement the processes;
to occupational health and safety. It focuses in
particular on work-related stress (see Annex B). While • Check: monitor and measure processes against
work-related harassment and bullying are included in OH&S policy, objectives, legal and other
this PAS as psychosocial risks, these issues are discussed requirements, and report the results;
only briefly (see Annex C). These are often complex • Act: take actions to continually improve
phenomena, e.g. to become bullied is a psychosocial OH&S performance.
risk situation causing psychological harm; on the
other hand, harassment at work may be regarded In everyday practice, psychosocial risks at the
and discussed as a consequence of a poor psychosocial workplace have many underlying causes. As a
work environment. In addition, this PAS recognizes result there are no quick-fix solutions; a continuous
the relevance and impact of third party violence as a management process is required. To be effective
psychosocial risk and covers it briefly in Annex C.4) it is important to understand the most important
underlying causal factors before solutions are selected.
This PAS does not deal with the clinical management This requires a systematic risk management process
of mental health issues. Although in this PAS the to be implemented and monitored by organizations.
health impact of psychosocial risks in relation to The aim is to identify potential areas and activities
the development of musculoskeletal disorders and that give rise to work-related stress and implement
cardiovascular disease is recognized, this is not intervention measures before harm can occur.
discussed in detail.5)
This PAS provides guidance and recommendations
This PAS has been written so that it is consistent with for psychosocial risk management to enable an
other guidance and specifications that are used by organization to develop and implement a strategy
organizations to manage occupational health and and to specify objectives that take into account legal
safety but expands on the specific needs for managing requirements and information about psychosocial
psychosocial risk. The framework and approach risk. It is intended to apply to all types and sizes
adopted is compatible with that found in the of organizations and to accommodate diverse
ILO OSH-MS Guidelines [5], BS OHSAS 18001; geographical, cultural and social conditions. The
BS OHSAS 18002; BS 18004 and ANSI Z 10, which success of psychosocial risk management depends
are all risk based, and use the Plan-Do-Check-Act on commitment from all levels and functions of the
(PDCA) approach (see Figure 1). organization, especially from top management.
The overall aim of this PAS is to support and promote
good psychosocial risk management practices.
Figure 1 – Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)
approach Good psychosocial risk management goes beyond
legal requirements and offers many opportunities for
business. In essence, psychosocial risk management is
Plan synonymous with good business practice. As such, good
practice in relation to psychosocial risk management
essentially reflects good practice in organizational
Act Do management, learning and development, social
responsibility, employer image and promotion of
quality of working life and good work. Psychosocial
risk management also has positive financial returns
Check through its positive impact on productivity and safety
management and is important for sustainability of
organizations. It also has positive benefits outside the
workplace, including the promotion of individual and
4)
ILO (2006) [3]; EU-OSHA (2010) [4]. family health, well-being and quality of life.
5)
EU-OSHA (2009) [1], WHO (2010) [2].

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0.3 How psychosocial risk management relates to general occupational health and
safety management
The psychosocial risk management process (see Figure 2) both addressed by the European Framework Directive
is quite similar to that of general occupational health 89/391/EEC [6] on the introduction of measures to
and safety risk management. In principle, they are both encourage improvements in the safety and health of
based on the concept of a control cycle: workers at work. This legal framework establishes
• identification of hazards and assessment of risks; the need for continuous assessment of risks and their
reduction. It also defines a participative approach as
• design and implementation of interventions;
the way in which this assessment and reduction of risks
• evaluation and review. should be conducted. Thus, both the psychosocial and
general risk management approaches are a shared
Further similarities can be observed when considering responsibility of the employer and the employees.
the context in which these processes occur. They are

Figure 2 – Overview of the psychosocial risk management process

Management and organization of work processes Outcomes

Production
Design, development and operation of work and production Innovation

Productivity
and quality
Risk management process

Hazard Risk reduction Quality of work

identification and Action planning (interventions /
risk assessment controls)
Workers’ health

Organizational Societal outcomes

Evaluation
learning and
and review
development

The similarities, in relation to shared principles, do more traditional risks (such as physical exposures).
not end with their mention in legislation. There is For example, psychosocial hazards may increase the
strong research and practice-based evidence of their risk of exposure to hazardous chemicals through
effectiveness on the reduction of undesired costs for the generation of more human error, so more harm
workers, organizations and society. They can both might occur within the same levels of exposure when
have an effect over a broad range of aspects, including psychosocial conditions are less favourable. On the
sickness absence and social security, among others. other hand, the exposure to physical or chemical
Due to their impact, they should be understood as hazards might in itself constitute a psychosocial risk
basic social responsibilities and regarded as aspects as employees worry about the possible implications
of good management. of such exposures.

In more practical terms, psychosocial and general risk In the psychosocial risk management process, once
management are associated in terms of the interactions hazards and their associated risks have been identified,
that can be observed between psychosocial and the next step is to take measures to eliminate or to

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PAS 1010:2011

reduce the risks that result from the hazards. It is more agreements on work-related stress (2004) [12] and
or less generally accepted that there are hierarchies of on harassment and violence at work (2007) [13].
preferred measures, starting with measures at source, Standards that are relevant to this PAS include:
then measures to minimize the effect of exposure to BIP 3055:2005, BIP 2033:2003, BS 3518-1:1993,
psychosocial risks, and finally measures to mitigate the BS 31100:2008, BS EN ISO 10075-1, BS EN ISO 10075-2,
effects in case of serious exposure to the hazards. BS EN ISO 10075-3, PD ISO/IEC Guide 73:2002,
ILO OSH-MS Guidelines [5], BS OHSAS 18001;
Apart from European and national legislation, BS OHSAS 18002; BS 18004, ANSI Z 10 and the
psychosocial risk management has also been included Management Standards for Work-related Stress
in guidance by the ILO (1986) [7], the WHO (2003 [8], (HSE, 2005) [14].
2008 [9], and 2010 [10]), the European Commission NOTE The stages of the psychosocial risk management
(2002) [11], as well as in European social partner process are detailed in Section 5.

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 PAS 1010:2011

1 Scope 2 Terms and definitions

This Publicly Available Specification (PAS) provides For the purposes of this PAS the following terms and
employers with guidance on good practice for the definitions apply.
assessment and management of psychosocial risks
in a workplace environment.
2.1 harassment (bullying, mobbing) at
This PAS is applicable to human resources managers work
and specialists, occupational health and safety
managers and specialists, managers and owners harassing, offending, socially excluding someone or
of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and negatively affecting someone’s work tasks; negative
employee representatives. activity is repeated and regular and lasts over a period
of time
This PAS is most likely to be used by organizations NOTE See Annex C.
that wish to:
a) establish a strategy and process of psychosocial
risk management to eliminate or minimize risks to 2.2 harm
personnel and other interested parties who could subsequent and related ill effects on the health of an
be exposed to psychosocial hazards associated with employee(s) following exposure to hazards at work
its activities;
b) implement, maintain and continually improve the
psychosocial risk management process and related 2.3 hazard
practices;
source, situation or act with a potential for harm in
c) assure themselves of their conformity with their terms of human injury or ill health, or a combination
stated occupational health and safety (OH&S) and of these
psychosocial risk policy.

The guidance and recommendations in this PAS 2.4 occupational health and safety
are intended to be incorporated into any OH&S
(OH&S)
management system. The extent of the application
will depend on such factors as the OH&S policy of conditions and factors that affect, or could affect,
the organization, the nature of its activities and the health and safety of employees or other workers
the risks and complexity of its operations. (including temporary workers), visitors or any other
person in the workplace

Organizations can be subject to legal requirements

for the health and safety of persons beyond the
immediate workplace or who are exposed to the
workplace activities.

2.5 OH&S management system

part of an organization’s management system used to
develop and implement its OH&S policy and manage
its OH&S risks

A management system is a set of interrelated

elements used to establish policy and objectives, and
to achieve those objectives; it includes organizational
structure, planning activities (including, for example,
risk assessment and the setting of objectives),
responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes
and resources.
NOTE Adapted from BS EN ISO 14001:2004, 3.8.

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PAS 1010:2011

2.6 primary intervention 2.13 tertiary intervention

attempt to prevent harmful effects or phenomena intervention aimed at reducing negative impacts and
emerging healing damages

Primary stage interventions are proactive by nature and Tertiary interventions are rehabilitative by nature.
about creating understanding in the organization.

2.14 work-related stress

2.7 psychosocial factor pattern of emotional, cognitive, behavioural and
interaction among job content, work organization physiological reactions to adverse and noxious
and management, and other environmental and aspects of work content, work organization and
organizational conditions, and the employees’ work environment
competencies and needs NOTE 1 Derived from European Commission’s Guidance
on work-related stress, 2002 [11].
NOTE 2 Work-related stress can be caused by different
2.8 psychosocial risk factors such as work content, work organization, work
likelihood that psychosocial factors have a hazardous environment and poor communication (see Annex B).
influence on employees’ health through their
perceptions and experience and the severity of ill
health that can be caused by exposure to them
NOTE Derived from International Labour Organization,
1986 [7].

2.9 rehabilitation
process aimed at enabling people to reach and
maintain their optimal physical, sensory, intellectual,
psychological and social functional levels

2.10 risk
combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a
hazardous event or exposure(s) and the severity of
injury or ill health that can be caused by the event
or exposure(s)

2.11 risk assessment

systematic examination of the work undertaken to
consider what causes injury or harm, whether hazards
could be eliminated and, if not, what preventive or
protective measures are, or should be, in place to
control the risks

2.12 secondary intervention

intervention aimed at taking steps to improve the
perception or to increase individual resources of
groups that could be at risk of exposure

The focus of these actions is on the provision of

education and training.

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3 Psychosocial risk management: overview, policy and

key principles

3.1 Overview
Psychosocial risk management is the application of the risk management framework to psychosocial risks at work.
As such it is based on the principles of prevention in line with occupational health and safety legislation, and it
aims at risk elimination or reduction. It is a systematic process (see Figure 3) by which hazards are identified, risks
analyzed and managed, and workers protected. Psychosocial risk management involves five main steps:
a)  hazard identification and risk assessment;
b) translation/action planning;
c) risk reduction (interventions/controls);
d) evaluation and review;
e) organizational learning and development.

The legal responsibility for removing or reducing any type of risk to workers’ health lies with the employer
as stipulated in the European Framework Directive on the Introduction of Measures to Encourage Improvements
in the Safety and Health of Workers at Work, 89/391/EEC [6].

Figure 3 – Main steps in the psychosocial risk management process

Hazard identification Translation / Risk reduction

and risk assessment action planning (interventions / controls)
1 2 3

Organizational learning
and development Evaluation and review

5 4

In addition, two framework agreements at European of social partners to negotiate as equals, to reach
level of particular relevance to the management of consensus on relevant issues and to find innovative
psychosocial risks have been concluded as a result of solutions. Therefore, successful social dialogue is crucial
social dialogue: for combating psychosocial risks at the workplace.
a) the framework agreement on work-related stress
(2004) [12]; As with all risk management processes, psychosocial risk
management should represent a systematic, ongoing
b)  the framework agreement on harassment and
process within the organizational context so that risks
violence at work (2007) [13].
to workers’ health can be monitored and managed
effectively. This is especially important in relation
They aim to increase awareness of employers, workers
to psychosocial risks, as their relevance to subjective
and their representatives in relation to these issues and
perceptions and the dynamic nature of the work
provide a framework to identify problems and address
environment make their continuous assessment very
them within an overall process of risk management
necessary. It is also very important that the assessment
and through specific policies. At national level, social
and management of psychosocial risks is considered
partners commit to implement the agreements through
when new processes or functions are implemented
their member organizations. Implementation results
within the organization.
depend highly on the quality of industrial relations
at national level, particularly the ability and the will

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PAS 1010:2011

In managing psychosocial risks and preventing The responsibility for defining and authorizing a
work-related stress (see Annex B for further psychosocial risk management policy rests with the
information), organizations should adopt a organization’s senior management. However, the
comprehensive, long-term strategy. This strategy ongoing and proactive involvement of all relevant
should consider the organization’s policies, structure, stakeholders in developing and implementing a
resources, existing systems and operations, and psychosocial risk management policy is crucial.
practices. In developing appropriate policies to
manage psychosocial risks (see Annex D for further The organization (or senior management) should
information), organizations should consider whether define and authorize the organization’s policy on
a synergistic fit exists among different organizational psychosocial risk and ensure that it:
policies and whether they adhere to existing legislation a) is appropriate to the nature and scale of the
and standards. For example, organizations should organization’s psychosocial risks;
consider how health and safety, human resources and
b)  includes a commitment to prevention of injury
corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies fit together
and ill health and continual improvement of
to achieve common goals and promote organizational
psychosocial risk management;
learning and development.
c) includes a commitment to at least comply with
Psychosocial risk management is relevant to the core applicable requirements to which the organization
values underpinning organizational practices and also subscribes that relate to its psychosocial risks;6)
represents an ethical responsibility for employers. d) provides the framework for setting and reviewing
Following the development of policies for the objectives for the management of psychosocial risks;
management of psychosocial risks, organizations e)  is documented, implemented and maintained;
should develop and monitor practices in line with
f) is communicated to all persons working under the
their policies in order to be successful.
control of the organization with the intent that they
are made aware of their individual obligations;
The responsibility for managing psychosocial risks lies
with the employer. As such, top management should g)  is reviewed periodically to ensure that it remains
demonstrate the leadership and commitment necessary relevant and appropriate to the organization.
for psychosocial risk management to be successful.
However, using risk management to tackle psychosocial This policy should be translated into practice at
risks and work-related stress requires the collaborative the organizational level, reviewed periodically and
efforts of several key stakeholders. The employees evaluated systematically as given in Annexes D and E.
themselves are always central to the process.
Employees and/or their representatives should
be consulted and engaged in all discussions on 3.3 Key principles of psychosocial risk
psychosocial risk management, including policy management
development. Their active participation needs to A number of key principles underpin the psychosocial
be appropriately supported and managed. risk management process and are given in Table 1.
These are discussed in more detail in Sections 4 and 5.

3.2 Developing a psychosocial risk

management policy
For many organizations, the starting point in
the psychosocial risk management process is the
development of a psychosocial risk management
policy. An overall psychosocial risk management
policy establishes an overall sense of direction and
is the driver for implementing and improving an
organization’s psychosocial risk management within
its general OH&S systems, so that it can maintain
and potentially improve its OH&S performance.
The policy should enable persons under the control
of the organization to understand the overall
commitment of the organization and how this 6)
Attention is drawn to relevant national and European
can affect their individual responsibilities. legislation.

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Table 1 – Key principles of psychological risk management

Principle Key issues

Good psychosocial risk Good practice in relation to psychosocial risk management essentially reflects
management is good good practice in organizational management, learning and development,
business social responsibility and promotion of quality of working life and good work

Worker and management It is very important that managers and workers feel the “ownership” of the
commitment psychosocial risk management process. Top management should demonstrate
leadership and commitment for psychosocial risk management to be successful

Participative approach The psychosocial risk management process recognizes the validity of the
expertise that working people have in relation to their jobs and seeks to
involve employees in the prevention of psychosocial risks and not by
requiring them to simply change their perceptions and behaviour

Evidence-informed practice Psychosocial risk management is a systematic, evidence-informed, practical

problem-solving strategy. Risk assessment provides information on the nature
and size of possible problems and their effects, and the number of people
exposed. This data should be used to inform the development of an action
plan that prioritizes measures to tackle problems at source

Identification of key factors For psychosocial risk management to be effective it is important to understand
the most important underlying causal factors before solutions are selected.
As a consequence, there are usually no quick-fix solutions at hand; a
continuous management process is required

Context relevance As workplace contexts differ, there is a need to optimize the design of the
risk management activities, to guide the process and maximize the validity
and benefit of the outcome. Tailoring improves the focus, reliability and
validity of the risk management process as well as the utilization of the
results of the risk assessment and the feasibility of the results, and helps to
make effective action plans

Solutions that are fit for Psychosocial risk management is an action-led process. It is important to make
purpose the problems at the workplace the starting point for action, and to develop
knowledge and solutions that are “fit for purpose”

Ethics The management of psychosocial risks is about people, their health status,
and business and societal interests. Protecting the health of people is not
only a legal obligation but also an ethical responsibility

Relevance for organizational Psychosocial risk management is central to occupational health and safety
policy agendas policy and practice. Psychosocial risk management can contribute to the
creation of positive work environments where commitment, motivation,
learning and development play an important role and sustain organizational
development

Consideration of capabilities The implementation of the psychosocial risk management process requires
required capabilities that comprise: adequate knowledge of the key agents
(management and workers); relevant and reliable information to support
decision-making; availability of effective and user-friendly methods and
tools; ownership and participation of managers and employees or their
representatives; availability of competent supportive structures (experts,
consultants, services). Competence should be developed by appropriate
training when lacking

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4 Setting up the psychosocial risk management process

4.1 Commitment, resources and competence

The successful implementation of psychosocial risk Psychosocial risk management is an activity that is
management calls for a commitment from all persons closely related to how work is organized and carried
working under the control of the organization. out. As a consequence, the main actors are always
This commitment should begin at the highest levels managers and workers and their representatives
of management. The responsibility for managing that are responsible for the work to be done. They
psychosocial risks lies with the employer. As such, top can, of course, be supported by internal or external
management should demonstrate leadership and experts or by external service providers. However, it
commitment for psychosocial risk management to be is very important that managers and workers feel the
successful. Top management should: “ownership” of the psychosocial risk management
a) determine and make available, in a timely and process as they should for other health and safety
efficient manner, all the resources needed to issues. Care should be taken if, as often is the case,
prevent injuries and ill health in the workplace; outside agencies are used to implement improvement
projects. Outside agencies are often a valuable resource
b)  identify and monitor who needs to do what with
but should be only treated as support for management
respect to the management of psychosocial risks and
in facilitating change.
make sure they are aware of their responsibilities;
c) ensure that those members of the organization’s When determining the resources needed to establish
management with psychosocial risk management and implement the psychosocial risk management
responsibilities have the necessary authority to process, the organization should consider:
fulfil their roles.
• the financial, human and other resources specific
to its operations;
• the technologies specific to its operations;
• infrastructure and equipment;
• information systems;
• the need for expertise and training.

Resources and their allocation should be reviewed

periodically, via management review, to ensure they are
sufficient to carry out psychosocial risk management
programmes and activities, including performance
measurement and monitoring. The processes should
be documented in a format(s) that best suits the
organization’s needs but allows for review and
revision periodically.

The organization should also ensure that their

employees:
a) are aware of psychosocial risks;
b) are aware of their roles and responsibilities;
c) have the necessary competence to perform tasks
that can reduce this risk of harm due to exposure
to psychosocial risks;
d) are, where necessary, trained to achieve the
required awareness and competence.

The implementation of the psychosocial risk

management process requires capabilities. The

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capabilities required at the organizational level Competence should be developed by appropriate

comprise: training when lacking.
a) adequate knowledge of the key agents
(management and workers); The organization should determine the competence
requirements for individual tasks and may seek external
b)  relevant and reliable information to support
advice in defining competence requirements. Specific
decision-making;
consideration should be given to the competency
c) availability of effective and user-friendly methods requirements for the person(s) who will be:
and tools;
• the senior management appointee;
d) ownership and participation of managers and
• performing risk assessments;
employees or their representatives;
• implementing interventions;
e) availability of competent supportive structures
(experts, consultants, services). • performing the evaluation and review of the
process and its outcomes.
For those with a recognized professional background,
their codes of conduct, ethical principles and advice The training or other actions should focus on both
and issues of good practice should be considered. competency requirements and the need to enhance
It is essential that those involved are committed to awareness. The organization should evaluate the
the risk management process, have evidence of their effectiveness of the training or actions taken.
competence and are fully aware of the ethical aspects Training records should be maintained.
of this work as well as the legal and scientific aspects.

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PAS 1010:2011

4.2 Facilitation, communication and documentation

In large and medium-size organizations at the start The people conducting the risk assessment should
of the risk management process, a Steering Group7) spend some time getting to know each workplace
will be needed to help run the process. This group if they do not already have an in-depth knowledge.
will oversee, guide and facilitate each stage in the This involves informal chats, examining organizational
process. Its membership needs to be designed to documents (e.g. organizational charts, job descriptions,
enable it to have authority and credibility and involve absence summaries, results of other staff surveys)
key stakeholders. Typically, management, employee and informal interviews with managers and key
representatives, occupational health, health and safety, stakeholders. Organizational data can be a useful
and human resources specialists form the Steering source of information about employee well-being.
Group. An existing group could also act as the Steering Absence data and turnover rates, accident rates, errors,
Group provided that it includes representation from complaints and workload data (where available) can
key stakeholders as described. The group should be be reviewed. Where possible, these can also be used to
sufficiently small to manage and function well. In evaluate interventions.
smaller organizations, less formal structures may
be required. The organization should maintain up-to-date
documentation that is sufficient to ensure that the
Involvement of workers and supervisors in a team process of psychosocial risk management can be
approach is recommended as this gains worker adequately understood and effectively and efficiently
participation and ownership of the measures that implemented. Typical inputs include the following
need to be taken. If external experts are involved in items:
the psychosocial risk management process, they should a) details of the documentation and information
hold meetings with the Steering Group throughout systems the organization develops to support its
the process. psychosocial risk management process and practices;
b) details of responsibilities and authorities;
Leadership commitment is key and should be
evident from the beginning of the psychosocial risk c)  information on the working environment and the
management process through the active involvement constraints that this can put on the physical nature
of management, including senior management. of documentation or the use of electronic or other
media.
Communication is crucial to making the psychosocial
risk management process work to keep people The psychosocial risk management process
involved and aware about what is going on. A variety documentation should include:
of strategies can be used, many of which rely on a) the psychosocial risk management policy and
effective communication systems already in place objectives;
within each group (e.g. regular team meetings or b)  description of the scope of psychosocial risk
communication means). An initial informal assessment management;
of communication systems may be necessary for the
c)  description of the main stages of psychosocial risk
publicity of the process to be planned effectively.
management and reference to related documents;
Project publicity also helps to encourage staff to
get involved. High questionnaire return rates and d)  documents, including records, determined by the
involvement in interviews or group discussions are organization to be necessary to ensure the effective
important to make the process work, and having planning, operation and control of processes that
someone “on the ground” to facilitate this, such as relate to the management of its psychosocial risks.
a Project Champion, can make a big difference. If
Project Champions are used, it is advised that an The organization should establish, implement and
extremely detailed briefing about the project is maintain a procedure(s) for the ongoing hazard
provided to them. This will enable them to keep staff identification, risk assessment and determination of
‘on the ground’ informed as the project progresses. necessary controls for the prevention or minimization
of workers being exposed to psychosocial risk. The
process of psychosocial risk management is presented
in Section 5.
7)
A Steering Group is a working group that includes key
stakeholders from within the organization (including
managers and employees) and that oversees and facilitates
the psychosocial risk management process.

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5 The psychosocial risk management process

Figure 2 – Overview of the psychosocial risk management process8) (as presented on page v)
Management and organization of work processes Outcomes

Production
Design, development and operation of work and production Innovation

Productivity
and quality
Risk management process

Hazard Risk reduction Quality of work

identification and Action planning (interventions /
risk assessment controls)
Workers’ health

Organizational Societal outcomes

Evaluation
learning and
and review
development

As workplace contexts differ, there is a need to important that these be made taking into consideration
optimize the design of the risk management activities, the size of the enterprise (especially SMEs, which
to guide the process and maximize the validity and require specific attention due to problems such as lack
benefit of the outcome. Tailoring aims to improve the of resources), its occupational sector, characteristics of
focus, reliability and validity of the risk management the workforce (such as gender, age and contingent
process. It improves the utilization of the results of the work) and the wider context of the country.
risk assessment and the feasibility of the results and
helps to make effective action plans. Areas that should Tailoring means that the method chosen should suit
be considered in the tailoring process include: the actual aim of policy and management. Its coverage
a) what the process will cover (in terms of hazards, should be relevant, and those using the method should
target and data collection); be competent to carry out the risk assessment and to
interpret the results. The content of the method should
b) who (people or agencies) will be involved in
also suit the type of work assessed. The competence of
the process;
the user should be taken into account.
c) the process itself (e.g. hazard identification,
risk assessment, goal setting and planning, An effective model for psychosocial risk management
implementation, monitoring, evaluation); places particular emphasis on the central status of the
d) who will review the process. workers as “experts” in relation to their own jobs.
In this respect, data collection is seen as an exercise
Tailoring is often needed to find a useful approach in knowledge elicitation and modelling. Employees
and tools for managing the actual psychosocial risks should be educated about the process, to develop
in the workplace. When planning the assessment and appropriate expectations, and to participate actively
management of psychosocial risks in a workplace, in both the risk assessment and risk reduction phases.
several choices and decisions should be made to It is this requirement, both in principle and in practice,
prepare for action. At the enterprise level, it is to empower workers to undertake the assessment
and improvement of their own working conditions
that drives the necessity for this approach to be
8)
WHO (2008) [9].
user-friendly. Much of what needs to be done to reduce

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PAS 1010:2011

psychosocial risks at source involves implementing good relation to their jobs. It draws on their expert
management practices or organizational development judgements at group level. It works with consensus and
activities; for such changes to be effective, it is seeks to validate consensus judgements against health
important that the people involved in them have a data. However, the overall risk management process
sense of ownership and are involved in the changes goes further and seeks to involve employees in the
that take place. The risk assessment recognizes the prevention of psychosocial risks and not by requiring
validity of the expertise that working people have in them to simply change their perceptions and behaviour.

5.1 Hazard identification and risk assessment

Production

Hazard identification

Outcomes
Translation / Risk reduction
and risk assessment action planning (interventions / controls)
1 2 3

Organizational learning
and development Evaluation and review

5 4

5.1.1 Hazard identification or other representation bodies have an important role

For psychosocial risk management to be effective to play. In smaller enterprises where formal worker
it is important to understand the most important representation might be lacking, this consultation
underlying causal factors before solutions are selected. process will be more direct with employees. In any
The hazard identification process should take into case, consultation between employers and workers
account work organization and related factors as should take place at all stages of the psychosocial
indicated in Table 2. risk management process. Both the employer and
employees have specific responsibilities and roles
NOTE 1 In this PAS, psychosocial hazards also include
to play. These responsibilities and roles may also be
harassment and bullying at work. These are often
identified through organizational policies in relation
complex phenomena, e.g. to become bullied is a
to these issues.
psychosocial risk situation causing psychological
harm; on the other hand, harassment at work may be
Psychosocial risk management should incorporate five
regarded and discussed as a consequence of a poor
important elements:
psychosocial work environment.
a) a declared focus on a defined work population,
NOTE 2 For more information on harassment and
workplace or set of operations;
bullying, see Annex C.
b) an assessment of risks to understand the nature of
NOTE 3 This PAS recognizes the relevance and impact
the problem and their underlying causes;
of third party violence as a psychosocial risk, and this
issue is also briefly discussed in Annex C. c) the design and implementation of actions designed
to remove or reduce risks;
As stressed throughout this PAS, consultation between d)  the evaluation of those actions and their outcomes;
employers and workers’ representatives is crucial
e) the active and careful management of the process
for the success of the psychosocial risk management
to ensure review and updating to meet changing
process; health and safety committees, work councils
needs.

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Table 2 – Psychosocial hazards9)

Area Key issues

Job content Lack of variety or short work cycles, fragmented or meaningless work,
underuse of skills, high uncertainty, continuous exposure to people through
work

Workload and work pace Work overload or underload, machine pacing, high levels of time pressure,
continually subject to deadlines

Work schedule Shift working, night shifts, inflexible work schedules, unpredictable hours,
long or unsociable hours

Control Low participation in decision-making, lack of control over workload, pacing,

shift working

Environment and equipment Inadequate equipment availability, suitability or maintenance;

poor environmental conditions such as lack of space, poor lighting,
excessive noise

Organizational culture Poor communication, low levels of support for problem-solving and
and function personal development, lack of definition of, or agreement on,
organizational objectives

Interpersonal relationships Social or physical isolation, poor relationships with superiors, interpersonal
at work conflict, lack of social support, harassment, bullying, third party violence

Role in organization Role ambiguity, role conflict, responsibility for people

Career development Career stagnation and uncertainty, under-promotion or over-promotion,

poor pay, job insecurity, low social value to work

Home – work interface Conflicting demands of work and home, low support at home, problems
relating to both partners being in the labour force (dual career)

The organization’s methodology for psychosocial of the work undertaken to consider what could
hazard identification and risk assessment should: cause injury or harm, whether the hazards could be
a) be defined with respect to its scope, nature and eliminated, and if not what preventive or protective
timing to ensure it is proactive rather than reactive; measures are, or should be, in place to control the
risks” (EC, 1996 [15]). The risk assessment (see 2.11)
b) provide for the identification, prioritization and
provides information on the nature and severity
documentation of risks, and the application of
of the problem, psychosocial hazards and the way
controls, as appropriate.
they might affect the health of those exposed to
them and the healthiness of their organization (in
5.1.2 Psychosocial risk assessment
terms of issues such as absence, commitment to the
Risk assessment is a central element of the risk organization, worker satisfaction, intention to leave
management process. It has been defined by the and productivity).
European Commission as “a systematic examination
Risk assessment should assess work as it is done. A well-
conducted risk assessment not only identifies challenges
in the work environment but also positive aspects of
This psychosocial hazard typology is comparable to the
9) the work environment that should be promoted and
HSE’s Management Standards for Work-related Stress six enhanced. The purpose of the risk assessment is to
key areas of work design: Demands, Control, Support, inform, guide and support subsequent risk reduction;
Relationships, Role and Change. it is not an aim in itself.

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5.1.3 Methods and tools for risk assessment and key This information is used to determine which of the
principles psychosocial hazards actually affect the health of those
A baseline should be established through risk exposed to them. This involves comparing groups
assessment. Surveys can be part of this process; they or areas that differ in terms of their exposure to, or
are an important element in some of the available report of, psychosocial hazards in terms of the data
tools for the management of psychosocial risk factors. on possible health outcomes. What is required here is
that the exercise of logic is described and that decisions
NOTE Examples of such surveys can be found in the
based on it are justified on the available evidence so
Management Standards for Work-related Stress
that they can be audited at a later stage if necessary.
Indicator Tool [14] and the EU-OSHA Online interactive
Bringing together the information on psychosocial
Risk Assessment Tool – OiRA for SMEs.10) Additional
hazards and their possible health effects allows the
examples are presented in Annex F.
identification of likely risk factors. These risk factors
However, other qualitative and observation methods can be prioritized in terms of the nature of the hazard
may also be used, especially in smaller enterprises, or the harm it causes, the strength of the relationship
provided the scope is the same and there is a clear between hazard and harm, or the size of the group
intention of taking timely action on the results. The affected. Similar decisions on priorities are made every
risk assessment should take into consideration diversity day in other areas of risk assessment.
issues (e.g., gender, age) and should not ignore
the wider context, such as the occupational sector Work should be carried out within a number of
characteristics or socioeconomic and cultural variations. well-defined guiding principles in the psychosocial
risk assessment process. These keep the risk assessment
Psychosocial hazards are usually situation specific; on track and guard against a number of problems.
what is present in one type of work or affects a For example, they help prevent misconceptions about
particular type of worker may not be present in the aims and objectives of the risk assessment
another job or affect a different type of worker. (e.g. that it is about stress management training
The identification of psychosocial hazards relies or counselling provision).
on the expert judgement of groups of relevant
working people on the adequacy of the design and These principles should be applied throughout the
management of their work. The knowledge and process in accordance with Table 3. They are especially
expertise of working people in relation to their jobs important in establishing good practice early on.
is recognized and treated as valuable evidence.
This information is treated at the group level, and Analyzing possibly hazardous situations and assessing
consensus is measured in those expert judgements the risk that they might pose to the health of
on working conditions. The method does not seek individuals or the healthiness of their organizations
to catalogue individual views about work. should provide sufficient appropriate evidence to
initiate discussions of psychosocial hazards at work,
Before a problem can be addressed, it should be and to provide an informed basis for managing those
analyzed and understood, and an assessment made problems through a risk reduction action plan.
of the risk that it presents. Much harm can be done,
and resources squandered, if precipitous action is 5.1.4 Review of existing practices and support
taken on the assumption that the problem is obvious Before action can be sensibly planned, it is necessary
and well enough understood. to analyze what measures, if any, are already in place
to deal with psychosocial hazards and their effects on
The risk assessment should bring together two elements the individual or the organization. This analysis requires
to allow the identification of likely risk factors: a review, analysis and critical evaluation of existing
a)  identification of psychosocial hazards; management practices and employee support. This is
b)  information about the possible harm associated an examination of initiatives for handling psychosocial
with psychosocial hazards collected both from hazards, work-related stress and other associated
the risk assessment and from otherwise available health outcomes. The support available to employees
organizational records such as absence data and to help them cope or look after them if they are
occupational health referrals. affected is also examined (see Annex B).

The information from the review, together with the

risk assessment information, feeds into the process
of discussing and exploring the risk assessment data
to allow the development of an action plan for
10)
www.oira.osha.europa.eu risk reduction.

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Table 3 – Key principles of risk assessment

Principle Implications

Work with defined groups Each risk assessment is carried out within a defined work group, workplace
or function

Focus on working conditions Risk assessments are executed to identify aspects of the psychosocial work
not individuals environment that give rise to the experience of stress and challenges to
health and not to identify individuals experiencing stress or ill health

Focus on “big issues” The primary focus is on the problems that have the greatest impact on
staff and not on individual complaints

Provide evidence of effects of The process is evidence-driven

working conditions on health 

Use valid and reliable measures All methods of data collection are both reliable and valid. Employees’
expertise provides an important source of information

Maintain confidentiality of The confidentiality of information given by individuals is guaranteed.

information Individual information is stored securely and not disclosed

Focus on risk removal or The risk assessment is designed with risk removal or reduction in mind.
reduction as the goal Risk assessment tools are designed to provide sufficient detail and
context-specific information to allow for control measures to be taken.
The emphasis is primarily on prevention and organizational-level
interventions

Involve employees The use of participative methods (e.g. through group discussions) and
employee involvement are critical to success

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PAS 1010:2011

5.2 Action planning

Production

Outcomes
Hazard identification Action planning Risk reduction
and risk assessment (interventions / controls)
1 2 3

Organizational learning
and development Evaluation and review

5 4

When the nature of the problems and their causes are give priority to modifying psychosocial risk factors at
sufficiently understood, a reasonable and practical source, focusing on the organization or groups within
action plan to reduce risk (interventions) should be it. Worker-directed measures can complement these
developed. This involves deciding on: actions and are an important source of support for
a) what is being targeted; those employees who are already suffering from the
negative effects of exposure to risk factors.
b) how;
c) by whom (who is responsible); Examples of possible interventions are given in
d) who else needs to be involved; Annex B.
e) what the time schedule will be;
f) what resources will be required;
g) what will be the expected (health and business
benefits);
h) how benefits can be measured;
i) how the action plan and its effects will be evaluated.

Once the interventions have been determined, the

organization can prioritize its actions to implement
them. In the prioritization of actions the organization
should take into account the potential for risk
reduction of the planned interventions. It is preferable
that actions addressing a high-risk activity or offering a
substantial reduction of risk take priority over actions
that have only limited risk reduction benefit. It is
important to make the problems at the workplace the
starting point for action, and to develop knowledge
and solutions that are “fit for purpose”.

In practice, those involved in action planning discuss

and explore the results of the risk assessment (the
likely risk factors and the problems identified by
the majority of staff), further developing their
understanding of the problems identified and their
underlying causes. Risk reduction interventions should

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5.3 Risk reduction (interventions/controls)

Production

Risk reduction

Outcomes
Hazard identification (interventions /
and risk assessment Action planning
2 controls)
1
3

Organizational learning
and development Evaluation and review

5 4

Table 4 – Psychosocial risk management interventions

Level Focus

Primary The management of psychosocial risks should prioritize interventions that reduce risks at
interventions source. There are a number of arguments for giving it precedence; European law, and
transposed national legislation in EU Member States, prioritizes such measures within
organizations and the need to target problems at source. They can also be significantly
cost-effective as the focus of interventions is put on the causes and areas within the
organization where change is required. Moreover, they promote organizational healthiness
as they address issues related to organizational culture and development. Interventions of
this kind call for and promote dialogue and a participative approach; resulting actions can
be tailored to different contexts and are general in nature

Secondary Involve taking steps to improve the perception and management of psychosocial risks for
interventions groups that could be at risk of exposure. They are not a substitute for primary prevention
interventions. The focus of these actions is on the provision of education and training. It is
assumed that, through the provision of training, employees can become more aware about
psychosocial risks, work-related stress, harassment and third party violence and hence better
able to address them. Issues that can be covered through training include interpersonal
relationships (between colleagues and with supervisors), time management and
handling conflicts

Tertiary In cases where individuals have already been harmed by exposure to hazards, actions can
interventions be taken once a problem has become evident to limit its effects. The action here is on the
consequences of exposure to psychosocial hazards, which can be either psychological
or physical in nature. Thus, people who are suffering from psychological ill health, which
includes burnout, depression or strain, can be provided with counselling and therapy, and
those suffering from physical symptoms can benefit from occupational health services
provision. When affected employees have been off work because of ill health, appropriate
return-to-work and rehabilitation programmes should be implemented to support their
effective reintegration into the workforce

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Having completed a risk assessment and having taken The effective implementation of psychosocial risk
account of existing controls, the organization should management interventions depends on a number
be able to determine whether existing controls are of key issues, as given in Table 5. These relate to the
adequate or need improving, or if new controls are readiness of an organization for change that might
required. If new or improved controls are required, result as an outcome of the interventions implemented
their selection should be determined by the principle of (and especially of those at primary level), the nature of
the hierarchy of controls (see OHSAS 18001:2007, 5.3.1), the intervention plan in terms of how realistic, practical
which, in the case of psychosocial risk management and comprehensive it is to address key problem areas
refers to the levels of intervention, as given in Table 4: effectively, and the fit between the intervention plan
a) primary: proactive by nature, attempting to prevent and day-to-day business activities in order to avoid the
harmful effects or phenomena to emerge; intervention being disruptive and to promote continual
improvement of the work environment.
b) secondary: aiming to reverse, reduce or slow the
progression of ill health or to increase individual
resources;
c) tertiary: rehabilitative by nature, aiming to reduce
negative impact.

Table 5 – Key issues for success in psychosocial risk management interventions

Success factor Implications

Organizational readiness Organizational readiness and resistance to change will impact on the success
to change and effectiveness of the intervention. Organizational commitment and
support should be developed and retained from the beginning of the
intervention initiative

Realistic intervention plan Addressing all the problems and issues identified through psychosocial risk
assessment would result in a resource-heavy and complicated intervention
initiative that would be unlikely to succeed. The intervention strategy should
outline achievable solutions that can be incorporated into daily business
practices, thus facilitating easier, and more successful, implementation over
the longer term. Simpler measures should be combined with long-term
planning to deal with more difficult issues

Comprehensive intervention To successfully prevent and manage psychosocial risks, intervention
plan strategies should comprehensively incorporate elements from all three
intervention levels:
• primary: address the root causes of work-related stress
• secondary: provide training to managers and employees on psychosocial
risk management
• tertiary: for those that have suffered ill health as a result of work-related
stress, provide them with support to manage and reduce their respective
effects

Supporting continual Efforts to effectively address psychosocial risks should not be viewed as
improvement “one-off activities” but rather should be incorporated into daily business
practices. In so doing, a continual improvement cycle promoting a better
psychosocial work environment can be supported

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5.4 Evaluation and review of process and outcomes

Production

Hazard identification Risk reduction

Action planning

Outcomes
and risk assessment (interventions / controls)
1 2 3

Organizational learning
Evaluation and review
and development
5 4

It is essential for any action plan to be evaluated strengths and weaknesses of both the action plan
to determine how well and in what respects it has and the implementation process to be assessed. This
worked. The process of implementation as well as the information should not be treated as an issue of success
outcomes of the action plan should be evaluated and or failure, praise or blame, but more dispassionately. It
reviewed. Evaluation should consider a variety of types should inform a reassessment of the original problem
of information and draw it from a number of relevant and of the overall risk management process, as well as
perspectives (e.g. staff, management, stakeholders). provide feedback on the outcomes. Evaluation drives
The results of the evaluation should allow the reassessment and continual improvement.

5.5 Organizational learning and development

Production

Hazard identification Risk reduction

Outcomes

and risk assessment Action planning (interventions / controls)

1 2 3

Organizational learning
and development Evaluation and review

5 4

Evaluation not only tells the organization how well Essentially, it establishes a continual process for
something has worked in reducing psychosocial improvement that should be repeated within an
risks and the associated harm but also allows the established time frame in the organizational context.
reassessment of the whole situation, providing a Lessons learned from the evaluation should be
basis for organizational learning and development. explicitly identified.

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The organization should use the evaluation for meetings and as part of the social dialogue process
continual improvement and also as the basis for within the firm. They should be communicated to a
sharing (discussing and communicating) learning wider organization audience. Finally, they should be
points that may be of use in future risk management. used as input for the “next cycle” of the psychosocial
Evaluation can also inform the (re)design of work risk management process.
organization and workplaces as part of the normal
organizational development process. A long-term Psychosocial risk management can contribute to
strategy is essential and should be adopted the creation of positive work environments where
by organizations. commitment, motivation, learning and development
play an important role and sustain organizational
Lessons learned through the evaluation should be development.
discussed and, if necessary, redefined in existing work

5.6 Outcomes of the psychosocial risk management process

Production Outcomes

Innovation

Productivity
Hazard identification Risk reduction and quality
and risk assessment Action planning (interventions / controls)
1 2 3 Quality of
work

Workers’
Organizational learning health
and development Evaluation and review

5 4
Societal
outcomes

A healthy organization is one with values and practices e) the development of an innovative, responsible,
facilitating good employee health and well-being future-orientated corporate culture;
as well as improved organizational productivity f) the promotion of health and well-being in the
and performance. Managing psychosocial risks and enterprise as well as in the wider community setting.
workplace health relates to managing the corporate
image of organizations. Psychosocial risk management is central to occupational
health and safety policy and practice. The management
Psychosocial risk management can contribute to: of psychosocial risks is about people, their health status,
a) a reduction in the cost of absence or errors and business and societal interests. Protecting the
and accidents and hence an associated increase health of people is not only a legal obligation but
of production; also an ethical responsibility.
b) a reduction in the cost of medical treatment and
associated insurance premiums and liabilities;
c) an improvement in work processes and
communication and promotion of work
effectiveness and efficiency;
d)  the attractiveness of the organization as a good
employer and one that is highly valued by its staff
and its customers;

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6 Monitoring performance

An organization should have a systematic approach interventions, or to evaluate the need to modify
for measuring and monitoring its psychosocial risk or introduce new interventions;
management performance on a regular basis; this can e) providing data to proactively and reactively measure
be an integral part of its overall OH&S management the organization’s psychosocial risk management
system. Monitoring involves collecting information, performance;
such as measurements or observations over time, using
f) providing data to evaluate its psychosocial risk
measures or techniques that have been confirmed as
management strategy;
being fit for purpose. Measurements can be either
quantitative or qualitative. g) providing data for the evaluation of competence.

Monitoring and measurements can serve many The results of measurement and monitoring should
purposes in psychosocial risk management, such as: be analyzed and used to identify both successes
and areas requiring correction or improvement. The
a) tracking progress on meeting policy commitments,
organization’s measuring and monitoring should use
achieving objectives and targets, and continual
both reactive and proactive measures of performance,
improvement;
and should primarily focus on proactive measures to
b) monitoring exposures to determine whether drive performance improvement. The data and results
applicable legal and other requirements to which of monitoring and measurement should be recorded
the organization subscribes have been met; sufficiently to facilitate subsequent corrective action
c) monitoring incidents, injuries and ill health; and preventive action analysis.
d) providing data to evaluate the effectiveness of

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7 Management review

Top management should review the organization’s g)  follow-up actions from previous management
psychosocial risk management strategy, at planned reviews;
intervals, to ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy h) changing circumstances, including developments
and effectiveness. Reviews should include assessing in legal and other requirements related to
opportunities for improvement and the need for psychosocial risk management;
changes. Records of the management reviews should
i) recommendations for improvement.
be retained.
The outputs from management reviews should be
Input to management reviews should include:
consistent with the organization’s commitment
a) results of internal reviews and evaluations of for continual improvement and should include any
compliance with applicable legal requirements and decisions and actions related to possible changes to:
with other requirements to which the organization
a) psychosocial risk performance;
subscribes;
b) psychosocial risk policy and objectives;
b) the results of participation and consultation;
c) resources and other elements.
c) relevant communication(s) from external interested
parties, including complaints;
Relevant outputs from management review should be
d)  the psychosocial risk management performance of made available for communication and consultation.
the organization;
e) the extent to which objectives have been met;
f) status of incident investigations, corrective actions
and preventive actions;

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Annex A (informative)
Statutory requirements and guidelines

This Annex draws the users’ attention to relevant [13] European Social Partners (2007). Framework
statutory requirements and guidelines to this PAS. Agreement on Harassment and Violence at
Work. Brussels: European Social Partners – ETUC,
[1] EU-OSHA (2009). OSH in figures: Stress at work – BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME and CEEP.
facts and figures.
[14] Health and Safety Executive (2005). Tackling stress:
[2] WHO (2010). Health impact of psychosocial hazards The Management Standards approach. Sudbury: HSE
at work: An overview. Books.

[3] International Labour Organization (2006). Violence [15] European Commission (1996). Guidance on risk
at work. assessment at work.

[4] European Agency for Safety and Health at Work [16] European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
(2010). Workplace violence and harassment: a European (2002). Bullying at work. Factsheet 23.
picture.

[5] ILO OSH-MS Guidelines (2001). Programme on Safety

and Health at Work and the Environment (SAFEWORK).

[6] European Framework Directive 89/391/EEC on the

introduction of measures to encourage improvements
in the safety and health of workers at work.

[7] International Labour Organization (1986).

Psychosocial factors at work: Recognition and control.
Occupational Safety and Health Series no: 56.

[8] WHO (2003). Work organization and stress.

Protecting Workers’ Health Series, No. 3.

[9] WHO (2008). PRIMA-EF: Guidance on the European

framework for psychosocial risk management.
Protecting Workers’ Health Series, No. 9.

[10] WHO (2010). Healthy workplaces: A model for

action for employers, workers, policy makers and
practitioners.

[11] European Commission (2002). Guidance on

work-related stress – Spice of life or kiss of death?
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the
European Communities.

[12] European Social Partners (2004). Framework

Agreement on Work-related Stress. Brussels: European
Social Partners – ETUC, UNICE, BUSINESSEUROPE,
UEAPME and CEEP.

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Annex B (informative)
Work-related stress

B.1 General Stress results from a mismatch between the demands

and pressures on the person, on the one hand,
This information guide introduces the concept of stress and their knowledge and abilities, on the other. It
and presents the primary causes of work-related stress challenges their ability to cope with work. This includes
and the harmful effects of stress on the workplace and situations where the pressures of work exceed the
employees. It draws attention to the common signs worker’s ability to cope but also situations where the
and symptoms of stress and to psychosocial risks at worker’s knowledge and abilities are not sufficiently
the workplace. utilized, and that is a problem for them.

Work-related stress can lead to poor health and even

injury. It may be associated with a range of adverse
effects, both physiological and psychological.

B.3 What causes work-related stress?

Stress in the workplace can have many origins or come
from one single event. It can impact on both employees
and employers alike. Fear of job redundancy, layoffs
due to an uncertain economy and increased employer
demands for overtime working due to staff cutbacks act
as negative stressors. Employees who start to feel the
“pressure to perform” can get caught in a downward
spiral of increasing effort to meet rising expectations
with no increase in job satisfaction. Poor work
organization can cause work-related stress.

Stress is not a disease, but prolonged exposure to it may

reduce effectiveness at work and can cause ill health.
Stress originating outside the working environment can
lead to changes in behaviour and reduced effectiveness
at work. All manifestations of stress at work cannot be
considered as work-related stress.
B.2 What is stress?
Research findings show that the most stressful type
Stress manifests as physical, psychological or social of work is that which values excessive demands and
complaints or dysfunctions, and results from individuals pressures that are not matched to workers’ knowledge
feeling unable to bridge a gap with the requirements and abilities, where there is little opportunity to
or expectations placed on them. exercise any choice or control and where there is little
support from others. Most of the causes of work-
The individual is well adapted to cope with short-term related stress concern the way work is designed and
exposure to pressure, which can be considered by some the way in which organizations are managed. These
as motivating, but has greater difficulty in coping with types of challenges are called psychosocial hazards.
prolonged exposure to intense pressure. Moreover, The literature [8] on work-related stress generally
different individuals can react differently to similar recognizes ten broad categories of psychosocial
situations, and the same individual can react differently hazards, as listed in Table 2 of this PAS.
to similar situations at different times of his/her life.

Work-related stress can be caused by different factors

such as work content, work organization, work
environment and communication.

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B.4 The effects of work-related stress on

individuals and on organizations
People experience stress in different ways. Work-
related stress can cause different kinds of problems at
the individual level. For example, it can cause unusual
and dysfunctional behaviour at work and contribute
to poor physical and mental health. Work-related
stress also has physiological and emotional effects.
Work-related stress has been found to be associated
with depression and anxiety, cardiovascular disease,
musculoskeletal symptoms and diabetes, among others.
For a review of the health impact of psychosocial risks
and work-related stress see [2].

Signs of stress can be noticeable to colleagues and

managers. They include deteriorating relationships
with colleagues, irritability, indecisiveness and reduced
performance. Stressed employees may also engage
in unhealthy activities such as increased smoking or
alcohol consumption, or drug use and abuse.

Stress not only affects the health of employees but also

that of organizations. Signs of unhealthy organizations
include high staff turnover, increased absenteeism,
reduced work performance, poor timekeeping and
customer complaints. At the organizational level,
work-related stress can often be observed as a
deteriorated work climate. Deterioration in climate
and morale is often closely associated with work
relationships and directly affects employee satisfaction
and welfare. In addition, the number of days lost
to illness can increase. This is seen especially in the
growth of short-term sick leave of 1 to 3 days.
However, stressed employees may also be present at
their workplace but underperform, a phenomenon
known as presenteeism.

Work-related stress also has an impact on product and

service quality as well as the organization’s image.
The recruitment of new and capable employees can be
impaired if the organization is seen as a bad employer.

B.5 How can work-related stress be dealt

with?
A good employer designs and manages work in a way
that avoids common risk factors for stress and prevents,
as much as possible, foreseeable problems. Table B.1
provides an outline of aspects and examples of
well-designed work.

In any existing workplace, it is advisable to identify any

mismatch between demands and pressures, on the one
hand, and workers’ knowledge and abilities, on the
other, set priorities for change and manage the change
towards risk removal or reduction.

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PAS 1010:2011

Table B.1 – Well-designed work

Aspect Examples

Clear organizational structure Employees are provided with clear information about the structure,
and practices purpose and practices of the organization

Appropriate selection, training Each employee’s skills, knowledge and abilities are matched as much as
and staff development possible to the needs of each job
Candidates for each job are assessed against that job’s requirements
Where necessary, suitable training is provided
Effective supervision and guidance is provided to employees

Job descriptions Job descriptions are clear. It is important that an employee’s manager and
other key staff are aware of the relevant details of the job and make sure
that demands are appropriate
A job description will depend on an understanding of the policy, objectives
and strategy of the organization, on the purpose and organization of work
and on the way performance will be measured
The better employees understand their job, the more they will be able to
direct the appropriate efforts towards doing it well

Communication Managers are to talk to their staff, listen to them and make it clear that
they have been heard
Communication of work expectations are comprehensible, consistent with
the job description and complete
Commitments made to staff are clear and are kept

Social environment A reasonable level of socializing and teamwork is often productive as it can
help increase commitment to work and to the work group

B.5.1 Levels of intervention • increasing the amount and quality of support they
There are various strategies to solve work-related stress receive (e.g. by introducing “people management”
problems, which should be developed in consultation training schemes for supervisors, allowing
with workers and/or their representatives. interaction among employees and encouraging
cooperation and teamwork).
Primary interventions b) Ergonomics and environmental design:
a) Work redesign: the best strategies for work redesign • improving equipment used at work and physical
focus on demands, knowledge and abilities, support working conditions.
and control, including: c) Organizational development:
• changing the demands of work (e.g. by • implementing better work systems and
changing the way the job is done or the working management systems, developing a more friendly
environment, sharing the workload differently); and supportive culture.
• ensuring that employees have or develop the
appropriate knowledge and abilities to perform Secondary interventions
their jobs effectively (e.g. by selecting and training a) Stress awareness training:
them properly and by reviewing their progress
• asking employees to attend classes on time
regularly);
management, assertiveness training or conflict
• improving employees’ control over the way they resolution.
do their work (e.g. by introducing flexitime,
b) Management development:
job-sharing, more consultation about working
practices); • improving managers’ attitudes towards dealing

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with work-related stress, their knowledge and c) The intervention components and tools are to be
understanding of it, and their skills to deal with adapted and tailored to the given occupational
the issue as effectively as possible. The role of both sector and meet the unique needs of the respective
top management and line managers is important.11) organization.
d) The intervention is to be designed to be
Tertiary interventions implemented in a systematic and stepwise manner
a) An individual worker’s problems and the solutions to with the aims, objectives and implementation
those problems may be discussed with the worker, strategy of the intervention clearly defined and
described and agreed. Timing of such discussions outlined.
may depend on the worker’s state of well-being.
b)  Possible interventions, both individual (e.g. training,
medical treatment, counselling) and organizational
(e.g. job redesign, changes in management practices)
can be planned, implemented and evaluated.
c) Keeping records: careful, accurate, records are
kept, and progress is evaluated. It is important that
opinions and judgements are not represented as
facts. Proposed actions and the reasons for their
selections may be agreed where possible and
recorded.

There are three ways by which employers can detect

problems early and prevent them from becoming
serious. These are:
a) regularly monitoring staff satisfaction and health;
b)  making sure staff know whom to talk to about
problems;
c) knowing where to refer employees to for
professional help when they appear to be
experiencing real difficulties.
B.6.2 Intervention context: successful implementation

Larger businesses may have access to their own a) Raising awareness and educating managers and
occupational health service or employee assistance employees on the causes and consequences of
programme. work-related stress is essential.
b) Knowledge, competencies and skills on continuous
psychosocial risk prevention and management at the
B.6 Preventing and managing work- workplace is to be developed through appropriate
related stress: good practice principles training for managers and workers.
c) It is crucial that the intervention aims and its overall
The key aspects and good practice principles for
importance, are understood and agreed by both
strategies to prevent and manage psychosocial risks
management and employees.
and work-related stress are given in B.6.1 to B.6.3.
These good practice principles relate to the content, d) The overall support and commitment of the
implementation and evaluation of work-related stress organization (e.g. allocation of resources) and the
management interventions. active participation of management throughout
the intervention, in its design, implementation and
evaluation, are important.
B.6.1 Intervention content: key components
e) Employees are to participate actively and be
a) The content (key elements of focus, tools and
consulted in the development of the intervention
implementation) of the intervention are to be
strategy.
derived from evidence-based practice, based on
sound scientific theory.
b) Psychosocial risks to employees’ health and
well-being in the work environment are to be
identified by way of conducting a proper risk 11)
For further information on line managers’ competencies to deal
assessment. with work-related stress, see www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mcit.htm

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PAS 1010:2011

f) it is important that continuous and active

communication among all key stakeholders in the
intervention process (e.g. employees, managers,
occupational physician and/or other occupational
health experts, trade unions) is maintained.

B.6.3 Intervention evaluation: effectiveness and

sustainability of intervention effects
a) An evaluation strategy, clearly linked to the outlined
intervention aims, goals and identified problems,
is essential.
b) A variety of methods may be used to evaluate
the intervention (e.g. survey, interviews or group
discussions); methods utilized will be dependent
on the size and the available resources of the
organization.
c) The intervention’s impact and overall effectiveness
on employee well-being and organizational
outcomes (e.g. cost-effectiveness, productivity,
absenteeism) is to be systematically evaluated at
several time-points, both directly following the
intervention and over the long-term.
d) The quality and effectiveness of the implementation
process of the intervention are to be systematically
assessed.
e) The impact of the intervention within different
groups (e.g. by worksite, department, gender)
within the organization is to be assessed to identify
and, in turn, address any differential effects of the
intervention.

It should be noted that risk assessment and

intervention design are to take into consideration
workforce diversity issues such as gender, age and
ethnicity. This would ensure the adoption of a more
sensitive risk assessment approach and the achievement
of maximum positive intervention effects for these
groups.12)

A number of case study examples on interventions that have

12)

been implemented in different organizations can be found at:

• Health & Safety Executive:
www.hse.gov.uk/stress/experience.htm
• EU-OSHA: http://osha.europa.eu/en/good_practice/topics/
stress; and
• PRIMA-EF: http://prima-ef.org/inventory.aspx

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Annex C (informative)
Workplace harassment and third party violence

C.1 General harassment is mainly used to describe situations inside

an organization, continuous negative behaviours by
This Annex introduces the concept of harassment clients and customers can also become harassment.
and presents the primary antecedents of harassment
and the harmful effects of harassment on employees, The term harassment is used by the European Agency
observers and the organization. It suggests strategies for Safety and Health at Work (2002, 2010) [16] and is
on how to manage harassment at the workplace. Some also used in the Framework Agreement on Harassment
brief information on third party violence is given in C.6. and Violence at Work. In scientific literature, the
term workplace bullying is often used. Bullying often
involves a misuse or abuse of power where the targets
can experience difficulties in defending themselves.
ILO [7] defines bullying as “offensive behaviour
through vindictive, cruel, malicious or humiliating
attempts to undermine an individual or groups
of employees”.

The term mobbing is used in some countries

interchangeably with bullying. Sometimes mobbing
and bullying are used to differentiate between
negative behaviour by groups and negative
behaviour by a single person.

Definitions covered by national legislation should also

be taken into account. For the purpose of this PAS, the
term harassment is used.

C.3 Antecedents and consequences of

harassment at work
The causes of harassment can be various and arise from
societal, organizational, group and individual factors.
The work environment view emphasizes that stressful
and poorly organized work environments may give rise
C.2 Workplace harassment to harassment.
In the Framework Agreement on Harassment and
Harassment is primarily caused by factors related
Violence at Work [13] signed by the European social
to deficiencies in work organization and leadership
partners in 2007, it is stated that “harassment occurs
behaviour within organizations. Such features (e.g. role
when one or more worker or manager are repeatedly
conflict, role ambiguity, high demands, organizational
and deliberately abused, threatened and/or humiliated
change, job insecurity, low satisfaction with leadership,
in circumstances relating to work”. Harassment
negative or hostile social climate in the workplace)
(bullying or mobbing) is an escalating process in the
of the work environment may influence harassment
course of which the person confronted ends up in an
directly, but they may also contribute to creating a
inferior position in which he/she feels defenceless and
stressful work climate in which harassment can flourish.
becomes the target of systematic negative acts. It often
involves a misuse or abuse of power, and the targets
Harassment at work has been shown to have negative
experience difficulties in defending themselves.
effects on both the targets and the observers/witnesses
of harassment, as well as organizations.
The harasser can be a co-worker, supervisor or
line manager, or subordinate. Although the term

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Becoming exposed to continuous inappropriate and C.4 Interventions for the prevention and
negative behaviour and harassment is an extreme management of harassment at work
social stress situation. Targets of harassment suffer
from different kinds of ill-health and stress symptoms The prevention of harassment is a key element in the
(e.g. depression, irritability, concentration and sleeping improvement of working life and the avoidance of
problems, lowered job satisfaction) and possibly social exclusion. It is important to take early action
musculoskeletal problems. Targets of harassment also against a destructive work environment to avoid
have more sickness absence days than those who are waiting for victims to complain to employers.
not exposed to harassment. a) Primary interventions are proactive by nature and
aimed at reducing the risks of harassment at work.
Observing harassment in the workplace may lead to b) Secondary interventions aim to reverse, reduce or
negative health effects on the observers or witnesses, slow the progression of the situation and to increase
who may report higher stress levels and more stress the resources of individuals.
symptoms than other employees.
c) Tertiary interventions are aimed at reducing and
The costs for the organization include, sickness absence healing the damages of harassment.
costs, costs of litigation, turnover, replacement,
It is important to emphasize the importance of both
recruitment and training costs, as well as damage to
appropriate policies and the appropriate management
the organization image and negative publicity.
of individual cases (see Table C.1).

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Table C.1 – Examples of interventions for the prevention and management of harassment
at work13)

Level Primary Secondary Tertiary

interventions interventions interventions
Organizational • anti-harassment policies and • handling and • programmes
procedures investigation and contracts of
• development of organizational procedures rehabilitation and
culture return to work
• management training, e.g.
on the work-related risks of
the onset of harassment at
work and legal obligations of
management
• organizational level surveys
and organizational level
development projects

Workplace/group • work environment surveys • training of line • provision of group

and risk assessments with a managers and support
special emphasis on the risks of supervisors
harassment at the workplace on conflict
• work environment redesign, management
psychosocial factors • training of
• awareness training for employees,
supervisors and staff e.g. on the
antecedents and
consequences of
harassment
• conflict resolution
• investigation and
handling of cases

Individual • individual level assertiveness • social support • therapy

training and counselling • redress
• training and information, how
to proceed if one is exposed to
inappropriate treatment and
harassment

13)
EU-OSHA (2010).

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PAS 1010:2011

C.5 Good practice principles work environment problem, with interventions

aimed at the organizational level focusing on the
In addition to the good practice principles in preventing work environment, organizational culture and
and managing psychosocial risks (see 5.3), the following organizational structures.
principles are important to take into consideration
• Non-blame culture. Harassment at work is a
in planning and implementing interventions for the
sensitive subject that can create strong emotions
prevention and management of harassment at work.
among all those involved, whether one refers to
• Zero tolerance. The basis in the management of the target, witnesses, those accused of harassment
workplace harassment is zero tolerance of all kinds or those providing support to resolve the situation.
of negative acts. Harassment can also arouse shame and guilt which
• Readiness to take action. The awareness, recognition might make it even more difficult to implement
and knowledge of harassment vary widely between an intervention at the organizational level on
organizations and countries. Low levels of awareness harassment than on work-related stress. It is
and knowledge influence the readiness and important that all phases of any intervention are
willingness of organizations, as well as of managers dealt with professionally in a non-blame culture.
and employees, to take action for the prevention
and reduction of harassment.
• Mutual understanding of the phenomenon. For C.6 Third party violence
interventions to be successful there has to be mutual
Work-related violence refers to any incident in
understanding about the phenomenon and the
which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted
antecedents or risks for harassment, and a common
in circumstances relating to their work. Violence at
language to talk about harassment across the
work is most often violence by third parties such as
organization, involving employers, employees, union
clients, patients or pupils. Fear of violence is stressful.
representatives and health and safety professionals.
The consequences of fear of violence and threats of
Harassment at work needs also to be seen as a
violence are primarily psychological stress, intentions
to leave and lowered job satisfaction.

Training should be provided to employees on how to

deal with an aggressive or hostile client and how to
protect oneself. In most organizations, policies for the
prevention and management of third party violence
are separate documents. Prevention and reduction of
physical violence and situations, such as robberies, is
an occupational safety issue and not within the scope
of this PAS.

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Annex D (informative)
Developing a policy for the management of psychosocial
risks and the prevention of work-related stress14)

An organizational policy for the management of there should be clarity on the operationalization of the
psychosocial risks and the prevention of work-related policy and its implementation. There should be detail
stress should present a clear message to employees on how the organization will conduct risk assessments
and stakeholders that the organization recognizes and how the data will be used to develop appropriate
the importance of these issues and is serious about interventions for risk reduction at the organizational
addressing them. As with every other stage in and at the individual level. The policy should state who
psychosocial risk management, a policy will work will be involved and should outline responsibilities
best when it is developed through a consultation of key actors, including managers, health and safety
process with key stakeholders within the organization staff, trade union representatives, health and safety
(e.g. managers, OH&S representatives, worker committee or representatives and employees.
representatives) and with appropriate expert support
as necessary. It is important for the policy to highlight the key
role of dialogue and employee participation in the
A number of key issues are to be addressed through psychosocial risk management process. Procedures
the policy: and contact persons in relation to the policy should be
a) psychosocial risks and work-related stress are defined outlined. Key indicators that the organization will use
to avoid misunderstandings; throughout the psychosocial risk management process
should be identified. The policy should mention the
b) aims and objectives are clearly stated, as is the
type of training and guidelines that will be developed
policy’s link to health and safety legislation;
and offered to key actors to ensure its proper
c) application and use are clarified; implementation. How and how often the policy will
d) links to other organizational policies and practices be evaluated should be mentioned. Any ethical issues
are stated; of relevance to the policy should be addressed and
e) details on its operationalization on the basis of discussed, and information should be provided on the
the key stages and principles of psychosocial risk procedure for them to be tackled.
management are provided;
The functioning and effectiveness of the policy should
f) implementation issues, including responsibilities of
be monitored and evaluated in a systematic way. It is
key actors and policy evaluation, are addressed.
best practice to evaluate the process on a regular basis
g) ethical issues relevant to it are addressed (e.g. annually). The policy should also be developed
and clarified. further on the basis of the evaluation.

The policy should start with a clear statement that

the organization is committed to the prevention of
work-related stress, management of psychosocial risks
and promotion of mental health of its employees.
Following the definition of key terms (e.g. psychosocial
risks, work-related stress), the policy aim and objectives
should be stated clearly, as well as the link of the policy
to health and safety legislation at the European and
national levels and the management of any type of
risk to workers’ health. The link of the policy to other
policies, practices and systems that the organization
may have should also be mentioned, such as human
resources and corporate social responsibility.

The target audience of the policy should be stated as

well as how it will be made available; most importantly,
14)
WHO (2008).

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Annex E (informative)
Developing a policy for the prevention and management
of workplace harassment15)

E.1 General
It is the employer’s duty to ensure that any case of The policy should include a clear statement of
harassment emerging in the organization is handled in commitment to tackle the issue, definition and facts
a fair, ethical and legally responsible manner, ensuring about the issue, relevant legislation and regulations,
the rights of the targets, as well as those accused. responsibilities and duties of different actors, reporting
Anti-harassment policies, procedures and guidelines systems, appropriate procedures to settle specific cases
for actions are a necessity and a suitable tool for both (including informal systems and formal complaints),
managers and those involved in harassment situations, clear instructions and measures to prevent harassment,
both in regard to dealing with the situation, and for and ways of supporting and rehabilitating the targets.
preventing and managing the problem.
E.1.1 The anti-harassment policy and instructions
With a policy, the employer demonstrates commitment should include:
to tackle harassment at work. A policy makes a clear a) a clear statement from management that all types
statement about what an organization thinks, its of harassment are unacceptable;
relationships with staff and how it expects people
b) a description of harassment, with examples of
to work within its culture. It also makes clear what is
negative acts and harassing behaviour as well as
considered acceptable behaviour and what will not be
positive and desired behaviour;
tolerated. The policy should recognize that harassment
is an organizational issue that affects health and safety. c) legislation and/or other regulations in relation to
harassment, disciplinary procedures and sanctions;
It is important to note that the process of drawing up d) responsibilities, duties and roles of management
and implementing a policy and codes of conduct for and other actors such as line managers/supervisors,
the management and prevention of harassment is as targets, co-workers, occupational health care
important as its contents. To ensure the success of a services, health and safety representatives, health
policy of this nature, it is crucial that it is developed and safety authorities, and trade unions;
and implemented jointly in the organization. e) the procedures to tackle harassment in the
Commitment and feeling of ownership in relation to organization:
the policy and its actions can best be achieved when
• complaint/reporting procedures;
a representative working group is instrumental in
the policy’s formulation and development. The group • dealing with and settling harassment cases in
should include employer, employee and health and the workplace;
safety representatives, personnel administration and f) clear instructions for the persons experiencing
trade unions. Additionally, the group should consider harassment, for the observers, for the persons
whether an outside expert is required to be involved accused of harassment and for supervisors;
during the policy formulation process to give a broader g) information on support mechanisms for those
perspective and overview. involved (targets, harassers), including any
organizational rehabilitation programme;
The objective and purpose of the policies in the
h)  measures to prevent harassment in the organization;
management and prevention of harassment are in
many respects universally the same; however, they i) measures to monitor and evaluate the policy;
differ somewhat between countries and organizations j) identification of specific contact persons (in the
in relation, for example, to the roles and duties of the organization).
different actors and procedures. It is important that
the policy reflects the culture and ways of action of the Often the policy document also includes a section on
specific organization. E.1.1 lists some issues that a policy the causes and antecedents of workplace harassment.
should include, but the actual content of the policy
should be developed in the respective organization.
15)
WHO (2008).

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E.1.2 Implementation of a policy relating to harassment, description of the policy and

All employees working in the organization need to instructions. In addition, managers and supervisors
know that the organization is committed to the policy need to be trained to recognize harassment and to
for the management of workplace harassment. The deal with any cases in a responsible and legally sound
group needs to think how information about the policy manner. The functioning and effectiveness of the policy
can successfully be distributed to all concerned. In should be monitored and evaluated in a systematic way.
connection to the implementation of the policy, all staff It is good practice to evaluate the process after every
should be given basic training on these issues. Training case of harassment and the policy on a regular basis
should include definitions, information about causes (e.g. annually). The policy should also be developed
and consequences and the escalating nature of the further on the basis of the evaluation when necessary.
harassment process, legislation and other regulations

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PAS 1010:2011

Annex F (informative)
Examples of psychosocial risk assessment and
management tools

F.1 General F.2 Work Organisation Assessment

This Annex includes some examples of available tools Questionnaire – Engineering Employers
for the assessment of psychosocial risks. Some of these Federation (EEF), The Manufacturers’
tools go beyond risk assessment and facilitate risk Organisation, UK and I-WHO, University
reduction. of Nottingham, UK
NOTE 1 This list is not exhaustive.
The Work Organisation Assessment Questionnaire has
NOTE 2 More examples can be found at been scientifically validated for use by SMEs in the
www.prima-ef.org manufacturing sector with a minimum of 20 employees.
It has been developed with rigorous scientific input
from the Institute of Work, Health and Organisations
(I-WHO), University of Nottingham, and the EEF. EEF’s
free Work Organisation Assessment tool has been
designed to help human resources and occupational
health managers to diagnose how “healthy” their
organization is.16)

F.3 Istas21 (CoPsoQ) Method – Trade

Unions’ Institute of Work, Environment
and Health (ISTAS) – Spain
Istas21 is a psychosocial risk management method,
adapted from the Copenhagen Psychosocial
Questionnaire (CoPsoQ). Although the main focus
of this method is the evaluation of risks, a thorough
manual is included with descriptions of the risk
management process.

Its aim is to provide a method for the assessment of

psychosocial risk factors that is valid for the Spanish
population. It also aims to be used as a basis for the
development of prevention actions using the risk
management paradigm. The method is provided free
of charge, with the condition that it is used as a tool
for prevention strategies through the risk management
approach; employees take active part in the process,
results are confidential and questionnaires anonymous,
and the tool is not modified. The focus of the
assessment is on the association between psychosocial
risks and a series of outcomes, which include:
a) job satisfaction;
b) general health;

16)
www.workorganisation.org.uk/

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c) mental health; F.6 QPSNordic-ADW, Nordic Questionnaire

d) vitality; for monitoring the age-diverse workforce
e) behavioural stress symptoms; – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway,
f) physical stress symptoms; Sweden
g) cognitive stress symptoms. The Nordic Questionnaire (QPSNordic-ADW) is designed
for the assessment of psychological, social, and
The interventions that can be developed through organizational working conditions:
the use of the approach are tailored to the needs
a) to provide a basis for implementing organizational
of each company.17)
development and interventions;
b) for documentation of changes in working conditions;
F.4 HSE Management Standards for and
Work Related-stress – Health & Safety c) for research into associations between work and
health.
Executive, UK
The Management Standards toolkit, available from QPSNordic-ADW consists of multiple-choice questions
the HSE stress website, includes case studies, training relating to the following psychological and social
videos, questionnaires, advice for managers, employees factors at work:
and employee representatives along with background a) job demands and control;
research and statistics. The Management Standards
b) role expectations;
cover six key areas of work design that, if not properly
managed, are associated with poor health and c) predictability and mastery of work;
well-being, lower productivity and increased sickness d) social interaction with co-workers and clients;
absence. The six psychosocial risk factors included in e) leadership;
the Management Standards are: demand, control
f) organizational climate;
support, role, relationship and change.18)
g) interaction between work and private life;
h) work centrality;
F.5 The SOBANE strategy applied to the i) organizational commitment and work motives.
management of psychosocial risks –
Belgium QPSNordic-ADW has been thoroughly psychometrically
tried and tested in many organizations.20)
The SOBANE strategy (Screening, Observation, Analysis,
Expertise) of risk management was developed to make
it possible to avoid, solve or minimize problems and
organize effectively and economically cooperation for
greater efficiency of prevention. The SOBANE strategy
was proposed to better utilize the skills of the more
widely available occupational health and safety (OHS)
professionals. The emphasis is on employees and
management to address generic/common issues while
less available “experts” are used to deal only with
the major problems that really need their expertise,
leading to a more efficient use of resources.19)

17)
www.istas.ccoo.es/descargas/m_metodo_istas21.pdf www.deparisnet.be/PSY/Eng/Sobane_guide_psychosocial_
19)

18)
www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards aspects.pdf
20)
www.qps-nordic.org/en/index.html

© BSI February 2011 35

PAS 1010:2011

Bibliography

Standards publications Further reading

Where a standard reference is undated, the latest BS EN ISO 9000:2005, Quality management systems –
edition applies. Fundamentals and vocabulary

BS 3518-1:1993, Methods of fatigue testing – Methods BS EN ISO 9001:2008, Quality management systems –
of fatigue testing – Part 1: Guide to general principles Requirements

BS 31100:2008, Risk management – Code of practice BS EN ISO 19011:2002, Guidelines for quality and/or
environmental management systems auditing
BS 18004:2008, Guide to achieving effective
occupational health and safety performance Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000, Implementing
the principle of equal treatment between persons
BS OHSAS 18001:2007, Occupational health and safety irrespective of racial or ethnic origin.
management systems – Requirements
Directive 2002/73/EC of 23 September 2002 amending
BS EN ISO 14001:2004, Environmental management Council Directive 76/207/EEC on the implementation of
systems – Requirements with guidance for use the principle of equal treatment for men and women as
regards access to employment, vocational training and
BS EN ISO 10075-1, Ergonomic principles related promotion, and working conditions.
to mental workload – Part 1: General terms and
definitions WHO. Raising awareness of psychological harassment at
work. Protecting Workers’ Health Series, No 4, 2003.
BS EN ISO 10075-2, Ergonomic principles related to
mental workload – Part 2: Design principles

BS EN ISO 10075-3, Ergonomic principles related to

mental workload – Part 3: Principles and requirements
concerning methods for measuring and assessing
mental workload

PD ISO/IEC Guide 73:2002, Risk management –

Vocabulary – Guidelines for use in standards

BIP 3055:2005, Stress in the workplace. The facts – DVD

BIP 2033:2003, Risk Assessment – Questions and answers

– A Practical approach

ANSI Z 10, Occupational health and safety management

systems

36 © BSI February 2011

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