O-310 the Future of Policy Making on Work-Related Psychosocial Risks in Europe

Abstract Background Exposure to work-related psychosocial risks (PSR) can result in various negative outcomes for individual workers and organizations. Legislation and other policy approaches regarding these risks vary across the countries leaving workers unequally protected. This presentation will present findings from a European project aiming at reviewing the current state of the art in this area and provide recommendations for the future. Methods A stakeholder survey and focus groups were conducted, including government representatives, employer associations, trade unions and experts. Results One of the main achievements in terms of legislation is the implementation of specific legislation in several countries in Europe, but focus in many has tended to be on bullying/mobbing, harassment and violence. While there have been improvements in the assessment of psychosocial risk in organisations, there remain significant gaps in how these risks are managed/mitigated with the focus still being on the individual rather than on prevention. Gaps in enforcement also remain a challenge. There are now examples of both soft and hard law approaches which have worked in different ways with some countries have more experience in a combination of these than others (e.g., Belgium, Denmark). Both approaches are necessary but even in countries where soft law approaches have been tried out for a long time (e.g., UK) it is obvious that unless there is legislation there is little (preventive) action. On the basis of these findings, specific recommendations will be provided in this area. Conclusions It is hoped that the outcomes of this study will progress the current state-of-the-art on work-related PSR and promote better-informed and evidence-based policy and practice.