Prevention through good work design
Work can be demanding, it can be motivating, and it can help keep people healthy - but it can also impose excessive burdens. Mental workloads are generated by work demands and working conditions that affect how individuals think, feel, and act. Such workloads are neutral in themselves, but can become risks to safety and health if they are highly intense or persist for long periods. Today, good work design means organising work so as to minimise risks to mental health and strengthen the resources employees have at their disposal. Our new publication shows what can be done in this field.
Preventive work design at all levels
Preventive work design that incorporates the following five key factors is of outstanding significance if mental workloads are to be kept as moderate as possible:
- a sensible balance between the volume of work to be done and working hours,
- sufficient autonomy and decision-making discretion,
- healthy attitudes towards emotional labour,
- managers who explain tasks clearly, are supportive, and acknowledge employees’ efforts,
- predictable, recovery-friendly working times.
Complementing these factors, the delivery of prevention services at both the secondary level (e.g. early detection, advice) and the tertiary level (e.g. return-to-work schemes for employees who have been sick) is important if employees are to be supported early on and their ability to work maintained over the long term.
Challenges and recommendations for work design within organisations
Workplace practitioners face the challenge of finding concrete ways to implement these factors as they manage mental workloads. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions - what are required are participative processes in which managers and employees jointly exercise the scope they enjoy for personal initiative. BAuA’s recommendations show prevention is successful when technology, organisation, and human resources policies are coordinated with one another. Work can then not only protect against mental risks, but also promote health and boost performance.
Our new publication on preventing risks from mental workloads offers guidance and suggestions for appropriate action. It conveys well-founded knowledge about
- risks caused by mental workloads, as well as design requirements and options for risk prevention,
- occupational safety and health requirements in the light of the relevant OSH legislation, regulations, and rules,
- design options for preventive work design within organisations,
- factors that help organisations deal successfully with risks from mental workloads,
- recommendations for the successful implementation of work design within organisations that have been tried and tested in practice.
