Work-related Stress assessment : an organizational approach

Work-related Stress assessment: an organizational approach. G. M. Vecchio 1 , S. Fiaschi 2 , F. Pacelli 2 , E. Pacelli 3 1 Sapienza Università di Roma - Facoltà di Psicologia 2 2 Eco-Format S.r.l. - Roma 3 Eco-Consult S.r.l. - Roma

Questions about Work-related Stress
is it an organizational or individual phenomenon ?
should it be assessed via objective tools or using social research methodologies ?
workers participation : extended or limited to key roles ?
which professional should carry out the assessment ?
… what could be the benefits of assessing WrS (beside fulfilling a legal obligation) ?
Introduction

European Framework Agreement on WrS
Assessing Work-related Stress entails investigations on :
organization and its processes (working time arrangements, degree of autonomy, match between skills and job requirements, workload, …)
work environmental conditions (exposure to abusive behaviour, noise, heat, dangerous substances, …)
communication flows (uncertainty about what is expected at work, employment prospects, or forthcoming change, …)
and subjective factors (emotional and social pressures, feeling unable to cope, perceived lack of support, …)
Introduction

Organizational Context , Job Content
Adapted from : European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (2002)
Introduction

Why an organizational approach ?
We are dealing with a systemic phenomenon , concerning
«aspects about the design and management of work and its social and organizational contexts that have the potential for causing psychological or physical harms» (Leka, Griffith, & Cox, 2003)
WrS assessment should be focused on the relationships between individuals and their organizational contexts , in order to identify factors promoting “ Organizational Health ”
Introduction

« The whole of organizational culture , processes and practices in workplaces contributing to promote, maintain and improve the quality of life and the degree of physical, psychological and social communities health » (Avallone, Paplomatas, 2005)
“ Healthy” organizations provide:
comfortable work environments
higher work-safety awareness
collaboration and efficiency
management of internal conflicts
clear goals,
openness to innovation
organizational equity
Organizational Health Introduction

Guiding principles
Orientation to universal prevention
Participation of all members to the survey
Contextualization of research
Internal cut-off scores
Multidisciplinary approach
Assessing WrS

A six-step model
1) Start-up and Desk Analysis
sharing procedures and tools with stakeholders
data collection about company structure and functional processes
activities to inform and involve all workers
reconnaissance of the company departments
2) Questionnaire administration
collective sessions
stringent consent procedure on privacy
sealed envelopes
Assessing WrS

3) Preliminary results
results from statistical analysis discussed in aggregated form
focus on critical issues and areas to be deepened with workers
4) Qualitative analysis
Focus Group sessions with workers
homogeneity criteria of professional roles and representativeness of company departments
A six-step model Assessing WrS

5) Risks Evaluation Document for WrS
criteria and tools used
complete findings
corrective and/or improvement actions
dissemination strategies
6) Follow-up
monitoring the implementation progress of the proposed actions (six months later)
A six-step model Assessing WrS

Objectives The study

Measures
MOHQ - Multidimensional Organizational Health Questionnaire (Avallone, Paplomatas, 2005)
109 items (4-point scale) assessing behaviour and situations perceived in work contexts, each related to a dimension of Organizational Health.
Risk factors
Perception on Interpersonal Conflicts
Perception of Stress
Perception of Psychosomatic Symptoms.
Protective factors
Work Environmental Comfort
Work Environmental Safety
Perception of Management Efficacy
Perception of Relationship with Colleagues
Perception of Company Efficiency
Perception of Organizational Equity
Perception of Innovation Openness
Job Satisfaction
The study

the Sample The study

significant Gender and Age differences were found in all Organizational Health dimensions
women (regardless of age) and older workers (regardless of gender) experienced higher levels of all Risk factors
Gender and Age were included as covariates in all subsequent One-Way Univariate Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVA)
Gender and Age differences Results

workers in Large companies experimented higher levels of Risk factors
workers in Small companies experimented higher levels of Protective factors and Job satisfaction
workers with higher Working seniority experimented higher levels of Risk factors , but a better Environmental conditions perception
workers reporting effective Management Efficacy and better Relationship with Colleagues experimented lower levels of Risk factors , higher levels of Protective factors and Job Satisfaction
Organizational Context impact Results

workers in Health Care sector experimented higher levels of Stress
workers in Industry sector experimented better Environmental conditions (followed by Services )
workers in both Industry and Health Care sector experimented higher levels of Company Efficiency and Innovation Openness , and higher level of Job Satisfaction
workers with a perception of bad Environmental conditions experimented higher levels of Risk Factors , and lower level of Protective Factors and Job Satisfaction
Job Content impact Results

Outcomes for WrS assessment
By law, the Risk Evaluation Document on Work-related Stress must provide a series of recommendations on corrective and/or improvement actions to prevent or reduce accidents on workplaces .
Information gathered by this model can provide to the top management further indications about organizational development strategies
Conclusions

Paths of organizational development
Management of communication flows to bridge the gap between processes, "who directs“/"who is directed”, and improve integration
effective Human Resources Management Systems to achieve higher level of organizational equity and organizational commitment
coherent Corporate Training Plan , aiming all training activities to a common goal of promoting Safety culture and organizational citizenship
Conclusions

Advantages
Findings can easily be translated into specific measures to prevent and protect the whole company and homogeneous work groups from psycho-social risks, giving insights on even wider organizational development strategies
This model can be adapted to specific situations , yielding proposals that fit the actual conditions of each company
Conclusions

Limitations
Difficulties in dealing with bureaucratic approach to safety and organizational health issues
Still not able to find effective alternatives to the in-presence questionnaire administration which can protect the participants’ privacy and ensure the effective involvement of workers and the quality of data collected
Conclusions

Corresponding author :
Stefano Fiaschi
email : [email_address]
web : www.eco-format.com
Thank you

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Work-related Stress assessment : an organizational approach

by Stefano Fiaschi on Apr 01, 2010

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