Psychosocial risk assessment: a practical guide for employers

Short answer: a workplace risk assessment should cover psychosocial risks such as workload, lack of control, conflict, harassment and constant availability, not only physical hazards. There is no single EU questionnaire or method, and expectations differ from country to country. A practical approach for multi-country teams: one confidential, validated measurement for everyone, results by team, a short list of changes, and a re-measurement after six months. Check the exact requirements for each country with your occupational health and safety provider.

What psychosocial risks are

Aspects of how work is designed, organised and managed that can cause psychological or physical harm:

• excessive workload and unrealistic deadlines;
• low control over how and when work is done;
• unclear or conflicting roles;
• poor support from managers or colleagues;
• conflict, harassment, unfair treatment;
• job insecurity and badly managed change;
• constant availability and difficulty switching off.

Burnout is one possible outcome of long exposure to these risks.

Why assess them

• To see where the risk is before it shows up as sick leave, resignations and mistakes.
• To set priorities: what to change first, and in which team.
• To check whether changes worked.
• Because preventing psychosocial risks is part of managing health and safety at work, alongside physical risks.

A practical process for teams in several countries

1. Map local expectations. For each country where you employ people, ask your occupational health and safety provider what is expected, and who must be involved (safety representatives, works councils).
2. Choose a validated tool with the right licence. COPSOQ-based questionnaires are widely used for psychosocial risks; a burnout measure such as the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory can sit alongside.
3. Collect confidentially. Use an external party, explain the purpose, and only report groups with a minimum number of responses (for example, 10).
4. Analyse by team and by country, together with absence, turnover and overtime data.
5. Agree a short action plan with owners and deadlines: workload, role clarity, manager training, availability rules.
6. Document and communicate the assessment and the actions.
7. Re-assess after changes and at regular intervals.

Common mistakes

• Running a survey and changing nothing.
• Reporting results for groups so small that people can be identified.
• Relying only on individual measures (apps, webinars) without touching the causes.
• Translating questionnaires informally instead of using validated language versions.

Sources

• EU-OSHA OSHwiki: psychosocial risk factors at work and mental ill health
• Eurofound, psychosocial risks