EU Countries Handle Work Stress in Different Ways

By Swedish National Institute for Working Life

A report by a European network of researchers shows that there are major differences in the way EU countries tackle stress--related problems in the workplace.

"However, there are common conclusions which can be drawn regarding the eleven countries surveyed," explains Annika Härenstam, researcher at the National Institute for Working Life and the author of the Swedish contribution to the report European Ways to Combat Psychosocial Risks Related to Work Organisation: Towards Organisational Interventions?

A study of the situation regarding stress problems in the eleven EU countries shows that the legislation also covers the psycho-social working environment and that general stress models are used in many countries. The study also shows that interventions at the level of the organisation are uncommon.

A quick look at the papers shows that national approaches differ in the following respects:

· Background in organisational interventions on stress issues

· Recognition of the importance of the issue

· Development of methods of organisational intervention

· Development of evaluation implementation research

· Disciplines which have a major influence (e.g., sociology, psychology, management science)

· Target level (individual, team, work unit, whole organisation, primary process)

But there are also elements that the countries are sharing:

· A legal framework (1989 European Framework Directive)

· General models for diagnosing stress (like Karasek's)

· Observation that the body of organisational intervention experiences is fairly

small compared to individual interventions experiences

· Methodological difficulties to evaluate the impact of measures