3. How to identify mental health risks?

In their role, the supervisor has a special opportunity to observe the well-being of employees and the related risks. Furthermore, different tools can be used to identify risks, such as statutory risk assessments, workplace surveys conducted by the occupational health care service provider and personnel surveys. The development of the number of sickness absences and information collected by the occupational health care service provider also help to identify risks.

The term psychosocial stress factors is often used to describe factors present at work that have a negative impact on mental health. These stress factors may be related to the content of work, work arrangements or the social functionality of the work community. Psychosocial factors that have a negative impact on mental health include excessive workload, conflicting requirements, ethical burdens, monotonous work or the threat of violence. As work changes, so do the risk factors for mental health. The ongoing transformation of work involves uncertainty, increasing competition for clients and markets and more demanding competence and efficiency requirements.

It is important to identify the most relevant areas for development, to draw up a concrete plan of measures and to monitor their implementation in the utilization of all risk information. When assessing the overall situation, it is important to consider the importance of job resources alongside hazards and stress factors.

Information retrieved with the following methods can be used to assess psychosocial workload: