In the Dutch legislation is written that the employer must establish a policy to prevent and reduce stressors that causes stress. Named stressors are: aggression & violence, bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination and workload. Workload has a very broad definition, namely: all quantitative and qualitative aspects of the workplace. Symptoms of stress are tension, depressed, mental fatigue and exhaustion that cause health complaints. The definition of psychosocial risk in the workplace has led to a new approach. Work-attributed stress is offering a new perspective to understand stress in the work situation. Philosophical the approach is based on the idea that the psychological phenomena work-attributed stress is the indivisible whole of a symptom of stress and stressor(s) on which the symptom is attributed. The given holistic definition of work-attributed stress (sheet 4) has implications, not only theoretical but also for the way of measurement. The interview-method (Signaleringsmethode werkdruk) and the questionnaire (Vragenlijst werkdruk) are operationalizitions of the theoretical model how work-attributed stress can be measured.
1. Work-attributed stress drs. Leo de Jong, work & organisation psychologist Expertise center of the Dutch labour inspectorate Arbeidsinspectie Ministerie van Sociale zaken en Werkgelegenheid
6. Topic-chart for the interview Work content Contacts Major events Quantity worktasks Heaviness worktasks Work pace Irregular working times Breaks or leave Overtime
13. illness-day and stressors Absence days by illness Logits stressors R-square = 0,06 (normal statistical model)
14. Future 1. Perfecting the model: not only job-demands but also measuring control of the employee on the working place. 2. More inspections, not only important to solve the risk, but it gives opportunities to investigate what measures are the best. 3. So, investigate the effects of the interventions. We can learn a lot! 4. With a webapplication we can partly inspect on distant shore, that gives new opportunities for the inspectorate and also for inspectors. 5. Management of change have to and can be further developed.