* di Pierpaolo Masciocchi Membro della Commissione consultiva permanente per la salute e sicurezza sul lavoro
Fonte Professioni e Imprese 24 del 17 Novembre 2010
Come noto, l’articolo 28, comma 1, del D.Lgs 9 April 2008, no 81 predicted that the risk assessment should be made taking into account, inter alia, the risks from work-related stress, according to the contents of the Europe Agreement of 8 October 2004. Because of operational difficulties reported repeatedly in order to identify the correct implementation of this legislative provision, during the adoption of corrective and supplementary provisions to the Legislative Decree 81/2008, was introduced in Article 28 paragraph 1 - a, with which it is attributed to the Advisory Commission to formulate methodological indications as to the proper performance of the obligation, aimed at directing the activities of employers work, their advisers and supervisors.
The Commission has set up a tripartite committee of its own which, following an extensive comparison between its components, has developed a methodological approach that represents the minimum level of implementation of the obligation of risk assessment of work stress -related to all public employers and private, licensed by the Advisory Committee in its meeting of 17 November 2010.
The document presents elements of a strong positive both for its structural articulation, simple and straightforward, both for the content that appears in line with the current regulations and, in particular, by the interconfederal June 9, 2008. The latter not only reiterate that the risk assessment of work-related stress, as it does for all other risks must be made by the employer as part of its organization and following the guidelines outlined by the framework existing legal, says the following additional steps:
- Not all workplaces are necessarily affected by stress (Article 1, Section 2)
- Not all events stress are necessarily negative (Article 3, paragraph 2)
- Stress is not a disease (article 3, paragraph 3)
- Not all manifestations of stress at work can be considered work-related stress (Article 3, paragraph 4)
- The identification of stress may involve analysis of objective and subjective factors (Article 4, paragraph 2)
- The task of establishing measures to prevent, eliminate or reduce stress is for the employer and measures are taken with the participation and collaboration of workers and / or their representatives (Article 4, paragraph 5)
- The management of stress problems can be conducted on the basis of the general process of risk assessment (Article 5, paragraph 2)
- Where in the workplace there are no adequate skills, can be called outside experts (Article 6, paragraph 2)
On the basis of these basic steps, and therefore the law which requires risk assessment, the essential elements of ministry guidelines include:
- a preliminary analysis by the employer Working for the presence of objective factors of risk (Article 4, paragraph 2) giving priority to those that may be the "signals" denoting problem of work-related stress (art. 2, para 1) and indicators (Article 4, paragraph 1) to be conducted in the manner set out in Articles 28 and 29 of Legislative Decree No 81/2008 and taking into account the groups of workers concerned (after consultation with the RLS);
- the identification of measures required by the employer (Article 4, paragraph 3);
- the adoption of the same with the involvement of workers' safety representative (Article 4, paragraph 5);
- assuming any evidence of ongoing stress, the need to carry out the analysis of perception ( eg., with the use of targeted testing for individuals) and individual measures (Article 6, paragraph 1). This analysis will be activated only in case the preliminary elements of risk reveals stress and corrective action taken as a result thereof, the employer, have failed.
- having regard to the interests of simplification in the Legislative Decree No. 81/2008, the possibility for the employer, once the risk assessment, to take directly to any individual measures (Article 6, paragraph 1), especially (but not exclusively) in companies which employ few workers.
The ministry guidelines also very clear in stressing that the risk assessment of work-related stress is an integral part of risk assessment and must be performed (as for all other risk factors) by the employer using the Head of the Prevention and Protection (RSPP) with the involvement of the competent physician, if appointed, and after consulting the workers' representative for Security (RLS / RLST) indicate a logical and methodological approach designed to allow a correct identification of the factors risk from work-related stress and, consequently, to allow the employer to the planning and implementation of measures to prevent or when it is not possible, minimization of this risk factor.
To this end, it is clear that the necessary activities must be carried out with respect to all workers, including managers and supervisors. The assessment must also consider individuals but not homogeneous groups of workers (for example, organizational tasks or partitions) that are exposed to risks of the type according to a finding that any employer can do individually on account of actual business organization (may be, for example, shift workers, employees of a particular sector or those who perform the same task, etc).
Another important element in the guidelines on the interpretation of the date of commencement of the evaluation. It allows for the deadline of December 31, 2010, the commencement of the obligation under Article 28, paragraph 1-bis of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008, to be construed as the date of commencement of assessment activities. The sequencing of these assessment activities and an indication of the final date on which they are to be found in document risk assessment. Supervisors, for the purpose of taking measures under its jurisdiction, and take into account the effect of the time schedule mentioned in the previous period. It also shows that employers, on the date of publication of methodological guidelines, have already assessed the risk of work-related stress in line to the contents of the Europe Agreement of 8 October 2004, as implemented by interconfederal of June 9, 2008, should not repeat the survey but are only required to update the same in the circumstances envisaged by art. 29, paragraph 3, of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008.
The assessment is divided into two phases: a necessary (preliminary assessment), the other possible, to be activated in the event that the preliminary assessment reveals elements risk from work-related stress and corrective action taken as a result thereof, the employer, have failed.
A) Preliminary Assessment (required): analysis of objective conditions
The preliminary phase consists in the recognition by the employer, objective and verifiable indicators, where possible numerically appreciable, belonging to at least three distinct families:
1. Sentinel events such as: injury rates, sick leave, turnover, procedures and sanctions, reports of the doctor; specific e frequenti lamentale formalizzate da parte dei lavoratori. I predetti eventi sono da valutarsi anche sulla base di parametri omogenei individuati internamente alla azienda (es. andamento nel tempo degli indici infortunistici rilevati in azienda).
2. Fattori di contenuto del lavoro quali ad esempio: ambiente di lavoro e attrezzature; carichi e ritmi di lavoro; orario di lavoro e turni; corrispondenza tra le competenze dei lavoratori e i requisiti professionali richiesti.
3. Fattori di contesto del lavoro quali ad esempio: ruolo nell’ambito dell’organizzazione, autonomia decisionale e controllo; conflitti interpersonali al lavoro; evoluzione e sviluppo di carriera; comunicazione (Eg, uncertainty regarding the required performance).
In this first phase can be used checklists also apply by corporate entities to enable prevention of an objective, comprehensive and, when possible, parametric factors of the preceding paragraphs.
In regard to the evaluation of the factors of context and content of the above (points 2 and 3 of the list) need to hear the workers and / or employee representatives for security (RLS / RLST). In larger companies you can hear a representative sample of workers. The choice of methods by which workers feel is referred to the employer in relation to the valuation methodology adopted.
If the preliminary assessment does not disclose the risk factors for work-related stress would have required the use of corrective actions, the employer is only required to give account in the document Risk Assessment (DVR) and provide a plan monitoring.
Unlike in the case where major elements of risk from work-related stress would have required the use of corrective actions, we proceed to the planning and adoption of appropriate corrective actions (eg, organizational, technical, procedural , communications, training, etc). If corrective actions are ineffective, it shall, in the time that the company defines itself in planning interventions, the evaluation phase of the next (known as in-depth evaluation).
B) In-depth evaluation (if any): analysis of subjective conditions
The detailed evaluation includes the assessment of subjective perceptions of workers, eg through different tools such as questionnaires, focus groups, semi-structured interviews, families of factors / indicators listed above. This phase refers of course to homogeneous groups of workers with respect to which the problems were detected.
In larger companies it is possible that this phase of the investigation are made via a representative sample of workers.
In enterprises employing up to 5 workers instead of these tools in-depth assessment, the employer may choose to use evaluation mode (eg meeting) to ensure the involvement of employees in finding solutions and verification of their effectiveness.
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