EU-OSHA is the European Union information agency for occupational safety and health. Our work contributes to the European Commission’s Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021-2027 and other relevant EU strategies and programmes.

The e-guide is designed to respond to the needs of employers and people working in small enterprises, who are starting to approach psychosocial risks in the workplace, and who need to get guidance on the first steps, including: simple explanations of work-related stress and psychosocial risks; effects on businesses and workers; practical examples on how to prevent and deal with psychosocial risks.

We work to make European workplaces safer, healthier and more productive — for the benefit of businesses, employees and governments. We promote a culture of risk prevention to improve working conditions in Europe.

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) is a tripartite European Union Agency, whose role is to provide knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies.

Promoting high standards in working conditions, including in the area of health and well-being at work, is a key priority for the EU. The EU Directive on measures to improve safety and health at work seeks to protect workers in their place of work and promote workers’ rights in this area.

Psychosocial risks are aspects of the design and management of work, and its social and organisational contexts, that have the potential for causing psychological or physical harm. Work-related stress is one of the health risks most frequently identified by workers in Europe. The factors that can cause stress for workers and influence their health and well-being can be related to the following: job content; work intensity and job autonomy; working time arrangements and work–life balance; social environment, including interpersonal relationships at work and social support; job insecurity and career development.

‘Skill’ has various meanings. At the level of the individual, it means the person’s current level of competence or performance at a certain task; alternatively, it refers to a task a person can perform to a satisfactory level. The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) defines skills as the ability to apply knowledge and use know-how to complete tasks and solve problems.

Telework is a work arrangement in which work is performed outside a default place of work, normally the employer’s premises, by means of information and communication technologies (ICT). The characteristic features of telework are the use of computers and telecommunications to change the usual location of work, the frequency with which the worker is working outside the employer’s premises and the number of places where workers work remotely (mobility).

Social or interpersonal trust concerns trust between individuals, while trust in institutions is defined as confidence in state organisations (parliament, government, the police or the courts) or non-state organisations (media, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), churches or corporations). Trust in people and institutions is a factor in determining quality of society, is a powerful indicator of well-being both at individual and societal level, and is a major public concern of our times. As society changes, tensions, participation, community involvement and the role of government all impact on levels of trust.

Work–life balance refers to the level of prioritisation between an individual’s work and personal life. A good work–life balance is achieved when an individual’s right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm – to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. Enabling a better work–life balance for workers across the life course has been an EU policy goal for many years as it is central to ensuring that work is sustainable for all.