Management of Work-related Stress the focus of this year’s
The European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2014 is the biggest occupational safety and health (OSH) campaign of its kind and is dedicated to the improvement of health and safety standards at European workplaces. The Week will take place between 20 and 24 October under the coordination of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). Awareness-raising activities will be implemented by EU-OSHA partners in all 28 EU Member States and beyond.
The European Week focuses on the dissemination of the aims of the 2014-2015 campaign for occupational health and safety, titled “Healthy Workplaces Manage Stress”. As the key platform for coordinating the Campaign’s activities, the European Week for Safety and Health that Work includes hundreds of awareness-raising events across Europe and beyond, which highlight the benefits of the important role of management in combination with employee participation.
According to information provided by EU-OSHA, stress, the topic of the 2014–15 campaign, is the second most frequently reported work-related health problem in Europe and is believed to be the cause of more than half of all lost working days (50-60%). The campaign partners are aware of the positive effects that tackling psychosocial risks can have on overall business performance, particularly in terms of long-term sustainability and social responsibility, and will lead by example and encourage other organizations to manage stress.
The awareness-raising activities that will take place during the European Week aim to encourage management to take active measures to reduce risks, as well as encouraging employees, their representatives and all other interested parties to cooperate with management to reduce risks. The EU-OSHA Focal Points and the campaign partners contribute to the coordination of the European Week and the organization of events throughout Europe.
In Cyprus, the launch ceremony of the European Week for Safety and Healthat Work 2014 will take place under the auspices of Minister of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance Mrs Zeta Aimilianidou on Monday 20 October at Hilton Park Hotel in Nicosia. During the launch ceremony the Minister will deliver a speech and present the awards for the Good Practice 2014 Competition to businesses that have been selected by a three-Member Technical Committee of the Pancyprian Council of Safety and Health. The Minister will also present the awards for the
School Good Practice Examples 2014. The awards for the Poster Competition 2014, which was organized jointly by the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance and the Ministry of Education and Culture, will be awarded by a representative of the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Within the framework of this year’s European Week for Safety and Health at Work, officers of the Labour Inspection Department will implement a special program that includes onsite visits to workplaces, participation in meetings of Safety Committees, discussion with employees and distribution of information material. Information will also be disseminated through radio and television channels. Meanwhile, officers of the Department will be giving interviews to television and radio programs on subjects relevant to the European Week for Safety and Health at Work.
The Campaign website(www.healthy-workplaces.eu) features a wide range of practical tools to help businesses improve the level of management and employee participation in matters relevant to the European Week for Safety and Healthat Work. As an indication, a series of prevention measures are listed, such as check lists that can be used by management and staff in the sectors of construction, health, and hospitality.
In addition, EU-OSHA case studies record representative examples of effective management of safety and health issues, and can act as a source of inspiration to both management and staff. Case studies cover a large and diverse array of sectors and economic activities and are stored in a database with easy search options.
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) contributes to making Europe a safer, healthier and more productive place to work. The Agency researches, develops, and distributes reliable, balanced, and impartial safety and health information and organizes pan-European awareness raising campaigns.
The campaign for safe and healthy workplaces is supported by the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Social Partners, and is implemented at the national level by a network of national focal points of the Organization (www.healthy-workplaces.eu/fops).
