Many jobs have an element of stress at the best of times, but the current pandemic stretched many workers to their limits. The latest standard by ISO’s occupational health and safety committee couldn’t have been more timely.
Published earlier this year, ISO 45003 aims to assist organisations of all kinds and all sectors to put in place good practice for managing employee psychological health and well-being.
Recognising the potential benefits of ISO 45003, many establishments worldwide are implementing the standard. While it’s too early to see the full effect, there are signs it is causing some ripples of change – for the better.
PREVENTION IS KEY
Prof. Stavroula Leka, Emeritus Professor of Work and Health Policy at the University of Nottingham, says that while most educational institutions were not blind to the effect of the pandemic on employees, supports that were put in place were mostly reactive, such as help lines and employee assistance programmes.
There were staff surveys on the impact of the pandemic, indicating increased work-related stress and ongoing workload issues,” she says. “The pandemic unfortunately showed that a preventive approach is still lacking to manage psychosocial risks at work and promote a healthy workplace.
Prof. Stavroula Leka
MAKING CHANGE THAT LASTS
ISO 45003 can support any kind of organisation in implementing such a systematic, preventive approach in order to manage psychosocial risks and promote psychological health and safety in the workplace.
For the most part, the approach stipulated in ISO 45003 is actually a legal requirement in most countries, but the problem is that, in an area like this, abiding by the law doesn’t mean having a tailored, heartfelt manner in which it is applied. The standard goes beyond the minimum requirements of law into much more detail, with the intention of really helping organisations make a valuable difference.
Prof. Stavroula Leka
This includes examples of interventions and evaluations of these.
It also allows organizations to benchmark their practices against International Standards and ensure that they remain agile in dealing with changes in the work environment that can affect physical and psychological health and well-being.
Prof. Stavroula Leka
While it is too early to accurately measure the impact of the standard the shift in mindset has undoubtedly already begun.
Twenty years ago, an employer would say that mental health in the workplace is an individual issue and not their concern, but times have changed since then. The silence has long been broken and the evidence is clear. But that doesn’t always mean the solutions are simple and the problem has gone away. With a change in mindset and much-awaited tangible tools such as ISO 45003, there is a lot of hope that real change is on the horizon.
Jain
Change that lasts for many lifetimes to come, because the COVID-19 pandemic is clearly not over, and even when it is, there will undoubtedly be other national or global challenges for academics to face. But with the opportunity that this new standard offers, the storms might be just that bit easier to weather, both for them and the futures of our young generation that they hold in their hands.
Source: ISO
Published: 9th November 2021