Summary of replies to the questionnaire on mental health at work in France
PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK PREVENTION (PSR)
What, in your opinion, are the strengths and weaknesses of the policies / measures currently adopted to prevent psycho-social risks in France?
For the future, what, in your opinion, are the main opportu-nities and threats for psychosocial risk prevention in France?
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS / RISKS
Government incentives for enterprises to take into account PSR prevention:
• Agreements on stress, vio-lence and harassment;
• Health at Work Plan 2010 – 2014;
• Labour Code and allowance for mobbing.
Lack of legal obligation:
• Incentives to sign agreements but no obligation;
• Role of the CHSCT (commit-tee for health, safety and working conditions) should be increased;
• No precise legal framework on PSR and no legal definition of PSR.
Involvement of enterprises:
• Human resources more close-ly involved;
• Step up the initial efforts in terms of training, initial or continuous, for managers and supervisory staff;
• Increase the number of OH&S personnel in enterprises.
Economic crisis: impact on the funding of risk prevention:
• Funding of risk prevention and research
structures endangered;
• Reduction in risk prevention resources and workplace inspections.
Growing general awareness of the subject by all the stake-holders (government, social partners, OH&S personnel, enterprises, doctors, public opinion, etc.) and progress by social partners on this subject at the national inter-professional level.
No comprehensive approach to these risks:
• PSR prevention has been separated from the rest of risk prevention;
• Lack of an economic approach: no cost-benefit analysis of risk prevention.
Change attitudes:
• Talking about competitiveness leads to questioning about work capacity and efficiency and the need for well-being at work;
• Show enterprises the benefits of risk prevention, especially in terms of costs;
• Emphasize the principle of
“adapting work to humans”;
• The evolution of psychiatrists who care more about the impact of work in the psychic equilibrium.
Economic crisis: risk that PSR could be pushed into the back-ground.
PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK PREVENTION (PSR)
What, in your opinion, are the strengths and weaknesses of the policies / measures currently adopted to prevent psycho-social risks in France?
For the future, what, in your opinion, are the main opportu-nities and threats for psychosocial risk prevention in France?
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS / RISKS
• Definition of these risks still vague;
• Insufficiency of risk assess-ment and the single docu-ment to prevent PSR;
• Lack of instruction of the personnel in charge of this subject (especially in commu-nication with enterprises);
• Lack of research on the impact of risk prevention on performance, and of cost / benefit analyses of risk prevention;
• Available risk prevention methods not enough adapted to corporate needs,
• Bonds and methodologies which take insufficient account of factors such as industry, size or economic context of businesses.
Creation of new tools and networks:
• PSR measurement tool (IN-SEE-DARES survey) available to better understand risk factors;
• Will for improved coordina-tion between the various networks of stakeholders that could act in the field;
• Risk prevention and health personnel better prepared for handling PSR;
• Improvement in the monitor-ing of statistics concernmonitor-ing PSR (notably due to the expert committee (“collège d’expertise”) and the classifi-cation of risk factors).
Economic crisis, increased risks:
• Tougher working conditions which could lead to an increase in PSR;
• Job insecurity which could force employees to accept
for all the stakeholders. Difficulties for SMEs and self-employed workers:
• Inappropriate tools;
• Little visibility regarding the situation of SMEs and self-employed workers, and relatively ignored in health policies.
Develop whistleblowing systems
for employees. Individualization of work rela-tionships and risk of focusing on individual measures, low trade union membership in enter-prises. (hence the challenge for trade unions to mobilize on these issues and to restore contact with employees to be truly their spokesman).
PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK PREVENTION (PSR)
What, in your opinion, are the strengths and weaknesses of the policies / measures currently adopted to prevent psycho-social risks in France?
For the future, what, in your opinion, are the main opportu-nities and threats for psychosocial risk prevention in France?
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS / RISKS
Importance of the role of the CHSCT (committee for health, safety and working conditions) and its possibility to get some expertise
Lack of results and non-priority subject in enterprises:
• Few branch agreements but some agreements in large firms;
• Action plans applied in enter-prises are corrective rather than preventive;
• Little data concerning work-related suicides;
• Few tangible results of pre-ventive measures;
• Risks that are complex, hence difficult to prevent;
• Not a priority for enterprises (employment issues are of highest priority);
• Lack of awareness, especially on corporate boards;
• Industrial doctor not always available on these issues,
• A network of OSH prevention liberals whose skill level is very variable. only to protect the health of any employees they have.
Their own risks and their own health are not considered.
There is a high risk of over-looking a large fringe of the labour force.
• A narrow focus on managers and not enough on manage-ment policies.
Existence of various networks and working groups on the subject, multidisciplinary work of all actors.
No recognition of work-related mental health disorders as occupational diseases.
Possibility for the judge of overriding the employer’s man-agement authority to invalidate a work organisation that could adversely affect workers’ health
Focusing on PSR at the expense of other risks (physical risks in particular).
Reform of the occupational health services (“IPRP”).
Difficulties with retention in or return to the workplace of people who are ill (tertiary prevention).
Re-examine the media handling of work-related suicides to avoid making them seem common-place.
Risk of discouragement of enterprises and need to include PSR prevention in all activities (education, sport, culture).
Link between RPS issues, painful working conditions, gender equality, quality of working life and risk prevention.
Feebleness of penalties due to companies’ failure to comply with obligations. Legal summons seldom used and not very dissuasive penalties.
Specific PSR survey established by the DARES from 2015, alter-nating with working conditions surveys.
Lack of rules ensuring the independence of corporate OH&S personnel relative to their employer.
Lack of training of managers and executives; OSH is not included in the curricula of the “grandes écoles”.
Lack of a precise definition and effective checking of the compe-tencies of OH&S personnel.
Major gap between theoretical discourse and the real way to tackle the problem.
Decline in the number of indus-trial doctors.
Instrumentalization of work-re-lated suicide as a means of protest.