2024-10-19 04:00:00
This text is part of the special section The Future of Work
Although the risks of physical injuries at work have been recognized for a long time, researchers believe that mentalities are changing (too) slowly compared to the risks to mental health arising from the very organization of work.
Allow you to take breaks during a repetitive task; adapt the heights of work surfaces to avoid injuries; provide clothing and equipment adapted to heat, cold and smoke. The sectors understand well that preventing the risk of physical injuries requires the organization and design of work.
But when we focus on mental health at work, “we often target prevention individually,” says Mélanie Dufour-Poirier, professor at the School of Industrial Relations at the University of Montreal. “For too long, we thought that workers who suffered psychologically were weak,” continues sociologist and professor in the Department of Industrial Relations at Laval University Laurie Kirouac. What if we collectivized prevention?
Dysfunctional environments
Since the pandemic, “there has been an exacerbation of the problems already present,” says Ms. Dufour-Poirier, who speaks of a real missed appointment, to which has been added more isolation since the rise of teleworking. “If the workplace was dysfunctional, it is even more so,” she laments.
So, some problems emanate from the workplace. “If 50% of the employees of factory X are on sick leave for mental health reasons, can we really say that it is an individual problem? » gives Mélanie Dufour-Poirier as an example. Work overload, lack of autonomy or support from colleagues and superiors have recognized negative effects on psychological health.
“A lot of things have changed in the workplace, which means that we are seeing an explosion in cases of professional burnout,” explains Ms. Kirouac. To the intensification of work (doing more with less) is added work that requires great self-involvement (relational skills, initiative, creativity). Likewise, people increasingly want to be fulfilled through a job aligned with their values and passions. “Professional burnout is at the crossroads of these changes: when we invest a lot of ourselves at work and it does not meet these expectations, a breakdown occurs,” continues Ms. Kirouac.
Collective responsibility
All stakeholders have their role to play in prevention: employers, unions, workers, governments, etc. In this spirit, a reform of the occupational health and safety regime was adopted in 2021. The new law requires employers to include psychosocial risks in prevention approaches which have an effect on physical and mental health. Companies with 20 or more employees must have a health and safety committee, which aims to give workers a voice in finding solutions to problems.
However, some companies manage to evade these obligations. And while the transitional regime will end in a year, in October 2025, “will employers take advantage of this to do prevention differently? We may have the best politicians in the world, but after all, it’s the impact on people that matters,” says Ms. Dufour-Poirier.
“We could have hoped that the reform would initiate a small revolution in the workplace, but for non-unionized, precarious or vulnerable workers, there are many obstacles to the use of these rights,” also observes Geneviève Baril-Gingras, professor in the Department of Industrial Relations at Laval University. In environments where women are over-represented, for example, certain risks are more difficult to recognize. “It’s not because women are more fragile. There is still, in fact, a restrictive vision of health and safety at work, limited to workplace accidents; we must hope for more efforts to prevent musculoskeletal disorders and the risks linked to the organization of work,” she adds.
The reform is certainly a step in the right direction, even if it does not solve everything. “There will need to be support for non-unionized workers. Otherwise, the reform will be a sword in the water,” warns Ms. Baril-Gingras. The researcher hopes that workers will really be consulted and that they will be heard.
One thing is certain, it will take political will to make things happen. “It is a theme with a heavy impact on a social and societal level. It’s not true that people don’t take this home. It is urgent that we think about it,” calls Ms. Dufour-Poirier.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Dutyrelating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.
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