Page 12 - Petelin, Ana, Nejc Šarabon, Boštjan Žvanut, eds. 2017. Zdravje delovno aktivne populacije ▪︎ Health of the Working-Age Population. Proceedings. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press
P. 12
avje delovno aktivne populacije | health of the working-age population 10 ganisational culture, mutual relations, career development opportunities, and
work-life balance) can, to a certain degree, present psychosocial risks to work-
ers. They are among the most important risks related to workplace stress and
affect the psychological and physical wellbeing of workers, and have an im-
pact on their behaviour. The consequences present themselves indirectly in the
costs of treating sick workers and the phenomena of absenteeism and presen-
teeism, accompanied, in all such cases, by a reduction in productivity and ef-
ficiency (Sparks, Faragher and Cooper, 2001). The results of the fourth Euro-
pean Working Conditions Survey (Brun and Milczarek, 2007) showed that, in
2005, 20% of workers from the EU and 30% of workers from 10 new Member
States believed that their health was being put at risk by stress at the workplace.
In 2002, the annual economic cost of workplace stress in the EU was estimat-
ed at EUR 20 billion.
It is not only the working environment that creates precisely defined con-
ditions for the occurrence of health risks on the part of workers; the nature of
an individual’s profession is also a factor. We have therefore decided to exam-
ine which demographic groups, which areas of activity and which professions
are currently subject to the greatest levels of load and exposed to specific psy-
chosocial risks in Slovenia.
Most common health risks experienced by workers
Some 25% of the European population suffers from depression (Albreht and
Turk, 2010), which they characterise as feelings of sadness, loss of interest and
of the capacity for happiness, feelings of guilt and low self-esteem. The major
negative consequences of depression at the workplace are reduced productiv-
ity and high incidences of absenteeism and presenteeism (Evans-Lacko et al.,
2016).
Anxiety is defined as a state of unpleasant restlessness and a tension aris-
ing from a feeling of threat without a clear awareness of the causes. A cer-
tain degree of anxiety can have a positive effect on an individual, with im-
patience, nervousness and alertness improving a worker’s efficiency. A Dutch
study (Hendriks et al., 2015) has shown that more severe symptoms of anxiety
are linked to absenteeism and long periods of absence from work.
Fatigue at the workplace combines a serious lack of energy with a reduced
ability to function, resulting in less energy and motivation to respond to or per-
sist in a certain type of activity or conduct. Three sources of energy are asso-
ciated with fatigue: physical, psychological and emotional (Frone and Tidwell,
2015). The emotional toll exacted by work is not only expressed in emotional fa-
tigue, but also in physical and psychological fatigue. This indicates that emo-
tional burdens operate more widely and in a more harmful way. As society
currently requires ever-greater interaction, cooperation and team work from
workers, interest in emotional fatigue has grown in recent times, as a result of
the phenomenon of emotional exhaustion (Frone and Tidwell, 2015).
work-life balance) can, to a certain degree, present psychosocial risks to work-
ers. They are among the most important risks related to workplace stress and
affect the psychological and physical wellbeing of workers, and have an im-
pact on their behaviour. The consequences present themselves indirectly in the
costs of treating sick workers and the phenomena of absenteeism and presen-
teeism, accompanied, in all such cases, by a reduction in productivity and ef-
ficiency (Sparks, Faragher and Cooper, 2001). The results of the fourth Euro-
pean Working Conditions Survey (Brun and Milczarek, 2007) showed that, in
2005, 20% of workers from the EU and 30% of workers from 10 new Member
States believed that their health was being put at risk by stress at the workplace.
In 2002, the annual economic cost of workplace stress in the EU was estimat-
ed at EUR 20 billion.
It is not only the working environment that creates precisely defined con-
ditions for the occurrence of health risks on the part of workers; the nature of
an individual’s profession is also a factor. We have therefore decided to exam-
ine which demographic groups, which areas of activity and which professions
are currently subject to the greatest levels of load and exposed to specific psy-
chosocial risks in Slovenia.
Most common health risks experienced by workers
Some 25% of the European population suffers from depression (Albreht and
Turk, 2010), which they characterise as feelings of sadness, loss of interest and
of the capacity for happiness, feelings of guilt and low self-esteem. The major
negative consequences of depression at the workplace are reduced productiv-
ity and high incidences of absenteeism and presenteeism (Evans-Lacko et al.,
2016).
Anxiety is defined as a state of unpleasant restlessness and a tension aris-
ing from a feeling of threat without a clear awareness of the causes. A cer-
tain degree of anxiety can have a positive effect on an individual, with im-
patience, nervousness and alertness improving a worker’s efficiency. A Dutch
study (Hendriks et al., 2015) has shown that more severe symptoms of anxiety
are linked to absenteeism and long periods of absence from work.
Fatigue at the workplace combines a serious lack of energy with a reduced
ability to function, resulting in less energy and motivation to respond to or per-
sist in a certain type of activity or conduct. Three sources of energy are asso-
ciated with fatigue: physical, psychological and emotional (Frone and Tidwell,
2015). The emotional toll exacted by work is not only expressed in emotional fa-
tigue, but also in physical and psychological fatigue. This indicates that emo-
tional burdens operate more widely and in a more harmful way. As society
currently requires ever-greater interaction, cooperation and team work from
workers, interest in emotional fatigue has grown in recent times, as a result of
the phenomenon of emotional exhaustion (Frone and Tidwell, 2015).
