Psychosocial and musculoskeletal risk factors most widespread in Europe’s workplaces – and risk assessment is still considered the best way of tackling them

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) recently launched the main findings of the Second European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks at the European Parliament in Brussels.

The results of the survey — which collected responses from almost 50,000 workplaces in 36 countries, including all 28 Member States — give a detailed insight into how occupational safety and health (OSH) risks are managed in Europe’s workplaces.

The most commonly reported risk factor is having to deal with difficult customers, patients, pupils and so on (58% of establishments in the EU-28), which in part reflects the continued growth of the service sector. Factors leading to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as tiring or painful positions and repetitive hand or arm movements, are reported very frequently across all activity sectors.

The results indicate that 76% of establishments in the EU-28 carry out regular risk assessments, and of those 90% consider them a useful way of managing safety and health.

Another key finding refers to how a high level of employee participation (whether formal or informal) is a strong indicator of good quality of work, including the quality of OSH management in general and psychosocial risk management in particular.