Principal Investigators: Dr Pavlos Pavlou and Nicoletta Pitsillidou
Aims and Objectives
Psychosocial problems related to work (such as work stress, violence, harassment and bullying), are one of the most important health and safety challenges responsible for poor communication, insecurity, social and / or physical isolation, increased absences from work, accidents, and inability to manage workplace duties.
This particular research is of a more applied nature and aims to develop a model regarding the assessment and management of psychosocial risks in the workplace.
Like all issues which are related to safety and health in the workplace, psychosocial risks can be avoided by establishing management measures providing benefits to the employees and leaders of an organization, such as the development of a sense of well-being, satisfaction and excitement, an increase in productivity, a reduction of absences due to medical reasons, the maintenance of existing human resources and the inclusion/ implementation of European law on safety and health in the workplace.
This proposal includes a study preparation to analyze the situation in Cyprus regarding the extent of problems related to the psychosocial risks of employees, through the development of questionnaires as self-assessment tools by organizations, as well as the development of a certification model for organizations that apply best management practices against psychosocial risks in the workplace. Furthermore, the proposal includes the development of short-term training programs for managers who deal with Human Resource issues.
The methodology for risk assessment and management of psychosocial risks in the workplace, will utilize the systemic approach, according to which the study of a phenomenon is analyzed and understood within the logic of cyclic relationships rather than linear causality, focusing on how each system interacts with the whole and the environment to which it belongs.