Abschnitt 3.1 - 3 Workplaces and tasks: hazards and measures
3.1 Work organization and management
By organizing work carefully, you create the conditions for smooth and effective interaction between human beings, technology, information flows and organizational units within your company. During the design of work and performance of the risk assessment, pay particular attention to work content, work procedures, and social interaction.
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 | Hazards |
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Hazards to your employees arise primarily through:
Unfavourable design of psychosocial working conditions
Unclear or contradictory requirements, particularly when tasks, responsibilities and the scope of authority are not clearly defined (e.g. unjust distribution of tasks, opaque evaluation criteria)
Work procedures that are highly labour-intensive and allow employees little control over timing and content
Incomplete work tasks and lack of variation between tasks
Overload and underload, unsuitable skills
Inadequate working time arrangements or cover arrangements for absent employees
Poor communication and cooperation (e.g. a lack of discussion and poor social support between employees, lack of trust, competition pressure, conflicts)
Poor appreciation of employees and absence of feedback
Limited opportunities for career progression, development and change, leading to demotivation, absenteeism and high staff turnover
These phenomena may increase the risk to employees of the following effects of strain and health impairments:
A sense of monotony and satiation
Stress and mental fatigue
Workplaces and tasks: hazards and measures
Forms of mental disorder (depressive disorders, anxiety disorders)
Disorders of the locomotor apparatus
Cardiovascular disorders
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Measures relating to the work task and work content
Ensure clarity by setting out and describing tasks, functions and responsibilities for your employees unambiguously in the form of job and function descriptions and organizational charts. Give consideration to cover arrangements for absent employees.
Grant your employees freedom to manage tasks in their own time by promoting an independent and forward-thinking approach to work, for example by allowing them to plan processes themselves. Grant your employees freedom to define the content of their work.
Ensure that work tasks are assigned integrally, i.e. that employees are able to prepare, organize and monitor entire tasks themselves.
Aim to reduce the proportion of time spent on monotonous tasks, for example by diversifying tasks.
Where employees hold substantial responsibility, ensure that they enjoy appropriate social and organizational support. Where work entails little responsibility, consider transferring tasks and responsibility to the employees.
Provide your employees with the information they need in good time, and involve them in the process of work organization.
Organize work such that your employees are able to complete the specified volume of work within their normal working hours. In this context, take account of delays caused for example by failures or technical outages.
Involve your employees in determining the arrangements for working hours, and ensure that both company and private interests are considered.
Measures relating to communication, cooperation and social interaction
Put clear rules and structures in place for communication.
Conduct regular group and team discussions. Address the subject of cooperation and the background to procedures and processes within your company.
Promote an atmosphere of mutual esteem among your employees by addressing conflicts swiftly, offering training, and if appropriate drawing up guidelines for good cooperation.
Facilitate discussion and mutual support between employees.
Create clear arrangements for the handling of situations that lead to emotional stress, for example contact with difficult customers.
Facilitate discussion between departments. An understanding of the tasks and functions of upstream and downstream company units can assist in reducing misunderstandings and enhancing efficiency.
Ensure that your employees receive regular constructive feedback from their superiors over and beyond mere discussions.
Determine your employees' need for training and organize suitable training measures.
Health-conscious behaviour begins with your own.
Be aware: give conscious consideration to your own health and risks to it.
Acquaint yourself with behaviour conducive to good health, and adopt it.
Apply your knowledge to the employees in your company.
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