European Good Practice Awards - Call For Nominations Open To Organisations Successfully Tackling Workplace Stress

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has launched the 12th edition of the European Good Practice Awards in occupational safety and health.

(PRWEB UK) - The awards, part of the Campaign Healthy Workplaces Manage Stress, welcome applications from European companies or organisations which are implementing measures to successfully manage stress and psychosocial risks in their workplaces. The winners will be recognised at an awards ceremony in spring 2015.

Director of EU-OSHA Dr. Christa Sedlatschek said: ‘Work-related stress is the second most frequently reported work-related health problem in Europe, yet around four in ten workers think that stress is not handled well in their workplace. However, across Europe there are numerous companies who are determined to manage it, and the Good Practice Awards seek to put them in the spotlight. By tackling work-related stress they are benefitting the health of their workers and the productivity of their business. These awards will give visibility across the EU to their achievements, in the hope that other workplaces will follow their example.’

The European Good Practice Awards (GPA) are organised in partnership with the Member States. Under this edition’s focus, the Jury will look for winners who are committed to successfully managing work-related stress and other psychosocial risks, through the joint efforts of both employers and workers.

Applications are encouraged from all employers, workers and intermediaries (e.g. local occupational safety and health prevention services) from EU Member States, candidate countries, potential candidate countries and the European Free Trade Association. Entrants from national organisations will be judged in two sub-categories: one for companies with fewer than 100 employees and the other for larger companies, with the national winners from each category going forward to a European round. Award winners and a small number of ‘commended’ entries will be selected by a panel that includes representatives of the EU-OSHA Board’s four interest groups (government, employers, workers, and the European Commission) as well as an expert in the field.

The previous 11 editions of the GPA were open to national organisations only, but now for the first time EU-OSHA’s campaign partners (multinational or European organisations) can also enter the awards at a European level, increasing the chance of recognition.

The winners of the awards will not only benefit from the increased press coverage and European visibility – through publication of their activities in the Member States and by EU-OSHA – but also from a privileged link to EU-OSHA and the networking opportunities as key stakeholders.

Read more about the awards in the Good practice flyer and find out about all elements of the 2014-15 campaign by visiting the Healthy Workplaces Campaign website. You can also keep track of the latest campaign developments by following the hashtag #EUmanagestress on Twitter.

Links:

• Visit the Good Practice Award dedicated section
• Download the Good Practice Flyer
• Healthy Workplaces ‘Manage Stress’

1. ‘Healthy Workplaces Manage Stress’ is a decentralised campaign open to organisations and individuals at local, national and European levels. It is coordinated at national level by EU-OSHA’s focal points in more than 30 European countries, and supported by official campaign partners – pan-European and multinational organisations and the campaign media partners.

Throughout 2014 and 2015 EU-OSHA is campaigning to raise awareness of the importance of managing stress and psychosocial risks in the workplace. Although tackling psychosocial risks and work-related stress may seem challenging, this campaign aims to demonstrate that they can be dealt with in the same logical and systematic way as any other occupational safety and health issue. With this in mind, the Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2014-15 has the following key objectives:

• to raise awareness of the growing problem of work-related stress and psychosocial risks;
• to provide and promote the use of simple, practical tools and guidance for managing psychosocial risks and stress in the workplace;
• to highlight the positive effects of managing psychosocial risks and stress in the workplace, including the business case.

2. Key dates

• Campaign launch: 7 April 2014
• Good Practice Awards launch: 15 April 2014
• European Weeks for Safety and Health at Work: October 2014 and 2015
• Good Practice Awards Ceremony: April 2015
• Healthy Workplaces Summit: November 2015

3. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) contributes to making Europe a safer, healthier and more productive place to work. The Agency researches, develops, and distributes reliable, balanced, and impartial safety and health information and organises pan-European awareness raising campaigns. Set up by the European Union in 1994 and based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency brings together representatives from the European Commission, Member State governments, employers’ and workers’ organisations, as well as leading experts in each of the EU-28 Member States and beyond.

Now you can follow us on Twitter, visit the Agency’s blog or subscribe to our monthly newsletter OSHmail. You can also register for regular news and information from EU-OSHA via RSS feeds. http://osha.europa.eu

4. Dr. Christa Sedlatschek, Director EU-OSHA, is a medical doctor (University of Vienna) and a specialist in occupational safety and health (OSH) and EU actions in this field. She was appointed Director in 2011 and is responsible for the management and day-to-day running of EU-OSHA. Consult the EU-OSHA website for further information.