https://bds-bg.org/en/project/show/bds:proj:113964
BDS ISO 45003:2021
Occupational health and safety management — Psychological health and safety at work — Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks
Considering the fact that the ISO 45005:2018 standard was published in Bulgarian only on 16.04.2018, a time when the pandemic did not occupy such a place in the lives and work of people around the world, the international organization managed until the end of 2020 . to publish SD ISO/PAS 45005:2020 “MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK. General guidelines for safe work during the COVID-19 pandemic”, which is essentially not a standard, but a standardization document containing basic guidelines and expands hypotheses and recommendations when implementing the basic standard.
The situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has presented employers with unprecedented challenges. Ensuring health and safety in the context of a pandemic and meeting commitments still often seem like an overwhelming task. Measures taken at state/regional level relate to the safety of people. Employers are the ones who must determine the risks and measures to prevent and limit the spread of COVID-19 in their organizations. This necessitates the need for general guidelines to protect personnel while allowing the organization to continue to function effectively.
Given the complexity and urgency of the situation, experts from 26 countries created guidelines in the form of a publicly available specification – SD ISO/PAS 45005:2020 Occupational health and safety management – General guidelines for safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was approved by the technical committee of ISO on occupational health and safety. The document provides guidance to organizations on how to manage the risks arising from COVID-19 so as to protect work-related health, safety and well-being.
ISO/PAS 45005 includes practical guidance that is applicable to organizations of different sizes and operating in different industries, as well as those that:
• worked during the pandemic;
• resume or plan to resume operations after full or partial closure;
• open jobs that were completely or partially closed;
• are new and planning to start working for the first time.
This document provides guidance to protect workers of all types (employees, outsourced workers, contractors, self-employed, disabled workers) and other stakeholders such as visitors, members of the public, etc.
The document is not intended for healthcare facilities where the risks are much greater and of a different nature. In these areas, national legislation applies and guidance is provided by relevant governments and regulatory bodies and is not intended to provide guidance on the application of specific infection control protocols in clinical, medical or other settings.
In preparing the document, applicable legislation and guidance has been provided by government, regulatory and health authorities for those working in these settings or in related roles.
In response to the newly appearing slang international official words such as: “lockdown”, “home office”, “staycation”, “shortcation” and many others, already in section 3 of the document – “Terms and definitions” and more specifically, 3.7 a change in terminology is noted: “incident – an event arising from or in the course of work which may lead to or lead to injury and illness
NOTE 1 to the term: In this document, “injury and illness” refers to direct infection with COVID-19 or physical or psychological impairment and ill health that is a consequence of COVID-19.
[SOURCE: ISO 45001:2018, clause 3.35, with changes – The original notes on the term have been removed and a new Note 1 has been added. ]’.
And so to a standard of general meaning and application is added the specific case of disease. Again, responsibility for implementing recommended procedures to preserve the safety, health and well-being of workers is the responsibility of organizations.
Specifically described psychosocial risks and recommendations for their prevention are described in section 6 “Mental health and well-being”
“6.1 The organization should establish processes to manage the impact of the pandemic on the mental health and well-being of workers.
Mental health and well-being can be affected by psychosocial hazards such as:
a) uncertainty (for example, what is expected, how long the measures may last, impact on pay or working hours);
b) workload and pace of work (eg, too much or too little work, expectations to meet tight deadlines even if activities take longer due to changed ways of working);
c) working hours (eg, unscheduled working hours, reduced or extended working hours, new work shifts);
d) role ambiguity (eg, changes in what is expected of a role, new functions, lack of clarity);
e) lack of control (for example, rapid changes in risk levels leading to sudden imposition or relaxation of restrictions or changed ways of working);
f) lack of social support (eg loneliness, physical isolation, communication problems);
g) impact of prolonged isolation and remote work (eg, excessive screen exposure, fatigue, boredom, lack of concentration, insomnia);
h) job insecurity (eg, concern about possible job loss, domestic financial problems);
i) difficulties in balancing work and family life (eg, caring responsibilities, family emergencies, need to work outside normal working hours);
j) specific roles that are at higher risk due to frequent, close or prolonged interaction with other people (eg contact staff, general access, mobile work);
k) specific circumstances of the worker (for example, belonging to a vulnerable group, loss of a loved one or serious illness in the family).
6.2 To manage the mental health and wellbeing risks associated with COVID-19, the organization needs to:
a) promotes a culture of trust, care and support, recognizing that individual workers face different problems and that concerns or difficulties are justified and respected;
b) enable regular confidential meetings (remote or physical, as appropriate) to discuss problems and concerns and to agree ways of supporting the worker;
c) conducts regular remote or physical meetings with teams of workers;
d) allows for flexible working hours and free time;
(e) assist workers in establishing healthy boundaries between work and non-work time by communicating to them when they should work and be available, taking into account the need for flexibility;
f) allow workers more control over work pace and deadlines, if possible;
g) provides regular, clear and accurate information about the current situation in the organization and about planned changes that may affect employees;
h) consider providing appropriate PPE, masks, face coverings and other control measures for workers who fear being in a physical workplace, even if the organization does not require it;
i) offer additional resources to help workers manage their own mental health and well-being (eg, online programs, websites, access to professionals offering bereavement, trauma, and financial advice).
NOTE: Further guidance on mental health management is provided in ISO 45003′.
Again, ISO’s aspiration is to preserve not only the physical but also the mental health of workers, which is purposefully listed in ISO 45003:2021(en) Occupational health and safety management – Psychological health and safety at work – Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks
Project 2022-1-BG01-KA220-SCH-000085347
Healthy at school. Supporting the well-being and mental health
of students and teachers / HAS, Erasmus+
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
