Professionals in the education sector have a higher exposure to psychosocial risk factors due to the inherent characteristics of their work. These risk factors relate, for instance, to excessive workloads, emotional demands, or exposure to violence and harassment. They can lead to serious negative mental health outcomes such as sleep disturbances, anxiety, or burnout.
Despite the higher risk exposure, there is currently an overall lack of prevention and management strategies to address psychosocial risks. There are several existing initiatives that have proven successful but the level of widespread implementation of such practices is still limited. Some barriers to adoption include lack of awareness, insufficient economic resources, and time constraints.
At Open Evidence, we have recently started working in a project on “Work-related psychosocial risk factors and mental health in the education sector” for the European Union’s Occupational Safety and Health Agency (EU-OSHA). The objective of the project is to provide an overview of the topic of psychosocial risks at work and mental health in the education sector and how to manage them, focusing on sector specificities. To this end, the research conducted will identify key and unique risk factors and provide examples of good practices and interventions for addressing psychosocial risks in the sector.