Address possible link between work-related stress, accidents

The days when speedy communication was not essential in the workplace are long gone because of the advent of the Internet, email, SMS and other instant-messaging platforms.

With these tools, work processes have undergone a tremendous change, as organisations follow the tide and adjust their work management or business model. This has led to higher work-related stress, as workers keep up with responding on call.

I wonder if some workplace accidents can be attributed to higher work-related stress, which can cause physiological effects such as headaches, sleep disturbance, depression and a lack of concentration, to name a few.

Some workers may have been suffering such work-related stress in silence. Not addressing this issue in a timely way may be a ticking time bomb where workplace safety and health is concerned.

Something needs to be done about this, perhaps even at the national level, with legal provisions covering psychosocial hazards and risks, work-related stress, and workers’ mental health and wellbeing. These can be included in Codes of Practices, or Workplace Safety and Health Rules and Regulations, just as countries such as Australia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Mexico have done.

As we commemorate the World Day for Safety and Health at Work today, let us renew our pledge to tackle work-related stress hand in hand, in line with the International Labour Organization’s campaign theme Workplace Stress: A Collective Challenge.