Managing job stress in the Netherlands

Compared to other countries, work pressure, sickness absence and work incapacity rates due to work-related mental problems are quite high in the Netherlands. About a decade ago, a new Working Conditions Act (WCA) was introduced that had farreaching consequences for the way job stress is dealt with in organizations. The WCA emphasizes the central role to be played by commercially operating Occupational Health and Safety Services (OHSSs) and defines a new kind of professional – the Work & Organizational Expert – who is primarily responsible for the assessment and prevention of job stress. Recently, a number of instruments have been developed for psychosocial risk assessment that are now widely used on a regular basis in a way that is prescribed by the WCA. Preventive measures are increasingly taken by organizations in order to reduce job stress and sickness absence rates. Some ‘lessons’ may be learned from the Dutch approach; recommendations pertain to (1) the role of government, (2) legal recognition of psychosocial work factors, (3) the privatization of the occupational health and safety sector, and (4) evaluation of job stress prevention programs.