PSYCHOSOCIAL ISSUES ON YOUNG PEOPLE ADAPTATION TO WORK

1. PSYCHOSOCIAL ISSUES ON YOUNG PEOPLE ADAPTATION TO WORK psih. Raluca Iordache SR, Ergonomics Department National Research & Development Institute for Labour Protection “Alexandru Darabont” Bucharest iorraluca@yahoo.com

2. According to the European statistics, there are approximately 75 million young people in the EU Member States. These young people need quality jobs, with good health and safety. • European Youth Pact, adopted at the spring 2005 European Council summit, states as key strategy element – creating quality jobs for young people. • To accomplish this objective, creating quality young staffis a must. This aim involvespre-work health and safety education, as part of preparing young people for work.

3. Community Strategy on Health and Safety at Work stresses the need for “awareness raising and education from an early stage” and from the beginning of work life and for education and the prevention culture as key factors for maintaining and improving quality of work.

4. I. Factors influencing the young people adaptation to work • Proceeding from occupational risks employees may be exposed, New Community Strategyon Health and Safety at Work stresses as prioritiesnew risk factors specific to the actual technical – economic stage, “informational society” as needing for special attention, including psychosocial risk factors, especially stress.

5. Therefore, according to European statistics, stress is the second health problem at work, affecting 28% of European Union employees, over 40 millions employees respectively, including young employees.

6. Young people – high risk groupto psychosocial risk factors • Focusing on high psychosocial risk groups, the group of young people has an important place withinstudies and analysis – assessmentapproaches of psychosocial risk factorsneeded to be realized. • Young people are a vulnerable group (“high – risk group”) to psychosocial risk factors at work, comparatively to older employees (according to EC Report - „Guidance on work – related stress”, 1999).

7. Changes in social situation carry an increased risk for some types of people, like young people: - health and welfare problems of adolescents tend to be overlooked; - transition into adulthood, entry into formal occupation (or the long – term unemployment) and movement away from family of origin, all take place in a setting of rapid social changes and conflicting, often ambiguous, social values.

8. Why are young people vulnerable to occupational risks? • On the one side, • Inexperience and unfamiliaritywith the task they are doingand the work environment; • Physically and mentally immaturity etc. • on the other side, • Lack of awareness of OSH risks and OSH information / training; • Lack of awareness of employers’ duties, and their own rights and responsibilities. • these vulnerability factors could determine: • not paying enough attention to health and safety, and • high risk-taking behaviour among some young people.

9. Psychosocial risk factors: Occupational risk factors, also psychosocial Individual factors Good balance NO YES Performance, success Dezadaptation to work

10. According to the European Commission definition, work – related stress is„the emotional, cognitive, behavioural and psychological reaction pattern to aversive and noxious aspects of work, work environments and work organisations”. “Stress is due to the disparity between us and our work, to the conflicts between our work and out – work roles and the lack of a reasonable control degree of our own work and life.” • „It can be stated that stress occurs when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities of the workers to cope with (or to control)."

11. The causes of stress (often called stressors) can be many and vary and can occur as a result of combination of more than one stressor.

14. II. Adaptation resources:Young people join the work life with a multitude of resources / factors that positively influence adaptation to work, from technical, organizational and psychosocial perspective: - Young people may have good theoretical instruction, and especially desire to perfect themselves as professionals, to develop job adjusted skills, creativity and innovative spirit.

15. - When young employees profit by supervision and support, some stress factors could be transformed in stimulating factors for a larger development of work and organization related vision. - Young employees are receptive to information regarding workplace health and safety and are prepared to act to protect themselves when they know about potential hazards.

16. CONCLUSIONS: • According to the factors analyzed above, the work per se and work environmentcould result in stress factors, influencing young people adaptation to work. • Therefore, it comes into prominence the necessity of adopting analysis, assessment and reduction measures of psychosocial risk factors for young people at the workplace, in order to ensure work health and safety conditions and improve their adaptation to activity.

17. Analysis of risk factors perceived as stressful for young employees at the workplace, should involve all issues of work design and management, and of social and organizational contexts: not only the physical, tangible issues, but the psychosocial ones as well. • Thus, there is a reaction at organizational level, at source, to reduce the exposure to risks perceived as stressful, and at the individual level, to reduce the stress experience and effects on health.

18. The effects on health state involve not only physical health, but the psychosocial and social health, adjustment capacity and, therefore, affect young employees availability for work, from both quantitative and qualitative perspective. • If young employees or a sufficient number of employees are affected, it is not hard to see that all organization health and safety, and also performance will be affected.

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