In addition, an International Labour Organisation study of mental health policies and programmes affecting workplaces shows that the incidence of mental health problems is increasing with as many as one of ten workers suffering from depression, anxiety, stress or burn-out, which leads in some cases, to unemployment and hospitalisation.

Against the background of rising cost due to workplace stress and to increasingly common necessity for stress management programmes, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) offers a route to reducing the worst effects of stress by standardising international best practices for the design of mental workload.

A model for stress and strain
ISO 10075, Ergonomic principles related to mental workload – General terms and definitions, promotes a common terminology for experts and practitioners to use in the field of mental workload. It covers mental stress and mental strain, and specifies the relations between the concepts involved. In this standard, mental stress refers to the totality of influences acting upon human beings at work, whereas mental strain denotes the impact of the stress upon the individual concerned.

According to this concept, mental stress must be assessed and influenced by work design measures in such a way that incidences of stress do not bring on any effects which impair the safety and/or health of workers. ISO 10075 facilitates the design of optimal working conditions that mitigate the impairing effects of mental strain, such as mental fatigue, monotony, reduced vigilance and mental satiation.

The Standard is flexible in that it addresses requirements for instruments for measuring different aspects of mental workload, covering criteria such as preciseness, dependability, relevance, objectivity, reliability and validity – yet it does not impose which instruments should be used. It will also prove useful to non-specialists, such as employers, employees and their representatives, system managers and designers and public authorities. It describes what kind of methods are available, which criteria are relevant in the evaluation of measurement instruments, and what sort of information they should require in deciding which instrument will be suitable for their purpose.

Designing the work to the user
To avoid the negative effects, it is necessary to fit the work system to the user. Designing or redesigning work systems requires taking into account people, technology and organisational conditions and there interaction right from the beginning. Ergonomic principles related to mental workload, design these principles to help designers, manufacturers and operators of work equipment and work systems. Although using the standard does not guarantee to get rid of stress, it may be used by organisations as a starting point that puts the emphasis on working conditions. For example, in order to avoid the impairing effects of fatigue, design solutions may include reducing or optimising the intensity of workload, limiting the duration of the exposure, or changing the distribution by introducing rest pauses.

Benefits
Many measures may be taken to help workers manage stress, yet these may not be effective in the long term unless they also address the root cause of stress -the working conditions themselves. ISO 10075 addresses the problem by offering organisations a methodology for designing an optimal work system that favours a happy, healthy and productive workforce. For example, if a workplace applies these standards, they will be acting in accordance with the findings of labour science and employees can be sure that their workplaces conform to internationally agreed requirements.

For further information please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0065, 219-0066.