Poor-quality jobs, bad leadership, and psychosocial stress in the workplace can put mental health under strain. In addition to the negative consequences for individuals, mental ill-health also imposes major costs to employers in terms of lower productivity. According to Health Promotion Switzerland, 28.2% of Swiss employees experienced critical levels of job stress in 2022. An earlier study in 2018 showed that the youngest Swiss employees (those between 16 and 24 years old) experience the highest levels of stress, and the highest stress-related productivity losses, at estimated losses of 21.1% of the working time compared to 12% for 40‑54 year‑olds. To address job stress, the Swiss Government has implemented various initiatives, including the “Friendly Work Space Job-Stress-Analysis”, also known as “S-tool”, which was introduced in 2012. This initiative aims to assist companies in identifying stress factors within their workforce so that proactive measures can be taken to ensure that jobs foster healthy lives for employees.
Friendly Work Space Job-Stress‑Analysis – Switzerland
Abstract
The basis of the S-Tool is a web application, featuring an online survey for employees and a platform for project leaders to set-up and oversee the survey. There is a specific S-tool available for teachers and other people working in schools, now known as School acts (Schule handelt). Companies utilise the S-Tool to evaluate employee’s stressors, well-being, and the available resources across different organisational levels. The S-Tool generates survey evaluations for companies and individual employees, typically presented in graphs. Companies are provided with insights on where elevated stress levels exist within their organisations, the available relief resources in the company, and comparative benchmarks against other companies and previous survey outcomes. Additionally, individual employees receive feedback with tips for stress relief. Post-survey, the companies need to interpret the evaluations and ensure that employees are informed about the results and any subsequent steps.
An evaluation of the S-tool in 2018 showed that companies made use of S-tool 326 times between 2012 and 2017. 60% of surveys were conducted in large enterprises, although the number of small and medium-sized businesses saw an upward trend during that period. The school-specific S-tool was piloted in 8 different schools in between 2015 and 2017.
Users of the S-tool are generally very positive about its usefulness. 84% of project leaders would recommend the S-tool to other companies. More than half (54%) of project leaders surveyed credited the S-tool for helping them identify specific blind spots within their organisations. To address stress in the workplace and design appropriate measures, companies primarily relied on S-tool data related to elevated stress levels, existing resources in the company, and results for specific parts of the company. Notably, a third of project leaders and nearly 30% of surveyed employees reported seeing significant positive impacts due to the use of the S-tool. These impacts included improved processes for resilience against stress, reduced stress levels, and fewer absences.
However, care should be taken to discuss the survey results with employees and to respond accordingly. Lack of transparency and lack of action can lead to unintended negative effects. Approximately 15 to 19% of employees expressed disappointment due to the company’s lack of (visible) action.
This practice also supports the implementation of provisions IV.5 and VI.1 of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People (OECD, 2022[1]).
Further reading
[2] Health Promotion Switzerland (2022), Job-Stress-Index 2022, https://friendlyworkspace.ch/system/files/documents/2023-02/Feuille_d_information_072_PSCH_2022-08_-_Job_Stress_Index_2022.pdf.
[1] OECD (2022), Recommendation of the Council on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People, https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0474.
[3] Schoch, S. and R. Keller (2017), Evaluation S-Tool in Schulen, https://gesundheitsfoerderung.ch/sites/default/files/migration/documents/Schlussbericht_Evaluation_S-Tool_in_Schulen.pdf.
[4] Stocker, D. et al. (2018), Evaluation S-Tool, https://gesundheitsfoerderung.ch/sites/default/files/2022-12/Evaluation_S-Tool_-_Schlussbericht_BASS.pdf.
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