Example of a PSR prevention plan to be included in a QWL agreement

The establishment of QWL agreements within companies makes it possible to include preventive actions in the face of psychosocial risks. In line with our study of 15 QWL agreements signed by companies, we wanted to group here examples of PSR prevention plans within the QWL agreements of large French companies.

Here are the main actions of the QVT agreements and the concrete measures taken by companies in the agreements studied.

Measuring and managing psychosocial risks

One of the examples of psychosocial risk prevention plans found in QWL agreements is the measurement and/or management of these risks. Almost two-thirds of companies have therefore decided to equip themselves with tools that allow better risk evaluation/measurement.

Through evaluations of the QWL of employees (including RPS)

Among the companies that integrate PSR prevention into their QWL agreements, we note that 40% of them propose to assess the feeling of employees about their life at work, partially including the issue of PSR. These evaluations have different names: “QWL survey” at Saint Maclou, “flash diagnosis” at Air France, or even “stress assessment” at Thales.Sometimes combined with a QWL and RPS monitoring committee or with an RPS monitoring body, these tools should make it possible to draw up a map of the problems your employees may face at a given moment.

Through the establishment of a social barometer

At France Travail, a social barometer has been installed since 2012 and aims to “better identify everyone's perceptions of work-related issues within France Travail and to implement actions in order to improve this perception.” Contrary to ad hoc evaluations, the social barometer is intended to be a recurrent measure of the organization's social climate, in order to monitor its evolution over time.

By providing the Single Document for the Assessment of Occupational Risks

Another measurement solution implemented by a third of the companies concerned by our study is the consideration of RPS in the DUERP.Since 2001, organizations have the obligation to list and prioritize risks that may harm the safety of any employee (Decree No. 2001-1016) within a single document called DUERP (Single Document for the Assessment of Professional Risks) .Thus, Manpower specifies “in each work unit of the company, it is thus carried out at least annually, in particular in connection with the operational hierarchy and its team, to update the inventory of existing or potential risks, both physical and psychosocial, and to transcribe them into the DUERP”.

By measuring the human impacts of a change project

Saint-Maclou provides in its PSR prevention plan that a “study on the human impacts of a change project must be conducted, thus making it possible to adjust organizational choices and the project management scenario” .Studies on the impacts of changes for employees are still not very present in PSR prevention plans (only 13%) .In the context of a reorganization, this measure makes it possible in particular to assess the implications on employees in order to avoid any risk to their health.

Example of a psychosocial risk prevention plan: training and raising awareness among employees

67% of the QWL agreements analyzed in our study include a component on training and awareness of psychosocial risks within the company. This is the most common measure in RPS agreements. Here are the concrete actions taken by companies to respond to this problem.

By raising awareness of psychosocial risks

At La Poste, each manager is required to be trained in “the prevention of all professional risks, including psychosocial risks” as soon as they take up a job. At Safran too, specific training is provided to managers, such as “detecting and supporting an employee in difficulty”. In addition to these training courses, adapted communication materials such as the INRS brochure “RPS — 9 tips for taking action on a daily basis” .These actions to raise awareness and prevent psychosocial risks are mentioned in numerous agreements, individually or collectively, and concern managers in particular.

Through the establishment of programs to prevent harassment and violence

At Air France, a charter for the prevention of harassment at work has been put in place. At France Travail, a 2-day training course on dealing with alerts of internal violence at work is offered to Human Resources actors. We note that the prevention of harassment and physical and verbal violence is one of the recurring themes in the QWL agreements studied. A third of companies thus include measures to raise awareness and prevent moral and sexual harassment.

Through training on specific themes

In addition to preventing RPS in their entirety, some companies highlight training on specific topics in their QVT agreements. Among the topics covered, we find, for example, at Air France, the prevention of stress, suicidal conduct, risks related to psycho-traumatic disorders or even risks related to the use of psychoactive substances. In concrete terms, these awareness-raising activities are carried out through e-learning and face-to-face training for managers and employees of the group.

Accompanying and supporting: a basis to include in your psychosocial risk prevention plan

Supporting and listening to employees is an essential measure of PSR prevention plans: present in more than half of QWL agreements, it can be provided in various ways.

By setting up a hotline and psychological support

Since 2009, AREVA has offered employees “a listening and support system based on a local multidisciplinary team, assisted by the skills of a consultant psychologist who is an expert in the prevention of psychosocial risks.” In the same way, Manpower offers psychological support to employees who can directly contact the chosen service provider via a toll-free number, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Present in 47% of the QWL agreements studied in our study, the provision of, for all employees, psychological support, often by telephone, therefore concerns more and more companies.

Through crisis interventions

Maïf has set up a system for managing traumatic events that includes putting “the employees concerned in contact with a clinical psychologist on site and/or remotely” .A listening unit is also envisaged at Saint-Maclou in cases of violence, harassment and traumatic situations.Less present than the hotlines in the QVT agreements studied, these emergency interventions often correspond to the establishment of a crisis unit following events such as a suicide, a robbery, an assault, an accident or disaster.

By providing mediation solutions

Another solution proposed by companies in certain situations: recourse to mediation. For example, France Travail uses mediation in cases of conflict between agents. Present in 20% of QVT agreements with RPS measures, this mediation is not negotiation, arbitration or conciliation. As the mechanism implemented by France Travail recalls, “the mediator acts as a facilitator and is not involved in the motion for a resolution”.

Through protocols to support teams during change

During periods of change, Saint-Maclou proposes “to continuously assess the stress factors of the teams linked to the project and to initiate preventive and/or corrective actions throughout the project”. In addition, he also wants to prepare managers to anticipate and manage risky situations and support employees in difficulty. We note that the prevention of psychosocial risks and the support of employees in transformation phases are increasingly taken into account in company QWL agreements. A third of them in fact include measures in this sense. The examples of psychosocial risk prevention plans included in the QWL agreements studied are therefore part of a triple approach: