OSH Balance 2010 06.07.2011

The general picture from the OSH Balance is a positive one. The most important findings from the report are:

• Working conditions in the Netherlands are good. The quality of work is stable, and most employees are satisfied with their working conditions.
• Employees are returning to work more quickly after being off sick: the rate of sickness-related absenteeism is falling as a result of a decline in the average duration of absence.
• Work-related pressure and stress are, in the opinion of employees, causing a great deal of work-related absence; they also believe that employers do not take sufficient measures for dealing with this.
• Flexible working is on the rise: one out of five employees has a flexible contract and it is becoming gradually less common for employees to have a fixed place of work or fixed working hours. The Netherlands, together with Sweden and Denmark, is among the frontrunners in Europe when it comes to non-location based work.
• Work that is non-time or non-location based is more closely associated with more overtime, greater pressure of time and more tasks, but also with more autonomy and more challenging work. Non-time and non-location related work has no bearing on the health or performance of employees.
• The percentage of employees who would like and are able to work until the age of 65 has doubled in four years, though this is less pronounced among employees at the ‘bottom’ end of the labour market.
• Not being willing or able to work till the retirement age is associated with greater physical and ergonomic burdens, as well as with psychosocial and emotional strain. A high degree of autonomy, such as that found with non-time and non-location based work, could be an important precondition for having employees work longer.
• Employers mostly use external occupational health and safety service providers. The expansion of the range of products provided by these services has not led to an increase in the purchase of their health and safety care services. Employers mostly use the health and safety services that they are legally obliged to, an area that shows a decrease.
• Many employees have an unhealthy lifestyle; this is especially commonplace in the transport and communications industries, and the construction industry.
• The effects of an unhealthy lifestyle are also visible on the work floor. Employees with an unhealthy lifestyle have more accidents and are absent more.

Below, a number of topics of interest in a European context are highlighted in more detail.

Flexible working is on the rise: one out of five employees has a flexible contract and it is becoming gradually less common for employees to have a fixed place of work or fixed working hours. The Netherlands, together with Sweden and Denmark, is among the frontrunners in Europe when it comes to non-location based work.
People in the Netherlands no longer work five days a week from 9:00 until 17:00. Part-time work and flexible contracts and working hours are becoming more common. In 2009, 20% of employees had a flexible contract of employment, such as a temporary job, work as an on-call or replacement employee, or a job through a temporary employment agency. Almost half - 45% - of employees worked part time. The same percentages in 1983 were 5% and 6% respectively. It is also becoming less frequent for Dutch employees to have a fixed place of work or fixed working hours: in 2009 almost 18% had a job that was not location-based – in other words, in a place other than in the office. The figure two years previously was 15.5%. Non-location based work is found among many companies. European figures show that 35% of companies in the Netherlands employed teleworkers or people who worked from home in 2006, putting the country among the leaders in Europe, alongside Denmark and Sweden. In addition, more than 35% of employers stated that many of their employees had flexible working hours (non-time related work). The Netherlands ranks around the average European position in this respect, although the rate at which this percentage is increasing is faster than in other countries in Europe.

The percentage of employees who would like and are able to work until the age of 65 has doubled in four years, though this is less pronounced among employees at the ‘bottom’ end of the labour market.
In recent years there has been much focus on people working up to and beyond the age of 65. Partly as a result of financial incentives, this appears to be having some effect. Over a period of four years, the percentage of employees stating a wish and an ability to continue working in their present job has doubled: from 13% in 2005 to 26% in 2009. However, not everyone can or would like to do so: the less well-qualified and women show the greatest reluctance. There are also clear differences from one industry to the next. The percentage of employees wishing and able to continue working longer is lowest in the catering and construction sectors, at 17% and 18% respectively. Most employees who would like and are able to continue working longer are found in the business and financial services sectors (31% and 29% respectively).

Almost half of all companies had a Risk Inventory and Evaluation (RI&E) in 2009.
One-third (33%) of the RI&Es were tested by an occupational health and safety service, a slight fall in comparison to 2005 (36%). There has also been a decrease in the number of companies interested in supervision services in the event of sickness-related absenteeism. In 2009, more than three-quarters (77%) of businesses had arrangements for this kind of supervision, down from 85% four years before.

Download OSH Balance 2010