Macro-level policy and practice relating to psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016. The Asia-Pacific region contains more than a third of the world’s total labour force (CIA, 2014), and yet there are limited collaborative approaches towards managing psychosocial factors at work. While countries such as Japan, Korea and Australia...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tessa S. Bailey, Yawen Cheng, Awang Idris, Sara Arphorn
Other Authors: University of South Australia
Format: Chapter
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/43269
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Mahidol University
id th-mahidol.43269
record_format dspace
spelling th-mahidol.432692019-03-14T15:04:20Z Macro-level policy and practice relating to psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific Tessa S. Bailey Yawen Cheng Awang Idris Sara Arphorn University of South Australia National Taiwan University University of Malaya Mahidol University Business, Management and Accounting Economics, Econometrics and Finance © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016. The Asia-Pacific region contains more than a third of the world’s total labour force (CIA, 2014), and yet there are limited collaborative approaches towards managing psychosocial factors at work. While countries such as Japan, Korea and Australia have laws and regulations specific in addressing work-related psychosocial risk aspects many other countries do not (Kawakamiet al. 2014). This chapter examines answers from a focus group of industry experts representing Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand regarding industry, state and national policy and initiatives relating to management of work-related psychosocial risk factors. While specific laws relating to worker wellbeing, including compensation systems attributable to psychosocial risk factors such as workload and stressful work conditions, have been established in Australia and Taiwan, other countries are yet to develop clear legal processes. In Malaysia there is a general requirement for employers to provide a safe working environment; however, this is usually interpreted only in relation to physical health. For Thailand laws protecting worker wellbeing are limited to very specific issues such as chemical exposure and muscular-skeletal disorders (MSDs) but no clear expectations exist regarding psychosocial aspects. Socialised expectation to obey authority is identified as a barrier to better psychosocial risk management at work for both Malaysia and Thailand. Awareness of psychosocial factors and their impact on worker health appears to be growing in the region. For example a recently introduced model Workforce Health and Safety Act in Australia specifically refers to psychological health and in Taiwan since 2008 mental disorders have been classified as compensable, if due to stressful work conditions. However even in countries with formal legal and compensation systems in place, barriers such as limited enforcement and lack of focus on prevention of psychosocial risk factors continue to suppress the protection of worker health and wellbeing. 2018-12-11T02:28:43Z 2019-03-14T08:04:20Z 2018-12-11T02:28:43Z 2019-03-14T08:04:20Z 2016-01-01 Chapter Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific: From Theory to Practice. (2016), 45-59 10.1007/978-3-319-44400-0_3 2-s2.0-85006516242 https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/43269 Mahidol University SCOPUS https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85006516242&origin=inward
institution Mahidol University
building Mahidol University Library
continent Asia
country Thailand
Thailand
content_provider Mahidol University Library
collection Mahidol University Institutional Repository
topic Business, Management and Accounting
Economics, Econometrics and Finance
spellingShingle Business, Management and Accounting
Economics, Econometrics and Finance
Tessa S. Bailey
Yawen Cheng
Awang Idris
Sara Arphorn
Macro-level policy and practice relating to psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific
description © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016. The Asia-Pacific region contains more than a third of the world’s total labour force (CIA, 2014), and yet there are limited collaborative approaches towards managing psychosocial factors at work. While countries such as Japan, Korea and Australia have laws and regulations specific in addressing work-related psychosocial risk aspects many other countries do not (Kawakamiet al. 2014). This chapter examines answers from a focus group of industry experts representing Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand regarding industry, state and national policy and initiatives relating to management of work-related psychosocial risk factors. While specific laws relating to worker wellbeing, including compensation systems attributable to psychosocial risk factors such as workload and stressful work conditions, have been established in Australia and Taiwan, other countries are yet to develop clear legal processes. In Malaysia there is a general requirement for employers to provide a safe working environment; however, this is usually interpreted only in relation to physical health. For Thailand laws protecting worker wellbeing are limited to very specific issues such as chemical exposure and muscular-skeletal disorders (MSDs) but no clear expectations exist regarding psychosocial aspects. Socialised expectation to obey authority is identified as a barrier to better psychosocial risk management at work for both Malaysia and Thailand. Awareness of psychosocial factors and their impact on worker health appears to be growing in the region. For example a recently introduced model Workforce Health and Safety Act in Australia specifically refers to psychological health and in Taiwan since 2008 mental disorders have been classified as compensable, if due to stressful work conditions. However even in countries with formal legal and compensation systems in place, barriers such as limited enforcement and lack of focus on prevention of psychosocial risk factors continue to suppress the protection of worker health and wellbeing.
author2 University of South Australia
author_facet University of South Australia
Tessa S. Bailey
Yawen Cheng
Awang Idris
Sara Arphorn
format Chapter
author Tessa S. Bailey
Yawen Cheng
Awang Idris
Sara Arphorn
author_sort Tessa S. Bailey
title Macro-level policy and practice relating to psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific
title_short Macro-level policy and practice relating to psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific
title_full Macro-level policy and practice relating to psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific
title_fullStr Macro-level policy and practice relating to psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific
title_full_unstemmed Macro-level policy and practice relating to psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific
title_sort macro-level policy and practice relating to psychosocial factors at work in the asia pacific
publishDate 2018
url https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/43269
_version_ 1763494915164078080