| Abstract: | According to the German Industrial Safety Act, risk assessment represents the core instrument for documentation, control and auditing of stress at the workplace. Since 2013 this encompasses the assessment of psychological risks and legal requirements for minimizing mental and psychological stress in the workplace. The in-house implementation of these legal requirements runs into substantial difficulties. Against this background this article questions the preventive efficacy of the new law, especially as the ultimate goal of the Industrial Safety Act is to formulate measures for the prevention of psychological stress. The author questions to what extent the interaction between the stress experienced and the development of psychological disorders at the workplace can be captured by simple cause and effect models. Nowadays, there exists scientific consensus that acknowledging basic human needs, such as relationship building, protection of self-esteem, personal control and a sense of justice, represents a fundamental criterion for industrial health preservation and health promotion. |
