2020 Volume 35 Issue 4 Pages 620-630
Objective: The aim of this study was to obtain information regarding the status of working environment improvement, as required by the legislated Stress Check (SC) from December 2015, and suggestions for its further expansion and promotion.
Method: Our foundation conducted an awareness survey in November 2017 of 283 business sites which have been implementing SC since the enactment of the law.
Results: Responses were received from 20 businesses (42.4% response rate), with about 65% of them being small- to medium-sized. Regarding the post-SC initiatives, group analysis was conducted at approximately 70% of the business sites, with the majority of businesses indicating that the implementation was signified by “understanding the stress situation in the workplace.” Respondents who indicated that they did not feel the significance of the program offered opinions such as, “Methods to use the system and implement measures are unclear,” and “We have been unable to take action based on the results.” Moreover, although only about 30% of businesses were working on improving the workplace environment, large numbers, almost 50%, of businesses indicated a willingness to do so in the future, reflecting a high level of interest. Reasons behind the lack of implementation included “not knowing how to proceed”, “the large managerial burden”, and a “lack of specialist staff.”
Conclusion: The survey results suggest that the use of group analysis does not lead to sufficient use, and that the lack of know-how and response staff are hindering efforts, in spite of high interest in improving the working environment. In particular, these factors were observed to be a major hindrance to the efforts of small- to medium-sized businesses.
