The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social, or STyPS) will carry out the relevant inspections at companies of all sizes and sectors in order to evaluate and validate compliance with the requirements of NOM-035-STPS-2018 (Psychosocial Risk Factors at Work — Identification, Analysis, and Prevention), published in Mexico's Official Gazette of the Federation on October 23, 2018.
The standard's objective is to establish the elements needed to identify, analyze, and prevent psychosocial risk factors, as well as to promote a favorable organizational environment in the workplace.
One of the critical, mandatory requirements the standard sets for companies of any type and size is to establish, implement, maintain, and communicate throughout the workplace a psychosocial risk prevention policy that addresses: the prevention of psychosocial risk factors; the prevention of workplace violence; and the promotion of a favorable organizational environment.
In this sense, the Psychosocial Risk Prevention Policy is the statement of principles and commitments that each organization's employer establishes to prevent psychosocial risk factors and workplace violence, and to promote a favorable organizational environment, with the goal of building a culture that pursues decent work and the continuous improvement of working conditions.
Each workplace must develop its own policy based on its conditions, resources, size, type, philosophy, and organizational culture, so that the commitments outlined in the policy translate into concrete actions.
The standard includes a sample Psychosocial Risk Prevention Policy in Reference Guide IV, which can be used as a template and adapted to each workplace's needs.
Here are the elements the Psychosocial Risk Prevention Policy should include, along with some suggestions for developing each point:
Purpose
Here you should establish the rules and guidelines that prevent psychosocial risk factors and workplace violence, and that promote a favorable organizational environment within the organization, with the goal of building a culture that pursues decent work and the continuous improvement of working conditions.
Comply with NOM-035
Roll out the official NOM-035 questionnaires across your company.
Scope
The policy must apply to every employee in the organization, at all levels.
Definitions
You can develop the meaning of the following concepts: workloads, employees, working environment conditions, favorable organizational environment, psychosocial risk factors, workplace violence, among others.
General Guidelines
We suggest framing and developing the following points: committing to apply the policy and lead by example; establishing that acts of violence or actions that go against a healthy work environment will not be tolerated; carrying out actions aimed at preventing psychosocial risk factors; having a fair response procedure that prevents retaliation and avoids abusive or unfounded claims while guaranteeing confidentiality of cases; running training and awareness programs; creating spaces for participation and consultation that take employees' ideas into account; and ensuring all employees take part in establishing and implementing this policy in the workplace.
Principles
Here you should describe the actions your organization carries out to:
- Foster a favorable organizational environment.
- Promote employees' sense of belonging, emphasizing that every employee matters.
- Ensure tasks assigned to employees are properly carried out through training that matches the activities they perform.
- Clearly define employees' responsibilities, for example through job descriptions that spell out specific duties.
- Foster proactive participation and communication among employees through the organization's various communication channels.
- Recognize employees' performance.
- Commit, as a workplace, to monitoring compliance with rules aimed at preventing any conduct or behavior involving workplace violence, to safeguarding any information collected, and to promptly processing and acting on complaints received through established channels.
Reporting Channel
It's essential to describe the reporting channel the company has in place, with the goal of promoting a favorable organizational environment, so employees have a space to report psychosocial risks and/or workplace violence.
The policy should include the procedure for using the reporting channel, along with the confidentiality and privacy of the information collected.
It's important to make sure all employees are informed, and to keep a physical or electronic file with signed copies of the policy as evidence during verification audits carried out by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STyPS).
