MEXICO AND UNITED KINGDOM HEALTH

AND SAFETY STANDARDS:

AN ANALYSIS OF MEXICO’S NEW STARDARD
“NOM-035-STPS-2018, PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK
FACTORS AT WORK” AND UNITED KINGDOM’S
MANAGEMENT STANDARD “TACKLING WORK-
RELATED STRESS USING THE MANAGEMENT
STARDARDS APPROACH” USING COMPARATIVE
RESEARCH

H. D. Lira

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Contents
ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 4

LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................................6

Mexico’s Standard NOM-035-STPS-2018....................................................................6

United Kingdom’s Health & Safety at Work, Act...........................................................7

METHODOLOGY AND METHODS.................................................................................8

Comparative Research.................................................................................................8

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION......................................................................................10

CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................ 11

REFERENCE LIST........................................................................................................12
ABSTRACT
In addition to the impact on personal life, mental illnesses also affect the development of a
country as they are one of the biggest causes of disability in the world. In Mexico, the
issue of mental health is poorly discussed among organizations, both private and
governmental. The main objective of some of the employers ends up being to enrich and
keep the company working, neglecting the general welfare of the workers and the fact that
further reinforces this theory is that it is very difficult to find studies that count the number
of cases of mentally affected workers due to their work in the industry, mainly because
there was no official rule that required employers to provide for mental well-being. of its
employees until the one published in October last year.
This article presents a brief comparison between two important standards, one from
Mexico and one from the United Kingdom. Both have the same objective, to ensure the
mental health of the workers. The comparison is made in order to acknowledge Mexico’s
position in terms of legislation on workers mental health problems addressment.
INTRODUCTION

According to estimates, there are 264 million people in the world who suffer from
depression, one of the leading causes of disability (. In addition, many of them also suffer
symptoms of anxiety. According to a recent study by WHO, depression and anxiety
disorders cost the world economy a billion dollars annually in lost productivity. On the other
hand, it is well known that unemployment is a risk factor for mental problems, while getting
a job or returning to work has protective effects.

However, an unfavourable work environment can lead to physical and psychological

problems, harmful use of substances and alcohol, absenteeism and loss of productivity.
Promoting mental health in the workplace and supporting people with psychiatric
conditions increases the likelihood of reducing absenteeism, increasing productivity and
obtaining the economic benefits associated with these effects.

Many factors in the work environment can affect mental health. In most cases, the risks
involved are due to an inappropriate interaction between the type of work, the
organizational and managerial environment, the skills and competences of the staff and
the facilities offered to the latter to carry out their work. For example, it may happen that a
person has the necessary skills to carry out their tasks but does not have sufficient
resources or does not receive the support they need because of management and
administrative practices of the company.

As defined in the Mental Health Atlas (WHO, 2014) These are some of the problems
that affect the mental health of workers:

1. Inadequate safety and health protection policies.

2. Inefficient management and communication practices.
3. Poor power of decision of the worker or lack of control of his work area.
4. Low level of employee support.
5. Rigid work schedules.
6. Lack of clarity in the organizational areas or objectives.

Risks can also be related to the content of the work. For example, the tasks assigned to a
person may not fit their skills or the workload may be permanently high. Some jobs, such
as those carried out by humanitarian and first intervention personnel, carry a higher risk,
may affect mental health and cause symptoms of psychiatric disorders or harmful use of
alcohol, drugs or psychoactive drugs. In addition, the risks may be higher in situations
where the team is not cohesive or social support is not available.

In Mexico, the institution responsible for assuring workers wellbeing in any organization is
the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. With a standard published just last year "NOM
035, Psychosocial Risk Factors", proposes to protect the mental health of workers in the
workplace. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the Health and Safety Executive proposes
to attack stress at work through the "workbook of management standards" and the book
“Tackling work-related stress using the management standards approach.

Once these two health standards have been defined, it is proposed, through a comparative
analysis, to solve the following questions.

In what position is Mexico in terms of ensuring the mental well-being of its workers?

How long does Mexico have to go to be able to provide legal support to workers who suffer
in a work environment that threatens their mental integrity?
LITERATURE REVIEW
STPS – Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (Ministry of Labour and Social
Welfare)
The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, as a dependency of the Federal Executive
Power, is responsible for the performance of the powers attributed to it by the Organic Law
of the Federal Public Administration, the Federal Labour Law, other laws and treaties, as
well as regulations, decrees, agreements and orders of the President of the Republic.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, through its public servants, administrative units
and deconcentrated administrative bodies, will carry out its activities on a scheduled basis,
in accordance with the national objectives, strategies, priorities and programs contained in
the National Development Plan, the program respective sector and the policies established
by the President of the Republic for the dispatch of affairs.
According to article 40 of the Organic Law of the Federal Public Administration, the office,
among others, has the following function:
The Ministry of Labour is responsible for monitoring compliance with regulations on
Occupational Health and Safety throughout Mexico, all these provisions are based on
article 123 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States.

HSE - Health and Safety Executive:

The main body for occupational safety and health in the United Kingdom.
It’s the national agency for the control of occupational safety and health, managed
independently, and which depends on the British Department of Labour and Pensions. It is
the reference body of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in the country,
together with the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland. Its action is aimed at
reducing the rates of occupational accidents in the country, pursuing a continuous
improvement of the labour and safety and health conditions present in the country's work
centres.
In addition to being the British inspection body for occupational safety and health, the HSE
offers support and advice on the subject to both employers and employees. On the other
hand, the HSE develops a strong informative work, developing easy-to-read guides that
help clarify the legal obligations applicable in the United Kingdom.
It also participates in the development of norms and regulations related to occupational
health and safety.

Mexico’s Standard NOM-035-STPS-2018

The first thing that should be clarified is that NOM-035 does not measure stress, its
objective is only that employers identify and analyse the psychosocial and occupational
risk factors that are directly related to the health of employees, such as: a Dangerous or
insecure work environment, unsanitary working conditions or an accelerated work pace,
which ends up deteriorating the health of the collaborator.
For this reason, it is important that business owners and/or the human resources area be
clear about the factors that NOM-035 seeks to regularize, which are listed below:
Factors of the activity: evaluate how are the workloads; if there is a lack of control at
work or there is a possibility of development.
Organization of working time: evaluate whether working hours are long or if there is
interference in the work-family relationship.
Leadership and work relationships: identify what social relationships are like at work
and if there is workplace violence.
Organizational environment: assess whether there is a sense of belonging, feedback at
work, if there is recognition or compensation towards employees and constant training.

To identify these risk factors, certain requirements that are stipulated in NOM-035 need to
be met and compliance with this 2019 will depend on the number of workers that the
company has.

United Kingdom’s Health & Safety at Work, Act

The United Kingdom is one of the countries with the longest tradition in terms of
occupational health and safety regulation, which has its origins in the 19th century,
coinciding with the second stage of the Industrial Revolution that the country experienced.
It should be noted that UK regulations respond to the Anglo-Saxon or “common law”
model, whereby the main source of the law is marked by successive and individual
decisions that shape and complement the country's legal system. This reality means that
British regulations, including those related to occupational safety and health, enjoy a
greater evolution compared to our country.
British regulation in this area is currently led by the "Occupational Health and Safety Act"
(HSWA, Occupational Health and Safety Act) of 1974. This standard sets out the main
rights and obligations in occupational health and safety for the different actors in the
dialogue social: employers, workers, occupational health and safety professionals ...
This norm is based on a principle by which the subjects that generate occupational risk are
considered the most qualified for its prevention and control. This principle helps to ensure,
for practical purposes, a greater integration of prevention in organizations, as it constitutes
a legal obligation and is not relegated to good business practices.

METHODOLOGY AND METHODS

Comparative Research
Comparative research, basically, is the act of comparing two or more things to discover
something about one or all of the things that are compared. This technique generally uses
multiple disciplines in one study.
According to Heidenheimar (1983) When it comes to method, the majority agreement is
that there is no peculiar methodology for comparative research. The multidisciplinary
approach is good for the flexibility it offers, but comparative programs have a case to
respond against the call that their research lacks a complete set.
Certainly, there are methods that are much more common than others in comparative
studies. Many researchers believe that quantitative analysis is performed much more
frequently than qualitative analysis, and this is seen by how most of the comparative
studies use quantitative data. The general method of comparing things is the same for
comparative research and in our daily comparison practice. Similar cases are treated the
same way, and different cases are treated differently. (Heidenheimar, 1983; Jones,1985;
Deutsch, 1987)
The quantity of differences determines how cases should be treated differently. If one is
able to distinguish two sufficiently, the results of the investigation will not be very useful.
In order to make a useful comparison, both standards will be examined, focusing on the
requirements that must be met within an organization in order to ensure the mental well-
being of its workers addressing the stress causes and other risk factors.

STPS’s “NOM-035-STPS-2018, HSE’s “TACKLING WORK-RELATED

PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK FACTORS AT
WORK” NORM
1. First, they should sensitize workers
about what NOM-035 is, what it is,
what it is for and what its benefits
are, to emphasize that it is to
prevent.
2. Apply to workers the REFERENCE
GUIDE I that is included in NOM-
035 and can be consulted.
Note: The guide brings a questionnaire
with which you can identify the workers
who have suffered traumatic events,
so it is important that when asking
these questions, a continuous
accompaniment is made to explain or
support them in any doubt or situation.
3. After completing the
questionnaires, the results must be
gathered and a record of evidence
made.
4. When the results are available, a
job review should be carried out
and see if the staff assigned is
adequate or changes are required
to improve.
5. The company must carry out a
STRESS USING THE MANAGEMENT
STARDARDS APPROACH” BOOK
1. Prepare your organization, secure
commitment, set up a steering
group and develop a
communication strategy.
2. Identify the risk factors (Who might
be harmed and how?) and evaluate
the risks. Develop solutions and
group action plans.
3. Develop an action plan, do it,
implement it, monitor and finally
review it.
4. Deal with individual concerns by
reacting and suggesting actions. It
could be work or home-related
stress.
5. Review your organisation’s policies
and procedures. The company
should examine whether their
policies and procedures need to be
reviewed in the light of the findings
from your risk assessment. For
example, was there some element
of the policy causing or aggravating
a situation or have new measures
meant the policy needs revision?
 Psychosocial Risk Prevention
Policy, which specifies that work is
being done on the prevention of
psychosocial risk factors, that there
is zero tolerance of workplace
violence and commitment to
achieve a favourable organizational
environment.
6. In addition to this, an effective
communication channel should be
established where employees can
ask to help or report some type of
workplace violence.
6. Identify and develop the
competencies your managers need
to manage potential sources of
work-related stress. The findings
from this research indicate that
there is considerable overlap
between the management
competencies required for
preventing and reducing potential
sources of stress at work and
general management
competencies

As you can see, the two standards or manuals present quite similar steps to deal with the
causes of work stress. However, it can be seen that European regulations are more
detailed and present a more practical approach when establishing solutions.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Globalization is one of the most important factors when it comes to worker safety. The
more developed countries can carry out research that allows other countries, not so
developed, to improve their labour practices.
The fact that a country emphasizes the mental well-being of workers will attract more
attention to the problem and in this way international cooperation will help to address it
more quickly.
The mental health and well-being of European workers is increasingly recognized as an
important issue for stakeholders in European workplaces.
In the case of employers, it is increasingly clear that this factor is related to certain costs,
which can be expressed in terms of absenteeism, presenteeism and loss of productivity. In
addition, some elements related to the management of mental health and well-being must
be taken into account, that is, how risks can be mitigated, how mental health and well-
being can be promoted, how return processes can be managed to work and on how
recruitment processes can be carried out for people with mental health problems.
With regard to employees, there are also costs arising from healthcare, wage losses and
the social and health effects of deteriorating mental health. In addition, issues related to
stigmatization, recovery and reintegration of work that acquire special importance in the
event of deterioration in mental health must be taken into account.
The amount of resources that are invested in the matter plays an important role in
developing a better plan to reduce a problem. The economic and political situation in the
United Kingdom, in contrast to that of Mexico, allows a better study on the psychological
well-being of its workers. This combined with the time that the government of each country
has established the organization or secretariat responsible for it and the corresponding
laws.
In Mexico, we have made great progress in this area, the amount of prejudices we still
have about mental health at work is surprising. In most companies, this issue is neglected
and suffered silently by millions of employees around the world.
Although Mexico still lacks in terms of knowledge about mental health, and even more in
mental health in the workplace, there are many simple actions that can be performed at a
personal or organizational level to improve the work experience and by the productive
results of a company.
Awareness about the topic and education of the entire concept is a good first step to
achieve it.

CONCLUSIONS
Organizations have the obligation to support people with mental upheavals to carry out
their work or reincorporate themselves. The studies show that I perform it, in particular if it
is long-lasting, harmful to mental health. Many of the initiatives described above can help
people who suffer from mental upheavals. In particular, hourly flexibility, adaptation of the
assignments assigned to these people, profit from negative dynamics in the workplace and
confidentiality and facilitation of communication with the managerial staff can help to
continue performing their work or returning to it.
Mental health interventions should be part of an integrated health and well-being strategy
that includes prevention, early detection, support and reintegration or rehabilitation.
Occupational health services and professionals can help organizations apply these
interventions whenever available, but even when they are not available, several changes
can be introduced to protect and promote mental health. The key to success is to involve
stakeholders and staff at all levels when protection, promotion and support interventions
are carried out and when their effectiveness is assessed.
During the accomplishment of this investigation certain objectives have been fulfilled and I
have personally discovered a whole horizon of knowledge that I ignored.
Comparative and cross-cultural research should be part of the scientific spirit, by studying
two standards that technically have the same objective, it is possible to infer part of the
cultural and social background of each of the countries of origin. It is possible to
understand the general perspective that each country has on the mental health of workers,
the research that has been done in this regard and the time that has been devoted to it to
address the problems surrounding this environment.
Although I tried to narrow down the size of my work being a little more specific with the
comparison, the time established for conducting the research exceeded me, limiting the
reading and analysis times for each of the standards. Even so, I believe that although I do
not contribute much to the future legislation of both countries, I have personally obtained
more than I could have expected.

REFERENCE LIST
Deutsch, Karl (1987). Prologue: Achievements and Challenges in 2000 Years of
Comparative Research.
Heidenheimer, Arnold J.; Hugh Heclo; Carolyn Teich Adams (1983). Comparative Public
Policy. St. Martin's Press.
Jones, Catherine (1985). Patterns of Social Policy. Taylor & Francis.
World Health Organization (2019) Mental Health at Workplace. Available online at:
https://www.who.int/mental_health/in_the_workplace/es/ (Accessed: 9 January 2020)
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Great Britain, 2019. Available online at:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress.pdf (Accessed: 10 January 2020)
Health & Safety Executive (2017) Tackling work related stress using The Management
Standards approach. Available online at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wbk01.pdf
(Accessed: 10 January 2020)
Health & Safety Executive (2017) Working Together to reduce stress at work. Available
online at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg424.pdf (Accessed: 10 January 2020)
Mental Health Foundation (2018) How to… Support mental health at work. Available online
at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/how-to-support-mental-health-at-
work.pdf (Accessed: 14 January 2020)
Royal College of Psychiatrists (2018) Mental Health & Work. Available online at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/212266/hwwb-mental-health-and-work.pdf (Accessed: 14 January 2020)
Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (2018) NORMA Oficial Mexicana NOM-035-
STPS-2018 Factores de riesgo psicosocial en el trabajo – Identificación, análisis y
prevención. México. Available online at: https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle_popup.php?
codigo=5541828 (Accessed: 10 January 2020)