Psychological health and well-being in restructuring:
key effects and mechanisms

The idea of the project concerning an impact of restructuring of employees’ health has been generated in the frame of NEW OSH ERA, which is funded within the ERA-NET scheme under the Sixth EU Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. NEW OSH ERA is an association of more than twenty funding organisations and European research institutes in the field of occupational safety and health. It aims to increase cooperation among OSH researchers in Europe, in particular by developing a joint research programme. Psychosocial risks at work have been defined by the NEW OSH ERA Consortium as one of the thematic priorities for its joint activities. Consequently, the first NEW OSH ERA joint call has focused on this issue. Three main topics were proposed in this call, among them Restructuring and changes in the world of work in relation to employees´ wellbeing/health. Several proposals were submitted, and PSYRES i.e. Psychological health and well-being in restructuring: key effects and mechanisms was selected to be granted.

The aim of PSYRES is to:

• Gain insight into the impact of different types of restructuring on the psychological health and well-being of employees;
• Gain insight into mediating or moderating factors, for example the role played by worker involvement, perceived organisational justice, support from superiors;
• Gain insight into the role of the national context, and the context of a sector.
• Determine which subgroups of employees are at risk of developing psychological health problems and why;
• Identify effective preventive actions and practical strategies to minimize negative psychological health impacts of restructuring.
• Identify parameters for surveillance at company, national and EU level.