Risk Assessment of Psychological Stress Using CARRARA
CARRARA – From Survey to Effective Action
CARRARA is a comprehensive process for assessing the risks associated with psychological stress—ranging from anonymous employee surveys and structured analysis to facilitated workshops and effectiveness monitoring.
The survey is based on a field-tested tool developed by the BGW. However, the survey results alone do not constitute a complete risk assessment. CARRARA processes the anonymized responses in a structured manner, highlights anomalies, and systematically incorporates free-text responses.
This is how answers become insights—and insights lead to concrete operational changes.
A Comprehensive Approach to Risk Assessment of Psychological Stress
Employers are required to take psychological stress into account in their risk assessments. Section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act expressly lists psychological stress at work as a potential hazard.
CARRARA offers a tried-and-true, end-to-end process for this purpose: from the anonymous identification of stressors, through their structured analysis and expert assessment, to the development and implementation of concrete measures and the subsequent monitoring of their effectiveness.
CARRARA uses the screening procedure of the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Health and Welfare Services (BGW). The BGW guidance document
“Focus on Mental Health – BGW Guidance on Risk Assessment for Psychological Stress”
It is based on the recommendations of the Joint German Occupational Safety and Health Strategy and addresses six key areas: job content and tasks, work organization, working hours, social relationships, work equipment, and the work environment.
This means that the employer does not receive a standalone questionnaire, but rather a clearly structured process from assessment to verifiable operational improvement.
CHECK or SURVEY? Not every hazard is identified using the same method. In this article, we explain when a structured assessment with a company representative is sufficient and when employees themselves should be surveyed “CHECK or SURVEY? Two Methods for Identifying Hazards” →
01 COLLECT
Conduct an anonymous survey of employees
02 ANALYZE
Data Becomes Insights
03 CHANGE
Insights Lead to Action
A field-tested survey instrument
Systematically organize results
Developing Concrete Changes in the Workshop
01 – Collection
Employees provide the crucial information.
The risk assessment begins with an anonymous employee survey. CARRARA uses a field-tested survey tool developed by the BGW for this purpose, which systematically captures relevant characteristics of working conditions.
Employees evaluate their actual work situation and can provide additional comments in the free-text fields.
The result is a structured and anonymous dataset derived from real-world business practices.
02 – Evaluate
Answers lead to insights.
A survey initially yields a large number of individual responses—but not yet a complete risk assessment.
CARRARA systematically processes the anonymized survey data. Response distributions are analyzed, notable themes are identified, and open-ended responses are incorporated in a structured manner.
In this way, the survey data serves as a clear working basis for the technical evaluation and collaborative discussion during the workshop.
03 – Change
Insights lead to concrete operational changes.
Striking survey results show, first of all, where action may be needed. However, to implement effective measures, it must be clarified exactly what the problem is and what is causing it.
For this reason, the relevant topics are prioritized and defined in detail during the facilitated CARRARA workshop. Subsequently, appropriate solutions are developed, binding measures are established with designated responsible parties and deadlines, and their effectiveness is later evaluated.
In this way, CARRARA manages the risk assessment process from data collection through to verifiable operational changes.
In the workshop, these insights will be turned into concrete actions
The processed survey results are reviewed collaboratively—from prioritizing the relevant stressors to developing a binding action plan.
01 PRESENT
Present processed results and free-text entries
02 PRIORITIZE
Prioritize Relevant Stresses
03 SPECIFY
Describe problems precisely
04 DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS
Working Together to Develop Appropriate Solutions
05 ACTION PLAN
Determine Actions, Responsible Parties, and Deadlines
01 – Presenten
The compiled results will serve as the starting point for the workshop.
To begin with, the results of the survey and the structured open-ended responses are presented. Prominent themes and identifiable areas of stress are highlighted for group discussion.
This provides all stakeholders with a common basis for the subsequent prioritization.
02 – Prioritizing
The relevant issues are prioritized jointly.
The notable findings and insights from the survey are reviewed collectively and prioritized based on their importance. This results in a priority list of topics that should be addressed first.
03 – Make It Concrete
A tip becomes a clearly described problem.
A prioritized topic is initially just a suggestion. In the workshop, participants will therefore work together to clarify exactly what the problem is, when and how it arises, and who it affects. Only a precise problem statement lays the foundation for appropriate solutions.
04 – Developing Solutions
Specific solutions are sought for specifically described problems.
During the workshop, participants will work together to develop suitable solutions to the precisely described problems. Participants will draw on their experiences from their day-to-day work and gather practical suggestions that can effectively reduce the identified stressors.
05 – Action Plan
Solution ideas are turned into binding measures.
The selected solutions will be incorporated into an action plan. Measures, responsibilities, and deadlines are set in a binding manner.
This is how the jointly developed solutions are turned into binding operational measures.
06 CHECKING EFFECTIVENESS
And then what? Check to see if the measures are working.
The risk assessment does not end with the action plan. After implementation, a review is conducted to determine whether the agreed-upon measures have actually reduced the identified risks.
Depending on the topic, the effectiveness is assessed through employee feedback, in discussions or workshops—or through a follow-up survey.
In this way, the survey becomes a comprehensive and verifiable operational improvement process.
Implementing a Mental Health Risk Assessment as a Project?
I can assist you with surveys, data analysis, and facilitated workshops—all the way through to developing concrete actions and evaluating their effectiveness.