Critical Issues in the Application of the INAIL Methodology for the Assessment of Work-Related Stress in the Agricultural Sector

Employers are obliged to evaluate all the risks present within their company. Among the risks, that of work-related stress must also be assessed. In order to comply with this obligation, in Italy the Permanent Consultative Commission, on the provision of Legislative Decree 106/09, published the indications for the evaluation of work-related stress. Studies carried out previously and confirmed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), had already shown that this pathology can have harmful effects on workers’ health and on their safety, as stress is potentially able to increase the probability of accident events. INAIL (National Institute for Insurance Against Industrial Injuries) has drawn up a questionnaire tool indicator which turns out to be, currently in the national territory, a practical reference tool used by the employers for carrying out the preliminary evaluation of work-related stress. The applicability of this methodology to all production sectors, however, could make the risk incorrectly assessed, generating gaps, which could have harmful effects on the health and safety of workers. Based on these considerations, a study was carried out to assess the reliability of the application of the INAIL checklist on farms, in order to propose an adaptation of the same to the analyzed sector. Thirty-two farms belonging to the agro-zootechnical and agricultural sector located in the Lazio region (Italy) were observed. The questionnaires proposed by the INAIL guidelines were administered in the farms. The questionnaires were submitted to workers and/or their representative for safety and health. Subsequently, the data were processed to identify any critical issues. The study brought to light some critical issues in the application of the assessment based on the INAIL checklists applied to the agricultural sector. The most significant discrepancy is that relating to the sub-group “Work environment and Work equipment”.