The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) launched a new interactive data visualisation tool on 24 September 2026 that allows users to compare ten years of results from the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER) side by side. The tool compares the 2014, 2019 and 2024 editions, is available in 25 languages, and is accessible to users of any level of expertise — from policymakers to occupational health and safety professionals on the shop floor.
What does the new ESENER tool show?
ESENER is the large-scale European survey through which EU-OSHA periodically maps how enterprises manage occupational risks, from physical hazards to psychosocial strain. By bringing the three editions together in a single tool, trends can be tracked over a full decade rather than as year-by-year snapshots. According to EU-OSHA, this reveals a twofold trend: fewer workplaces report worker involvement in measures to address psychosocial risks, while the number of labour inspectorate visits has declined over the same period.
Digitalisation gains ground, involvement lags behind
At the same time, according to the tool, European enterprises report an increase in discussions about the effects of digitalisation on occupational health and safety. EU-OSHA points to a growing gap: attention to digitalisation risks is rising, while structural worker involvement in managing psychosocial risks is declining. For EHS professionals, this is a relevant signal, as worker participation is generally regarded as a precondition for effective risk management around workload, unwanted behaviour and work-related stress.
What remains stable?
Not all indicators are shifting. Over the full ten years, legal compliance remains, according to the ESENER data, the main driver behind occupational safety policy at European enterprises. This indicates that regulation is still the primary incentive, rather than internal conviction or worker initiative — a pattern that was already visible in earlier ESENER editions and that, according to EU-OSHA, has remained unchanged.
Context
In 2024, Eurofound published the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), an independent, EU-wide survey of working conditions that exposes the same persistent imbalance: despite overall improvements in reported job quality, Eurofound points to deep differences between sectors, generations and genders in exposure to work-related risks. This persistent inequality underscores why declining worker involvement in managing psychosocial risks, as shown by the ESENER tool, may weigh especially heavily on vulnerable groups.
Source: Worker participation and digitalisation: explore ESENER trends over time, 24 September 2026
