The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), based in Bilbao, Spain, has developed a new OiRA tool (Online interactive Risk Assessment) for office environments. The tool guides organisations step by step through a risk assessment of their workplace, aiming to identify hazards and determine preventive measures before complaints or incidents arise. It is intended for companies and organisations with office staff.
What does the OiRA Office tool assess?
The tool covers several aspects of office work: workstation layout (ergonomics), lighting and ventilation, work organisation, psychosocial risk factors, and the prevention of harassment and violence in the workplace. For each topic, users are guided through concrete questions and can then record appropriate preventive measures. EU-OSHA stresses that involving employees in the assessment is essential, so that it reflects actual working conditions and supports effective prevention.
Context
The obligation to assess workplace risks stems from the European Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, which requires employers in all EU member states to assess “all risks to the safety and health of workers,” including choices made in workplace design. These general prevention principles apply to all public and private sectors, with specific exceptions such as the military and police, and must be integrated into all business activities. An EU-OSHA study shows that roughly three in five workers in the EU-28 report musculoskeletal complaints (European Working Conditions Survey 2010/2015), and that one in five people in the EU-28 had a chronic back or neck condition in the previous year (European Health Interview Survey 2014). Musculoskeletal complaints occur across all sectors; in offices, prolonged sitting and screen work play a particularly significant role.
How does the risk assessment work in practice?
EU-OSHA provides a short instructional video to help users get started with the questionnaire. Well-designed workplaces and a balanced workload are, according to EU-OSHA, conditions for productive and healthy work, and the new office tool is meant to help organisations map those conditions concretely and systematically.
Source: Is your office safe and healthy? Ask OiRA, 28 September 2026
Additional research: EU-OSHA, Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, EU-OSHA, Work-related MSDs: prevalence, costs and demographics in the EU
