The Special Issues in Workplace Well-being course focuses on specific workplace well-being issues such as prevention and management of workplace risks, mechanisms for implementing prevention or managing these risks, management and administration of enterprises, stress, burnout, alcohol and drugs, musculoskeletal disorders, etc. These issues are mainly addressed in terms of their impact on companies (social climate, costs, management of organisations, etc.), on society (social protection, compensation, etc.) or on the individual situation of those concerned (accidents, stress, depression, absenteeism, therapy, etc.). In this context, law is only one tool among others, alongside the sociology of organisations, psychology, management, etc. It is therefore necessary to contextualise law and its application and to learn to approach each question in an interdisciplinary manner. At the end of the course, the student: • will be able to take clear and complete notes during oral presentations (lectures, practical work, conferences, etc.) on which he/she can rely to master the subject; • will have a good grasp of the different areas of well-being at work and the interactions between them; • have a good knowledge of the different actors in the field of well-being at work and their respective roles; • be able to address any issue related to well-being at work from an interdisciplinary perspective; • be able to contextualise the law and its application by drawing on other disciplines; • will have a thorough grasp of the subject matter of the course, the various concepts covered and will be able to define precisely the framework within which the subject matter and concepts are addressed; • be able to formulate a good research question correctly; • be able to answer, according to a rigorous methodology, any research question related to the course theme; • will be able to rigorously verify and contextualise sources; • will be made aware of the issues of prevention and management of risks at work as well as the different areas of well-being at work; • will be able to work collectively.
The course has two main objectives: 1. to train the student in well-being at work and its different aspects; 2. to teach the student to formulate and address a real research question, collectively and/or individually, in a new field. In addition to the acquisition of new knowledge by the student, the course aims to enable the student to develop new skills in terms of research and reasoning in subjects other than law and to highlight the added value of other disciplines to the law. The aim of the course is to give the student a taste for the subject and to make him/her aware of the realities in the field, regardless of the 'entry point' the student chooses to approach it.
The course is approached in the form of 'capita selecta' which may vary from year to year, depending on current events and ongoing research. In this sense, the course closely links teaching and research results. In addition to the more traditional aspects such as the application of welfare at work legislation, its history and rationale, the course focuses on risks at work, including psychosocial risks, and on occupational health and safety. The health of workers is often put at risk. Moreover, suicides at work, burnout, depression, psychosomatic disorders, etc. seem to be on the increase. Is this really the case? To what extent is the organisation of companies at fault? Can the code of well-being at work prevent and manage this type of risk? What can be done when the causes are not exclusively attributable to the work environment? How can legal protection and individual well-being be linked? How can we integrate welfare policy into company management? How can management be adapted to guarantee the health and safety of workers? What kind of support is possible for the people concerned? These are just some of the questions that can be addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective.
The examination consists of two parts: a written part and an oral part. Written part of the examination - partial examination (20% of total points) The partial (written) examination takes place in the last week of February (or in August in case of a second session) and focuses exclusively on the normative framework of well-being at work (well-being at work code, health surveillance, work regulations). As stated in the title 'teaching methods', the student is required to acquire this material by himself, either through the documents made available on webcampus or through other sources that he has collected himself. Questions can be open questions, multiple choice questions, multiple answer questions, closed questions, etc. (with deduction of negative points for wrong answers). Oral part of the examination - final examination (80% of total points) The final (oral) exam is the result of research and reflection. The modalities of this work are communicated at the beginning of the course (during the month of February), insofar as they are adapted to the number of registered students. The guidelines for the work are as follows: • correctly formulate and treat in a rigorous and scientific manner a research question, previously validated by the teacher ; • Oral presentation (just after the Easter holidays) of the results of the work in one (or more) interactive session(s) with other students, teacher, assistants, possible external guests, etc. ; • actively participate in all other students' presentation sessions. This active participation counts towards the final exam score. In order to pass the examination, it is essential that students, both in the formulation of the question and in the answer given, demonstrate that they possess the various learning outcomes targeted by the course (above) and meet the course objectives. Scientific rigour is essential in the process of answering the research question. Creativity and originality are strongly encouraged. The quality of the group work and the active participation in the presentation session(s) are also taken into account in the grade given, which is the same for all students in the group. Material allowed for oral presentation: • Students may bring their preparation notes or any other material they feel would be useful to illustrate their point (a PC is available for students who wish to bring a USB key or connect to the internet); • the social law code.
An indicative bibliography is given to students in February. In addition, regular monitoring of social and business news is highly recommended in order to make the link between the concepts covered in the course and practice. In this context, the various HR (human resources) journals available in the library can be very useful. Background documents, references, video links, etc. are regularly posted on webcampus in order to illustrate the subject matter, supplement the information available and provide a snapshot of current events. Syllabus of 'special issues of well-being at work', 2020-2021 (depending on the topics covered). The various institutional sites (FPS Employment, Labour, Social Dialogue; Eurofound; OSHA; ARACT; ANACT; BeSWIC; etc.) provide readers with numerous tools related to well-being at work as well as very useful information, whether in text or video form.
| Training | Study programme | Block | Credits | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor in Law | Standard | 0 | 3 | |
| Bachelor in Law | Standard | 3 | 3 |