Policy responses to work-related stress: Examining Taiwan’s experiences from a welfare state regime perspective

Abstract

Work-related stress is a significant occupational health concern. There have been a growing number of studies examining policy-level responses to work-related stress but most of them were from high income-countries. While welfare state characteristics are known to influence the formulation of health policy, their influences on policy responses concerning stress-related health risks at work have rarely been explored. This study compared selected indicators of social and employment-related welfare state characteristics of Taiwan with other countries. Policy level interventions undertaken in Taiwan were also reviewed. Findings show that social and employment conditions of Taiwan are characterized by low level of public social expenditure, low unionization rate, low level of collective bargaining power of workers, low female and old-age labor participation rates and substantially long working hours. Since the early 1990s, the government of Taiwan has undertaken various types of policy actions. However, most of the interventions are individual oriented and focus on tertiary level. In recent years the function of labor inspection has been strengthened but still limited in implementation capacity. While international experiences are informative, a comprehensive understanding of sociopolitical context of any given country is essential for developing effective policy actions toward work-related stress.