Where did NOM-035 go?

Many of us probably have something about NOM-035 somewhere in our memory, we may even remember having filled out questionnaires about the work environment, working hours, relationship with our bosses, harassment and conditions of the designated space and finally, some others (very few) will remember having received a talk or training in their companies about psychosocial risks and work stress. 

Therefore, we must ask ourselves, what happened to NOM-035?

Could it be that it is in oblivion with the pandemic or that all focus was lost with telework reform?

The reality is that it is not outdated or suspended, on the contrary, it is in force and it is the responsibility of companies and workers to comply with it, not only because of the legal issue and compliance with a standard mandated by the STPS, but also because of the importance of having healthy work environments and taking care of our equipment.

It is a difficult time and we must take care of each other.

Today more than ever we must review our stress levels.

Most of us have left behind the confinement, homeschooling, some family friction and now that some of us are back in the office it seems that we don't remember the level of traffic and stress that comes with spending hours in the car or on the bus to get to the office.

The OECD in its "Index for a Better Life" states that 29% of employees in our country have very long working hours, a figure much higher than the OECD average of 9%.

This can be seen in the following link:

https://www.oecd.org/centrodemexico/%C3%8Dndice%20para%20una%20Vida%20Mejor%20resumen_130529.pdf

These aspects contribute to one of the most common problems among Mexican workers, known as "Burnout", which occurs as a result of chronic stress at work.

According to a study prepared by the ILO, it is estimated that work-related stress in Mexico could result in annual losses of between $5,000 and $40,000 million dollars.

We must take care of ourselves and our equipment, it is a great time to put NOM-035 into practice and here we tell you how to do it:

History, origin, publication, regulations and fines for non-compliance with NOM-035

Let's review some key concepts of NOM-035:

1. Mexican Official Standards (NOM), only NOMs are mandatory.
2. Full name: NOM-035 STPS 2018
3. STPS: Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (Ministry of Labor and Social Security)
4. Entry into force: October 23, 2020 (second phase)
5. Objective: To establish the elements to identify, analyze and prevent psychosocial risk factors, as well as to promote a favorable organizational environment in the workplace.
6. What does "psychosocial risk" mean? According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), psychosocial risks are "those characteristics of working conditions that affect people's health through psychological and physiological mechanisms, which are called stress".

What is the amount of fines for non-compliance with NOM-035?

The Federal Labor Law stipulates fines ranging from 250 to 5,000 UMAs (Unidades de Medida y Actualizacion), that is to say:

Considering that the value established for the UMA is $89.62 pesos, we have:

$89.62 x 250 = $21,655 pesos

$89.62 x 5000 = $448,100 pesos

We conducted a survey of 20 heads, managers and some HR managers and found that none of them knew the exact amount of fines for anyone who fails to comply with NOM-035, with the value of the IMA in 2021, a company could receive a penalty of $448,100.

Amount very close to half a million pesos! :O

Having identified the objective, penalties and key concepts, we must mention how NOM-035 is complied with and what type of evidence we must have in this regard.

Let's start by defining the factors considered as psychosocial risk factors, which according to NOM-035 must be identified and analyzed:

1. Conditions in the work environment.
2. Workloads.
3. Lack of control 
4. Working hours and shift rotation that exceed those established by the LFT (Federal Labor Law).
5. Interference in the work-family relationship.
6. Negative leadership and negative relationships at work.

Let us now list some examples of psychosocial risks:

• Severe stress
• Anxiety
• Sleep disorders
• Exposure to severe traumatic events 
• Stress at work
• Absenteeism
• Burnout syndrome
• Addiction to work
• Mobbing (mobbing or harassment at work)
• Violence, harassment and discrimination
• Anguish, depression, somatization

As with any standard, there are obligations for both employers and workers to comply with the guidelines in order to prevent and control these factors in Mexico.

Obligations of the companies (employers)

1. Establish in writing, implement, maintain and disseminate in the workplace a psychosocial risk prevention policy that includes:
   • Prevention of psychosocial risk factors
   • Prevention of workplace violence
   • Promoting a favorable organizational environment
2. Identify and analyze psychosocial risk factors.
3. Evaluate the organizational environment.
4. Adopt measures to prevent and control psychosocial risk factors.
5. Identify workers who were subjected to severe traumatic events during or in connection with work. 
6. Conduct medical examinations and psychological evaluations of workers exposed to workplace violence and/or psychosocial risk factors.
7. Disseminate and provide information to workers on: Policy, measures adopted, prevention actions, mechanisms for presenting complaints, results and possible alterations to health.
8. Keep records on: Results, control measures and names of workers who underwent clinical examinations or evaluations.

These 8 points are a summary of the obligations. For more details, we highly recommend reviewing the DOF (Diario Oficial de la Federación) with the publication of NOM-035. You can consult it at the following link:

https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5541828&fecha=23/10/2018

So from these eight points we can conclude that it is the obligation of companies to promote and provide a favorable organizational environment and, like any mandatory regulation, it contemplates fines for non-compliance.

Obligations of employees

1. Observe preventive measures.
2. Refrain from practices contrary to a favorable organizational environment. 
3. Participate in the identification of psychosocial risk factors.
4. Report practices that are contrary to a favorable organizational environment and denounce acts of workplace violence.
5. Inform the employer in writing directly, through the preventive occupational health and safety services or the health and safety commission.
6. Participate in events. 
7. Submit to the medical examinations and psychological evaluations determined by NOM-035.

These 7 points are a summary of the obligations. For more details, we recommend you review the DOF (Diario Oficial de la Federación) with the publication of NOM-035. You can review it at the following link:

https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5541828&fecha=23/10/2018

The elements to be evaluated as part of the organizational environment are:

1. The employees' sense of belonging to the organization.
2. Training for the proper performance of the assigned tasks.
3. The precise definition of responsibilities for the members of the organization.
4. Proactive participation and communication among its members.
5. Adequate distribution of workloads, with regular workdays.
6. Performance evaluation and recognition.

We must consider that all work centers, companies or places where activities considered as "work" are carried out must comply. And it is important to mention that the obligations are different depending on the number of workers.

Divisions stipulated by number of workers

• Up to 15 workers
• Between 16 and up to 50 employees
• More than 50 employees

When hiring a specialist to advise us, keep in mind that the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS) does not validate, certify, approve or authorize any consultant for the application of NOM-035-STPS-2018, so the employer / employer / companies must know very well what are the obligations that apply according to the size of your workplace.

However, this does not mean that we cannot make use of technology to keep track of tests, results, evidence, files, control of the application of questionnaires, etc.

Before choosing a software or support service, we must validate which questionnaire or questionnaires should be applied to our work center, and if the human resources tool or management software helps us to apply them automatically, keeping control of the individual and collective results.

We must not lose sight of the fact that regardless of any regulatory compliance issue, the objective is to identify and correct major problems within our companies and the result of building positive work environments allows for healthy performance and improved productivity.

It will always be better to go to work in a place where we feel comfortable and supported than in a place where we are annoyed and prefer to spend time looking for another place to work, which has an undeniable impact on productivity.

Does your company consider NOM-035?