Job Demand Analysis – a key tool to better manage business risk and optimise occupational health and safety

What is a Job Demand Analysis?

A clear and comprehensive Job Demand Analysis (JDA) is a vital reference document for any organisation to better manage business risk as well as occupational health and safety. A JDA is quite different to a more commonly used Job Description. A Job Description generally gives an overarching summary of the job and is commonly written in paragraph format. A JDA on the other hand is completed by an expert in workplace health and ergonomics and provides a quantifiable evaluation of the physical, cognitive, environmental and organisational job demands for specific roles. It also provides a breakdown of the demands of relevant task elements with photographic and / or diagrammatic representation. Importantly it also provides task frequency and exposure levels for relevant task elements in clear and easy to understand terminology that can be shared with all aspects of a business support such as operational management, human resources and safety professionals.

So why invest in completing a Job Demands Analysis?

A JDA is a valuable reference document and can achieve a significant return on investment for any organisation. It can be successfully applied across any industry sector and has the following benefits:

• Provides a clear understanding of job demands when matching recruitment of new employees with job demands.
• Facilitates clear determination of the return to work goal and aides return to work planning by clearly identifying the necessary job demands for employees who are absent from work due to an injury, illness or health condition.
• Facilitates more accurate, detailed and timely medical fit note certification for absent employees when communicated with relevant external parties such as treating medical practitioners.
• Promote safer, more timely and durable return to work outcomes for absent employees.
• Assist in clearly understanding other jobs employees may be able to perform in line with their functional work capacity.
• Assist in achieving improved outcomes when communicating with external business support such as Occupational Health and / or the new government Fit for Work scheme.
• Incorporate an assessment of accepted modifications to task elements to assist disabled employees and / or absent employees.
• Assist occupational health and safety risk management activities through a better understanding of job demands.

At Ergability we are experts in occupational health and ergonomics and completing JDA’s. Feel free to contact us today at info@ergability.com or call +44 (0) 03333 554 184 to further understand how a JDA can assist in optimising the performance and health of your business and staff.