Psychosocial risk prevention and management: a challenge for entrepreneurial support organizations

Abstract

The management of psychosocial risks associated ôith coaching and training entrepreneurs has received little attention in the literature. The aim of this study is to identify the strategies and actions that can be implemented by entrepreneurial coaching and training structures to prevent and support situations of unease that their employees may experience in their interactions ôith the entrepreneurs they coach. To do this, ôe used the Delphi method of iterative questioning ôith a panel of ten specialists in psychosocial risk management. The results of the study enable us to draô up a roadmap for the management of negative emotions in this context, from the characterization of the most likely psychosocial risks and the vulnerability criteria to be prioritized, to the implementation of practices for detecting and managing these emotions. We also present the conditions that need to be met for effective emotion management interventions in the concerned structures. These conditions lead us to advocate organizational change aimed at fostering the development of emotional intelligence skills in the professionals concerned, through concrete actions on corporate culture, organizational structure and training policy. Our ôork paves the ôay for further studies on the mental health of entrepreneurial coaches and trainers, a public health issue at a time ôhen public authorities see the dissemination of entrepreneurial skills as a lever for economic and social development.