Legislative and social dialogue initiatives to protect the mental health of European workers
On 5 July 2022, the plenary session of the European Parliament adopted a Resolution calling on the European Commission to propose a directive aimed at addressing the issue of preventing psychosocial risks in the workplace.
The plenary vote followed a preliminary vote in Parliament's Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL), which approved the Report on mental health in the digital world of work .
The report describes the current state of mental health among European workers, with a particular focus on employed and self-employed workers in the healthcare and long-term care sectors. Its main objective, however, is to urge the Commission to propose a legislative framework for adopting initiatives that safeguard workers' mental health in an increasingly digital world. For example, the report highlights the importance of establishing minimum requirements for teleworking across the Union and generally envisions a proactive approach to digitalization, such as strengthening digital skills in the workplace and enabling employers and employee representatives to negotiate flexible working hours.
It should be noted that this is the second time the European Parliament has called on the European Commission to take action against the risks to the mental health of European workers: in March 2022, MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) adopted another parliamentary report: Report on a new EU strategic framework for health and safety at work post 2020 , which underlines the new needs of European workers within the framework of EU-OSHA (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work), including protection and prevention against psychosocial risks in the workplace.
There is still little awareness about the importance of mental health in organizations
Taking into account the aforementioned factors, it appears that protecting mental health in the workplace is an issue receiving increasing attention in the years following the pandemic. According to data collected through surveys and research conducted by national and international institutions, the European Union seems to be currently experiencing a “mental health epidemic,” and existing EU-OSHA regulations at both the European and national levels appear inadequate to address this crisis.
Psychosocial risks in the workplace
However, over the past 20 years, mental health problems have been steadily emerging, including among European workers. According to the European Survey of Opinions on Safety and Health at Work, conducted in May 2013 by EU-OSHA, more than half of EU workers (51%) report that work-related stress is common in their workplace. Even older statistics, dating back to 2000, indicate that 60% of lost working days can be attributed to work-related stress and psychosocial risks. It is worth noting that mental health problems also have significant effects on the European economy. According to a 2013 estimate, the cost of work-related depression in Europe amounts to €617 billion per year.
Regarding regulations, it should be noted that 89% of employers state that their main reason for managing occupational health and safety in their establishments is compliance with OHS legislation. This data, while indicating a significant lack of awareness regarding the importance of the issue, must also be considered alongside the fact that only a few Member States have a clear and comprehensive body of legislation on psychosocial risks ; therefore, it is easy to understand why initiatives aimed at protecting workers' mental health remain extremely limited.
An initiative for the prevention of psychosocial risks
Taking into account the aforementioned elements, social partners have sought to promote specific actions related to this issue. One example of these efforts is the one launched by Eurocadres , the trade union voice of nearly six million professionals and managers, in cooperation with the ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation), on October 17, 2019. This initiative, called Endstress.eu , is a campaign platform advocating for a directive on the prevention of psychosocial risks in the workplace, which should be based on five pillars:
- The participation of workers and their representatives in the design and implementation of measures to protect mental health at work.
- The obligation of employers to systematically assess and mitigate psychosocial risk factors.
- The obligation of employers to set social goals and objectives to reduce work-related stress through dialogue with employees.
- Guaranteeing access to training for all workers in order to prevent psychosocial risks at work.
- The lack of repercussions for employees who raise concerns regarding psychosocial risks at work.
In addition to its organizers, some 40 associations representing workers across Europe participated in the campaign. The campaign has had a significant impact on the initiatives undertaken by the MEPs mentioned at the beginning of this article.
The data on which the Endstress.eu platform, launched by the European association of management representatives, is based indicates the extent to which management teams are affected by psychosocial risks in the workplace. In fact, the sixth European Working Conditions Survey, conducted by Eurofound in 2017, reveals that 20% of all managers experience anxiety , the highest percentage of any job category. According to the same source, managers are also the group of workers who experience the highest level of work-life balance conflicts and face greater work intensity and longer working hours. However, it should be noted that, although four out of five managers express concern about work-related stress, 42% of them consider psychosocial risks more difficult to address than other occupational health and safety issues.
Antoni Calvo López
The aforementioned data reveals that, apart from specific legislation aimed at compelling the business sector to act against the wave of psychosocial problems in the workplace, what seems necessary are, firstly, some "guidance" measures that can help management teams and other workers to self-assess their level of mental health and advise them on the measures they could take in this regard.
In conclusion, it can be stated that the best way to effectively protect the mental health of European workers in a digitized workplace is through a joint effort by national legislators, social partners, and research teams involved in innovative projects such as EMPOWER (the European Platform to Promote Wellbeing and Health in the Workplace), whose main aims are to address the need to reduce stigma, increase help-seeking behavior, raise awareness of and minimize psychosocial risks, improve self-management strategies for illness, consider mental and physical comorbidities, and generally promote a healthy lifestyle.
Article provided by Empower . Author: Diletta Porcheddu.
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