The modern workplace is wearing down employees across Europe \u2013 and nobody quite knows what to do about it.<\/p>\n
Nearly half of workers in 30 countries say they have excessive workloads, 34 per cent feel their work is not recognised, and 16 per cent say they face violence or verbal harassment in the workplace, according to a survey published earlier this year by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.<\/p>\n
Despite a wave of corporate attention to well-being, the pressures show little sign of easing. Earlier this year, researchers in Australia identified a \u201cprevailing paradox\u201d:<\/a>Countries and companies are investing more than ever in mental well-being \u2013 but the mental health of employees only seems to be getting worse.<\/p>\n \u201cEspecially after the pandemic, we experienced this surge in people experiencing mental health issues, especially [those] caused by or related to work, including burnout,\u201d Sonia Nawrocka from the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) told Euronews Health.<\/p>\n Companies in Europe spent around $19.6 billion (\u20ac16.9 billion) in 2023 on workplace wellness initiatives \u2013 ranging from mindfulness and stress management initiatives to individual mental health coaching \u2013 and today, about 29 per cent of European workers have access to them.<\/p>\n Yet research indicates that these programmes often fail to address the structural issues known as psychosocial risks: job strain, long working hours, job insecurity, lack of recognition, and bullying \u2013 not to mention the big-picture economic and technological shifts reshaping work itself.<\/p>\n \u201cThis issue is absolutely not about, \u2018Here’s a yoga class, sort yourself out,\u2019\u201d said Manal Azzi, a senior occupational safety and health specialist at the International Labour Organization (ILO).<\/p>\n Experts say employee well-being should be a long-term, holistic goal, rather than an ad-hoc programme designed by a company\u2019s human resources (HR) team or informed by an executive\u2019s personal views.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this is really missing in the workplace at the moment \u2013 it’s all too simplistic, too mechanical, and we are not getting results,\u201d Jolanta Burke, a positive psychology researcher and associate professor at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), told Euronews Health.<\/p>\n How to ease the mental health load<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Azzi said a company\u2019s approach to recruitment, promotions, performance reviews, management style, communication, and resources all shape workers\u2019 experiences \u2013 and are all opportunities to create more mentally healthy workplaces.<\/p>\n According to a report from the health tech company TELUS Health, managers who lead mentally healthy and productive teams tend to share five traits: genuine care for staff well-being, a team-oriented approach that avoids unhealthy competition, inclusivity, decisiveness, and an ability to create a sense of purpose beyond day-to-day tasks.<\/p>\n Some businesses are testing broader reforms. Companies in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, and Iceland have experimented with four-day work weeks<\/a>, with early studies showing they could help reduce the risk of burnout and improve overall health.<\/p>\n However, Azzi said many employers are still reluctant to address psychosocial risks in the workplace.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do have that resistance from employers to take on this huge responsibility \u2026 and also the budget that it may concern,\u201d Azzi said. \u201cThere is also a lack of understanding and lack of awareness of what we’re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s where Nawrocka would like to see policy changes come in. Sweden, for example, has regulations on workplace intimidation and unhealthy workloads, while France, Belgium, and Portugal have right-to-disconnect or rest laws outside of working hours.<\/p>\n Still, no country has quite solved the workplace-mental health puzzle, given that even European countries celebrated for strong work-life balance<\/a> report high rates of mental health problems.<\/p>\n