Mental health in the workplace

Almost 60% of the world population is in work. People spend a great proportion of their day in work activities, which can influence their mental health and psychological well-being, with great costs or benefits for individuals, organizations and society. Work is in fact considered a social determinant of mental health: while it can support mental well-being, work also has the potential to cause harm. It is estimated that 15% of active workers have a mental disorder at any time. Luckily, the World Health Organization offers guidelines on mental health at work that help governments, employers, and employers and workers’ organizations to orient strategies and develop effective intervention to promote mental health in the workplace. 

“Safe, healthy and inclusive workplaces not only enhance mental and physical health but likely also reduce absenteeism, improve work performance and productivity, boost staff morale and motivation, and minimize conflict between colleagues.” - Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Chief Scientist

Why does workplace mental health matter?  

On one hand, decent work is protective for mental health, and not only provides the means to an income but also offers a platform for structured routines, positive relationships, for gaining a sense of purpose and achievement, for improving self-esteem and can promote recovery in people with severe mental health condition.  

On the other hand, unsafe working environments can all be sources of stress and create risk factors to mental health. These are known as “psychosocial risks”. Poor mental health and mental disorders have a negative effect on a person’s cognitive, behavioral, emotional, social and relational well-being and functioning.
This translates into poorer work performance and higher absenteeism, with an estimated 12 billion working days lost every year to depression and anxiety globally and 1$ trillion costs in lost productivity.  

Improving mental health in the workplace can have positive outcomes at individual, business and societal level. 

How can mental health be addressed in the workplace?  

Employers, governments, policy-makers, workers’ and employers’ organizations all have a role to play.  

The World Health Organization has developed guidelines that offer evidence-based suggestions for treatments that can be put into practice to safeguard workers’ mental health, such as organizational interventions, manager and worker training, individual interventions, as well as recommendations on returning to work following absence associated with mental health conditions and gaining employment for people living with mental health conditions.   

Overall, strategies to address mental health at work include:  

1. Prevent: reshape work environments to minimize psychosocial risks and prevent workers from experiencing mental health conditions. 

2. Protect and promote: strengthen awareness, skills and opportunities for recognizing and acting early on mental health issues to protect and promote the mental health of all workers. 

3. Support: support workers with mental health conditions to access, continue working and thrive at work. 

What interventions can improve mental health in the workplace?  

The interventions within the scope of the guidelines aim to directly target working conditions and environments. These include:  

Strategies to face psychosocial risks such as, flexible working arrangements (time and location) in order to enable work-life prioritization, help reduce emotional distress and improve work-related outcomes such as job satisfaction, absenteeism and work performance; participatory approaches to job design, work organization and decision-making, frequent and open communication,  in order to reduce limited participation in deciding one’s own work.  

Education on mental health by improving understanding about mental health and well-being at work and building skills to manage stress like physical activity and job counseling and by promoting an inclusive and supportive work culture and encouraging help-seeking behaviors. This could help both managers to know when and how to turn to appropriate sources of support and to be willing and able to promote mental health actions in the workplace, and employees to better value their own well-being and recognize how and when to seek help.  

Support people with mental health conditions through reasonable accommodation at work in order to adapt working environments to match the capacities, needs and preferences of the worker (such as, individual workers flexible working hours, extra time to complete tasks and time or for mental health care); return-to-work programmes and supported employment initiatives that combine work-directed care with mental health support to enable workers to return to and remain in employment.  

In conclusion, both policymakers and employers can help improve mental health at work by creating an enabling environment for change. This means working on a commitment to mental health in the workplace, investing sufficient funds and resources and measuring the effectiveness of these interventions.  

Discover more: 
Mental health at work 
Guidelines on mental health at work 
Mental health at work: policy brief