Each year, more than 840,000 deaths are caused by psychosocial risks related to work, such as long working hours, job insecurity and workplace harassment, according to a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) published recently.
The report highlights that poorly designed or poorly managed working conditions, such as excessive professional demands, prolonged working hours, and employment instability, have a direct impact on workers’ health and the global economy. These psychosocial risks are closely linked to cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders, including suicide.
Manal Azzi, head of the Workplace Safety and Health team at the ILO, stressed that “psychosocial risks are becoming one of the major challenges for the safety and health of workers in the modern world of work.”
The main causes of these deaths arise from five widely spread psychosocial risk factors : intense professional pressure combined with low control, an imbalance between effort and reward, job insecurity, excessive working hours, and violence or harassment at work. These factors severely affect workers’ well-being, sometimes to the point of endangering their lives.
This situation underscores the urgent need to implement more effective occupational health policies and to better consider the psychological well-being of employees in the management of businesses and organizations.
