Transforming Workplaces: The Ultimate Guide to Mental Health and Productivity

 

Transforming Workplaces: The Ultimate Guide to Mental Health and Productivity

Key Facts

• Decent work is beneficial for mental health.
• Poor working environments, including discrimination, inequality, excessive workloads, low job control, and job insecurity, pose risks to mental health.
• In 2019, 15% of working-age adults were estimated to have a mental disorder.
• Globally, 12 billion working days are lost every year due to depression and anxiety, costing $1 trillion per year in lost productivity.
• Effective actions can prevent mental health risks at work, protect and promote mental health, and support workers with mental health conditions.

Work and Mental Health

Work can support mental health by providing:

• A livelihood
• A sense of confidence, purpose, and achievement
• Positive relationships and community inclusion
• Structured routines

Decent work supports recovery and inclusion for people with mental health conditions, improving confidence and social functioning. Safe, healthy working environments reduce workplace tension and conflict, improving staff retention, performance, and productivity. Conversely, lack of support at work can undermine job satisfaction and attendance.

Risks to Mental Health at Work

Risks, or psychosocial risks, at work include:

• Underuse or mismatch of skills
• Excessive workloads or understaffing
• Long, inflexible hours
• Lack of control over job design or workload
• Poor physical working conditions
• Negative organizational culture
• Limited support from colleagues or authoritarian supervision
• Violence, harassment, or bullying
• Discrimination and exclusion
• Unclear job roles
• Job insecurity, inadequate pay, or poor career development
• Conflicting home/work demands

Workers in the informal economy often face unsafe environments, long hours, little access to social protections, and discrimination, undermining mental health. Certain sectors, such as healthcare and emergency services, have elevated risks due to exposure to adverse events. Economic recessions and public health emergencies also increase mental health risks, including job loss and financial instability.

Actions for Mental Health at Work

Governments, employers, worker representatives, and other stakeholders can improve mental health at work by:

• Preventing work-related mental health conditions by managing psychosocial risks
• Protecting and promoting mental health
• Supporting workers with mental health conditions
• Creating an enabling environment for change

Preventing Mental Health Conditions at Work

To prevent mental health conditions, employers should implement organizational interventions targeting working conditions and environments. These include providing flexible working arrangements and frameworks to address workplace violence and harassment.

Protecting and Promoting Mental Health

Protecting and promoting mental health involves:

• Manager training to recognize and respond to mental health issues
• Training workers in mental health literacy and awareness to reduce stigma
• Providing interventions to build stress management skills and reduce symptoms

Supporting Workers with Mental Health Conditions

Workers with mental health conditions have the right to participate fully in work. Key interventions include:

• Reasonable accommodations, such as flexible hours and modified assignments
• Return-to-work programs combining work-directed care and clinical support
• Supported employment initiatives for people with severe mental health conditions

Creating an Enabling Environment for Change

Governments and employers can strengthen mental health at work by:

• Demonstrating leadership and commitment
• Investing sufficient funds and resources
• Upholding workers' rights to participate in work
• Integrating mental health across sectors
• Involving workers in decision-making
• Ensuring actions are based on the latest evidence
• Ensuring compliance with laws and recommendations

WHO Response

The WHO is committed to improving mental health at work through its global strategy on health, environment, and climate change, and the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan (2013–2030). Key actions include addressing social determinants of mental health, reducing stigma, and increasing access to evidence-based care. The WHO guidelines on mental health at work provide recommendations to promote mental health, prevent conditions, and support workers. The accompanying policy brief offers a framework for governments, employers, and stakeholders to improve mental health at work.

For more information, visit the ILO World Employment and Social Outlook and the ILO report on women and men in the informal economy.