More measures must be taken to protect mental health at work, the United Nations (UN) urged on Wednesday, presenting new recommendations to tackle the problem, AFP and Agerpres reported.

Two UN health and work agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), have published a series of recommendations to prevent and protect against mental health risks in the workplace. .

Psychological stress has a high price both for the affected people and for society. WHO and IOM estimate that 12 billion working days are lost each year to depression and anxiety, equivalent to US$1 trillion.

“It is time to focus on the negative effects that work can have on our mental health,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

“A person’s well-being is reason enough to act, but problematic mental health can also have a debilitating effect on a person’s performance and productivity,” he noted.

In June, the WHO warned that nearly a billion people worldwide were experiencing mental health problems before the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the situation.

“Alarming” statistics of health at the workplace

According to the WHO, every sixth adult of working age suffers from a mental disorder. “The statistics are worrying,” Manal Azzi, the ILO’s occupational health and safety chief, told reporters, adding that “we have a huge responsibility.”

The workplace itself is often the trigger. In a new report on how best to tackle this problem, the WHO says that motivating work can protect mental well-being, provide a sense of satisfaction, self-confidence and generate income.

Conversely, harmful or poor working conditions, difficult workplace relationships, and unemployment “can significantly contribute to poorer mental health or exacerbate existing mental health problems.”

The workplace can also exacerbate more serious problems that negatively affect mental health, such as discrimination based on gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability, the WHO adds.

Leadership training helps solve problems in companies

One of the most important recommendations—and at the same time a new one—is training managers who know how to prevent stressful work environments and how to respond to employees who encounter such situations.

Aisha Malik from the WHO’s mental health and addictions department explained that it is important to “prevent situations such as too heavy workloads (…), being a victim of bullying, difficult relationships with colleagues or superiors.”

This has to change, she says, or we will continue to have “mental health issues in the workplace, no matter how many stress management tools we use”.

In addition to these recommendations, WHO and IOM have published joint guidance that provides practical strategies for governments, employers and workers and their organizations. The document also explains how people with mental health conditions can be supported and helped to engage and thrive in the workplace.

“We need to invest in building a culture of mental health prevention in the workplace, changing the working environment to end stigma and social isolation, and ensure that workers with mental health problems feel protected and supported.” – said IOM Director Guy Ryder in his address. statement.

PHOTO: Dreamstime.com.