On the occasion of the commemoration of World Mental Health Day on October 10, UGT has updated the Report: Mental Health and Work to know the state of the situation and present the union’s proposals on this matter.
We all know working people who are stressed by high work rates, permanent connectivity, the inability to disconnect or the overload of tasks and their high intensity. Nor can we forget those who suffer harassment and workplace violence, which causes depression and anxiety, nor those who already suffer from a mental illness and who face work every day with the stigma that this entails.
In the first 9 months of the year, more than 468,000 sick leave of workers due to mental health problems have been recorded in our country and UGT estimates that in 2024 the more than 600,000 sick leave for this reason that were recorded in 2023 will be exceeded. .
34% of the population in Spain suffers from some mental health problem, something that affects women to a greater extent. Anxiety, depression and sleep disorders are the most common problems. Another devastating fact is that 11 people commit suicide every day in our country; according to provisional data, 3,952 people committed suicide in 2023.
UGT remembers that work significantly influences the best or worst mental health, and that is that poor working conditions (temporary work, job insecurity or long hours), incorrect organization of work or work environments where there is presence of violence or workplace harassment They are harmful to mental health.
48% of working people in Spain declare that they are exposed to great time pressure or work overload, being above the European average (46%). 19% say they are exposed to violence or verbal abuse from clients, patients, students, etc., compared to 16% of the European Union average. Furthermore, 37% report suffering from stress, depression or anxiety caused by work, with Spain’s figure also being higher than the EU average (27%).
Digital, climate and demographic transition
21st century occupational risks are being managed with a system from the last century, so it is important to move forward and adapt to the new reality of the world of work urgently.
The world of work is constantly transforming, being affected by digital, climate and demographic transitions that affect mental health. There are studies that point to a 2.2% increase in mortality related to mental health for each degree Celsius increase in temperature, the same happens with digitalization, constant monitoring or the intensification of work derived from the decisions made by machines that are not programmed within human limits or how the operating errors that occur end up causing serious physical and mental health problems for the workers.
There are, therefore, a series of psychosocial and organizational factors that must be paid attention to and that must be prevented, such as hyperconnectivity, quantitative workload, qualitative overload, psychological demand of a cognitive nature, etc. In addition, the union insists that the right to digital disconnection must be guaranteed.
Faced with this situation, UGT considers that mental health problems at work must be addressed decisively to put an end to them and guarantee adequate protection of the safety and health of workers.
Assessment of psychosocial risks and recognition of occupational diseases
Firstly, the poor evaluation of psychosocial risks of work origin in companies must end, as well as the lack of recognition of the professional origin of pathologies related to psychosocial risks.
If they were recognized as a professional contingency, they would have to be treated and managed with the resources of the Mutual Collaborators with Social Security, so the Public Health System would no longer assume the cost of their treatment and management, of which we must highlight the significant deficit. of professionals in psychology that it presents. The transfer of these pathologies of professional origin to public health causes greater overload of the system and an increase in waiting lists.
Adapt the Law to new realities
To tackle this problem, it is necessary to update the Occupational Risk Prevention Law to adapt it to the new realities of work and improve management of psychosocial risks in companies with the aim of guaranteeing the protection of mental health.
The Social Dialogue Table on occupational risk prevention is currently open, where negotiations in this regard continue and where some progress is already being observed. However, the union continues to demand at the national level the development of differentiated regulations on the management of psychosocial risks of occupational origin, as well as the updating of the list of occupational diseases so that the pathologies associated with these occupational risks are included. At European level, a Community Directive that serves as an umbrella for all Member States is essential.
The union calls on all the agents involved to act together and end this silent pandemic that so many working people in our country suffer from.
>> Mental Health and Work Report 2024
>> Here you can see the UGT campaign for World Mental Health Day
