Highlighting the health and economic impacts of a poor psychosocial working environment.

Work plays a central role in people’s lives. For most workers, it occupies a substantial share of waking hours, and it shapes identity, social connection and economic security. When work is well designed and well managed, it provides structure and purpose, supports financial stability, enhances health and well-being, and contributes to organizational performance and productivity. Whether work produces these positive outcomes depends largely on the psychosocial working environment, understood as the aspects of work and interactions related to how jobs are designed, how work is organized and managed, and the broader policies, practices and procedures that govern work, and the ways in which these elements interrelate. Across the world, the psychosocial working environment is undergoing a profound transformation. Rapid technological change, including digitalisation and the introduction of AI-supported tools, has altered how work is coordinated, monitored and evaluated. New forms of work, such as platform-based and other diverse forms of work, are reshaping traditional employment relationships, redefining roles, schedules and expectations. The expansion of remote and hybrid work following the COVID-19 pandemic has further changed where and how work is performed and supervised. At the same time, supply chain disruptions, demographic shifts, climate-related pressures and geopolitical instability contribute to growing uncertainty in work organization. As work continues to evolve, workers may face complex combinations of factors affecting work content, working conditions and work organization. The relevance of the psychosocial working environment extends far beyond office-based work or standard employment relationships. Many workers operate in the informal economy, in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), or in self-employment, where exposures and protections differ substantially. In some of these contexts, workers face multiple unfavourable conditions, limited social protection and weak enforcement of labour standards, and overlapping physical and organisational constraints. Sector-specific patterns are also significant. Public service workers, health and care professionals, transport and retail workers, and those in education and emergency services often navigate high workloads, time pressure and emotionally demanding situations. Recognizing the particularities of different sectors and forms of work is therefore essential for understanding how psychosocial factors are experienced and how they can be improved in diverse settings. Over the past decade, a growing body of scientific evidence spanning epidemiology, organisational psychology, labour economics and occupational health has deepened understanding of how the psychosocial working environment influence workers’ health, well-being and work-related outcomes. This expanding evidence base provides a stronger empirical foundation for assessing and addressing aspectsof the psychosocial working environment and for informing policy and preventive action. It also reinforces the understanding that these aspects are shaped by the way work is designed and organized, and are therefore modifiable, allowing them to be managed in ways that promote positive outcomes, such as work engagement, and prevent harm. In light of these developments, this report adopts an approach that focuses on modifiable aspects of the psychosocial working environment. It supports stakeholders in identifying relevant aspects of work and workplace organization, and in understanding how they interact, in order to inform targeted preventive responses. The proposed approach is flexible in its application and can be adapted to enterprises of all sizes and forms of work, to the extent reasonably practicable. 

The report brings together international, regional and national policy and regulatory frameworks, as well as workplace-level preventive approaches to improve the psychosocial working environment. Part 1 introduces the psychosocial working environment, proposing a multi-level approach to better understand how work-related psychosocial hazards arise across different elements of work.

 Part 2 presents new ILO global estimates on mortality, disability-adjusted life years(DALYs) and GDP losses associated with major psychosocial risk factors, and synthesizes existing evidence on their health, organizational and economic impacts, the benefits of healthy psychosocial working environments, and patterns of exposure. 

Part 3 reviews international, regional and national policy and regulatory approaches that address the psychosocial working environment, highlighting recent developments in standards, legislation and institutional practices. 

Part 4 turns to workplace-level action, outlining how developing a healthy psychosocial working environment can be integrated into occupational safety and health (OSH) management systems and discussing approaches for assessment, prevention and improvement.

 The concluding section identifies key challenges, opportunities and priorities for the way forward. The annexes present selected resources, tools and guidance to support practical action on psychosocial risks across different work contexts.