One in Four European Workplaces Doesn't Recognise Psychosocial Risk at All, Brussels Warns

A three-year push to keep mental health on the European workplace agenda kicked off in Brussels on 13 October 2026, with employers' groups signing on as official partners rather than waiting for new legislation from the Commission.

The campaign, run by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), runs from 2026 to 2028 and closes with a summit in Bilbao at the end of 2028. Roxana Mînzatu, the European Commission's vice-president for social rights, and EU-OSHA executive director William Cockburn both attended the launch. The European employers' organisation Ceemet has joined as an official partner, having already backed the agency's previous campaign on digitalisation of work in 2023–2025.

The numbers behind the campaign

EU-OSHA puts the share of workers in the European Union at risk of psychological harm at 45 percent. Around 29 percent report work-related stress, anxiety or depression.

Findings from the 2025 "Puls BHP" survey show 44 percent of European employees complaining of heavy time pressure or overload, while 37 percent report general exhaustion. The same 29 percent figure for stress, depression or anxiety disorders appears there too. The "Vinger aan de pols" survey from the same year confirmed the exhaustion and mental strain figures.

On the shop floor and in the office, the sharpest problems cluster around social interaction and work intensification. According to the ESENER survey of 2024, 56 percent of EU organisations rate dealing with difficult customers, patients or pupils as a risk. Time pressure is named by 43 percent of establishments, and 19 percent point to poor communication or cooperation.

Psychosocial risks are only one part of the picture — employers still need to document physical hazards such as fire, manual handling and lone working. A free toolkit provides 41 ready-to-use templates and checklists so those assessments are properly recorded and legally sound. Download the free Risk Assessment Toolkit

A quarter of organisations see no problem

What worries the agency is not only the exposure but the blind spot. One in four organisations — 25 percent — does not recognise psychosocial risks at all. Among workplaces where such factors are known, 21 percent describe them as increasingly hard to manage. Worker representation on health and safety measures also slipped over five years, from 61 percent of establishments in 2019 to 55 percent in 2024.

Women, migrants, younger workers and LGBTIQ+ people are among the groups EU-OSHA identifies as particularly exposed.

The campaign is built around five themes: assessing psychosocial risks; tackling bullying, sexual harassment and violence; linking physical risks to mental health; the specific pressures of the health and social care sectors; and general workplace support measures.

Its audiences are employers, workers, labour inspectors, occupational health and safety professionals, and the media. Alongside a multilingual website and good-practice awards, European Week for Safety and Health at Work runs from 19 to 24 October 2026 and is dedicated to preventing psychosocial risks.

Employers want tools, not a new directive

Ceemet's line is that mental health is a concern for society as a whole, and that the existing EU framework directive already provides a solid legal basis. Rather than a new occupational health and safety directive, the organisation argues, small and medium-sized companies above all need practical guidance and instruments.

It points to the "Mind@Work" project, which runs from February 2026 to January 2028. The project is coordinated by FIEC, the European construction industry federation, together with the European Employers' Institute and Fondazione ADAPT, with the European sector bodies ECEG, EuroCommerce and HOTREC also taking part.

Ceemet's call for practical guidance rather than new rules is one many employers share. A free Health & Safety Toolkit delivers exactly that — ready-made risk assessments and checklists covering the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, COSHH, PUWER and more, trusted by over 37,000 UK companies. Get the free Health & Safety Toolkit

A European legislative proposal on quality jobs is expected in December 2026.