Research undertaken by the European Agency for Occupational Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) will lead into the Agency’s Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2026-2028 which will focus on mental health and psychosocial risks at work in new and overlooked occupational groups, sectors and areas.
Building upon previous activities on psychosocial risks, relevant projects on digitalisation and musculoskeletal disorders, EU-OSHA has run the three-year research project (2022-2025) to provide insights into work-related psychosocial risks and mental health at work for policy, prevention, awareness-raising and practice. The work supports the European Commission’s action on a comprehensive approach to mental health.
The objectives are to:
- Use existing research and new data to improve understanding of the underlying causes of psychosocial risks and effective prevention practices in various sectors, occupations and groups.
- Identify successful initiatives to prevent and manage work-related psychosocial risks and promote mental health at work among a wide audience.
- Improve knowledge and stimulate discussion on national-level policy and preventive measures among policymakers and occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals.
The research tasks include literature reviews, collecting and analysing data, identifying best practices, case studies, practical tools and awareness-raising materials.
The Healthy Workplaces Campaign ‘Together for mental health at work’ aims to raise awareness about the impact of psychosocial risks and promote the creation of supportive, inclusive, and mentally healthy work environments across all sectors.
The campaign supports the European Commission’s wider Strategic Framework on Safety and Health at Work 2021-2027. This topic is of growing importance as data shows a general decline in European’s mental health, with 37% of workers experiencing overall fatigue and 29 % experiencing stress, depression or anxiety, according to the OSH Pulse Survey 2025.
