Fez — The International Labour Organization (ILO) has warned that psychosocial risks at work are linked to more than 840,000 deaths every year, raising alarm over the human cost of modern work conditions.
The warning comes in a new ILO report on the psychosocial working environment, which examines how stress-related workplace risks affect health, productivity, and economies worldwide.
The report identifies long working hours, job insecurity, workplace harassment, bullying, high workloads, and lack of control over tasks as major risk factors. These pressures are not limited to one sector, but they are especially visible in service-based jobs where workers often face direct pressure from clients, managers, and performance targets.
A growing workplace health crisis
According to the ILO, psychosocial risks are mainly associated with cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders, including suicide. The agency estimates that these risks are also responsible for nearly 45 million disability-adjusted life years lost annually.
The economic cost is also significant. The ILO report estimates that psychosocial risks at work lead to losses equivalent to 1.37% of global GDP each year, reflecting reduced productivity, absenteeism, health costs, and early exits from the labor market.
The findings build on earlier research by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the ILO, which found that long working hours led to 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016. That study defined long working hours as 55 hours or more per week.
Stress beyond individual resilience
The ILO’s message challenges the idea that workplace stress is only a personal weakness or a matter of individual coping. Instead, the report frames stress as an occupational safety and health issue that employers and governments must address through prevention.
That means looking at how jobs are designed, how workloads are distributed, how managers treat staff, and whether workers have enough control over their schedules and responsibilities.
For workers in call centers, retail, health care, banking, hospitality, transport, and public services, the issue is often daily exposure to emotional pressure. Many employees must manage complaints, strict targets, unstable schedules, and job insecurity while still being expected to remain calm and productive.
The report suggests that protecting mental health at work requires more than awareness campaigns. It requires enforceable workplace policies, stronger labor inspection, anti-harassment systems, reasonable working hours, and channels for workers to report pressure without fear.
