Could your job be killing you? An international report reveals the “hidden cost” of the work environment | Lifestyle

The International Labor Organization revealed, in a new global report, that more than 840,000 people lose their lives annually due to diseases and health complications related to what are known as “psychological and social risks in the work environment,” in an indicator that highlights a hidden cost borne by labor markets around the world, not only measured by economic numbers, but also by the lives of workers and their mental and physical health.

According to the report, titled “The Psychosocial Work Environment: Global Developments and Pathways for Action,” long working hours, job insecurity, high work demands, and bullying and harassment in the workplace have become among the most prominent factors that push employees towards serious diseases, most notably cardiovascular diseases and psychological disorders, including suicide.

Work environment: the invisible danger

The report indicates that the risk is no longer limited to traditional occupational accidents or physical injuries, but rather extends to the way the work itself is designed, and how it is organized and managed.

The International Labor Organization defines the “psychological and social environment of work” as the totality of elements related to the nature of the job, management methods, relationships within the organization, and the policies and procedures that govern work, which are factors that directly affect the health and well-being of workers, and are also reflected in the performance and productivity of institutions. To understand the sources of this risk, the report divides the work environment into 3 interconnected levels:

First: the nature of the job itself

Psychosocial risks start from the essence of the work itself, that is, from how the job is designed and its daily content.

• The amount of responsibilities.
• The extent to which tasks are compatible with the worker’s skills.
• Availability of necessary resources.
• How to design tasks to give them meaning and variety.
• Use skills effectively.

Second: The method of organizing and managing work

The way work is managed within an organization plays a pivotal role in determining the level of stress to which employees are exposed.

• Clarity of roles.
• Set expectations.
• Level of independence.
• Workload size.
• The required speed of completion.
• The extent of support and supervision the employee receives.

Third: General policies within the institution

Institutional policies constitute the broader framework that regulates the work environment and determines its rules and impact on employees.

• Employment systems.
• working hours.
• Institutional change management mechanisms.
• Digital oversight of employees.
• Evaluation and reward systems.
• Occupational safety policies.
• Procedures to prevent violence and harassment.
• Mechanisms for consulting with employees and involving them in decisions.
  

  

Health and economic loss

The effects of these risks are not limited to the humanitarian aspect, as the organization estimated that the psychological and social pressures associated with work lead to the loss of about 45 million years of healthy life annually, a measure that reflects the years of life lost due to illness, disability, or premature death.

Economically, this loss translates into a heavy financial burden, as its cost is estimated at the equivalent of 1.37% of the global gross domestic product annually, as a result of lower productivity, higher health care costs, declining institutional performance, and increased absence from work.

How did the organization reach the number of 840 thousand deaths?

The International Labor Organization based its estimate on an analysis of the prevalence of 5 main risks in work environments around the world, which are:

1. High work pressure with poor control over tasks.
2. Imbalance between effort and reward.
3. Job insecurity.
4. Long working hours.
5. Bullying and harassment in the workplace.
   

   

This data was then linked to scientific research that proves the relationship between these factors and the incidence of serious diseases such as heart disease, strokes, depression, anxiety and suicide, before interrupting it with data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and studying the global burden of disease to arrive at an estimate of the extent of deaths and health losses.

Labor market transformations… new risks

The report finds that major shifts in the world of work, such as digitization, artificial intelligence, remote work, and new employment patterns, are rapidly reshaping the psychological and social environment of work.

Although these changes may allow greater flexibility and improve work organization, they may also create new forms of psychological stress, such as constant digital surveillance, blurring of boundaries between personal life and work, and heightened anxiety related to professional instability.

In this context, Manal Ezzi, responsible for occupational safety policies and regulations at the International Labor Organization, says that psychological and social risks have become one of the most prominent challenges to occupational safety and health in the modern world of work, stressing that improving the psychological work environment is no longer just an issue of job well-being, but rather a basic condition for protecting workers’ health, enhancing productivity and achieving sustainable economic development.

Beyond the numbers

Behind the figure of 840,000 deaths annually, there is a different story in every office, factory, and institution: an employee works for exhausting hours, another lives under constant pressure for fear of losing his job, and a third faces a toxic work environment that silently exhausts his health.

At a time when organizations are racing to increase efficiency and maximize profits, the ILO report reminds us of a clear fact, which is that an unhealthy work environment not only kills passion, but may also kill the person himself.