Mental health conditions are a leading cause of disability in high-income countries, and in Europe, more than 125 million people live with a mental health condition. The EU has now elevated mental health alongside somatic diseases to among its first priorities. In 2023, the European Commission adopted a new, comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach to mental health, which is prevention-oriented and aims to tackle the mental health challenges in Europe, while in 2022 the European Commission set out actions on return-to-work and work accommodations in its Disability Employment Package. There is a particular focus in the ‘Comprehensive approach to mental health’ on psychosocial risks at work and supporting people with mental health conditions to continue working and when returning to work after a period of sickness absence, as acknowledged also in the ‘EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027’. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) activities contributing to this comprehensive approach include this report and a resource for workplaces based on the findings. The overarching aim was to find and share good practices for workplaces on how to support individuals who experience a mental health issue, to stay in work or successfully return to work following sickness absence.
Authors
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, EU body or agency, Virtanen, Marianna, Honkalampi, Kirsi, Karkkola, Petri, Korhonen, Maija
- Catalogue number
- TE-02-24-736-EN-N
- Citation
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Virtanen, M., Honkalampi, K., Karkkola, P. and Korhonen, M., A review of good workplace practices to support individuals experiencing mental health problems – Research review , Publications Office of the European Union, 2024, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2802/380241
- DOI
- https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2802/380241
- ISBN
- 978-92-9402-331-5
- Pages
- 85
- Published in
- Belgium
- Themes
- Workers' health and safety
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents 3
- List of Tables and Boxes 3
- Executive Summary 3
- 1 Introduction 9
- 2 The workplace as a supportive setting for mental health 10
- 2.1 Workplace mental health policy to support workers to continue working or return to work 11
- 2.2 Addressing mental health-related stigma 11
- 2.3 Legislation 12
- 2.4 Work accommodations 13
- 2.4.1 Disclosing a mental health condition 13
- 2.4.2 Implementing work accommodations 13
- 2.5 Inclusive workplaces 14
- 3 Aims and methods of the present project 14
- 3.1 Aims and objectives 14
- 3.2 Analytic methods 15
- 4 Results 15
- 4.1 Workplace policies and practices supporting mental health in general 16
- 4.2 Workplace policies and practices targeted to specific mental health conditions 18
- 4.3 Return-to-work programmes 22
- 4.4 Work accommodations 22
- 4.5 Practical tools and guides 22
- 4.6 Support for SMEs 23
- 5 Concluding remarks and policy pointers 24
- 6 References 28
- Appendices 36
- Appendix A - Resources for workplace practices 36
- General workplace mental health and return-to-work support 36
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) 51
- Self-employed 53
- Workplace accessibility and accommodations 54
- Workplace accessibility and accommodations – assistive technologies 56
- Talking to your employee/employer about a mental health problem 57
- Depression and burnout 58
- Psychosocial risks and work stress 60
- Trauma and PTSD 62
- Sleep and recovery 63
- Chronic pain 64
- Eating disorders 65
- Severe mental health conditions 66
- Suicide 67
- Substance abuse 69
- Appendix B - A list of work accommodations retrieved from a scientific literature review 71
