The International Labour Organization released its SafeDay 2026 report The Psychosocial Working Environment: Global Developments and Pathways for Action (April 2026), providing a global assessment of psychosocial risks at work and their impacts on workers’ safety and health. The report draws on international standards, comparative data and existing research to analyse psychosocial risks and policy responses across countries.
Human Level’s Take:
- The ILO finds a strong link between psychosocial risk factors — like stress, burnout, bullying and harassment — and major health outcomes, estimating they contribute to over 840,000 deaths each year, and affecting both mental and physical health.
- At the same time, the way we work is changing fast. Digitalisation, AI, and new ways of working (like platform and hybrid work) are reshaping how these risks show up. If they’re not properly managed, they impact not just workers’ well-being, but also how organisations perform.
- The report highlights long working hours, bullying, violence and harassment as key drivers of these risks. It also points out that discrimination and unequal power dynamics play a role — influencing how work is organised and who is most exposed to these risks across the workforce.
- So what are recommended actions? Actions include taking an integrated, preventive approach to psychosocial risks by embedding them into occupational health and safety systems. This means improving work design, strengthening worker participation and social dialogue, training managers and workers, and putting in place clear policies to prevent and address violence and harassment — all backed by strong leadership and a supportive workplace culture.
- At a broader level, progress depends on stronger regulation, better data and monitoring, alignment with international labour standards, and closer collaboration between governments, employers and workers to scale effective practices.
Some key takeaways:
- Psychosocial risks as a growing concern in the modern workplace: The ILO’s SafeDay 2026 report finds that psychosocial risks are a widespread and growing feature of modern workplaces, driven by factors such as high job demands, low levels of worker autonomy, job insecurity, long working hours and exposure to harassment or violence. These risks are closely linked to negative outcomes for both mental and physical health, including stress, burnout and increased risk of injury, and can also reduce productivity and organisational performance. The report highlights that changes in the world of work, such as digitalisation, artificial intelligence, platform work and evolving employment arrangements, are reshaping how these risks emerge and are experienced across sectors and regions. While awareness of psychosocial risks has increased and some countries have strengthened regulatory and policy frameworks, implementation and enforcement remain uneven, and significant gaps persist in prevention, data collection and workplace-level interventions.
- The physical impact of the psychosocial working environment: Work-related psychosocial risks constitute a significant and growing global challenge, with substantial impacts on health, productivity and economic performance. The ILO estimates indicate that these risks contribute to over 840,000 deaths annually and nearly 45 million disability-adjusted life years lost, driven largely by cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders. Key risk factors, including long working hours, job strain, insecurity and workplace bullying, remain widespread, with a notable proportion of workers exposed to excessive working hours and violence or harassment. While there is increasing recognition of these issues, gaps persist in data availability, measurement and policy integration, and efforts to address psychosocial risks, particularly through social dialogue and international frameworks, remain limited and uneven.
- Effective responses begin at the workplace level: The report emphasises that effective responses to psychosocial risks at the workplace level require integrated and preventive approaches embedded in occupational safety and health management systems. Key measures include improving work design and organisation, strengthening worker participation and social dialogue, providing training for managers and workers, and implementing clear policies to prevent and address violence and harassment. The report also highlights the importance of company leadership commitment and a supportive workplace culture in mitigating risks. Looking ahead, the ILO highlights the need for workplace practices to be scaled through policy measures. The report calls for strengthened regulatory frameworks, improved data collection and monitoring, and greater alignment with international labour standards. Expanding awareness, building institutional capacity and enhancing collaboration among governments, employers and workers’ organisations are identified as critical steps to ensure more systematic and effective prevention of psychosocial risks across sectors and regions.
