A new research conducted by the European Trade Union confederation (ETUC) has revealed that around 10,000 people in Europe die each year due to workplace stress, making psychosocial risks more lethal than physical accidents. On International Workers’ Day, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins ETUC in calling for EU legislation on psychosocial risks at work.
According to the study, 6,190 deaths are caused by coronary heart disease linked to work-related stress, and 4,843 lives are lost to suicides tied to workplace depression. These figures highlight the severe consequences of job insecurity, long working hours, and workplace bullying, particularly for women workers and those in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe.
The ETUC demands an EU legislation including binding obligations for employers to assess and manage psychosocial risks in collaboration with trade unions. The Federation deplores the insufficiency of current EU health and safety regulations.
“The world of work is changing—rapidly, profoundly, and permanently. Digitalisation, AI robotics, platform work, the green transition, are reshaping how we labour and live. But while these transformations offer new opportunities, they also bring new dangers. Chief among them are the increasing psychosocial risks faced by workers: stress, burnout, anxiety, harassment, isolation, and emotional exhaustion. These are not fringe issues. They are systemic, and they are escalating, said ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch.
“Journalists are workers who, by the nature of their work, are highly exposed to stress, burnout, online harassment and digital overload. Precariousness, long working hours, deadlines, work-life imbalance have a direct impact on health. On International Workers’ Day, we join calls for media employers to tackle psychosocial risks as part of their health and safety obligations urgently,” said EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez.
Source: EFJ
