Promoting Mental Health at Work: New Insights and Practical Implications

Numerous studies and analyses in the recent years came to the conclusion that work related stress and mental strain at the workplace are increasing. In 2017/18 stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 44% of all work-related ill health cases and 57% of all working days lost due to ill health. The reasons cited as causes of work-related stress, burnout, depression or anxiety involve workload pressures, including tight deadlines and too much responsibility, lack of managerial support and organisational change as the primary causative factors. Longitudinal studies and systematic reviews have indicated that stress at work is driven largely by psychosocial factors. Thus, specific psychosocial interventions for employees suffering from work related stress has received increasing attention in the past few years. Considering the major impact of stress on the occupational health of affected workers, it is vital to know what types of treatments are effective in improving work related problems and occupational health. However, there is only very few research on work-focused approaches resuming that there is an urgent need to evaluate interventions focused on the work context.

The present Research Topic reviews the current knowledge about the epidemiology, conceptual aspects, nosological issues, potential risk factors, and interventions of work-related stress. Implications for clinical practice and management are discussed.