{"id":7981,"date":"2026-04-28T10:06:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/28april.org\/?p=7981"},"modified":"2026-04-28T10:06:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:06:59","slug":"sweden-work-related-stress-kills-and-its-not-an-individual-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/28april.org\/?p=7981","title":{"rendered":"Sweden: Work-related stress kills \u2013 and it\u2019s not an individual problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

On April 28, World Day of Work Environment or as it is also called\u00a0Workers\u2019 Memorial Day.<\/b>\u00a0The day when we pay special attention to those who unfortunately have had to put to life because of their work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ahead of this year’s 28 April, ILO releases a new global\u00a0report on psychosocial<\/a>\u00a0work environment, or as we call it in Sweden: organizational and social work environment. It’s heavy reading, but nothing that surprises, unfortunately. We have long discussed the impact of the increased workload;\u00a0when structural risks are taken to achieve the greatest possible economic gain, without regard to the health of workers.<\/b>\u00a0When workers are stressed by the high workload, it is not individuals\u2019 \u201cstress management\u201d that is the problem. It’s a\u00a0systemfel<\/b>system failure.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In its report, the ILO estimates that\u00a0over 840 000 people die every year<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 mainly through cardiovascular diseases and mental illness \u2013 due to stress, unhealthy workload and major shortcomings in how work is organized. Nearly\u00a045 million healthy years of life are lost each year,<\/b>\u00a0and costs represent\u00a01.37 percent of global GDP.<\/b>\u00a0Long working days are a central risk factor \u2013 globally, 35 percent of all workers<\/b>\u00a0work\u00a0more than 48 hours a week.<\/b>\u00a0Work-related violence and harassment is another area where the scale is high: almost\u00a0one in four workers globally<\/b>\u00a0state that they have been subjected to violence and harassment at some point during their working life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also ITUC releases a very useful report, with global examples:\u00a0Tackling psyhosocial risks at<\/a>\u00a0work. Among other things, work-related suicides are lifted, with terrible figures of at least 70 000 per year. Again, these are deaths that have all been avoided. This is not the case of workers\u2019 \u201csensitivity\u201d, lack of coping strategies or individual shortcomings. It is about\u00a0how the work is organized,<\/b>\u00a0how requirements and resources are distributed<\/b>\u00a0and about power, i.e. influence over working conditions. The ability for the individual employee to influence their work situation varies greatly between countries, as deficiencies in democratic rights are increasing and compliance with fundamental human rights is reduced, such as the right to freely organise and negotiate their working conditions.<\/p>\n

From a trade union perspective, the conclusion is self-evident:\u00a0psychosocial work environment is a collective issue that requires collective solutions<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 through legislation, supervision, influence from employee representatives such as safety representatives and through improved working conditions through collective agreements. In Sweden we have our OSA (AFS 2023:2),<\/a>\u00a0but globally there is a lack of protection and influence for workers.<\/p>\n

Swedish work environment statistics confirm the picture presented by the ILO in its report. According to the Swedish Work Environment Authority\u2019s latest\u00a0work environment survey,<\/a>\u00a0many employees state that the work is characterized by\u00a0high workload, lack of opportunity for recovery and requirements that are not proportional to<\/b>\u00a0the resources.<\/p>\n

Particularly vulnerable are female-dominated professions in health care, school and care \u2013 where\u00a0stress-related mental illness is the most common cause of<\/b>\u00a0long-term\u00a0sick<\/b>\u00a0leave.<\/b>\u00a0The Swedish Social Insurance Agency\u2019s data<\/a>\u00a0shows that women are more than\u00a0double the risk<\/b>\u00a0compared to men to be on sick leave due to stress-related mental illness. It should be clarified that it is not a women-related problem, but the problem lies in the fact that female-dominated professions often suffer cuts by staff, which in turn lead to excessive workload. An example of trying to counteract this is what\u00a0Kommunal<\/a>\u00a0is now fighting for, removing minute control in elderly care. This leads to both a better working environment for employees and safer and more secure care for the elderly.<\/p>\n

From individual focus to organizing work<\/b><\/p>\n

A central point in ILO\u2019s report is the need to shift focus: from treating mental illness as an individual problem to\u00a0preventing psychosocial risks where they arise \u2013 in the organization of<\/b>\u00a0work.<\/p>\n

ILO divides the psychosocial work environment into three levels:<\/p>\n