The latest data from the pan-European OSH Pulse survey, conducted by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), reveal a concerning reality regarding the work environment in the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece ranks first in the European Union, with 49% of employees reporting that they face work-related anxiety, depression, or stress. Cyprus ranks third across Europe at 41% (following Finland at 45%), while the EU average stands at 29%.
The figures indicate that 4 out of 10 employees in our region experience their work as a source of strain on their mental health. The primary factors driving this phenomenon include:
Excessive workload and time pressure: 50% of employees in Cyprus, with similarly high percentages in Greece, report suffocating deadlines and exhausting working hours.
Psychosocial risks: The absence of clear boundaries between professional and personal life, combined with uncertainty and a lack of recognition, exacerbates workplace burnout. Gaps in support: Only 25% of employees in Greece and Cyprus have access to stress management or psychological support programs within their workplaces.
This situation makes institutional interventions imperative. Structural, systemic changes are now required:
Mandatory assessment and prevention of psychosocial risks in the workplace.
Establishment of the “Right to Disconnect.”
Implementation of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs).
This ranking is not merely a statistical figure; it is an alarm bell that leaves no room for further indifference. Workplace burnout is not an individual weakness, it is an institutional failure. When nearly half of a country’s workforce is suffering under the weight of stress, protecting mental health at work ceases to be a luxury or a corporate perk. It becomes a non-negotiable human right and an urgent social necessity.
The silence and tolerance surrounding workplace burnout must end here.
Data source: https://osha.europa.eu/en/highlights/world-mental-health-day-29-eu-workers-suffer-stress-depression-or-anxiety
