Create a Gold Standard for mental health in the EU

Set up a comprehensive EU mental health strategy, define minimum requirements for teleworking across the EU, designate 2023 as the EU Year of Good Mental Health, and include measures to address mental health in national health and pandemic emergency plans. These are some of the measures the Report on Mental Health in the Digital World of Work calls for, on which the European Parliament will debate and vote today.

“With this Report we are creating and becoming the Gold Standard when it comes to mental health and wellness in the European Union”, stressed the EPP Group’s Maria Walsh MEP, who authored the Report.

Increasingly digitalised workplaces and the ability to work anytime and anywhere create both opportunities and risks for the well-being of workers. This has become even more apparent due to the pandemic, as the health of teleworkers could not be monitored on a day-to-day basis, in contrast to office-based workers.

“What we have learned through the digitalisation of our workplaces from COVID-19 is the fact that we see a huge rise in mental health issues. Cases of burnout, depression, anxiety and fatigue have especially increased among young people. The economic and societal impact that we are facing with mental health if we do not address it now is enormous. It is not only this generation that will suffer from it, it will be the future generations”, Walsh underlined.

“With this Report we are responding to the realities of teleworking and the opportunities it represents, to ensure work-life balance and well-being in the digital area”, Walsh concluded.