Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

Mental health in a digital world of work

Estrella Durá Ferrandis and Alba Huertas Ruiz 27th October 2022

A crisis of wellbeing is invisibly surging in the digital economy. As with the coronavirus, Europe needs to get a grip on it.

mental health,psychosocial,digital,platform,artificial intelligence,AI,algorithm,work,workplace
Lack of clear boundaries in the digital economy brings additional stress to working life (FamVeld/shutterstock.com)

Covid-19 has brought to the forefront another type of ‘pandemic’, years in the making, concerning the mental health of society in Europe. It represents indeed an unprecedented crisis, directly linked to the increasing precariousness and instability of the labour market and to the digitalisation of the global economy.

According to Eurofound, 20 per cent of jobs in Europe were of ‘poor quality’ in 2017, putting the physical as well as mental health of workers at risk. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development highlights financial uncertainty and labour insecurity as the biggest risks associated with poor mental health—while noting that investment in quality jobs and long-term contracts are fundamental to guaranteeing good mental health.

The recent surge in inflation internationally and the consequent rise in the cost of living has resulted in a reduction in purchasing power for entire populations. This, in turn, increases the need to invest in decent jobs, to stem the proliferation of psychosocial risks provoking mental illnesses.

The ubiquity of digitalisation has added fuel to the fire. New technologies, automation and artificial-intelligence (AI) systems are transforming not only our personal lives but also the nature and organisation of work, with dire consequences for workers’ mental health.

Mass surveillance, lack of clarity and transparency in professional relations, isolation, hyper-connectivity, an increase in working hours or the violation otherwise of privacy rights all stem from digitalisation and increase psychosocial risks in the workplace, with negative effects on mental health. To avoid abuse and a surge in sickness due to disorders such as anxiety, depression or ‘burnout’, we must ensure digitalisation becomes a synonym of optimisation and progress—not onerous demands and precariousness.

Arbitrary algorithms

‘My friends come over for dinner. I order food through a mobile app. The delivery person arrives by bicycle. I receive my order and rate the driver for the service.’ This is an example of platform work. The worker, most likely declared as bogus ‘self-employed’, does not have insurance or the right to future social benefits. His or her work is regulated by an algorithm, which establishes the labour conditions.



Don't miss out on cutting-edge thinking.


Join tens of thousands of informed readers and stay ahead with our insightful content. It's free.



The economy of digital platforms is an increasingly popular business model which exemplifies the necessity to regulate digitalisation and AI systems in the workplace, to protect workers and ensure decent health-and-safety standards. Legislation should require that digital algorithms are used ethically and transparently, guaranteeing human supervision to avoid arbitrary or discriminatory decisions. The European directive on platform work, in the pipeline, must shed light on these grey areas.

In recent years, other measures have been adopted gradually in Europe, albeit not mandatory. The new strategic framework for health and security (2021-27), for instance, mentions the problems affecting mental health but does not establish binding measures to resolve them.

New directives

In July, for the first time, the European Parliament adopted a resolution which included numerous calls on the European Commission to launch new directives. The most ambitious was a demand to regulate the use of AI in workplaces, given how algorithms and other AI systems can be invasive if not correctly used and corralled.

Legislation for prevention of psychosocial risk, regulation of ‘telework’ and recognition of mental-health disorders as occupational illnesses—to guarantee adequate compensation—were also key elements included in the report, to protect workers’ mental health in an increasable digitalised world of work and ensure their reintegration into the labour market after illness. Many who have suffered a work-related mental illness have difficulty doing so. This raises costs for social-security systems, rates of long-term unemployment and the risk of social exclusion and medium to long-term poverty.

Mental health has always been approached only secondarily. Yet mental disorders linked to work have been increasing and, while invisible, affect not only the health of workers but society as a whole. Mental illness is estimated to cost more than 4 per cent of gross domestic product in the European Union and within that 1.6 per cent (€240 billion per year) is linked to indirect costs in the labour market such as absenteeism and ‘presenteeism’ (working while ill). Data show that more than half the days of work lost in the EU are due to work-related stress.

A progressive digital economy cannot be built on the foundations of labour exploitation, precarious work conditions and unprotected, sick workers. Europe requires the legislative tools to make a sustainable transition to wellbeing and social justice for all its citizens.

A Spanish version of this article was published on publico.es on September 1st

Estrella Durá Ferrandis
Estrella Durá Ferrandis

Estrella Durá Ferrandis is a member of the European Parliament, in the Spanish socialist delegation, and of its Committee of Employment and Social Affairs.

Alba Huertas Ruiz
Alba Huertas Ruiz

Alba Huertas Ruiz is a political adviser to the Spanish socialist delegation in the European Parliament.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u4219834dafae1dc3 2 EU’s New Fiscal Rules: Balancing Budgets with Green and Digital AmbitionsPhilipp Heimberger
u42198346d1f0048 1 The Dangerous Metaphor of Unemployment “Scarring”Tom Boland and Ray Griffin
u4219834675 4ff1 998a 404323c89144 1 Why Progressive Governments Keep Failing — And How to Finally Win Back VotersMariana Mazzucato
u42198346ec 111f 473a 80ad b5d0688fffe9 1 A Transatlantic Reckoning: Why Europe Needs a New Pact Beyond Defence SpendingChristophe Sente
u4219834671f 3 Trade Unions Resist EU Bid to Weaken Corporate Sustainability LawsSocial Europe

Most Popular Articles

u4219834647f 0894ae7ca865 3 Europe’s Businesses Face a Quiet Takeover as US Investors CapitaliseTej Gonza and Timothée Duverger
u4219834674930082ba55 0 Portugal’s Political Earthquake: Centrist Grip Crumbles, Right AscendsEmanuel Ferreira
u421983467e58be8 81f2 4326 80f2 d452cfe9031e 1 “The Universities Are the Enemy”: Why Europe Must Act NowBartosz Rydliński
u42198346761805ea24 2 Trump’s ‘Golden Era’ Fades as European Allies Face Harsh New RealityFerenc Németh and Peter Kreko
startupsgovernment e1744799195663 Governments Are Not StartupsMariana Mazzucato
u421986cbef 2549 4e0c b6c4 b5bb01362b52 0 American SuicideJoschka Fischer
u42198346769d6584 1580 41fe 8c7d 3b9398aa5ec5 1 Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One AdmitsBo Rothstein
u421983467 a350a084 b098 4970 9834 739dc11b73a5 1 America Is About to Become the Next BrexitJ Bradford DeLong
u4219834676ba1b3a2 b4e1 4c79 960b 6770c60533fa 1 The End of the ‘West’ and Europe’s FutureGuillaume Duval
u421983462e c2ec 4dd2 90a4 b9cfb6856465 1 The Transatlantic Alliance Is Dying—What Comes Next for Europe?Frank Hoffer

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy aims to promote harmonious development and reduce economic, social and territorial disparities between the regions of the Union, and the backwardness of the least favoured regions with a particular focus on rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition and regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as outermost regions, regions with very low population density, islands, cross-border and mountain regions.

READ THE FULL POSITION PAPER HERE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

With a comprehensive set of relevant indicators, presented in 85 graphs and tables, the 2025 Benchmarking Working Europe report examines how EU policies can reconcile economic, social and environmental goals to ensure long-term competitiveness. Considered a key reference, this publication is an invaluable resource for supporting European social dialogue.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
The evolution of working conditions in Europe

This episode of Eurofound Talks examines the evolving landscape of European working conditions, situated at the nexus of profound technological transformation.

Mary McCaughey speaks with Barbara Gerstenberger, Eurofound's Head of Unit for Working Life, who leverages insights from the 35-year history of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Summer issue of The Progressive Post is out!


It is time to take action and to forge a path towards a Socialist renewal.


European Socialists struggle to balance their responsibilities with the need to take bold positions and actions in the face of many major crises, while far-right political parties are increasingly gaining ground. Against this background, we offer European progressive forces food for thought on projecting themselves into the future.


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss the transformative power of European Social Democracy, examine the far right’s efforts to redesign education systems to serve its own political agenda and highlight the growing threat of anti-gender movements to LGBTIQ+ rights – among other pressing topics.

READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

BlueskyXWhatsApp