Work stress is behind one in five cases of depression. This is one of the main conclusions of an international study led by Spanish researchers from the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IBIBAPS) of the Barcelona Hospital Clinic and published in the journal Nature, examining the risk factors that favor the appearance of the disease. from this mental illness.

Results. The study found that 18% of the depression cases studied had high work pressure as one of the main triggering factors, which can cause other pathologies and health problems, both mental and physical, such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, stroke. musculoskeletal injuries and even death.

Other important risk factors for depression may be childhood sexual abuse, excess fat in the blood, or lack of exercise.

a growing problem. His clinical work does not further explore the causes, as it is quantitative rather than analytical. However, several recent studies point in the same direction and explore work-related mental disorders more broadly.

Increased stress is the discomfort that most worries experts who study the consequences of overwork. A report recently published by market research consultancy Gallup shows that in 2021, 44% of professionals surveyed worldwide felt high levels of stress on a daily basis. In other words, nearly half of the planet’s workforce is highly stressed.

worried and sad. In addition to stress, the report examines other aspects of mental health and work. That’s why 40% of respondents say they worry about their job on a daily basis, and only 21% say they’re truly committed to their job. On a more personal level, 21% of workers surveyed admitted that they got angry every day because of their job, while 23% admitted they were upset about their job every day.

burnout syndrome. Along the same lines, an Adecco report published in 2021 stated that 40% of Spanish and global workers experienced burnout (i.e. chronic stress from work) during the past year.

Some figures, confirmed by several mental health professionals Xataka consulted, have therefore asked the Spanish Government, together with the unions, to recognize this syndrome, also known as the ‘burnt worker’, as an occupational disease and include it in the Table. The World Health Organization (WHO) of Social Security occupational diseases, in fact, already includes it in its International Classification of Diseases.

A fatigue that provokes a fight. This growing malaise among the worldwide workforce is not only causing mental disorders, but is behind movements that are currently struggling to make work a more enjoyable space and better reconcile personal life.

Why do I have to spend two hours on the subway if I can work perfectly from home? Why do I have to lose two hours at noon on a split day? Why do I have to put work before my family? And so, along with dozens of questions that are giving rise to many of the struggles that are already open in the labor market, from working from home to the four-day workweek, flexible working hours, busy working hours, or the rejection of jobs with precarious conditions, along with trends like the Big Waiver or the Big Waiver. business ghost.

Image | Christopher Le Mercier