Greece has the European Union’s highest rate of workers experiencing stress, depression or anxiety caused or aggravated by their jobs, according to a 2025 survey by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. The findings are prompting renewed calls to address the conditions that contribute to poor mental health in the workplace.
On October 10, World Mental Health Day, the European Parliament published a chart on Facebook showing how work affects mental health across the EU. Greece ranked first, with 49% of workers reporting work-related mental health problems during the previous 12 months.
The findings came just four days after the European Parliament adopted a legislative-initiative report urging the European Commission to introduce legislation addressing psychosocial risks, work-related stress and mental health at work. Its recommendations include binding obligations for employers and stronger labor inspections.
The debate is increasingly shifting from how workers can become more resilient to what employers and policymakers can do to prevent workplace conditions from harming their health.
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Heavy workloads and pressure drive stress
For Despina Xanthopoulou, a professor of organizational psychology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece’s ranking comes as little surprise. The country has consistently scored poorly in similar surveys, she told OT.
The underlying figures help explain why. Some 57% of workers in Greece say they face severe time pressure or excessive workloads.
Xanthopoulou said workplace mental health should be understood through the relationship between job demands and available resources.
Demands include workload, time pressure and emotionally challenging situations. Resources, meanwhile, include support, autonomy, recognition and the tools employees need to do their jobs properly.
“A healthy work environment must be characterized by a balance between demands and resources,” she said.
When that balance is persistently disrupted, work-related stress, pressure and burnout become predictable consequences of how work is organized and designed.
Why resilience programs are not enough
Workplace mental health initiatives often focus on helping employees manage stress and become more resilient. Organizational psychologists argue that this approach must be accompanied by measures addressing the sources of that stress.
Nicoletta Merlo, a member of the European Economic and Social Committee, heads youth policy at Italy’s CISL trade union confederation and chairs the committee’s Youth Group. She has also served as rapporteur for opinions on occupational health and safety and the One Health approach, which recognizes the links between human, animal and environmental health.
“Prevention starts with a simple question: What is causing the problem?” Merlo told OT.
Excessive workloads, unrealistic deadlines, long working hours and constant pressure can all damage mental health, she said. Employee wellness programs and counseling can be helpful, but they cannot replace interventions that address the underlying causes.
Katerina Georganta, an assistant professor of organizational psychology at the University of Ioannina, similarly warned that individual interventions can end up making workplace stress an individual responsibility.
Without primary prevention — action that tackles risks before they cause harm — employees are left to manage the consequences while the sources of the problem, including excessive workloads, insufficient resources and poor work design, remain unchanged.
Xanthopoulou added that research indicates individual interventions generally offer only short-term benefits and are more effective when combined with changes to the work environment.
Stronger legislation and worker representation
Preventing work-related mental health problems requires more than action by human resources departments. It also involves legislation, employee representation and effective enforcement.
Georganta emphasized the need for systematic assessments of psychosocial risks in the workplace.
“If you don’t know what the problems are, how can you begin to identify the best solution?” she asked.
She also highlighted the importance of meaningful worker representation on occupational health and safety committees.
“Not having representation means that I don’t have a channel through which to communicate my needs, my problems, my ideas and my proposals,” she said.
Xanthopoulou stressed that legislation is essential but insufficient on its own. Compliance can become a formal requirement rather than a practical tool for preventing harm, she said. Organizations must understand the purpose of the rules and take them seriously.
Labor inspectorates also have a crucial role in ensuring that workplace protections are implemented rather than left on paper.
Merlo pointed to social dialogue and collective bargaining as additional parts of the prevention process.
Institutional efforts were also reflected in Greece’s launch event on October 16 for the 2026-2028 European campaign for Healthy Workplaces. The event brought together social partners, the Labor Inspectorate, research findings and workplace interventions.
The next challenge is translating that recognition into everyday workplace practices.
The economic cost of unhealthy workplaces
The consequences extend beyond workers’ mental health. Poor working conditions can also carry significant costs for employers and organizations.
Xanthopoulou noted that organizations may assume that intensifying work will improve performance or deliver short-term benefits. The costs, however, can emerge later when employees leave because of health problems, lose motivation or can no longer continue working under the same conditions.
The findings on Greece suggest that addressing workplace mental health requires more than helping individuals cope with pressure. Experts argue that prevention must also change the conditions in which people work, backed by effective legislation, enforcement and employee participation.