Stress and overloading duties are increasingly becoming the cause of employees' health problems. Doctors alert that mental disorders are an increasingly common cause of sick leave – in 2024 the number of certificates issued due to mental disorders and behavior increased by nearly 14 percent. during the year.
– The main reasons for dismissal, when it comes to psychiatric and psychological disorders, are related ones with a strong reaction to stressin the second place Depressive disorders and later Anxiety disorders – says Newseria Mariusz Gawrych, a family medicine specialist, a doctor from the Department of Prevention and Rehabilitation at the Social Insurance Institution.
In 2024, 27.4 million certificates of temporary inability to work were issued in Poland, which translated into 290 million days of sickness absence. Of this, 1.6 million exemptions and 30.3 million days of absence concerned mental disorders and behavior – 12.6 percent. whole. It is an increase of almost 14 percent. compared to 2023.
According to the report of the Safe Koalition Association in work “Occupational Safety in Poland 2025. Mobbing, depression, stress 2.0, i.e. threats in Polish companies”, In 2025, both employees and managers experienced a higher level of stress compared to the previous edition of the 2019 study. Today he feels him in many situations or every day 52 percent. respondents from among the management and 46 percent among employees (in 2019 – 46 and 42 percent respectively).
In Poland, the most stressful for employees are:
- excess duties, a sense of “reloading” with work (34 percent),
- Time pressure, too little time to perform tasks (31 percent)
- Professional liability, fear of causing damage, losses, harm (27 percent)
- Emergency and crisis situations (27 percent)
- insufficient remuneration for the work performed (26 percent).
– The experience of strong stressful situations, such as loss of work or the phenomenon of mobbing, may negatively affect the health of patients, hence if there are some symptoms related to strong fears, a decrease in mood, reduction of motivation, this may be the cause of temporary dismissal and deepening further diagnosis. The reasons for a given self -feeling – says Mariusz Gawrych.
The report indicates, citing data from the European Security and Health Agency at work, that In addition to traditional threats, psychosocial factors are one of the most frequently reported threats in workplaces in the European Union. The Polish study showed that 67 percent employees met with inappropriate treatment on the part of the supervisor. 22 percent He admitted that it was a multiple situation. Very violence affected 55 percent, and physical – about 14 percent These interest is slightly higher in all cases than in 2019. Among the managers, the answers were similar.
Half of the surveyed employees who experienced any of the psychosocial threats at the workplace admits that these phenomena had an impact on them (50 percent). Most often they were: less motivation to work, loss of trust, deterioration of well -being and self -esteem. Almost 38 percent respondents stated that they had experienced deterioration of mental health, e.g. anxiety, depression, insomnia or burnout.
Such loads often translate into health and somatic symptoms, the source of which is not always obvious to patients.
– Often in patients who come to doctors, it is not so easy to diagnose psychosomatic cause. Sometimes it happens that the patient comes with head pain or feeling of strong tension and is not able to guess himself where the cause is. By deepening the interview, we can assess how much psychosocial phenomena and threats are actually important. Then it may be necessary to support a psychiatrist or psychologist to deepen the further influence of psychosocial threats on the patient's health – explains a specialist in family medicine.
The efficiency of employees, as those interested themselves claim, have the greatest influence of: atmosphere at work (47 percent), stress (43 percent), the number of responsibilities, overwork (40 percent), relationships with the supervisor (37 percent) and fatigue (34 percent). Employees currently assign a much greater impact of private problems on efficiency (23 % vs. 17 % in 2019). The modern lifestyle means that the boundaries between private and professional life are blurred. Constant online availability and the need to respond to messages after working hours contribute to fatigue. All this can lead to serious health consequences and problems at work. It is crucial to recognize them early and take action.
– It is very important not only to go and ask for help from professionals, whether they are doctors or psychologists, but it is also important to promote anti -mobbing policy or the company's policy in which they focus on the well -being of employees to create an environment supporting cooperation so as not to allow mental health factors. And companies that care for patients' welfare are characterized by a fewer absence due to diseases or some chronic diseases – notes the ZUS expert.
The report “Safe at work 2025” shows that only 29 percent employees (and 37 percent of managers) declare that their company undertakes actions aimed at preventing mobbing, discrimination, violence, stress and other psychosocial threats. The percentage of respondents who pointed to specific types of initiatives undertaken by the employer (e.g. training, anti -mobbing procedures, irregularities, mediation channels) are also lower. Only 28 percent respondents claim that their employer or supervisor talked to them about issues related to psychosocial threats (37 % in 2019). Safe coalition experts at work indicate that in the era of growing consciousness about mental well -being, employees expect proactive activities from companies.
– Sometimes the patient is in such a situation that he is no longer able to work in a given place, which further affects his mental health, hence he sometimes decides to resign from work. As research shows, the experience of the phenomenon of psychosocial threats affects greater employee rotation – emphasizes Mariusz Gawrych. – Many companies see in this positive aspect of commitment, organizing, among others, various trainings for employees with soft skills, which results in the number of psychosocial threats decreases. Companies that care about the welfare of their employees are struggling with fewer job rotation, as well as with fewer sick leave.
Although in terms of the number of exemptions issued, mental disorders do not rank at the forefront of the most common causes, they usually generate high expenses, because they usually mean a longer period L4 (on average 18.9 days). Last year, the reaction to severe stress and adaptive disorders was a total of 10.7 million days of sickness absence, depressive episodes – 5.8 million, and anxiety disorders – 5.7 million. In total, in 2024, sickness absence “cost” over PLN 31 billion.
