The main cause of long-term sick leave, the deterioration of mental health at work has become a priority subject for companies. How can we meet the legal obligation of employers to preserve the physical and mental health of their employees? The testimony of a boss, Patrick Gouyou-Beauchamps, guest of our show “Les rendez-vous de l’école de la vie au travail”.
- A 2021 law requires employers to preserve the physical and mental health of their employees.
- Mental health problems are the cause of half of long-term work stoppages.
- This subject of health at work has become a major issue for companies.
The text of the law of August 2, 2021 known as the “occupational health law” is clear: employers are now required to monitor the state of health of their employees and preserve their physical and mental health.
The reality, however, is darker. Nearly 4 in 10 French people believe that their professional practice deteriorates their state of health and the proportion of those who declare themselves in “psychological distress” due to their work is even higher! As a result, mental health disorders now represent 50% of long-term work stoppages and this effect of stress linked to professional activity alone costs between 2 and 3 billion euros each year.
Dehumanization of tasks and questions about the meaning of work
The causes of this psychological suffering are known: the constant pressure which has become the rule in many companies concerned with their profitability, technological developments which often dehumanize professional tasks and the questioning of many employees about the meaning of their work.
A matter of ethics for companies
A public health subject, an economic subject, mental health at work is also a matter of ethics and social responsibility for companies. For them, investing in the mental well-being of their employees can no longer be considered a luxury. It is a strategic necessity to preserve their competitiveness, reduce absenteeism and create a healthier working climate synonymous with better efficiency.
“We work well if we give every guarantee of possible fulfillment, if we give employees meaning to their work and their trajectory”explains Patrick Gouyou-Beauchamps, president of Values Media, a media consulting and purchasing company which employs around sixty employees. And he specifies the means implemented in his CSR-certified company to promote this development: “benevolence, sharing of information and transparency in the life of the company”.
Promote collective spirit
Very concretely, this translates into the involvement of management in the recruitment process – “a new employee is fulfilled if he or she is well integrated and well supported”-, the organization of what he calls “festive moments” to promote collective spirit and the implementation of a policy favoring sporting practice.
Solutions that work? In any case, they seem to facilitate the daily professional life of teams whose work, comparable to that of financial market traders, often generates intense stress. And also promote the performance of your company placed in the 150 “growth champions in 2024” in a list produced by the Les Echos group.
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