Statement of the EUMH Alliance: Debates on the Future of Work must include young people’s mental health and well- being
The EUMH Alliance’s response to the adoption of Council Conclusions on Young People and the Future of Work
The European Alliance for Mental Health – Employment & Work (EUMH Alliance) – an informal coalition of European organisations promoting mental health and well-being in the workplace – acknowledges the adoption of the Council conclusions on Young People and the Future of Work and highlights the need to include young people’s mental health in all debates on the Future of Work in the European Union (EU).Addressing youth and in-work poverty and work-life balance should be a must, not an option.
The meeting of EU ministers responsible for education, culture, youth, media, communication and sport took place in Brussels on 22-23 May 2019 and concluded with an adoption of the Council conclusions on Young People and the Future of Work[i]. The EUMH Alliance – Employment and Work welcomes the focus put on the young generation’s future of work. At the same time, in a world where costs related to occupational mental health challenges are substantial[ii] and constantly increasing[iii], the EUMH Alliance calls for the discussions around the Future of Work to address potential negative effects of the new forms of employment on mental health of young workers.
The EUMH Alliance – Employment and Work:
- Welcomes the explicit emphasis given to policies promoting employment and its role in improving the young people’s quality of life. These policies can have a meaningful impact on the social and physical environment of young people.
- Supports the Council Conclusion’s recommendation to promote a cross-sectoral policy approach when addressing youth employment, social inclusion and mental health outcomes, both at national and European levels and in the framework of cooperation between Member States.
- Recommends using all relevant EU instruments with regard to the trends affecting the nature of work, ensuring implementation of the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), ‘socialising’ the European Semesterand deploying the next EU long-term budget (by means of the ESF+, HorizonEurope, InvestEU, Cohesion Policy Investments or DigitalEurope).
- Urges the EU and Member States to ensure better implementation and enforcement of the OSH Framework Directive on young workers’ realities while further addressing mental health and psychosocial risks in their OSH strategies, including in the context of changing world of work.
The EUMH Alliance will continue to actively facilitate constructive dialogue between its members and beyond to improve mental health equity, access to health and social protection and prevention measures of working environments and arrangements for all workers. Addressing youth and in-work poverty and work-life balance are a must, not an option.
You can read the full statement of the Alliance here.