Activities of Miriam LEXMANN related to 2021/2098(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Mental health in the digital world of work (debate)
Amendments (16)
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
— having regard to report of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) of 22 October2021 entitled ”Telework and health risks in the context of the COVID-19pandemic: evidence from the field and policy implications” ;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the pandemic has changed working conditions for many workers in Europe, highlighting new and current issues related to well-being in the workplace; whereas many workers had to cope with increased stress due to the increased care responsibilities connected to home-schooling and childcare during lockdowns or providing informal care to dependent relatives;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the mental well-being of those facing financial uncertainty, as well as of vulnerable populationgroups, including ethnic minorities, the LGBTI+ communitybig families, single parents, informal carers, the elderly, persons with disabilities andor young people;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)
Recital D d (new)
Dd. whereas prevention, awareness raising, well-being activities and promotion of mental health and healthy culture at work can provide positive outcomes at improving the health of employees as well as provide new employment or volunteering opportunities;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas workplace issues that affect mental health include job burnout, harassment, violence, stigma and discrimination; whereas one in four European workers feel work has a negative impact on their health12 ; whereas negative working environment may lead to physical and mental health problems, harmful use of substances or alcohol, absenteeism and lost productivity; __________________ 12 Eurofound, 6th European Working Condition Survey, 2017.
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the costs of mental ill health are estimated at more than 4 % of GDP across all EU Member States; whereas depression is one of the leading causes of disability and the cost of work- related depression has been estimated at EUR 620 billion a year, resulting in EUR 240 billion lost economic output13 ; __________________ 13 Opinion of the Expert Panel on Effective Ways of Investing in Health (EXPH): ‘Supporting mental health of health workforce and other essential workers‘, 2021.
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for the EU institutions and Member States to recognise the high levels of mental health issues across the EU and commit to actions regulating and implementing a world of work which strongly commits to the prevention and protectsion of workers’ mental health, work-life balance and social protection rights;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Regrets the fact that the TEU allows for more EU action on health than has actually been taken; considers mental health to be the next health crisis and that the Commission must examine all relevant possibilities to tackle this, including the urgent creation of an EU Mental Health Strategy with adequate funding and relevant legislative proposals; stresses the essential role of stakeholders’ participation, such as civil society and social partners, in the definition and implementation of such initiative;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recognises that employment can provide individuals with purpose and a sense of identity; emphasises the positive relationship between good mental health and work productivity;14 reiterates however that a negative working environment can lead to physical and mental health problems and subsequent absenteeism; prevention is therefore a key; __________________ 14 OSHWiki, Mental Health at Work
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recalls that proactive approaches to digitalisation, such as strengthening the digital skills of workers, allowing flexible work hours and establishing employee assistance programmes, can help to mitigate work- related stress; notes that ethical and human-centric artificial intelligence systems that are focused on protecting and promoting human dignity may provide further options for this;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes Directive (EU) 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and carers as it provides flexibility and alleviates work-related issues; stresses however, that women continue to be disproportionately affected; calls on the Member States to go beyond the requirements of the Directive and provide more favourable conditions for the workers who provide informal care to their dependent relatives; calls on the Member States to strongly commit to the protection of workers´ family time and work-life balance;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the shift to teleworking during the pandemic and the flexibility it provided to employees could improve work-life balance; encourages companies to provide clear and transparent rules on teleworking arrangements; reiterates, however, that the shift to teleworking is not possible for workers whose Member State of the employer is different from the Member State of their family residence; these workers were due to the inflexible EU social security rules forced to spend months without their families during the COVID-19 pandemic; calls therefore on the Commission to consider the revision of EU social security rules in order to enable teleworking from the different Member States than the Member State of the employer;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers the right to disconnect essential to ensuring the mental well-being of employees; reiterates its calls on the Commission to propose legislation requiring line managers to set minimum requirements for remote working whilst taking into consideration the European Social Partners Framework Agreement on Digitalisation, which includes arrangements for connecting and disconnecting;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Is concerned about the disconnect between current policy on mental health and attitudes in the workplace creating stigma; emphasises that due to stigma and discrimination, employees often feel unable to discuss mental health issues; recognises that employees who return after mental health leave are often poorly accommodated; calls for workplaces to provide clear information about their in- house mental health support services15, adopt clear and effective prevention strategies as well as support strategies for the workers who return to work after longer absence;15 __________________ 15 WTW, 2021 Employee Experience Survey
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Is concerned that entrepreneurs and SMEs in particular are in need of support to promote mental health awareness in the workplace and calls for EU-level efforts to assist them in risk assessment and, prevention and awareness raising campaigns as well as the implementation of good practices;