Stress and Poor Mental Health at Work Drained 13.3 Billion Euros From Portuguese Companies in 2024, Four Times the 2020 Figure, Psychologists Estimate

Stress and psychological health problems at work cost Portuguese companies an estimated 13.3 billion euros in lost productivity in 2024, more than four times the figure for 2020, according to a report from the Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses (OPP), the psychologists' professional body, which Lusa saw before its presentation on Thursday.

That is about 36 million euros a day, or 1.5 million euros an hour, every day of the year. The OPP presents the report, on the cost of stress and psychological health problems at work in Portugal, at its seventh congress in Coimbra today.

How the bill grew

The order's estimate of lost productivity was 3.2 billion euros in 2020 and 5.3 billion in 2022, before reaching 13.3 billion in 2024. It puts the loss at about 2.1 percent of Portuguese companies' turnover, and at roughly 13.5 percent of everything they spend on wages and social charges. For small and medium-sized firms the share rises to about 16.5 percent.

The figure is built from two kinds of lost time:

• Absenteeism: in 2024 each worker missed an average of 13.5 days because of stress and psychological health problems, against 6.2 days in 2020. The OPP puts its cost at about 4.4 billion euros.
• Presenteeism: up to 27 further days in which people were at work but less productive because of their health, against 12.4 days in 2020. This accounts for about 8.9 billion euros.

Together, that is up to 40.5 working days a year affected for each worker.

The OPP calls the estimate conservative. It covers only non-financial companies, leaves out the public administration entirely, and counts only the indirect costs of absence and reduced output, not the cost of treatment.

What the psychologists want

The report argues that prevention, promotion of psychological health and early identification of problems could cut these losses by at least 30 percent, which would save close to 4 billion euros a year. It cites studies that find a return of about 5 euros for every euro invested in psychological health at work, and more than 9 euros for some interventions.

Its recommendations to employers include regular assessment of psychosocial risks, bringing occupational psychologists into organisations, involving workers in designing solutions, and building wellbeing into company objectives. It asks policymakers to strengthen prevention policies for psychosocial risks and mental health at work.

"We are looking at human, organisational and economic losses on a scale the country cannot ignore. We know that a significant part of these losses can be prevented," the OPP's president, Sofia Ramalho, said in a statement accompanying the report. She said stress at work should no longer be treated as "an inevitable cost of working".

What it means for workers

For employees, the practical point is that time off for psychological reasons is an ordinary health absence. A doctor at a health centre can issue a sick-leave certificate, and our guide to claiming sick pay in Portugal explains how the benefit is calculated. Access to therapy in the public system remains slow: as we reported in September, a first SNS psychology appointment can take half a year. Our mental health support guide lists the public, private and helpline options.