Risks to the mental health of employees in 2023

Office notebook. The economic landscape does not reflect the mental health of employees. According to the Ministry of Labor, confirmed or approved employment protection plans (PSE) actually jumped in the second quarter of 2022, up 51.8% from the previous quarter. Social law lawyer David Guillouis, of the firm Voltaire Avocats, notes for his part “The return of disputes related to social plans that are increasing”. And business failure increased by 50% in one year.

The restructuring that accompanies a PES is always a potential threat to employees, both those who leave and those who remain. in fact “Mental health has suffered When there is an imbalance between risk factors – overwork, aggressive relationship with the manager – and protective factors – social support, family support, skill development, sense of usefulness., explains Camy Puech, founding president of Qualisocial, a consulting firm in psychosocial risk prevention (RPS).

When restructuring is announced, three main risk factors appear: economic insecurity, loss of thoughts (my job is cancelled, therefore I am useless) and deterioration of social relations (distrust of managers, priority of personal interests). Although there is no protective factor. So there is an imbalance. There is a risk for the company that the restructuring will go wrong.

More supervised companies

This is probably why at the beginning of the year the requests for support of restructuring projects increase in Qualisocial. “Since January, we have received more than one file per week, with exactly nine files coming to us in the first two weeks of 2023, compared to forty in all of 2022. And they deal with large projects by closing business sites. More than 300 people, even large companies that are cutting 10% to 15% of their workforce., says Cami Pooch.

Companies are all the more mobilized because they know they are being watched more closely. The responsibility of the employer towards the health of the employees is not new. According to articles L. 1233-30 and L. 4121-1 of the Labor Code, the employer is obliged to identify and avoid the risks caused by any restructuring project. But “Following an increase in post-PSE litigation, the administration has become more demanding of employers’ treatment of RPS”explains M.^e Guillotine.