Review article
Work Environment and Mental Health
Sandra Blažević Zelić
Ilijana Stanivuk
Ivona Škarpa
Aristea Pavešić Radonja
Abstract
Employee mental health has become one of the key issues in the contemporary work environment, characterized by rapid digitalization, increasing job demands, and blurred boundaries between private and professional life. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the work environment and employees’ mental health, with particular emphasis on psychosocial risks, underlying mechanisms, and prevention strategies. The paper defines the core concepts of the work environment and mental health and presents epidemiological data indicating the significant public health and economic burden of work-related mental disorders. Theoretical models are discussed to explain the development of occupational stress and burnout. Special attention is given to psychosocial risk factors such as high job demands, low autonomy, effort–reward imbalance, organizational injustice, job insecurity, and workplace bullying (mobbing). Furthermore, the biological and psychological mechanisms of chronic stress are described, along with clinical manifestations such as burnout syndrome and the consequences of prolonged workplace harassment. The final section emphasizes the importance of a systematic prevention approach through primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions. In conclusion, employee mental health should be regarded as a strategic investment for organizations and society rather than merely an individual or financial concern.
Keywords
burnout, mental health, mobbing, psychosocial risks, prevention, work environment
Hrčak ID:
349496
URI
Publication date:
10.7.2026.
Visits: 0 *