Together for Mental Health at Work: Cultura Impact Lab Supports the EU-OSHA Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2026–2028

On 13 October 2026, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work launched its new pan-European campaign in Brussels. Cultura Impact Lab was in the room — and we are backing the campaign.

Brussels, October 2026. Cultura Impact Lab attended the launch of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2026–2028, “Together for Mental Health at Work”, organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) at the Charlemagne Building in Brussels. The campaign focuses on one clear objective: preventing psychosocial risks at work. We are proud to support it.

What Is the Healthy Workplaces Campaign?

The Healthy Workplaces Campaigns are EU-OSHA’s flagship awareness initiatives. Each runs for two to three years. Each one brings together employers, workers, social partners, public institutions and campaign partners across Europe around a single occupational safety and health priority.

This edition aims to raise awareness of the positive impact of a good working environment on mental health. It also stresses the importance of assessing, preventing and managing psychosocial risks at source, as part of everyday safety and health management. The campaign is organised into five priority areas:

• psychosocial risk assessment and management;
• harassment, sexual harassment and violence;
• physical risks and mental health;
• psychosocial risks in the health and social care sector;
• supporting mental health at work.

New resources will be released throughout the campaign. The European Week for Safety and Health at Work, held this October, marks its first year.

What We Heard at the Launch

The figures presented by EU-OSHA leave little room for doubt:

• more than 4 in 10 workers in the EU (44%) report severe time pressure or work overload (OSH Pulse 2025);
• 29% report stress, depression or anxiety caused or made worse by work;
• only 39% of enterprises have an action plan against work-related stress;
• poor mental health is projected to reduce EU GDP by an average of 1.7% per year between 2025 and 2050.

The research perspective was equally clear. Reiner Rugulies, of Denmark’s National Research Centre for the Working Environment, presented the evidence from about 25 years of research. Adverse psychosocial working conditions are associated with a higher risk of depressive disorder. Examples include high demands combined with low control, effort-reward imbalance, workplace bullying and job insecurity. The key message is to go “upstream”: the most effective interventions change how work is organised, rather than placing the burden on individual workers alone.

Why This Matters for Us

On behalf of a client and the European social partners of the audiovisual sector, in the framework of the European Social Dialogue, Cultura Impact Lab developed the OiRA tool for the European audiovisual sector. OiRA (Online interactive Risk Assessment) is EU-OSHA’s free web platform that helps organisations assess and manage risks at work. In its latest update, we paid particular attention to risks related to mental health.

This work showed us how much psychosocial risks matter in cultural and creative work. The sector is full of tight deadlines, irregular hours, project-based contracts and high emotional demands. These conditions are well known to anyone working in production, on set or on tour. They are rarely treated as risks to be assessed and managed.

The campaign also reflects a principle we apply to sustainability: it is a management discipline, not a slogan. Mental health at work belongs to the same logic. It depends on how work is designed, how roles and workloads are defined, and how workers are involved.

How We Support the Campaign

• Spreading the word. We will share the campaign’s messages and resources across our channels and networks.
• Working with organisations. We will help the organisations we work with, particularly in the cultural and creative sectors, integrate psychosocial risk prevention into the way they plan, manage and run their projects.

Our congratulations go to EU-OSHA and to everyone who contributed to a strong and well-documented launch.

Want to know how psychosocial risk prevention can become part of your organisation’s projects and management? Get in touch — details in the Contacts section.