Open research questions in Workplace Health and Well-being

What the literature leaves open

• Despite its strategic importance for employee wellbeing and social sustainability, the extent to which ECI is represented in workplace wellbeing (WWB) measurements remains unclear.

  The inclusion of enterprise community involvement in workplace wellbeing instruments: a scoping review · 2026 · DOI

• Employed in low-income positions across the country, they often face workplace hazards and numerous occupational health and safety (OHS) challenges related to long working hours, limited access to OHS information, gaps in knowledge, structural power imbalances with employers, and language and cultural barriers.

  Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions of Occupational Health and Safety Among Migrant Agricultural Workers in Ontario, Canada: A Pilot Study · 2026 · DOI

• Finally, national averages may conceal within- country variation, so future research should examine school-level patterns to assess whether aggregate stability masks local disparities (Ainley & Carstens, 2018; Corral-Granados et al.

  Post‑Pandemic Shifts in Teacher Professional Development, Practices, and Well‑Being Across Four Nordic Education Systems · 2026 · DOI

• (2025) did a similar investigation for a small sample of 247 US early-stage entrepreneurs, which may not be representative of the entire population of small busi- ness owners.

  Daily recovery experiences of Japanese small business owners and the link with well-being and ill-being · 2026 · DOI

• and media campaigns to ensure that workers are well informed about their rights before migrating and after returning. By empowering migrant workers with knowledge about their rights and available support systems, communities can help prevent exploitation and promote the physical wellbeing of migrant returnees.

  Effect of Employment Rights on Physical Well-Being of Ugandan Returnee Manual Workers from Saudi Arabia · 2026 · DOI

• REVISIÓN TEÓRICA DE LA SALUD DE LOS TRABAJADORES: UNA PERSPECTIVA HISTÓRICA Laura Aparecida TRISTÃO1 Tamires Mota de OLIVEIRA2 Regina Celia de Souza BERETTA3 RESUMO: O sentido do trabalho pode se configurar como a origem de realizações, gratificações pessoais e reconhecimento. Contudo, também pode afetar a saúde quando exercido em condições arriscadas, em ritmo acelerado ou em ambientes inadequados, tornando-se um facilitador de acidentes e doenças. Assim, este artigo teve como finalidade apresentar e descrever os principais aspectos envolvidos no trabalho e na saúde dos trabalhadores. Foram realizadas buscas nas bases Scielo e Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), bem como em sites governamentais nacionais e internacionais. A busca de materiais ocorreu entre os meses de janeiro e julho de 2024, com os descritores: Histórico e trabalhador, Histórico e Saúde do trabalhador e Saúde do trabalhador. O conteúdo foi lido na íntegra, sintetizado e apresentado por meio de duas categorias principais: Saúde do trabalhador: aspectos históricos e Saúde do 1 Professora do Cogna Anhanguera, Doutoranda do Programa de Pós Graduação em Promoção da Saúde da Universidade de Franca (UNIFRAN). Franca, São Paulo, Brasil. E-mail: [email protected] ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3689-1856 2 Mestranda do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Promoção da Saúde da Universidade de Franca (UNIFRAN). Franca, São Paulo, Brasil. E-mail: [email protected] ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5709-8577 3 Docente do Programa de Pós Graduação em Promoção de Saúde da Universidade de Franca (UNIFRAN). Franca, São Paulo, Brasil. E-mail: [email protected] ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2817-0805 Org&Demo, Marília, v. 27, 2026. Fluxo contínuo DOI: https://doi.org/10.36311/1519-0110.2026.v27.e026001 Este trabalho está licenciado sob uma licença Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Org&Demo 2 trabalhador: desdobramentos da Pandemia pela COVID-19. O campo da saúde do trabalhador demorou a receber a devida atenção, e, na atualidade, ainda há passos a serem dados para a devida efetivação dessa política. Palavras- chave: Histórico, Saúde do trabalhador, Bem-estar laboral. ABSTRACT: The meaning of work can be the source of achievement, personal gratification and recognition. However, it canal so affec the alth when it iscarried out in risky conditions, at a fast pace or in un suitable environments, making it a facilitator of accident sandillnesses. The aim of this article is there for to presentand describe the main as pectsinvolved in work and workers' health. Search es were carried out on the Scieloand Virtual Health Library (VHL) databases, as well as on national and international government websites.

  REVISÃO TEÓRICA ACERCA DA SAÚDE DO TRABALHADOR · 2026 · DOI

• Little is known about boards’ discussions of OHS, which is why we set out to investigate vice chairs’ and chairs’ perceptions of facilitating conditions for discussing OHS in municipal boardrooms.

  Governing with Health and Safety in Mind: Favorable Conditions for Board OHS Discussions in Swedish Municipal Contexts · 2026 · DOI

• Purpose This study examines the role of line managers in supporting workplace mental health within non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the West of Ireland, a predominantly rural and coastal region comprising counties Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon, addressing a critical yet under-researched area.

  An exploration into the role of the line manager in supporting workplace mental health in a sample of NGOs in the West of Ireland · 2026 · DOI

• Selection bias may also have influenced the find- ings through several mechanisms including (1) publication bias, as we selected only published studies, which potentially excludes non-significant results; (2) language bias, due to our restriction to studies published only in English; and (3) time-frame bias, as the review was limited to a defined pub- lication period.

  Collaboration between workplaces and their occupational health service providers on mental health issues: a scoping review · 2026 · DOI

• There are several restrictions on this study. Reverse causality cannot be ruled out and causal linkages cannot be proven because the study was cross-sectional. Sampling bias may have been introduced because the study was carried out among construction workers who were present at the jobsite during the data collection time. Self-reported responses were used to gather data on the social environment and mental health, which may be skewed toward social desirability. The results can’t be applied to female migrant workers because the bulk of participants were men. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to measure social support and environ- mental factors instead of utilizing a fully validated social support scale also a screen- ing tool was used to measure mental well-being instead of a diagnostic tool. Regression model over fitting may have been introduced to some extent by the inclusion of many Jayachandran et al. Discover Public Health (2026) 23:805 Page 12 of 13 variables. Substance abuse and other behavioural elements that could affect mental well- being were also not evaluated. Despite these drawbacks, the study adds to the existing literature and underscores the need for future studies using longitudinal designs and validated instruments.

  Association between social environment and mental well-being among migrant construction workers in Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu · 2026 · DOI

• The study has several limitations that must be considered when interpreting the obtained results. First, the cross-sectional study design prevents the determination of causal relationships between the analyzed variables. The results only point to the co-occurrence of spe- cific phenomena. Second, data were collected via self-report methods, which may involve response bias and the influence of subjective fac- tors, such as the respondents’ current emotional state. This could lead to an over- or under-estimation of workload and organizational envi- ronment perceptions. Another limitation is the sampling method, which was purposive and involved selected hospitals in three Central European countries. Despite the relatively large sample size, the results cannot be directly generalized to the entire nursing population in the studied nations. It should also be noted that the study focused on selected organizational factors and did not encompass all potential variables that might impact excessive workload levels, such as detailed ward working conditions, management style, or patient load. Furthermore, although various work systems were included, their classification was simplified and lacked detailed parameters like shift length or the number of night shifts, which could significantly affect overload. In light of the above limitations, the findings should be interpreted with caution, particularly with regard to causal inference and the possibility of fully generalizing the results to the population of nurses in other countries and healthcare systems.

  Excessive workload as a risk factor for patient and medical staff safety: a multicenter cross-sectional study in Central Europe · 2026 · DOI

• This study has several important strengths. The use of a large nationwide administrative dataset (over 260 000 women) provided substantial statistical power and enabled analyses across employment sectors, contract types and residential areas in the Netherlands. Objective administrative records reduced recall bias and ensured consistent measurement of benefit receipt, employment status and working hours over a prolonged obser- vation period. Distinguishing sick leave during pregnancy from sick leave within 2 years after childbirth allowed examination within their distinct legal and occupational contexts. Several limitations should be considered. First, sick leave was classified based on benefit receipt and timing rather than diagnosis, as diagnostic information was not available in a standardised, analysable format. Sick leave should there- fore be interpreted as a composite indicator reflecting health needs, working conditions and sick leave behaviour rather than morbidity alone. Second, information on subsequent pregnan- cies was unavailable, and labour force participation may have been underestimated among women with short pregnancy inter- vals. Previous register- based research has shown that patterns of sick leave absence after childbirth are highly sensitive to selection mechanisms, particularly subsequent pregnancies, highlighting the difficulty of attributing post- childbirth sickness absence causally to motherhood alone.24 Third, the data lacked precise timing of individual sick leave spells, precluding time- to- event analyses and limiting assessment of sequencing between sick leave and return to work. Sick leave was operationalised as accumulated length, which may not reflect complete absence due to partial benefits. Fourth, the study population was restricted to women eligible for employee- based maternity and sick leave benefits, limiting generalisability to those outside the formal labour market. Finally, information on death or emigra- tion during the observation was unavailable and could not be treated as competing risks. As an observational study, causal interpretations cannot be made, and unmeasured confounding (including previous work history, pre- existing health condi- tions, socio- economic circumstances and workplace characteris- tics) may partly explain the observed associations.

  Associations between sick leave during pregnancy and after childbirth and future labour force participation: a Dutch cohort study · 2026 · DOI

• The prospective cohort design of this study allowed for the tracking of SRTW over time, capturing personal and social variables that cannot be measured retrospectively. Making use of self-reported SA data made it possible to take the reason of recurrent SA into account in analysis, which is not always possible for register-based data. Thereafter, it allowed any recurrences to be reported, while register-based data often are limited to recurrences that exceed a certain length (e.g., 4 weeks of absence for which disability ben- efits are in place). Furthermore, in this research, two out- come measures of SRTW were taken into account, recurrent SA and WA, while previous research usually focusses on recurrent SA alone. This is of importance as Nielsen et al. emphasize that work functioning after RTW is an impor- tant measure of SRTW after a CMD [11]. Several limita- tions are also present in our study. We would like to point out that despite considerable effort, recruitment challenges resulted in a small sample size. This might be explained by the vulnerable target group not wanting to increase their load in a difficult time of RTW. Furthermore, substantial attrition was a key limitation. This in combination with the relatively small sample size, reduces the statistical power to detect—and confidently exclude—potentially relevant pre- dictors. Consequently, our findings should be interpreted with appropriate caution. We were also unable to distin- guish between different kinds of trajectories or take into account within-individual changes over time. The absence of significant changes in work ability over time may partly reflect a selection effect, whereby participants with more stable trajectories are more likely to remain in the sample. We cannot exclude the possibility that missingness was not completely at random. Additionally, the study population exhibited certain biases. First, there was a gender imbalance, with the majority of participants being women. However, this may reflect the broader population, as psychological disorders are more prevalent among women, accounting for over two-thirds of the individuals on work disability due to burnout or depression [4, 6]. Secondly, all measures in this study were self-reported by participants, and accuracy of the provided data on SA could not be confirmed by an inde- pendent source. Thirdly, as the study focused exclusively on salaried workers, the findings cannot be extrapolated to self-employed individuals. Impact & Future Despite its exploratory character, this study may offer some insights into factors of importance to achieve a SRTW for people experiencing a CMD. Sufficient time to achieve con- siderable improvement of depression and anxiety symptoms at the time of RTW seems to be important to prevent recur- rent SA. Contrary, delaying RTW might also impact the occurrence of RTW at all, since longer absences decrease chances of RTW [57]. In addition, Modini et al. state that RTW can also alleviate depression and anxiety symptoms, improve self-reported wellbeing, provide a greater sense of autonomy, increase access to resources to cope with demands, enhance social status, and provide unique oppor- tunities for personal development and mental health promo- tion [7]. Finding a balance between sufficient recovery and timely action to steps in RTW is thus essential. Depressive and anxiety symptoms have also been shown to be important indicators of work ability after the initial return. Over time, resilience and controllability also appear to play a meaning- ful role. Although only correlations were found with other factors at individual, group, leader, and organizational level, these findings suggest that actions at different levels of the IGLOO framework may influence SRTW. Future research should further investigate the variables found to impact SRTW, both directly, via recurrence of SA, and indirectly, via WA or work functioning. By examining both recurrent SA and WA within the same framework, this study contrib- utes to the conceptualization of (S) RTW by highlighting the multidimensional nature of sustainability and the intercon- nected pathways through which symptoms, work ability, and work participation influence each other over time. Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to validate these findings, resolve inconsistencies in the existing literature, and investigate potential interactions between variables. Such efforts could contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the determinants of SRTW and inform the development of targeted interventions.

  Determinants of Sustainable Return to Work After Burnout or Depression: A Longitudinal Cohort Study · 2026 · DOI

• Background: While the empirical data on the role of environmental factors in work addiction (WA) is steadily growing, little is known about the extent to which the workaholic environment contributes to the increased risk of WA and what are the relative contributions of direct supervisor's and colleagues' WA to one's own workaholism.

  Perceived coworkers' work addiction: Scale development and associations with one's own workaholism, job stress, and job satisfaction in 85 cultures · 2025 · DOI

• This qualitative study addresses calls for further research on the meaning of working for older workers using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach to explore in-depth the dimensions underlying the subjective experience of meaningful work among 27 nurses and nursing assistants aged 55-75 years.

  Meaning of working for older nurses and nursing assistants in Sweden: A qualitative study · 2024 · DOI

• Design/methodology/approach Through a mixed data collection method, this study analyzed potential relationships (between mental health, workplace design and IEQ) from information obtained through a cross-sectional survey, repeated point-in-time surveys and desk-based IEQ sensors at home.

  Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in the home workplace in relation to mental well-being · 2022 · DOI

• The process to regain/restore energy expended at work, known as "recovery," also plays a pivotal role for individuals; however, this process, together with PSC, remains largely underexplored.

  Psychosocial safety climate improves psychological detachment and relaxation during off‐job recovery time to reduce emotional exhaustion: A multilevel shortitudinal study · 2021 · DOI

• Ongoing monitoring using the WHA Survey benchmarks OSH and WHP in US worksites, updates estimates from previous surveys, and identifies gaps in research and practice.

  Results of the Workplace Health in America Survey · 2019 · DOI

• To address these aspects, future research should consider applying a standard measurement of TAW, including a minimum of meaningful confounding variables, improving the operationalisation of outcome variables and the study design.

  Job satisfaction and mental health of temporary agency workers in Europe: a systematic review and research agenda · 2019 · DOI

• Although cognitive functions are among the most important characteristics of employees related to job, still little is known about its moderating role in JD-R processes; hence in this study we make a novel attempt to test the invariance of JD-R propositions among employees at different levels of cognitive functioning.

  All employees need job resources – Testing the Job Demands–Resources Theory among employees with either high or low working memory and fluid intelligence · 2018 · DOI

• The findings point to four conclusions: i) the emergence of new occupational hazards in the service sector; ii) the improvement of working conditions in manufacturing; iii) changing industry is damaging to an individual’s health, possibly due to skills mismatches that may arise, although further research is required to further disentangle the direction of causation; and iv) the impacts on health of different industrial sectors and changes between industrial sectors vary between men and women.

  The health impacts of the contemporary manufacturing and service sectors on men and women · 2016 · DOI

• It is commonly said that 3-5% of teachers suffer from "burnout," but reliable data on this topic are lacking, among other reasons because the term has no standard definition.

  Teachers’ Health · 2015 · DOI

• "The theme of fly-in fly-out (FIFO) employment arrangements has attracted considerable policy and media interest, yet there is limited knowledge about the impact of such employment on workers and how they might manage the various strains associated with FIFO work.

  Adjustment, Well-being and Help-seeking Among Australian FIFO Mining Employees · 2014

• (17) Few studies have examined separately the risk factors for transitions between different stages of symptoms and disability, nor have most reviews considered separately the risk factors for different outcomes such as MSD without time loss and MSD with prolonged time loss.

  A conceptual model of musculoskeletal disorders for occupational health practitioners · 2014 · DOI

• The quality of the studies was assessed using a checklist; eight field studies and three laboratory studies of sufficient quality were used to summarise the following evidence: one field study showed positive results and one field study showed negative results for musculoskeletal complaints, two field studies showed positive results and two field studies showed inconsistent results for exposures, and two field studies showed inconsistent results for musculoskeletal complaints and exposures.

  Effects of job rotation on musculoskeletal complaints and related work exposures: a systematic literature review · 2014 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Workplace Health and Well-being

• Cost of Lost Productive Work Time Among US Workers With Depression · JAMA · 2003 · 1,004 citations
• Social Support, Occupational Stress, and Health · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · 1980 · 641 citations
• Review of 30 Years of Longitudinal Studies on the Association Between Job Insecurity and Health and Well‐Being: Is There Causal Evidence? · Australian Psychologist · 2016 · 488 citations
• Ambulance personnel and critical incidents · The British Journal of Psychiatry · 2001 · 384 citations
• Job strain as a risk factor for clinical depression: systematic review and meta-analysis with additional individual participant data · Psychological Medicine · 2017 · 372 citations
• A conceptual framework for the study of work and mental health · Work & Stress · 1994 · 319 citations
• What do Workplace Wellness Programs do? Evidence from the Illinois Workplace Wellness Study* · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · 2019 · 292 citations
• Common Mental Disorders in the Workforce: Recent Findings from Descriptive and Social Epidemiology · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · 2006 · 275 citations
• Harmful Workplace Experiences and Women’s Occupational Well-Being · Psychology of Women Quarterly · 2015 · 244 citations
• Does job insecurity lead to impaired well‐being or vice versa? Estimation of cross‐lagged effects using latent variable modelling · Journal of Organizational Behavior · 2003 · 239 citations

Most recent work

• Using an Adapted Job Demands–Resources Model to Examine the Use of Legal, Prescription, and Illegal Drugs for Cognitive Enhancement in the Working Population in Germany · Sociological Inquiry · 2026
• Occupational and Psychosocial Risk Factors for Depression Among Truck Drivers: A Systematic Review · Issues in Mental Health Nursing · 2026
• Does psychological distress always impair work performance? Insights from Vietnamese construction employees · Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology · 2026
• Long Working Hours and Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease Among Japanese Workers: The Jichi Medical School Cohort Study · Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health · 2026
• Development and validation of an Occupational Hazards Index (OHI) and its association with hypertension-diabetes comorbidity in steel workers: a prospective cohort study · BMC Public Health · 2026
• Determinants of Sustainable Return to Work After Burnout or Depression: A Longitudinal Cohort Study · Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation · 2026
• Identifier précocement les fragilités cardio-métaboliques et psychosociales au travail : apport du diagnostic forme & santé (DFS) · Archives des maladies professionnelles et de médecine du travail/Archives des maladies professionnelles et de l'environnement · 2026
• Information des entreprises pour la prévention de la désinsertion professionnelle · Archives des maladies professionnelles et de médecine du travail/Archives des maladies professionnelles et de l'environnement · 2026
• Flash-Stress, l’Observatoire de santé mentale des salariés de la SNCF · Archives des maladies professionnelles et de médecine du travail/Archives des maladies professionnelles et de l'environnement · 2026
• Evaluating trends in new cases of Work-Related Mental Ill-health after introduction of The Health and Safety Executives Management Standards · medRxiv · 2026

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