On World Day for Safety and Health at Work, a new coalition highlights overlooked threats to worker health and calls for U.S. action, citing new international report
(U.S.) As the world marks the 2026 World Day for Safety and Health at Work—recognized in the United States as Workers Memorial Day—the International Labour Organization (ILO) is releasing a new report that highlights the psychosocial working environment as a critical threat to worker health worldwide. In response to this global moment—and to the United States’ continued lag in recognizing or regulating these risks—a new national coalition, the Work Stress Prevention Alliance (WSPA) has been formed to confront psychosocial hazards in the workplace.
Psychosocial hazards arise from the social and organizational conditions of work—how work is designed, organized, and managed. These include excessive workloads, long hours, low job control, job insecurity, inadequate support, work–family conflict, and workplace bullying. Each is now recognized as a significant risk factor for adverse physical and mental health outcomes among workers.
In the U.S., Workers Memorial Day—established by the AFL-CIO in 1989—honors workers who have lost their lives due to unsafe working conditions and reaffirms every worker’s fundamental right to a safe and healthy job. Yet that right remains out of reach for far too many. In the U.S. alone, more than 5,000 workers die from traumatic injuries on the job each year and an estimated 135,000 from occupational diseases; that is 385 workers a day! But the crisis in the U.S. extends far beyond what is captured in these injury and fatality statistics.
Deaths linked to psychosocial hazards are difficult to count but have been estimated at 70,000 annually – or as high as 120,000 if we count deaths resulting from the consequences of unemployment and lack of health insurance. These harms are largely preventable and often stem from how work itself is designed, organized, and managed.
Work-related stress is widespread and deeply harmful: 77% of workers report experiencing stress in the past month, and 57% say it has harmed their health and well-being. Nearly two-thirds of Americans identify work as a significant source of stress. The consequences are substantial— elevated risks of chronic disease and heart attacks are well-documented, and individuals experiencing high levels of work-related stress are twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts compared to those with low or limited work-related stress.
“Workplace health and safety should be more broadly defined,” said Laura Punnett, Professor Emerita at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace, and WSPA member. “The way work is designed—whether workers have control, stability, and reasonable demands—can be just as dangerous as any physical hazard.”
WSPA was formed in response to this ongoing and preventable toll. It brings together experts from institutions including Stanford University, UCLA, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, the American Federation of Teachers, and the Healthy Work Campaign, alongside nationally recognized leaders in occupational health research, policy-making, and worker advocacy. The coalition reflects mounting evidence that workplace conditions are driving serious health outcomes among workers, including burnout, cardiovascular disease, depression, and injury.
The WSPA’s mission is supported by the ILO report, which emphasizes a prevention-focused approach that begins with identifying how risks emerge from job design, work organization, and broader policies that shape daily working conditions. Together, the global observance of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work and the report underscore a growing international consensus: workplace conditions are not only sources of stress, but fundamental occupational hazards that must be addressed alongside physical, chemical, and biological risks. Yet, the U.S. lacks a coordinated, system-wide approach to capture and track psychosocial hazard data, and does not have enforceable standards to adequately address them.
The urgency of this moment is heightened by the recent erosion of worker protections in the U.S. Decades of progress—driven by agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) — are being undermined by staffing cuts, weakened enforcement, and deregulatory policies. As oversight declines, the number of inspections has decreased, and workers—especially in low-wage and high-risk industries—are increasingly exposed to preventable harm. At the same time, growing power imbalances increasingly constrain workers’ ability to voice concerns and influence the conditions of their work, compounding both physical risks and underlying psychosocial hazards.
“If we’re serious about worker health, we can’t ignore excessively stressful working conditions that are making people sick in the first place,” said Peter Schnall, Founder and Executive Director of the Healthy Work Campaign and WSPA member. “The key is prevention—changing how work is structured so it supports health, rather than undermines it.”
WSPA was formed to help close this gap, bringing together cross-sector expertise to advance research-informed guidelines, build broad partnerships, and support the development of policies, laws, and regulations to prevent work-related stress and protect worker mental and physical health. By aligning its launch with a global day of action and a major international report, the WSPA aims to elevate psychosocial hazards as a central workplace health and safety issue—and push for long-overdue action in the U.S.