In France, the mental health of employees continues to worry: warning signals are accumulating in companies, with lasting fatigue, anxiety setting in and work stoppages increasing. The latest barometers on psychological health at work describe a situation not seen in years. According to the firm Empreinte Humaine and its partner Ipsos BVA, nearly one in two employees is now in a situation of psychological distress, including a significant proportion in a state considered as serious, and 7 out of 10 directly link this suffering to their employment The contrast is marked as mental health has been made a major national cause for 2025 and 2026, around the official slogan “Let’s talk about mental health!”.
One in two employees in psychological distress
In detail, a survey by the specialist firm Empreinte Humaine, carried out with Ipsos BVA among 2,000 employees, indicates that 47% of those questioned are in psychological distress, including 14% in “high psychological distress“. Another questionnaire, focused on the risk of burnout, concludes that 32% of employees are at risk, including 12% at severe risk, and that 20% say they “burn out” because of work.
According to Christophe Nguyen, co-founder and president of Empreinte humaine, these figures show “that the mental health of employees remains degraded in 2025“.”The situation has been quite tense for more than five years“, insists Christophe Nguyen, who follows the evolution of these figures year after year.
When the psychological becomes physical…
The mental suffering described in the study translates massively into the body. According to Empreinte Humaine, 58% of employees in psychological distress suffer from musculoskeletal tension or pain linked to their activity. The effects on sleep are just as marked: 66% report sleep problems associated with stress, compared to 49% among all employees, and headaches affect 38% of respondents.
The gaps between employees in distress and the rest of the working population are particularly striking. 83% of those affected report nausea compared to 13% of others, and 73% report digestive problems compared to 26%. For Christophe Nguyen, “a person affected by this distress is twice as likely to develop a mental disorder“, such as severe anxiety or depression. He emphasizes that “there is a very strong correlation between physical health and mental health“and that”Chronic stress disrupts our body a little. When the head suffers, the body speaks“.
Discomfort directly linked to work
The vast majority of employees relate their discomfort to their professional environment. Seven in ten say their distress is partially or totally related to their work. For 85% of them, working conditions must change to prevent psychosocial risks, particularly when the burden becomes “heavier” in the absence of recognition.
Expectations come back from one survey to another: better recognition, workload regulation, balance between professional and personal life. Christophe Nguyen believes that “unfortunately, we do not cover the most decisive subjects“. Several categories appear particularly exposed. Employees are more affected than executives (53% versus 42%), women more than men (54% versus 40%), public employees more than those in the private sector (52% versus 45%). Age also plays a role: 55% of those under 30 say they are in psychological distress, compared to 36% of those over 60.
Discomfort is also fueled by a loss of meaning at work. Only one in two employees feel like they are accomplishing things that are truly worthwhile, while six in ten say they are looking for more meaning in their activity. For the work psychologist, “we have observed a very significant deterioration in the mental health of French employees since the end of the Covid crisis“, partly because “working conditions are more demanding, in particular due to the resumption of economic activity while the mental health of the French was already weakened by confinements“.
Legal obligations and aid systems: a persistent gap
Although mental health has been a major national cause in 2025, less than one in two employees indicate that their company offers comprehensive support systems. Yet, according to the study, “when these systems exist, the climate of psychological safety increases”but suspicions of abuse around work stoppages, maintained according to 74% of employees by certain “political speeches”, hamper freedom of speech. For 78% of respondents, these speeches even harm the recognition of situations of distress.
The legal framework is however clear. Article L4121-1 of the Labor Code requires each employer to protect the physical and mental health of its employees, by acting on psychosocial risks, by training teams and adapting the organization. These obligations are linked to the single occupational risk assessment document, the missions of the social and economic committee and those of the occupational health services.
According to Christophe Nguyen, “the subject of mental health is taken more and more seriously by companies but concrete actions are slow to be put in place“, adding that “better support for employers to preserve the mental health of their employees would notably reduce absenteeism“.