working days are lost globally each year to depression and anxiety.
Evidence & Resources
Organisational practice and implementation
A policy is only useful when women and managers can use it safely.
Organisations shape the conditions around every health-and-work conversation through work design, leadership, manager capability, privacy, flexibility and psychosocial risk management.
Health, healthcare and work are connected.
Global evidence snapshot
Scale, context and equity matter.
is the estimated annual productivity cost of depression and anxiety.
of employed people report violence or harassment at work during their working life.
What the evidence says
Start with what is established.
01
The health evidence
Formal policy does not guarantee consistent implementation.
02
The wider context
Managers need authority, guidance and escalation pathways to respond well.
03
What matters
Work design and psychosocial conditions can either reduce or compound health-related pressure.
Working-life lens
The impact can appear in more than absence.
01
Capacity and participation
Inconsistent decisions create uncertainty and perceived unfairness.
02
Systems and access
High demands, low control and poor support can worsen psychological harm.
03
Trust and disclosure
Data limited to sickness absence will miss many experiences and outcomes.
From evidence to practice
Support begins with a respectful, individual response.
01
Listen first
Connect policy, work design, manager training and governance.
02
Design practical support
Provide clear adjustment, privacy, escalation and review processes.
03
Protect dignity
Use de-identified feedback and outcome measures to improve implementation.
Women Working Well’s research purpose
What Women Working Well is seeking to understand.
Women Working Well exists to investigate the questions that remain unseen or unanswered: what is missing from the evidence, whose experiences are under-represented, and how women’s health, healthcare, working life and life beyond work connect. These topic-specific priorities help shape the Global Women and Work Study.
01
What is missing
Few workplace interventions have been evaluated rigorously.
02
Who is under-represented
Implementation evidence is limited outside large organisations.
03
What research should connect
Research should test outcomes for women, managers and organisational systems.
Sources and further reading
Global evidence and authoritative guidance.
These sources support the key statements on this page. Statistics are contextual, time-bound and should be read with their source definitions. Evidence from one country, occupation or health condition should not automatically be generalised to all women.
Peer-reviewed Australian employer research — Endo@Work →UK Government — Menopause in the workplace literature review →Safe Work Australia — Psychosocial hazards →World Health Organization — Mental health at work →ILO — Experiences of violence and harassment at work: global survey →
Important: This page provides general evidence and workplace information. It is not medical, legal or employment advice and does not replace individual clinical care or professional advice.
Keep exploring
See the connected evidence picture.
Return to the Evidence & Resources Hub or explore the Global Women and Work Study.
Evidence & Resources →