Workplace stress costs Portuguese companies 13.3 billion euros annually

Workplace stress and psychological health issues are costing Portuguese companies an estimated 13.3 billion euros annually in lost productivity, according to a new report by the Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses (OPP).

This figure represents a significant increase, having more than quadrupled in four years from 3.2 billion euros in 2020. The annual cost averages approximately 36 million euros per day, or 1.5 million euros per hour. The impact is equivalent to roughly 2.1% of the total turnover of Portuguese companies and accounts for about 13.5% of total annual expenditure on salaries and social charges, rising to 16.5% for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The report highlights that on average, each worker loses 13.5 days per year to absenteeism and up to 27 days to presenteeism—where employees are working but with reduced productivity due to health issues. In total, stress and psychological problems affect up to 40.5 working days per employee annually. The OPP suggests that implementing psychological health promotion and early identification measures could reduce these losses by 30%, potentially saving nearly 4 billion euros per year.