EU-OSHA's recent Pulse 2025 worker survey revealed that 33% of workers across the EU are exposed to climate change-related risks in the workplace
20% of the survey's respondents reported extreme heat exposure in the workplace, with 19% exposed to poor air quality.
35% of workers in agriculture, horticulture, forestry or fishing reported heat-related risk exposure. That figure sits at around 25% for construction and energy workers.
Of those exposed to heat risks in the workplace, one in 10 has been affected by heat-related symptoms like cramps or heatstroke. The same percentage works in intense sunlight.
EU-OSHA's executive director, William Cockburn, reacted to the survey's findings. "These findings show that workers across Europe face complex and evolving challenges. Nearly three in ten struggling with stress, depression or anxiety linked to their jobs. About a third worried that climate change could put their safety and health at risk.
"From adapting workplaces to the physical effects of climate change, to reducing the stigma around mental health and ensuring digital tools are introduced ethically ─ protecting the safety, health and dignity of Europe’s workforce must remain a top priority. This is especially important as we navigate the twin transitions of climate and digital change."
As Cockburn highlighted, it is not just climate-related risks and hazards facing workers. 44% of Pulse 2025 respondents reported severe time pressure or work overload, a figure that rises to half (50%) for health and social care workers.
Perhaps even more detrimentally to the talent pool and wider work force: 49% believe that disclosing details around their potential mental health risks and conditions could impact their careers negatively.
2025's Pulse survey was conducted in April 2025 among a pool of over 28,000 workers from across the European Union, including, for the first time in the survey's history, Switzerland.
