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New project will map the cost of poor working conditions in Sweden

Inadequate working conditions impact both individuals’ health and the national economy. We know the consequences are significant, but today there is no comprehensive picture of what they actually cost. The Swedish Agency for Work Environment Expertise is now launching a project to produce figures that reveal the costs of inadequate work environments, and the potential gains of preventive measures.

An often overlooked societal cost

Sick leave, healthcare, loss of productivity, and early retirement are some of the factors that contribute to substantial socioeconomic costs each year due to poor working conditions – resources that could have been used in other ways.

– A good work environment is not only a matter of health and well-being; it is also a socioeconomic investment. By making the costs visible, we hope to contribute to better decision-making and a more sustainable working life, says Veselinka Möllerström, Lead Process Analyst at the Swedish Agency for Work Environment Expertise.

Veselinka Möllerström, Lead Process Analyst at the Swedish Agency for Work Environment Expertise.

Purpose of the project

The aim of the project is to map how much work-related ill-health actually costs society and to create an overall picture that has so far been missing in Sweden. The project will also examine how these costs are distributed between employees, employers, and the public sector.

The methodological framework draws on the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work’s (EU-OSHA) 2019 pilot study and a Danish study that calculated the socioeconomic costs of poor work environments. These experiences now provide good conditions for conducting a corresponding analysis in a Swedish context.

By calculating the socioeconomic costs of work-related accidents and illnesses based on economic models and register data, the project aims to fill important knowledge gaps and strengthen the evidence base for future preventive measures.

The calculations include:

  • Direct costs – such as healthcare, rehabilitation, and out-of-pocket expenses
  • Indirect costs – such as productivity loss and presenteeism
  • Intangible costs – such as reduced quality of life and lost years of life

The results of the project are expected to be presented in November 2026 and will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the economic significance of the work environment in Sweden.

Contributors

Research team:
Ulf Gerdtham (Professor of Health Economics), Sanjib Saha (PhD, Associate Researcher), and Moa Morency (MSc, Research Assistant), all at Lund University.

Scientific expert panel:
Kristian Schultz Hansen (Professor of Work Environment Economics) and Andreas Krabbe Thommesen (Senior Researcher) at the National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NFA), Copenhagen, and Emile Tompa (Senior Researcher), Institute for Work & Health (IWH), Toronto.