Well-being at work and mental health, QWL, QWCL: moving beyond slogans and getting back to basics

Over the past fifteen years or so, the world of work has been enriched — some would say cluttered — with concepts that are supposed to address the same issue: enabling women and men to work sustainably, without burning out, while remaining committed and productive.
Well-being at work and mental health, QWL, QWLC, happy management… Concepts are multiplying, sometimes merging, often becoming commonplace. So much so that one question begs to be asked: are we still talking about work, or just everything that surrounds it?

 

From well-being at work to mental health: a change of focus

Well-being at work has long been approached from the perspective of individual feelings: feeling good, recognised, listened to. This approach had the merit of lifting a taboo: work can be a source of discomfort, and this is by no means anecdotal.

 

But its limitations became apparent when it resulted in responses that were essentially peripheral, sometimes disconnected from everyday working life.

 

Mental health at work introduces a more demanding change of perspective. It cannot be reduced to the absence of psychological suffering. It refers to the ability of individuals and groups to cope with the demands of work, to find meaning in it, to have sufficient room for manoeuvre and to evolve in a secure environment.
Mental health is therefore not an individual issue, but rather an indicator of the quality of organisations.

 

Burnout, depression, boreout: clarifying the issues to take better action

Terms related to suffering at work are now widely used, sometimes incorrectly, sometimes interchangeably. However, confusing them often prevents effective action.

 

Burnout refers to a state of professional exhaustion linked to prolonged exposure to stressful, demanding and emotionally costly work situations. It manifests itself in intense fatigue, detachment from work and a feeling of loss of efficiency. Burnout is directly linked to the professional context and the organisation of work.

 

Depression, on the other hand, is a mental illness that goes beyond the workplace. It affects all areas of life (personal, social, professional) and can have multiple causes. Work can be a triggering or aggravating factor, but it is not necessarily the sole cause.

 

More recently, other forms of malaise have been identified, such as bore-out, which corresponds to exhaustion due to boredom, underwork, loss of meaning or underutilisation of skills. Less visible than burnout, it can be just as harmful, leading to demotivation, guilt and professional devaluation.

 

These different situations have one thing in common: they are not the result of individual fragility, but often reveal a lasting imbalance between the demands of work, the resources available and the recognition given. Professional well-being is therefore central to the challenge of limiting the mental load and stress experienced by employees and managers at work.

 

QWL and QWLC: a structural evolution

Quality of Life at Work (QLW) was an important step forward in affirming that economic performance cannot be separated from the quality of the work experience.
In practice, however, it has sometimes been reduced to a series of visible actions that have little connection with the reality of working life.

 

Quality of Life and Working Conditions (QLWC), formalised by the 2020 National Interprofessional Agreement, marks a major shift. It is no longer just about “living better at work”, but about working better.

 

QWLC refocuses thinking on:

• the organisation of work and its content;
• the conditions under which it is carried out;
• management and professional dialogue;
• the prevention of psychosocial risks (PSRs) and physical disorders;
• the balance between demands, resources and recognition.

 

The key question then becomes: how can employees be enabled to produce high-quality work in conditions that protect their health and professional commitment?

 

The mirage of “happy management” for well-being at work and mental health

In this context, the notion of “happy management” raises questions. Wanting to make employees happy all the time is more of a slogan than a sustainable strategy.

Work involves constraints, trade-offs and sometimes tensions. Denying them amounts to ignoring the difficulties rather than addressing them.

Supportive management is not management that promises happiness, but management that:

 

• clarifies the roles and objectives of employees;
• regulates workload and priorities;
• opens up spaces for discussion about work;
• recognises the professionalism and efforts of employees;
• accepts complexity and uncertainty.

 

One of the keys to professional well-being and mental health at work is therefore sustainable management.

Work transformations: a powerful indicator

Reorganisations, digital transitions, the integration of artificial intelligence, skills shortages, changing expectations, geographical or functional mobility… Change is no longer a one-off event: it has become a permanent state of affairs.

These professional transformations act as a revealing factor in the quality of life at work. When working conditions are fragile, change accentuates stress, disengagement and conflict.

Conversely, when QWL is truly invested in, change can become a lever for collective learning, skills development and strengthening professional bonds.

 

Co-construct rather than prescribe.

 

One thing is clear today: we cannot improve quality of life and working conditions in the long term without involving those who do the work.

Co-construction makes it possible to:

• highlight the realities on the ground;
• identify irritants, but also resources;
• develop concrete and tailored solutions;
• strengthen social dialogue and the sense of purpose.

QWL is not a catalogue of actions, a label or a communication tool. It is a structured approach that takes an in-depth look at the relationship between work, management and performance.

More than just improving well-being at work, it is a lever for engagement, giving meaning to work and involving employees

 

Well-being at work and mental health in perspective

At a time when mental health at work, professional commitment and meaning at work are becoming increasingly important in public and professional debate, QVCT appears less as an option than as a strategic lever for the future.

It is precisely these issues that will be the focus of the next FNPR annual convention, to be held in Marseille on 2 and 3 December. It will provide a space for reflection and discussion based on a strong conviction:

“Take care of yourself to lead better, because performance begins with balance.”

A clear guiding principle: recognising that the quality of leadership, the health of leaders and that of organisations are deeply intertwined.
And that it is time to think differently about performance and to integrate a more lucid, more human and resolutely forward-looking social responsibility into it.