On World Mental Health Day 2024 people and organisations across the world highlighted the vital connection between mental health and work. According to the WHO (World Health Organisation), safe, healthy working environments can function as a protective factor for our mental health.

With most Multiple Sclerosis diagnoses occurring during a period when people are pursuing studies, establishing careers and starting families, a person’s life course can be severely altered by the onset of MS. Data from the EMSP MS Barometer 2020 showed that 52% of people with MS were not in employment.  People require varying social support as their disease and symptoms change or progress, including support for social inclusion including work.

Being out of work may result in significant personal losses, including loss of independence, challenges with emotional wellbeing and cause a negative impact on people’s financial security. Stigma and discrimination about living with MS poses significant risks to a person’s mental health. It can impact their overall quality of life and consequently their participation or productivity at work.  This is a major issue for people with MS, especially young people living with the condition.

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, billions of employers and workers across the world adapted jobs to flexible hours and remote working. Through the disaster, societies changed. It is now accepted practice to have options for remote working for many work roles. For people with MS wanting to return to the workforce, vocational rehabilitation and case management can help them learn skills to improve their options and develop plans for a structured, personalized Return To Work plan that fits for the person and their employer. People then have a realistic, supported plans with an outlook on how they can get back into the workforce. People with MS can stay at work and fulfil their career ambitions benefitting the person, their family, community, and wider society.

It is essential for the newly elected EU parliamentarians, European governments, employers, patient organisations, unions and other stakeholders responsible for workers’ health and safety, to work together to improve our mental health at work.