Strategy against stress-related ill health

The election manifesto finds that stress-related illness is becoming increasingly common without leading to expanded care or changed working conditions, and the party programme sees healthcare as part of a broader public health work where everything from work environment to green areas makes a difference. The party's own answers include, among other things, shorter working hours and housing environments with protective greenery. A review of what causes stress and a strategy with measures in precisely these areas is thus supported by the plan.

• address stress-related ill-healthdecisive»Stressrelaterade sjukdomar blir allt vanligare och psykisk ohälsa ökar särskilt bland kvinnor och hos unga utan att det leder till utbyggd vård eller förändrad arbetsmiljö.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stress-related illness is becoming increasingly common and mental ill-health is increasing especially among women and young people without it leading to expanded care or changed work environment.”
• broad public health view»Vården behöver ses som en del i det bredare arbetet med folkhälsa.« (party programme ↗)“Healthcare needs to be seen as part of the broader work on public health.”
• shorter working hours to reduce stress»Med dagens tekniska utveckling finns förutsättningar att inleda en arbetstidsförkortning, med sikte på sex timmars arbetsdag, med bibehållen lön.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“With today's technological development, there are conditions to begin a shortening of working hours, aiming at a six-hour working day, with maintained pay.”
• greenery in societal planning»goda boendemiljöer med skyddande grönska« (party programme ↗)“good housing environments with protective greenery”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme requires a work environment that promotes health and well-being and states that too many are physically and psychologically stressed in working life, while at the same time wanting to see urban development that creates good living environments. The election manifesto wants to improve supervision of staff working conditions. A strategy that maps the causes of stress and encompasses work environment, urban planning and physical activity aligns with these commitments.

• health-promoting work environmentdecisive»Det fordrar en arbetsmiljö, som främjar hälsa och välbefinnande.« (party programme ↗)“It requires a work environment that promotes health and well-being.”
• psychological stress in working life»hälsa i fysiskt eller psykiskt pressande arbetsmiljöer.« (party programme ↗)“health in physically or psychologically stressful work environments.”
• healthy living environments»framtidsinriktat stadsbyggande som skapar integrerade, variationsrika och transportsnåla« (party programme ↗)“forward-looking urban development that creates integrated, diverse and transport-efficient”
• strengthened work environment supervision»tillsynen av personalens arbetsmiljö ska förbättras« (2022 manifesto ↗)“supervision of staff working conditions should be improved”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan notes that mental illness is growing and requires far more targeted health-promotion and disease-prevention work. The counter-proposal's strategy against stress-related illness hits precisely the areas the plan points to: shorter working time so more can sustain a full working life, green spaces in cities and balance between work and leisure. The plan mentions no particular stress strategy, so coverage is derived.

• prevent mental illnessdecisive»Den psykiska ohälsan växer, och leder till stort lidande. Miljöpartiet ser att vi i Sverige måste arbeta långt mer målinriktat med hälsofrämjande och sjukdomsförebyggande insatser.« (party programme ↗)“Mental illness is growing and causes great suffering. The Greens see that we in Sweden must work far more deliberately with health-promotion and disease-prevention efforts.”
• shorter working time against burnout»korta arbetstiden så att fler människor orkar jobba ett helt arbetsliv.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“shorten working time so more people can work a full working life.”
• green spaces in cities»investera i mer natur och grönska i städer och tätorter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“invest in more nature and greenery in cities and towns.”
• work-life balance»Balansen mellan arbete och fritid är för många en fråga om livskvalitet.« (party programme ↗)“The balance between work and leisure is for many a question of quality of life.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto explicitly commits to doing more to prevent, counter and rehabilitate stress-related mental illness, which is described as very burdensome for individuals and society, and points to employers' preventive responsibility and to more green spaces close to people. The counter-proposal's requirement that the causes are investigated and that a strategy with measures is developed follows directly from these commitments.

• prevent stress-related illnessdecisive»Gör mer för att förebygga, motverka och rehabilitera stressrelaterad psykisk ohälsa.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Do more to prevent, counter and rehabilitate stress-related mental illness.”
• stress as societal problem»Stressrelaterad psykisk ohälsa drabbar den enskilda människan och samhället mycket hårt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stress-related mental illness strikes the individual and society very hard.”
• employer's preventive responsibility»Arbetsgivare bör ta ett större ansvar för förebyggande insatser och rehabilitering.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Employers should take greater responsibility for preventive measures and rehabilitation.”
• greenery near people»Vi vill se fler grönområden nära där människor bor, renare vatten och mer biologisk mångfald.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to see more green spaces close to where people live, cleaner water and greater biological diversity.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The party programme stipulates that the right to healthcare and treatment is just as obvious for mental as for physical illnesses and that public health work shall rest on knowledge, which argues for investigating what causes stress and developing measures. The plan also sees green spaces during densification as self-evident, in line with the counter-proposal's urban planning part. At the same time, the plan emphasizes that individual motivation shall guide interventions, which makes the support weak and derived.

• mental health equateddecisive»Rätten till vård och behandling är lika självklar för både fysiska och psykiska sjukdomar.« (party programme ↗)“The right to healthcare and treatment is just as obvious for both physical and mental illnesses.”
• knowledge-based public health»Folkhälsoarbetet och de förebyggande hälsoinsatserna ska vila på kunskap« (party programme ↗)“Public health work and preventive health measures shall rest on knowledge”
• green spaces in the city»Vid förtätning av städer måste grönområden få en självklar plats.« (party programme ↗)“When densifying cities, green spaces must have a natural place.”
• individual self-determination»Den enskildes motivation ska styra alla insatser som erbjuds.« (party programme ↗)“Individual motivation shall guide all interventions that are offered.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly establishes that illness related to psychosocial factors and stress are serious problems that require measures from healthcare, fellow citizens, employers and other societal actors, and that health-promoting work shall be stimulated. It also emphasizes the importance of the local environment and green spaces for health. An investigation into the causes of stress and a strategy with measures in these areas thus aligns with the plan's own direction.

• stress a serious health problemdecisive»Ohälsa relaterad till psykosociala faktorer och« (party programme ↗)“Illness related to psychosocial factors and”
• health-promoting work»Hälsofrämjande arbete ska stimuleras.« (party programme ↗)“Health-promoting work shall be stimulated.”
• the local environment affects health»Människans närmiljö är av stor vikt för vårt psykiska och fysiska välbefinnande.« (party programme ↗)“The individual's local environment is of great importance for psychological and physical well-being.”
• green spaces for health and recreation»Även små grönytor i städerna fyller en viktig« (party programme ↗)“Even small green spaces in cities serve an important”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The counter-proposal wants to place a broad political commitment on the state ranging from working environment to urban planning, advertising and social media. The party programme explicitly warns that the promise to citizens becomes so extensive that the political system's ability to fulfil its core mission is undermined, and argues that politics lacks the capacity to micromanage such processes. The plan's own commitments in the area are targeted, such as a national strategy against suicide, not a comprehensive stress strategy.

• no overextended promisesdecisive»Löftet till medborgarna får aldrig vara så utsträckt« (party programme ↗)“The promise to citizens must never be so extensive”
• politics cannot micromanage»att detaljstyra och överpröva en så komplicerad process.« (party programme ↗)“to micromanage and oversee such a complicated process.”
• targeted strategies»Ta fram en nationell strategi mot självmord, med särskilt fokus på barn och unga« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Develop a national strategy against suicide, with particular focus on children and young people”
• prioritize core tasks»Politiken har en viktig uppgift att prioritera och välja bort,« (party programme ↗)“Politics has an important task to prioritize and choose what to leave out,”

The election manifesto establishes that Sweden needs a unified and long-term plan against the growing mental ill-health and wants to develop a national strategy for work on mental health. To investigate what factors cause stress and develop a strategy with realistic measures fits within that commitment. The plan also explicitly rejects individual and short-term initiatives as a solution and highlights the link between physical activity and mental health.

• unified plan against mental ill-healthdecisive»Sverige behöver en samlad och långsiktig plan för att hantera den växande psykiska ohälsan.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs a unified and long-term plan to handle the growing mental ill-health.”
• national strategy for mental health»Ta fram en nationell strategi för det fortsatta arbetet med psykisk hälsa« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Develop a national strategy for the ongoing work on mental health”
• against short-term initiatives»Enskilda och kortsiktiga satsningar kommer aldrig att kunna lösa de omfattande utmaningar som vi ser, vi behöver en tydlig målsättning och en helt ny statlig styrning för att uppnå verkliga resultat.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Individual and short-term initiatives will never be able to solve the extensive challenges we see, we need a clear objective and a completely new state governance to achieve real results.”
• physical activity and mental health»Det finns en tydlig koppling mellan fysisk aktivitet och god psykisk och fysisk hälsa.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“There is a clear link between physical activity and good mental and physical health.”