Participants view exhibition of "Mosaics of Work" photo competition

Occupational Safety and Health

ILO and Viet Nam partners address psychosocial risks at work in national occupational safety and health month

Representatives of the tripartite constituents from the government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and youth participants gathered in Hanoi to mark the Viet Nam’s National Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Month, with a focus on psychosocial working environment and mental well-being in the world of work.

12 May 2026

HA NOI (ILO News) - Globally, the ILO estimates that psychosocial risks at work contribute to over 840,000 work-related deaths each year. Long working hours, chronic stress, violence and harassment, and the blurring of boundaries between work and personal life are among the hazards shaping the daily experience of workers – including a growing number of young people entering an increasingly digitalized and competitive labour market.

The event “Making the Invisible Visible: Psychosocial Working Environment” combined technical discussions with youth-led creative engagement to encourage greater awareness and dialogue on psychosocial factors at work and the need for preventive action.

Opening the event, Ms Sinwon Park, Director of the ILO Office for Viet Nam, emphasized that psychosocial risks are increasingly shaping workers’ experiences but often remain overlooked. “Psychosocial risks are not unavoidable. They are shaped by how work is designed and managed, and that means they can be prevented,” she said. “Safe and healthy work includes mental health and well-being, and this is particularly important for young workers navigating a fast-changing labour market.”

Ms Sinwon Park speaks at the event — Ms Sinwon Park, Director of ILO Country Office for Viet Nam, speaks at the event

The event began with a technical session presenting key findings from the ILO global report on psychosocial working environment, delivered by Ms Yuka Ujita, Senior Specialist in Occupational Safety and Health at the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific. Representatives of tripartite constituents, including the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) shared national perspectives on existing challenges, good practices, and priorities for action. Tripartite representatives and young participants then exchanged perspectives on psychosocial risks in the Viet Nam context and highlighting the importance of strengthening prevention measures, social dialogue and inclusive workplace practices to promote safe and healthy working environments, particularly for young people.

Panel discussion at the event — Panel discussion with representatives of tripartite constituents

The second part of the event gave the floor to young people. Participants in the ILO photo contest on psychosocial factors at work “Mosaics of Work” presented their entries and shared reflections on how they interpreted working conditions that are difficult to capture in statistics alone. Selected entries were showcased during the event, with winners recognized for their contributions to raising awareness through visual storytelling. The photo contest is an initiative by the ILO Vision Zero Fund and the Youth Network on Decent Work and Green Jobs. Ms Maika Elan, a journalist and visual storyteller, closed the session by exploring how less visible labour and employment issues can be represented in a responsible and meaningful way.

The event was organized jointly by the ILO's Vision Zero Fund project, with engagement from the ILO–Korea Youth Employment project. It aligns with Viet Nam's OSH themes for 2026 "Innovating management and improving the effectiveness of occupational safety and health in the digital age" and formed part of a series of activities under National OSH Month, which opened with a national launch on 24 April and coincides with the Worker’s Month focusing on employee welfare, safety, and innovation with the theme "Vietnamese workers: Innovation to enhance productivity".

Many young participants joined the event

The ILO calls on governments, employers, and workers to further promote the effective implementation of international labour standards that support safe, healthy, and respectful workplaces. In particular, the effective application of ILO Convention No. 155 and ILO Convention No. 187 - both ratified by Viet Nam - can help strengthen the prevention and management of psychosocial hazards and reinforce the right to a safe and healthy working environment, including mental health. At the same time, ILO Convention No. 190 affirms that violence and harassment have no place in the world of work, providing an important framework for future consideration and study towards possible ratification in the coming years.