Sustainable global development goals cannot be achieved without businesses. Businesses play a crucial role in accelerating progress towards goals through their core operations, financial commitments, employee networks, consumer-facing platforms and high-level influences.

Every business and every employee can make a vital contribution to creating a more peaceful, equitable and healthy future.

Pek çok insan, iş dünyasının sürdürülebilir hedefler için bir güç olabileceği fikrine şüpheyle bakmaya devam etmektedir. Yine de, en son Edelman anketine göre, iş dünyasına duyulan güven(%61), şu anda STK’lara (%57), hükümetlere (%53) ve medyaya (%51) göre daha yüksektir. Ayrıca insanların işverenlerine olan güveni (%76) hala önemli ölçüde yüksekliğini korumaktadır. Ayrıca yukarıda sayılan kurumlar arasında çoğunluk tarafından hem yetkin hem de etik olarak görülen tek kurum iş dünyasıdır.

As governments try to find solutions one after another to combat the pandemic and its effects, most businesses have succeeded in acting in the best interests of their employees and wider stakeholders. With the launch of vaccine programs, the opportunity to observe the power of private sector innovation combined with public sector investment has been seized. (SDG Goal 3 – Health and Well-being) Technological innovations brought by entrepreneurial solutions have enabled a large part of the population to continue working remotely while offices are closed. (Goal 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth).

With this increase in corporate stance and trust, there is an increasing interest and responsibility in the private sector. Increasingly, companies and CEOs are expected to lead societal change, rather than waiting for governments to legislate it. Following actions such as “#MeToo and Black Lives Matter” (Goal 5 – Gender Equality and Goal 10 – Reducing Inequalities), businesses can be held accountable by their customers and employees if their business practices do not align with the organizational values they say they believe in.

Some of the world's largest and most influential companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Unilever, and Mastercard, have begun to use sustainable development goals (SDGs) not only as a corporate social responsibility tool, but also as a tool to shape their long-term strategic planning and vision. These companies develop strategies to “double up” their ambitious goal setting and sustainability commitments, even after major challenges in their operations.

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Psychological Health and Safety for Development Goals

The SDGs are universal and mental health concerns every person. The need for interdisciplinary and intersectoral solutions is increasing in order to reach the SDGs, which offer a window of opportunity for mental health, as it is an area that is central to collaboration between sectors and professions.

According to the latest estimates published by the ILO, 2.78 million workers die each year from occupational accidents and work-related diseases (2.4 million from disease), and an additional 374 million workers suffer non-fatal injury or conditions related to deterioration of health and well-being.

Besides the economic cost, damage caused by occupational accidents and work-related diseases has an intangible cost that is not fully understood in these figures. It is important that relevant studies focus on this issue because, as research and practice have repeatedly shown, risks to health and safety can be largely avoided.

The physical, mental, and social aspects of health are interrelated, and improvements in physical health affect mental health and vice versa. Examples include that low job control can lead to cardiovascular disease, and depression can increase not seeking treatment or experiencing loss of productivity. Mental health and psychosocial well-being are important for employee well-being, productivity and sustainability of the organization.

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Psychosocial Risk Management

Risk management remains a fundamental requirement for the sustainable development of any organisation. The implementation of a management system mainly relies on identifying potential hazards, investigating the causes and associated dangerous elements to assess the level of risk, and then recommending preventive measures that can minimize and mitigate the consequences. A management process established for the management of psychosocial risks includes a socio-economic system that deals with the business and other issues in which the business context is located.

In the context of occupational risks, psychosocial risks (PSR) are now recognized as the main problems of occupational health in organizations. In the face of increasing psychosocial risks and associated costs such as burnout, bullying or violence in the workplace, mental health problems have made psychosocial risk management a priority because of their serious economic and social consequences. Therefore, the organization must implement appropriate health and safety measures to provide a satisfactory working environment. Reducing these risks that employees are exposed to means addressing the psychosocial dimension of the sustainable development approach.

It is stated that the Psychological Health and Safety in Occupational Health and Safety – Psychosocial Risk Management Guide published by ISO in 2021 contributes to the following sustainable development goals:

3- Health and Well-Being

Ensuring a healthy and quality life at all ages

5- Gender Equality

Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls

8- Decent Work and Economic Growth

Promote stable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9- Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Build resilient infrastructures, support inclusive and sustainable industrialization and strengthen innovation

10- Reducing Inequalities

Reducing inequalities within and between countries

11- Sustainable Cities and Communities

Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

16- Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Build peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, ensure access to justice for all, and create effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

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These targets, which are covered by the Psychosocial risk management systems applied for Psychological Health and Safety, include the well-being of employees, the production capacity and sustainability of enterprises; it also brings about progress for global development along with social welfare and equality.

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References

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Edelman Trust Barometer. (2021). Retrieved May 2022, from https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2021-01/2021-edelman-trust-barometer.pdf
Global Goals. Business Avengers. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2022, from https://business.globalgoals.org/
Hales, J., & Business and Climate Director at Project Everyone. (2021, February 2). The Sustainable Development Goals are good for business. BRINK. Retrieved May 2022, from https://www.brinknews.com/the
sustainable-development-goals-are-good-for-business/
ISO 45003:2021. ISO. (2021, June 8). Retrieved May 2022, from https://www.iso.org/standard/64283.html
Safety and Health at work at the heart of sustainable development goals. solidar (n.d.). Retrieved May 2022, from https://www.solidar.org/en/news/safety-and-health-at-work-at-the-heart-of-sustainable-development-goals
Dybdahl, R., & Lien, L. (2017). Mental health is an integral part of the sustainable development goals. Prev Med Commun Health, 1(1), 1-3.
Harguem, B., & Hadj-Mabrouk, H. (2017). Psycho-social risks in the European policy of sustainable development.