One-third of all medical leave issued in Chile during 2024 was due to mental health disorders, according to official figures reported by elmostrador.cl. The data highlights a growing psychological health crisis within the Chilean workforce, with mental health pathologies accounting for 33.1% of all electronic medical certificates.
Over the past decade, leave related to these conditions has seen a 169% increase. This growth has been particularly sharp among men, who saw a 226% rise, while women experienced a steady increase of 137%.
The Chilean Safety Association (ACHS) identifies workload overload as the primary risk factor, present in 38.1% of cases. Other critical triggers include hostile organizational cultures (25.5%) and a lack of social support (25.06%).
Gender inequality and critical sectors
The impact of these disorders is not distributed evenly. Women account for 65% of mental health-related leave and 77% of occupational diseases in this area, even though they face higher rates of claim denials and lower financial coverage.
The healthcare, education, public administration, and financial services sectors present the most critical risk profiles. These industries share a high emotional burden and a lack of resources, leading to constant burnout among workers.
Digitalization and remote work have deepened the problem by blurring the lines between professional and personal life. Elmostrador.cl notes that algorithmic management and the difficulty of disconnecting create sustained stress that current regulations have yet to effectively mitigate.
Chile has utilized a psychosocial risk monitoring protocol since 2014, which was updated in 2023 via the CEAL-SM/SUSESO questionnaire under the supervision of the Superintendency of Social Security. Despite this regulatory framework, daily reality shows a significant gap between law and practice.
The persistence of a culture that rewards burnout as a synonym for commitment prevents the underlying causes from being addressed. According to the report, as long as organizations are not redesigned with healthy leadership and reasonable workloads, the system will continue to treat the symptoms rather than the root causes.
