A colleague absent for three months due to burnout, a neighbor consulting a sophrologist before even seeing their general practitioner, a friend tracking their sleep cycles on an app: the signals of daily life tell a profound story of our changing relationship with health.
Mental health issues are now the leading cause of work absences longer than 30 days in France, with 37.8% of long-term absences attributed to psychological disorders according to the Malakoff Humanis barometer published in August 2026. Well-being is no longer limited to eating five fruits and vegetables a day.
Mental health at work: the numbers that change the game
Well-being is often discussed as a personal goal. In practice, it is primarily a collective issue that manifests in companies. The absenteeism rate has increased by about a quarter since 2019, and long-term absences (over 60 days) account for nearly two-thirds of absence days.
This shift has a direct consequence: psychological disorders have surpassed musculoskeletal disorders as the primary reason for prolonged absences. For employers, this means that prevention programs focused solely on workplace ergonomics miss the main issue.
An employee facing chronic overload or toxic management will not be helped by a new office chair. There is health information on Pharmavia detailing the links between prolonged stress, sleep disorders, and associated pathologies, illustrating the interconnection between mental and physical health.
Feedback varies on this point, but several barometers converge: psychological prevention in the workplace remains largely underfunded compared to physical prevention.
Consultation with well-being practitioners: psychological over physical
Another ground signal: the reasons for consulting well-being practitioners have reversed. Consultations for psychological or emotional reasons now exceed those motivated by physical pain. It is no longer back pain that drives someone to see a sophrologist or naturopath, but diffuse anxiety, eco-anxiety, or emotional exhaustion.
Eco-anxiety affects about 15 million French people according to data from Obseca. This phenomenon, still marginalized in conventional medical consultations, fuels a growing demand for unconventional practitioners.
For conventional healthcare professionals, this migration raises questions. It does not necessarily indicate a rejection of medicine but rather a need for prolonged listening that the format of a typical consultation (rarely more than fifteen minutes) does not allow for.
Adapted physical activity: the “September moves” program and its limits
The government launched the “September moves” initiative to promote physical and sports activity as a health reflex. The initiative also targets nursing homes, encouraging facilities to integrate adapted sessions for residents.
On paper, the intention is solid. We know that physical activity reduces the risks of chronic diseases and improves mental health. In practice, the barriers are concrete:
- The lack of trained personnel in adapted physical activity within care structures, particularly in nursing homes where staff are already under pressure
- The absence of systematic reimbursement for APA (adapted physical activity) sessions prescribed by a doctor, limiting access for patients with modest incomes
- The entrenched sedentary lifestyle among certain populations, which requires gradual and personalized support, not just a simple injunction to “move more”
The institutional message (“move for 30 minutes a day”) is well known. What is lacking is the infrastructure to make it applicable on a large scale.
Sleep and lifestyle habits: the neglected link
We invest in sports, nutrition, and dietary supplements, but sleep remains the poor relation of prevention policies. The consequences of chronic sleep deprivation on weight, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health are well documented.
The problem is not only individual. Shift work schedules, commuting time, and evening screen exposure create a structurally hostile environment for restorative sleep. Recommending to “sleep better” without addressing these determinants is akin to treating the symptom.
Medications and treatments: the reassessments affecting patients
Some medications lose their reimbursement when their effectiveness is deemed insufficient compared to available alternatives. For the affected patients, this means either a change in treatment or a higher out-of-pocket cost.
The benefits of this approach are real: it encourages the prescription of molecules whose effectiveness is better documented. The downside is the transition period during which patients and doctors must adapt, sometimes in urgency.
Sexual health: a prevention framework still little known
France has a structured regulatory framework around sexual health, covering STI screening, access to contraception, and the prevention of sexual violence. This framework remains little known to the general public, even though it structures a significant part of public health prevention actions.
The screening aspect has progressed, with expanded offers for free tests. The education aspect remains more fragile, particularly in schools where sessions on emotional and sexual life struggle to meet the regulatory volume required.
Health in 2026 is no longer just a list of good habits. The challenges are shifting towards mental health, access to appropriate care, and the social determinants that condition our ability to take care of ourselves. Public systems exist, but their concrete implementation is lagging behind, a delay that the absenteeism figures and the use of alternative practitioners make hard to ignore.
