WORKERS' MENTAL HEALTH AS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT: LEGAL CHALLENGES AND SOCIAL INCLUSION POLICIES IN BRAZIL

Abstract

This dissertation investigates workers' mental health as a fundamental right, addressing the legal and institutional challenges to its implementation in the context of contemporary transformations in the workplace. Based on an interdisciplinary approach, anchored in legal sciences and the contributions of critical sociology and political philosophy, the study's central objective is to analyze the interplay between the legal system, human rights, and external public policies regarding mental health protection in the workplace. The methodology adopted is exploratory in nature, based on a literature review and normative document analysis. Additionally, research incorporates secondary statistical data from official public sources such as INSS, ENAP, and WHO, with the aim of contextualizing and illustrating the processes of mental illness in the workplace from a critical perspective. The research reveals that, although there is express normative provision regarding the right to mental health at work, as evidenced in the 1988 Federal Constitution, Law No. 8.080/1990, and international conventions, the effectiveness of this right is often compromised by legislative gaps, the institutional invisibility of psychological distress, and the disarticulation of public policies. The work demonstrates that the current model of productive organization, marked by precariousness, uberization, and the intensification of neoliberal logic, has contributed to the increase in disorders such as burnout, depression, and anxiety among workers. A critical analysis of public policies, especially the National Mental Health Policy and the National Workers' Health Policy, highlights conceptual advances, but also operational limitations, such as poor intersectoral cooperation, underfunding, and limited scope. It is concluded that realizing the right to mental health at work requires more than normative specification: it requires strengthening accountability mechanisms, expanding institutional oversight, and implementing inclusive policies that value decent work as a driver of citizenship. Therefore, this research aims to contribute to the development of a critical and emancipatory understanding of mental health protection in the Brazilian workplace.