22 which gives greater weight to the victim’s word and requires companies to prove the existence of safe and effective reporting channels. It is estimated that mental disorders consume about 6% of the payroll of Brazilian companies between absenteeism and presenteeism. Furthermore, labor claims for moral damages have become “pedagogical,” frequently ranging from R$ 50,000 to R$ 150,000 per individual case, with some recent cases exceeding R$ 3 million due to the Supreme Federal Court’s decision (ADI 6082), which declared the “capping” of moral damages unconstitutional. Now, judges have the freedom to set values based on the company’s financial capacity and the extent of the damage. NR-1: more than A wellness agenda For Patricia Barboza, this scenario gains even more relevance with the recent NR-1 (Regulatory Norm No. 1) update. May 2026 is the final deadline for medium and large companies to demonstrate the effectiveness of mental risk control measures. Mental health is no longer just a “culture” topic and is now formally part of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management nationwide. Factors like work overload, excessive targets, and lack of autonomy must now be treated with the same rigor as physical risks. A long way to go Despite increased awareness, there is still a long way to go. Psychoanalyst Deborah Duwe notes that Burnout is heavily associated with moral and sexual harassment and companies that fail to comply with laws. However, she observes a shift: “Today, it is difficult to find someone who doesn’t talk about therapy or that mental health is important.”Carol Garrafa concludes that employees with higher well-being are more productive because they can sustain focus and cognitive energy. The trend is for the topic to become increasingly central to corporate strategy, not just as a matter of human care, but as a factor directly linked to productivity, innovation, and business sustainability.
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