Work-related psychological harm as an organizationalproblem. Mental health, equality, and gender perspectivepective

Abstract

This paper examines work-related psychological harm from an organizational, preventive, anti-discrimination, and constitutional perspective. Contrary to approaches focused primarily on the clinical or individual dimension of psychological impairment, the study argues that a significant part of contemporary psychosocial risks is linked to forms of work organization characterized by work intensification, continuous pressure, permanent availability, and ongoing systems of performance monitoring and evaluation.

The article explores the interaction between mental health, equality, and gender perspective, highlighting how apparently neutral organizational dynamics may produce disproportionate effects on workers placed in structurally vulnerable positions. It also examines the evolution of the European and constitutional legal framework concerning disability, equality, and protection against psychosocial risks.

The paper further identifies the main methodological difficulties affecting the legal treatment of work-related psychological harm, particularly regarding multifactorial causation, invisibilization of organizational context, and the medicalization of litigation. On this basis, it advocates a structural understanding of psychosocial risks capable of integrating prevention, equality, and constitutional limits on employer power within a unified framework of legal protection.