OCCUPATIONAL STRESS: CHARACTERISTICS, CONSEQUENCES AND LEGISLATION Regina Celia Spadari, Nancy Ramacciotti de Oliveira Monte, Luiz Alberto Calil Antonio

Abstract

Work stress is the physical and psychological stress caused bythe imbalance between the work objective needs and theindividual adaptive abilities under certain occupationalconditions. The syndrome due to work stress is known as burnoutand it is characterized by emotional exhaustion,depersonalization, and sense of reduced personal fulfillments.Work stress correlated diseases are the main cause ofabsenteeism and early retirements causing damage not only theindividual’s quality of life but also to the companies. Stressintensity can be estimated through the determination of thesalivary cortisol concentration (SCC) and the heart rate variability(HRV), that are both non-invasive methods. The SCC isproportional to the stress intensity and the HRV decreases whensympathetic nervous system activation increases. Work stressmanagement must be done in the personal and organizationalspheres. The absence of specific legislation is an impeding factorin the determination by the judiciary of incidents caused bystress, both in terms of responsibility and possible compensationand treatment of the worker diagnosed with stress. Thus,decisions are based on jurisprudence.