Keywords
Mental health
Occupational health
Gender
Interdisciplinarity
How to Cite
Abstract
Chronic stress at work involves persistent psychosocial exposures and insufficient opportunities for recovery, with consequences extending beyond the workplace. Understanding this process requires attention to work organization and inequalities in the distribution of risks and protective resources. This article aims to analyze problems and outcomes associated with chronic stress at work and discuss mental health prevention and care from a gender and interdisciplinary perspective. This narrative review draws on targeted scientific literature searches, with bibliographic records verified in PubMed and journal websites. Thirteen articles published between 2017 and 2025 and one World Health Organization guideline were used. Direct access to Google Scholar was attempted but could not be completed. The synthesis identified relationships between high demands, low autonomy, effort–reward imbalance, psychological distress, and sickness absence, while acknowledging limitations to causal inference. Studies addressing paid and unpaid work highlight the relevance of gender and racial inequalities. Interventions show promising results, but effects vary and methodological limitations remain. Prevention should combine changes in working conditions, access to care, and support for return to work, incorporating worker participation and attention to social inequalities.
References
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