Mental exhaustion identified as critical workplace safety risk

Mental exhaustion is increasingly recognized as a critical factor in workplace safety. Recent updates to the NR-1 regulation in Brazil have formalized this shift by explicitly including psychosocial risk factors within Occupational Risk Management (GRO) and the Risk Management Program (PGR).

Data from 2025 shows a significant rise in mental health issues, with Social Security recording 546,254 benefits for mental and behavioral disorders, representing a 15.66% increase compared to 2024. Experts note that chronic fatigue and stress compromise essential cognitive functions, such as sustained attention, operational memory, and decision-making. This cognitive decline increases the likelihood of serious accidents, as exhausted workers may struggle to perceive imminent danger or follow safety procedures correctly.

Specialists emphasize that burnout should be viewed as a phenomenon linked to the work environment—including leadership culture and workload distribution—rather than an individual weakness.