Stanford professor Jeffrey Pfeffer warns work harms health as Brazil expands employee mental‑health program

Stanford professor Jeffrey Pfeffer cautions that modern management practices are creating a public‑health crisis comparable to second‑hand smoke. He points to excessive work hours, job insecurity, limited autonomy and lack of health insurance as drivers of physical and mental illness among workers, and criticizes corporations that prioritize profit over wellbeing.

In Brazil, the construction firm AMRV has broadened its "Sua Mente" therapeutic‑support initiative, originally launched for office staff in 2018, to include onsite cabins for workers on construction sites. Since its inception the program has provided about 7,000 voluntary online counseling sessions, addressing anxiety, family conflict and emotional distress. The expansion follows a 15 % rise in labor absences linked to mental‑health disorders between 2024 and 2025, underscoring growing corporate focus on employee wellbeing.